"Brevity: a good thing in writing. Exploited by texters, gossip columnists, haikuists. Not associated with the biography genre. But then--- why shouldn't it be? Life expectancies rise; attention spans shrink. Six words can tell a story. That's a new book's premise, anyway. "Not Quite What I Was Planning." A compilation of teeny tiny memoirs. The forebear, it's assumed, is Hemingway. (Legend: he wrote a miniature masterpiece. "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Slightly sappy, but a decent sixer)"
Could you write a six word memoir of your life as it is today? I thought of a few that apply to me:
-"Ran a marathon, slower than most."
-"Went to school, didn't study enough."
-"Made mistakes, alright, many many mistakes."
-"Love my family, more every day."
-"Shutting up could make life better."
-"Fried Chicken is related to manna."
scratch that...
-"Fried Chicken is Frieder than manna." (If God made it you can't really make something better can you?)
ok...
-"Fried Chicken is manna for now!"
Alright, I'll stop. When I saw the article I immediately thought of one of my favorite movies of all time, "A River Runs Through It," when a young Norman Maclean must continually rewrite his assignment for his Presbyterian father who valued words with a Scottish thrift. As I look back on the life I've lived so far, I can honestly say that there are many times that the less I said the better.
I thought about that six-word memoir and thought of a couple that can't be mentioned enough:
"I believe Jesus is the Christ."
"Our Father Who art in heaven."
"Not my will, but Yours Lord."
Feel free to add your own.
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