A Battle That Never Ends

In adults, creativity can get shoved aside by its pushy, loudmouthed sibling, practicality. The two carry on a battle inside our heads. On one side of the head, a girl in a flowered dress paints the air with a palette that's constantly changing color. On the other side is her older brother, who carries a to-do list and wears work boots and overalls.

Creativity says, "Use your hands and your mind to create beautiful things."
Practicality says, "Use your hands and your mind to do things that have tangible value."

And the rest of the brain tries to find a compromise between the two.

Our Trip With Fay

About this time last year, our vacation trip had an uninvited guest: Tropical Storm Fay. We had planned our Walt Disney World trip months earlier, only to question whether we would be going at all.

Every time we checked The Weather Channel, the forecasters predicted rain. We had two choices: stay or go. We bought rain parkas and went ahead with our plans. All of our flights went fine, but the first three days of our trip were very rainy. We had to let our shoes and socks dry out each night. The parkas did a fairly good job of protecting everything else.

For three days, the crowds at Walt Disney World were lighter than I had ever seen them. Some attractions were closed and a parade had to be called off because of the weather. Rain in Disney World is like snow in the South -- they don't know what to do with it. I remember walking on curbs because the walkways were flooded with several inches of water. There isn't a lot of shelter at Disney World either. This is something you don't realize until you're looking for a roof to stand under for a few minutes while deciding where to go next.

On the fourth day, the skies cleared up, the rain stopped and the temperature started to climb. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, yet we'll probably remember those rainy days for a long time.

Don't Bet on Me in an Eating Contest

I've always been a slow eater and I can't explain why. Put me at a table with just about anyone and I'll usually finish last. Waitresses have tried to pull plates out from under me before I was finished. They've also asked about dessert when I'm barely halfway through dinner. In their defense, though, my husband's plate is usually nearly empty when they are asking.

Poor hubby has probably wasted hours of his life waiting for me to finish a meal. He grew up in a large family where eating slowly may have cost a person part of his portion. Dawdle too long and the sibling nearby might scoop up a few bites.

I've heard that it's a good thing to eat slowly because it gives your brain time to realize your stomach is full. I guess that's one advantage of eating slowly.

Words I Would Like an Excuse to Use

I think I wrote about one plane (actually just a little ultralight) crash when I was a reporter, but I can't remember if I got to use the word "fuselage." There's something cool about the word. Too bad there aren't more opportunities to use it. I'm not hoping for any crashes, but that seems to be the only time the word "fuselage" gets used. Hey, I just got to use it twice now.

Here's another good one: "scofflaw." How often can you use that? I saw it in a news story yesterday and my eyes widened at the sight of it. I quietly wished I had written the story. Is that considered word usage envy?

A Rematch of Sorts

I just heard that American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert tweeted about his album's release date.

First, I have to say that I love that we can still call it an album even though it's really a CD or an mp3 file.

Second, it will be interesting to see how many albums fan favorite Lambert sells compared to AI winner Kris Allen. Both albums are reportedly due out in November.

My money's on Lambert. I think he is the more talented of the two.
People voted with their phones. Let's see how they vote with their hard-earned cash.

In Praise of the Pen

I had to smile at a network contact's recent observation: "Writers like pens."

I was glad to know that others share my affinity for what may seem like outdated instruments in these keyboard-centric times. Although I write faster by typing on a keyboard than by putting pen to paper, I still like pens.

Over the years, friends have given me high-quality pens as gifts. My definition of a high-quality pen is one that you refill with ink instead of just tossing the whole pen when the ink's gone. While these pens look shiny and pretty on my desk, they don't always measure up to the cheap ones. For one thing, the metal of a more expensive pen can make it heavy to hold.

For me, the true test of a good pen is how easily it glides across the page. The ideal pen is lightweight and drops ink in a smooth, non-globby, non-skipping way that doesn't impede the flow of words.

When I was reporting, I found a pen that met my standards. It was a cheap Office Plus pen that I bought by the box at a local office supply store. Nothing could fly across my reporter's notebook like those babies. And believe me, when you're taking notes, you need a fast pen. You could miss a good quote while waiting for the pen to catch up.

Although I'm not taking notes for a living right now, I still use pens every day. Most people do; they just don't think much about them...unless they're writers.

Something to Ponder

You know you're an adult when the super-sweet cereals you loved as a kid don't appeal to you anymore.