Barbara Froman's Blog, page 8

2019

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…seems a world away in weeks.  Yet, it’s not.

There will be old things to go through, irritants to shed, habits to abandon in 2019.

And I will have to make lists to keep myself focused.

There will be a long list for writing projects (yes, I changed the point of view again; no, Character One is not going to have the stroke), a musical list of pieces I want to learn (finally), a list for home improvements (that runner on the staircase has GOT to go, as do the bedroom curtains—whoops, there’s a...

Here and There…

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There’s a bird in the neighborhood on a frenzied calling streak. I’m familiar with most of the feathered fliers nearby, the way they look, their habits, the sounds that rise from their throats, but this one is new to me.

***

I’m wrestling conflicting plot turns in my latest project. Part of me wants to disable a major character with a stroke (let’s call him Character One), in order to push another major character into taking a risk she would not ordinarily take (we’ll call her Character Two...

A Humble Offering

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As we all know, another holiday season is upon us, which means an assortment of activities, invitations, and celebrations involving food.

I am not shy about admitting  I’ve had a love-hate relationship with food all my life. Growing up with food allergies was no picnic (sorry, couldn’t resist). Finding out in midlife that I could no longer eat wheat, rye, or barley was both a relief and an inconvenience.  How was I going to eat out? What was I going to do if I was invited to someone’s home...

One? Or Two?

[image error]Choral Fantasy (From one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s sketchbooks)

If you wear glasses, you’re familiar with that part of the eye exam when your doctor lowers a phoropter into position in front your face and starts flipping between lenses, asking, “Which is better? One? Or two? One? Or two?”

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I finished my novella about seven weeks ago, and immediately started working on what I assumed was going to be a stand-alone sequel.  Five thousand or so words in, it occurred to me that maybe I should m...

Displays

[image error]Guernica (Pablo Picasso)

Halloween is this Wednesday.

There’s a chain link fence around the front lawn of one of the homes in our neighborhood, replete with warnings that the property is being monitored by cameras. Inside the fence is a Halloween display of political figures, with the ruling party’s portrayed as attractive and human, and the minority party’s portrayed as ghouls of different races and nationalities. The scene is frightful and grotesque. Its smug elitism, entitlement, and shame...

Attractive Lies

[image error]Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

Yet again I saw the familiar questions, the familiar attempts to analyze how one person can insist that an utterly twisted or fabricated version of events, history, motives, statistics, and more, are true in the face of concrete evidence pointing to the contrary, and how so many people can buy into those lies.

The point is that fallacies, no matter how specious, if delivered often enough, with absolute authority, are almost impossible to counter.

***

Years...

What?

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When I was living in New York, I had a friend who worked at night, and had to take the subway to her job. Naturally, her friends and family were concerned about her safety. One day, over coffee, she told a few of us she had never been bothered. We were surprised. We had all had unpleasant experiences of one kind or another on our commutes—men who groped us during rush hour crowding; men who followed us to or from our destinations; men who sat next to us in nearly empty subway cars. We all ca...

Salt and Pepper

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I remember where I was on September 11th, 2001. We’d come back from a wonderful visit with family in California barely a week before. I was still in its afterglow, as I was still in the long afterglow of four months in Budapest.

Fall was approaching, my favorite time of year. It was a beautiful, mild, sunny Midwest morning. I was relaxed. I was happy.

I came downstairs early, made my breakfast, sat on the sofa in the living room, and turned on the news to see smoke billowing out of the first...

In Tune

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…which is my new project, about an old photo booth and one vibration seeking another, from a basement of all places.

I’m envisioning pages of overtones coloring subtext, set into motion by a woman named, Lavinia…

…and counterpoint, of course.

There must be counterpoint.

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Enigma Variations

[image error]Photo by Nadxiee Lii on Pexels.com

A man walks down the street. He’s wearing sneakers. White sneakers. Well, they used to be white, now they’re…gray…ish, and old. Because he’s checking his phone, he doesn’t see the nail sticking straight up in his path and steps on it. The shaft goes right through the sole of his shoe into his foot. Within seconds, the fabric has soaked with wine-colored blood, and he is calling 9-1-1.

What interests you about this situation? The man and what happens to him f...