Category: general

general

9.27.16

abby mumford

It was late, later than usual, but a friend’s birthday needed to be celebrated first. When I got home, I checked in with my mom and she said it wasn’t too late to call. Denver is two hours behind, but I wasn’t sure how Maga defined late.

Me: Maga! Hi! Sorry to call back so late!

Maga: No problem. Glad you were persistent. If I didn’t have these telephone calls with family to fall back on, it’d be pretty gruesome.

Me: Well, October is a time for gruesome things.

Maga: *chuckles* So, tell me about your next trip.

I did.

Maga: You’re turning into quite the traveler this year.

Me: Yes, well, I figured if I can’t find a place to buy and call home, I might as well go see the world.

Maga: Makes sense to me. I’ll be interested to hear all the things you did.

Apparently it’s my duty to keep on keeping on with the heavy travel schedule and to send postcards from each place I visit, not only because sometimes my travels blocks our Tuesday phone calls, but because everyone loves mail. And now that I’m traveling for two…

general

9.13.16

abby mumford

After a few mishaps with our phone connection, Maga and I persevered. I regaled her with tales of my recent trip to Nashville, a city I’d never been to before but will absolutely positively definitely be visiting again.

“I didn’t travel much when I was young. Nana and I went to the Cape for summers, but that was it. We didn’t travel like you do.”

“But, Maga, I’m not that young.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I mean, yes, relatively speaking, but when you were 35, you were married and traveling all over the world with Jobo.”

“I guess you’re right. When you put it like that…I’m just sorry my travelings are over now. I guess that happens when you’re 95.”

“Yes, but you went all over the world before now. Think of ALL those memories.”

“And pictures. I have a little bit of everything. I’m lucky in that regard. I’m told your mom did a good job cleaning the house this weekend. I hope she didn’t throw away the picture albums.”

“No. She wouldn’t do that without your consent.”

“I moved there in 1954. How long ago was that?”

“62 years.”

“And to think of all the stuff I’ve accumulated in that length of time.”

Wisdom. Grace. A sense of humor. Social skills. A broad world view. Love. An ever expanding family. Fortunately none of those can be accidentally thrown away.

general, writing

write faster

abby mumford

Screen Shot 2016-06-03 at 11.35.51 AM

Screen Shot 2016-06-03 at 11.36.06 AM

Point #2. Oh boy, #2. I write slowly. Really slowly. I’ve been working on the same novel since 2008. I’ve always wondered why the characters and the shape of the novel are always shifting – it’s because I, as their creator, am the one shifting.

I’ve always heard authors say “they’re the messenger” or “the characters take over” or some other nonsense I’ve never had happen, and so to hear it’s (actually. possibly. could be) all about the author and who she is and what she’s made of… it’s so obvious I couldn’t see it, but I LIKE THIS TRAIN OF THOUGHT, and so…

Fasten your seatbelt, Work in Progress, it’s go time.

general

conversations with strangers #124

abby mumford

1.17.16

me: *arrives in laundry room as washing machine shuts off* *inventories dryers: 1 is out of order, 1 has 37 minutes left, 1 is at 0 minutes* *waits*

me: *still waiting* *anger level at 5* *pulls clothes out of washing machine and sorts into those to be machine dried and those to be air dried* *wonders what the limit is on waiting? In high school and college, a teacher had 15 minutes post the start of class to show up before class was automatically dismissed. It’s been 25 minutes* *continues waiting*

me: *STILL WAITING* *anger level 8*

me: *ponders if I should remove the person’s clothes from the 0 minute dryer.* *I don’t really want to touch those clothes / what if they arrive after I’ve started using that dryer and they do something weird to my clothes* *continues waiting*

me: *dryer which was at 37 minutes when I arrived finishes up*

Three minutes later, a lady comes downstairs and pulls stuff out of the dryer.

Her: Were you waiting long?

Me: Yes. With that one machine broken, it limited my options. That other machine’s been at 0 minutes the entire time I was down here.

Her: I don’t know how people do that. I always try to come down immediately after my laundry’s finished.

Me: I know! Me too. I set an alarm.

Her: I wouldn’t want someone to touch my clothes.

Me: Me neither. Plus, this is a common laundry area. People need the machines.

Her: How long were you waiting?

Me: 40 minutes. That one dryer’s been done this entire time and I kept thinking, “Oh I’ll wait a little longer” and then 40 minutes later, I’m still here. Thank you for coming down so quickly after your machine finished.

Her: Could you have moved the clothes out?

Me: I could have but…

Her: I guess I wouldn’t really want to touch someone else’s clothes.

Me: Yeah and then I wondered if that person would then come down, see their clothes moved, and do something in retaliation? So I just left it and kept waiting. I’m so glad to see you here.

Her: The other day, one of the washing machines had a note on it saying people should remove their laundry as soon as it’s done.

Me: An important note! It’s too bad people have to be told that. It’s common courtesy in a shared space like this.

Her: Okay, it’s all set. All yours.

Me: Thank you!

And thus my dream of having a washer/dryer in my home remains the #1 thing I want in adulthood. I want it so badly! So so so much.