Canaries,
Stories are everywhere…including old stories with a new twist, or at least a twist I’d never heard before.
I heard a mining engineer talking about small birds in coal mines yesterday. You’ve probably heard the basics -when the small bird swayed on its perch and fell over, the miners knew there was deadly gas around and it was time for humans to leave the mine. Of course by then it was probably too late for the bird.
The twist I’d never heard before came in the form of a birdcage that was itself rescue equipment - for the canary. As soon as the bird began to sway on its perch: 1. the cage could be made air-tight so no more deadly gas would enter. 2. there was a small bottle of life-saving oxygen attached so a quick squirt could be given. The miners lived and so did the bird. Brilliant! And there has to be some way to fit that into a story.
Maybe a realistic story in which a child is caring for the birds in the mine office above ground. Perhaps a story in a fantasy land where someone’s beloved rare pet is needed in a similar situation, and the young owner finds a way to secrectly go along to try and protect it. hmmmmmm. time to get my notebook out!
you can see pictures of both kinds of cages here.
Except I wanted to ask a question before I go. Can anyone remember the exact moment they learned to read? The moment when you realized you could figure out the marks on the paper? I can’t. But I’ve run into several people who can. I’d love to hear your own stories about that moment if you happen to be one of those people.
Last post on Thursday this week. Bye’til then. Hazel Hutchins
November 24th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I feel the same way about stories being everywhere. Sometimes it can be overwhelming!
I very distinctly remember my reading epiphany. I was in grade one, I knew how to sound out words, but hadn’t really grasped the full impact of what this could mean. Then one day, I stopped my bike in front of another nearby school and sounded out the letters on the side of the building, C-h-a-r-l-e-s H-o-e-y S-c-h-o-o-l. When the sounds connected with the name I knew to belong to the school, it hit me. It was like a key turned in a lock, and a door suddenly opened. At that moment I understood what it meant to read.
Jacquie
November 25th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Hi Jacqueline,
Your reading epiphany story is totally interesting. It speaks so well to childhood discovery, on several levels, including the “magic” of written language.
Re the overwhelming comment … I’m thinking that might relate to the way other story ideas start looking so much more promising and tempting when one is trying to work out the difficult parts of a story in progress.
Thanks for writing
Hazel