Writings by Diane

A couple of weeks ago, the movie Breaking Dawn premiered. I wasn’t going to be first in line to see the movie, though I read the entire series of books.  Yes, I got caught up in the mania, but I wouldn’t consider myself a Twilighter . Rather, I really enjoyed the way Stephenie Meyer wrote. Her development of characters made them memorable and she used a good turn of phrase in many of the pages. As I’ve seen images of the movie premiere, a thought struck me—where is the author in these galas? Of course, a movie has many different and important components—actors, director, set and costume designers. However, in my opinion, this movie could have happened without her. She created these stories, yet she’s not shown on the red carpet. Or at least not in the footage I’ve seen. When my works are made into a movie (yes, I said when , not if!) I would try to get into every camera shot I can!  In my mind’s eye, the actors are on the runway, and there I am, standing next to them. Or, the ...

Remember the commercials for the GPS system Tom Tom? It would depict a driver that was lost. He would turn to the passenger in the car and say their first name twice, asking for directions. Of course, the passenger looked at the driver blankly. The funny thing is, if I run into a traffic jam or road work, I call my husband on my cell phone.  I say “Chris Chris, I’m on the freeway, but it’s backing up. If I get off on Franklin Road, which way can I get to work?” My husband then gives me step by step directions on how to get to work. It always amazes me that he is able to navigate without being there. I basically know only a couple of ways to work, so if I need to take a detour, I’m in a pickle if left to my own resources. Chris figures he’s good with directions because he has always had jobs where driving is essential. He is always the first to find all of the shortcuts around the town we live in. Also, he really enjoys all aspects of driving.  I’ve been with him when he’s deci...

Today my teenage son, Derek, got his first professional haircut. This is a momentous occasion at our house. For years, he didn’t care how his hair looked. When it got completely out of control, Dad would give him a short buzz cut. However, today, with a patient hairstylist, he picked out the style and didn’t resist--he was finally ready. Now, he looks so handsome, much better than the thick bed head he had been sporting!  As I admired the precision cut around his ears and youthful spiky bangs, I remembered his very first haircut. He was two years old and still had his fine baby hair. I worried over the patchiness and corn silk quality of his hair. When he was a baby, this hair looked natural—now it looked completely out of place.    One day, my husband suggested cutting all of Derek’s hair off. That way, it would give the new hair more room to grow. I had heard of this logic before—my father knew fellow workers who would yearly shave their heads and thicker hair would ind...