My Writer's Retreat

Doreen could not fit in a post today so I offered to sub for her. My original thought was to write about the history of copyright, a subject that came up in the comments section of Tracy’s post last week. Wow, did I have delusions of intellectual grandeur. You can check out this website if you are interested in the subject. http://www.asmp.org/tutorials/brief-history-copyright.html. For those not inclined to click I hope to ask a copyright attorney to sub for me sometime and he/she can tell you all about it.

For the last ten days I have been on a fabulous writer’s retreat. Actually I’ve been house/dog sitting for friends. They live in the country, at the crest of a hill surrounded by woods. It’s quiet here. Really, really quiet. My only company has been two very self-sufficient dogs.

There is no cell phone service but thank heaven they do have hi-speed internet access.

It has been great for my writing, reading, and TV/movie addiction. To my surprise I easily lasted four days before I felt any inclination to leave. The day the cleaning lady came I left the house to her and went to town, about twenty minutes away. I worked at the local library, had lunch and dinner and checked out houses for sale (just for fun)

My friends are coming back tomorrow. So today I went out again to buy some welcome home flowers and stopped at the ice cream shop for a sundae. Ten days with only two visits to the outside world. Anyone who knows me would be amazed.

I know myself and I’m amazed! This house sitting experience has to rank as one of the eye-opening experiences of my life. I never thought I could last this long with so little social interaction.

Last night as I was trying to figure out what a noise was (very lightly ringing wind chimes) it occurred to me that the Internet is what made this hiatus possible. Email and Twitter have been the mainstay of my contact with the outside world.

Now I am fascinated by the concept that something that brings people closer also makes it possible to keep them at a distance.

Well over two hundred years ago people settled the town near here with no such contact. They relied on people passing through to tell them what was happening in the world. And the occasional letter for family news. This made me wonder how mail was delivered before there were post offices in every town. Check the Postal Museum site for more information on this: http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/2_exhibits.html.

Yes, it’s been eye opening for me. How interesting that at my age, with grown children and a retired husband, growth in self-awareness is still possible. I suspect that as long as society keeps changing, as long as new technology is being invented and as long as I am open to new possibilities there is more growth on the horizon. I can’t wait.

I post again next Monday and I will write about a much earlier mind expanding experience (which had nothing to do with drugs). A move that changed my life and will, hopefully, have more to do with research.

By the way, it never occurred to me to bring my camera or I would have included pictures of this corner of the world.

Tell us about your most recent eye-opening experience