Read the rest here - John GovernaleNicola Gladwell gave me a bobby pin.
During a long bus trip this April, I got out the handwritten draft of a short story and my AlphaSmart Dana word processor.
I balanced the Dana on my lap, then realized there was no comfortable--or even uncomfortable--way to prop up the sheets so I could type them. On the back of the seat in front of me was a tightly screwed-on strip of plastic that held the chair cover in place. I tried forcing the edge of a page under that, but had no luck.
Bother.
It was then that Nicola, seated across the aisle from me, came to the rescue. She removed a bobby pin from her hair and handed it over. I was at a loss what to do with it.
"What do you suggest?" I asked.
She took the flat prong and worked it under the strip of plastic, creating a clipboard. I slid a few pages into the bobby pin and they held.
Brilliant.
Thanks John - and btw - I LOVE MY AlphaSmart too! :D
3 comments:
Heidi,
My site has been restructured a bit. Could you change the link to the article about Nicola to http://www.johngovernale.com/articles/redemption.html.
Thanks for your post and for your fine site.
John
What a cool idea... earlier this year I sketched a picture of three African womem after I had learned about the genocide in Darfur during International Studies class. I threw it up at our University art show and someone BOUGHT it! Someone BOUGHT something that I was comunicating through; they bought my passion about the subject and told me I could have sold it for twice as much. wow. And THEN; I wrote a blog, and people are listening! It's not just me that cares about girls in Thailand; other people do too if I tell them. What a novel idea :). Thanks so much Heidi and John for believing in my passion and supporting me with your encouragement! You two are stellar :). And Heidi.. wow I love your site. I just arrived back from planting over 80,000 trees near Thunderbay in forests that had been ravaged by a forest fire. One day recently I took my camera with me and shot some pictures of the gorgeous flowers and bright scarlet vines growing out of the black ground and encircling the charred trees. You and your redemptive heart were in my mind throughout the day; I took pictures of birds nets in the green undergrowth, as well as my new red pines and white spruce I planted next to their dead comrades. My crew and I would come home almost black from all the soot; it would go through our clothes and cover our skin; sometimes we would jump in to the freezing cold water of a Thunder Bay lake in May to turn back to our normal hue again... since usually what needs redeeming is a messy business, it makes perfect sense that the work of redemption will clearly be a messy endeavor as well. But I think it's worth it :). Thanks again Heidi; I am looking forward to a cup of tea next time we meet!
sorry, the last comment was from me, Nicola... I just don't have an account :)
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