Sensitivities

I had so much to say today about a lot of stuff then when I sat down to do it I got hit by so much more to do. The need for prioritizing took over so here is what I have to say for the day.

First off it is beautiful how the world has stopped to remember John Paul II. Catholic, Protestant, believers of all faiths and non-believers has all taken the time to acknowledge the passing of a gentle man, a humble man and a man who loves peace. Though he is suppose to be the bridge between believer and God he has always presented himself as a humble man who was open to the love of all peoples regardless if he was viewed as the vicar or not. The world will not be less off without him we are just plainly better off because of him.

Illinois and North Carolina will be battling for national championship tonight. Because of the beating I have taken from Opie and lillee, blog friends I will only say I like the team from the state that has a Joliet in it. Since I am a big Blues Brothers fan and North Carolina has won many of championships I’m going with the Fighting Illini.

I would like to say a little something about the last post. I realize it may have offended some of your sensitivities and I am sorry about that. But if you think it offended you, you can only imagine how much it offends me. Most often I appreciate the stories that come to me but there have been many times I have felt a little skittish about a particular story.

Before you go and say the Pirate has totally flipped and needs a padded room please allow me to explain what I am talking about. I believe that most stories have a life of their own. They are naturally part of our world as much as you or I or the wind is part of the world. I think stories have their own energy and origin. Some type of energy creates the story and it begins to seek an outlet, a conduit so it can be freed. Then you have millions and millions of conduits like myself and anyone else that loves to write, tuning into these stories and then presenting them to others through some type of medium.

I can hear you now, saying boy the Pirate must have gotten into a strong crop. He’s probably sitting there with the red-eyed illegal smile trying to pull us all into some pile of BS. Think about how many times as bloggers you have been writing on a particular subject or story idea and you venture into blogosphere and find that several others have the same story but with a little different spin on it.

Several years ago I had this story bouncing around in my head for a long time and finally sat down and started writing it. I could see the little boy and his mother. I could see why the little guy wanted to achieve and I could see how he was going to achieve that goal. I wrote six or seven chapters on the boy and his plight and then put it aside. I had forgotten about the story and had only shared it with a few close friends, and Mrs. Pirate.

Five years later I’m on a camping trip with my two brothers and all of our kids. I had picked up a new Stephen King novel for the trip. It was called Hearts of Atlantis. The first story was about a little boy named, Bobby Garfield who loved books and lived with his mother and his goal was to purchase a stingray bike. My story was so similar and so right on I could almost see it playing out before I turned the next page. It was surreal.

My story had a boy named Bobby Whalen who lived on Garfield Street with his widowed mother and loved to read as well. His goal for that particular summer was to purchase a stingray bike from the local Western Auto. The same bike and store as in King’s story. He then spends the summer assisting an older gentleman who opens Bobby’s eyes to a whole new world he hadn’t ever considered.

Am I saying Stephen King stole my story? No I am not. I’m saying he his better tuned in than most of us. He is the one who actually capitalizes on the story after it taps into him or he taps into it. He doesn’t wait around to get it on paper. He writes so many hours a day until he gets the story out.

Do you think I’m nuts about this or not?

I started down this path trying to explain the last post. I too am not fond of people that hurt others and I also find it disturbing but do I just turn my eyes or tune out on the story that is trying to get out? Or do I do my best and get the story out into the open? I had this discussion with Mrs. Pirate last night and she says put it down. She said, “Pirate man if it’s in you it’s got to get out”. I told her what really effected my thinking was that my little 13 year old daughter came up to me the other day when I was writing another installment of the Charley story and asked what I was writing? She also asked if she could read it. I told her that she was too young to read the story because it was “R” rated. Later I questioned that response. Mrs. Pirate agreed that there is many things I do that are offensive to others and that hadn’t stopped me before.

Then I told her I wanted to make love with the lights on. She said close the damn car door its cold….