Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Scribbles and Prompts

I came across some jots in my journal. On our way home from Germany or flight was delayed three hours, I wrote these down as for both amusement and writing prompts.
  • A suited woman in her sixties is holding a red rose and looking at it
  • A nun wearing baby blue robes is walking back and forth. She passed us by four times
  • A woman with two very young children is singing songs. "Doe a deer, a female deer." "there's one little duck with a feather on its back..."
  • A little boy dive bombs a water bottle with a cardboard airplane found
  • We missed our train home

The challenge: Pick one or two and write stream of consciousness for 10 minutes. Enjoy and share your results.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Boom Boom Boom

For about a year now the Jump Bean has been singing "Baby, you're a firework, come up to the stars tonight" over and over again. He learned if from his best friend at school, and I sang along. I never thought to find out where it came from. We were eating in the Hard Rock Cafe in Budapest and saw Katy Perry's video for "Firework." I finally put it together. This was JB's song!


Our waitress proudly told us Katy gave a concert in the palace across the river and filmed the video for "Firework" in Budapest. By evening JB was jumping on the hotel bed listening to the song our friend downloaded on to her Ipad over and over and over.

This weekend, we searched "Firework" on Youtube and watched the video several times (like 100 times). The Jumping Bean doesn't tire of it. He points out the places we've been (including the bridge where the spider shoot took place) with such excitement. My hope is JB doesn't eat any fireworks thinking they will shoot out of his chest. He's already brighter than the moon.


Saturday, July 14, 2012

Shoes and Values

Budapest was not all smiling spiders. More than half of the city was destroyed during World War II. Budapest did not escape racial cleansing either. People took off their shoes, their most valuable possession in the eyes of their executioners, before being shot. Then the bodies were thrown into the river to save the labor it would take to dig mass graves.

Budapest Memorial to Jewish persecution stands on the Pest side of the Danube. JB, being who he is, was fascinated by shoes made of metal. As our friend explained to the Jumping Bean why the shoes were placed on the side of the river, I watched his expression change from open mouthed wonder to scrunched up puzzlement to wide-opened eyes of sadness. JB walked the promenade, putting his own feet in the big shoes. He tugged on the shoes to see if they would move. He was especially taken back when he come to a small pair of shoes, realizing even children were killed. He couldn't understand how shoes came to be more valuable than people.

I am surprised to hear JB highlight the shoe story as part of our trip to Budapest. "Hey, Mom, who were those people that took off their shoes?" Even at five, he recognizes Jewish persecution as an important story to tell and WWII as time worthy to remember. Maybe someday we will go to the Holocaust Museum in DC, and maybe shoes along a river are enough sadness to remind the Jumping Bean the value of both human and universal life.

What stories are important for you to tell?

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Say Cheese, Spider!

Budapest* at Sunset, Friday June 22, 2012

Imagine walking across a lion-guarded bridge that holds a history large enough and long enough to honor a king.


Look over your shoulder. You see a palace and a sky of cathedrals lit up under the moon. You mindlessly hand the camera off of little hands with the reminder to wear the strap because you don't want to loose two weeks of writing prompts--I mean memories--to the Danube.



You pause and take a breath. The breeze from the river cools your face. You can almost taste the water as you let the air slide down your throat.

Still talking, you casually glance over at the photographer. His jaw is set to get the perfect shot. His brow furrows. He squints his eyes. He moves forward. He moves back--checking the angles, zooming in. He backs up again. You feel a warmth in your chest in the same moment he becomes very still.

Photo Credit: The Jumping Bean
Suddenly...

"Say cheese, Spider!"

You laugh and wonder: Did the spider smile? Does the spider eat cheese? Does the spider speak English?

These are our memories from our summer adventure. Stay tuned for more.

What treasures are you savoring from the summer?


*Thank you to Jen--who made our adventure to Budapest possible. We would have never thought to go there.