Day 310

First of all I would like to say that I woke up this morning and there was ice on the roof of my porch. Right outside my bedroom window there was a layer of ice. Just needed to get that off my chest.



The other thing is that I have been thinking about my learning process doing this blog. Kevin said to me the other night something about doing it with tact. One of the biggest lessons I have tangled with during this process is keeping it mine and not about other's experiences with the same event. It's a boundary thing as they say. That has been a really good off shoot of the process for me. Learning to write nonfiction and to maintain appropriate boundaries and respect is something that many writers wrestle with. I think this process has helped me to learn some balance around this issue.



This photo was taken on Woolman Hill. Every fall for the past 9 I have spent a fall weekend writing on Woolman Hill. I didn't get to do it this year so today I drove up there to pay respects to my friend Bob. Bob Widdicombe was my very close friend. He died of brain cancer in December of 1980. The year he died I was taking a "teaching writing" course at UMASS. I wrote about Bob's death and its impact on me and read it aloud to my class. I think that was the first time I ever realized how powerful one's voice could be if you let it rise before you edited. Bob's life and death had a powerful impact on me. Bobby taught me how to scream and how good it feels if you do it away from the maddening crowd.



There were bluebirds on Woolman Hill today. Isn't it too late for bluebirds in Massachusetts?





Anyway it was hard taking photos today because the sun was so bright. And I was grumpy by noon. And I would like to be able to say why, but I can't express it.