Mrs. Naegelin
Posted: January 2, 2012 Filed under: Joined at the Heart, Writers Write | Tags: BJ Naegelin, debate world, flying lessons, high school kids, Lanny Naegelin, Speech and Debate, writers, writing 2 Comments »
Lanny and BJ Naegelin, October 1990
The high school kids I used to teach called her The BEEJ. Not to her face of course. Mrs. Naegelin wouldn’t have liked that any more than having one of her grandchildren call her grandma. Coiffed in an amazing honey-hued bouffant and spangled in gold-nugget and diamond jewels, she was BJ, a force of nature.
Twenty-five years ago, I was the new kid, who took a watermelon to a barbeque at a co-workers house. The hostess served each of us a garnish-sized sliver. Later, I knew I’d found a soul mate when I caught BJ, leaning over the sink slurping on a giant wedge. I hacked off a slab and slurped along with her.
I’d been hired to fill the shoes of an icon in the Speech and Debate world, her husband Lanny. I took the job without knowing about the betting pool wagered against me. BJ’s money was on me. She became my champion.
Once, she stomped into the principal’s office, calendar in hand, “On what night are you planning to see Liz’s play?” I was directing The Diviners. The boss him-hawed something about being busy. It was football season. In Texas. BJ held her ground, and he showed up on opening night. No one said no to Mrs. Naegelin.
BJ was a lady. A Texan. A person who pushed the top off of any box used to label her. I’m a better person because I knew her.
Try It On
Posted: November 6, 2011 Filed under: Writers Write | Tags: creativity, fashion choices, perception, teachers, Trusting Your Instincts, writers, writing Leave a comment »When I disavowed the material world of steady paychecks to become an unpublished novelist, I threw away my teacher clothes. Well, not exactly. I donated a minivan of dress casual suits and two-inch pumps. Today, I work in my pajamas. I wear yoga pants to the grocery store, and if I have to go to my kids’ schools, I dress as the anti-teacher, cowboy boots with a gypsy skirt or Levi’s and a t-shirt with Chuck Taylors.
Now that I don’t care what a fifteen-year-old might say, I toss the predictable. I quit coloring my hair and grow it witchy long. I wear turquoise nail polish, and mix colors that clash. I avoid brown. A pair of taupe pumps is a safe choice. You can dress in the dark. But, pink lamé high tops are more interesting.
I like writing because I get to try things on. I wrote the scene where the school teacher taxied a 747 into handicapped parking. Even though the sequence died in early edits, it had merit. It showed me that I needed something big, something to punch the story into a different realm. My time wasn’t wasted, and best of all, it didn’t cost a thing to go for a test drive.
I wish I could say the same for all those boring clothes I dumped in the Goodwill box.
Denial Is a River In Egypt
Posted: October 23, 2011 Filed under: Writers Write | Tags: bumper stickers, denial, politics, Sir Isaac Newton, Trusting Your Instincts Leave a comment »For those who have been following the Republican Presidential candidates–
Gravity is just a theory.
