Sometimes there is an ordinary kind of event that happens that can turn into a story. You’ve had this happen many times. Perhaps someone does something kind for you, or you do something for someone else. Maybe someone makes a remark that you remember.
These are stories that can be fun to remember and fun to write. They don’t need to be long, but provide a glimpse, like a window when the shade goes up. You could try remembering one and writing it down right now.
One such story comes to mind for me.
One Saturday afternoon I came home from the coffee shop thinking that I would get some work done on my garden. On the way, I passed a garage sale where they had some wonderful old wicker chairs out. I bought them. My neighbor was standing out in his driveway and I showed them to him because the two side chairs needed some repairs. He thought that he could take a look.
Later I went in and had some lunch, trying out one of the chairs with arms on the back patio. It felt lived in. The wicker is chipped white. It felt like lots of people had relaxed in that chair. The fellow who sold them to me said as much, “I’ve enjoyed many an afternoon in those chairs,” he told me.
After I brought my dishes to the sink, I went outside to tackle my hedge. It has gotten out of control. I had to reach up with my trusty hedge trimmer way over my head to bring it down some. Quickly the hedge cuttings were piling up around my feet. I bored a hole through, so you could walk down the sidewalk again without having to fight your way through a thicket of privet.
When I was done, I stood back in the street to take a look. My neighbor came over. He was done with the chairs. “Well,” I said, “what do you think?” He paused and stood back looking at the hedge.
“I wouldn’t want you to ever give me a haircut,” he remarked.
