the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Cursive fantasies

I’ve always wanted to be one of those people. The ones whose thoughts just flowed effortlessly. One into the other. Oh, to be fluent like the fascinating people I meet from time to time, or maybe just to be able to carry a conversation with them.

I get lost in thoughts sometimes, almost as if I’ve forgotten how to get out of them. Sometimes I start out with a specific idea, but a few vague turns later, I find myself in a completely different thought process. But I’ve always wanted to be more coherent. Not like the block letters on a chalkboard, but like the fountain pen stylings in an old leather journal.

There are people out there, many of them on my blogroll, whom I admire for this ability. They are not just clever on the screen, but in person as well (not to assume that those I haven’t met are any less clever). I always wanted to be more that way, and I’ve often wondered why I’m not. Of course I have ideas as to why, but no firm answers.

It’s probably one of the reasons I enjoy writing. I can edit my thoughts before you see them. Of course, I can also just dash them off and send them into cyberspace without any real consideration (though I try to avoid doing that).

I don’t know—this is just one of those random posts that wanders a bit too much, like so many of the more ambitious thoughts in my head. In order to ward off the growing sense of boredom this post may be instilling in you, you may want to sample a few posts from one or two of my sidebar residents.

Howard, we like what you write and we like what you say. Funny, but thinking seems to be underrated in 2006. But I’m a big fan of the idea that you think through ideas and put them down on (electronic) paper. It’s what makes you interesting. And I like the varied interests you have. Red meat writing and thinking is easier…being concise, clear and articulate….now that takes skill.

I’m a comment slacker…but like many people, visist you daily to see what’s happening on TSL. You keep thinking, you keep up the good writing, and we’ll keep enjoying.

Cheers, buddy.

I’m very used to this b/c of the dyslexia. I frequently feel like my brains wires are all knotted and I can’t follow an idea start to finish well w/o derailing. The good side for me is that I’m told I’m good w/ thinking “outside the box”, but I often wish I could figure out the “inside the box” stuff too.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Frank. I’m a bit of a comment slacker myself, so I understand that. I don’t despair too deeply over things like this, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a little more clever in person, like you for instance

And Ellen, though I didn’t mention it in this post, I have had limited struggles with dyslexic symptoms. There are a few studies out there that attempt to link some of these symptoms to mixed dominance, which wouldn’t surprise me at all if it were so. I have a mixed dominance and it would fit me, as it would seem to fit a few other friends and acquaintances who also have that trait. Even if it’s so, I’ll be the first to admit it seems to have its advantages too…

They say if you close your eyes in a dark room and pay attention you’ll see all kinds of bright lights and interesting things. So I was doing this the other night when I couldn’t get to sleep. And it made me kind of dizzy (imagine trying to look at this little floaties, hotspots on your retinae, and they keep moving because they’re not in the exact center of your field of vision). The problem was I couldn’t relax and couldn’t stop looking and getting dizzy. I thought I was going to throw up a couple times. Finally, I went to sleep. Think I’ll try whiskey… as a linament.

You don’t rub that on your eyes, do you?

Howard, You always do a very nice job of making sense in your writing. Well, you don’t lose me anyway, but maybe that’s because I can’t always hold my thoughts together either. Anyway, just keep doing what you’re doing, it’s a good thing.