The Connections Of A Story

The title here should be "The Connections of a Story -- How Certain Things Hook Together and Certain Things Stand Independently."

Even when a certain thing stands independently, at least in my view of a thing, it still has parts in itself that hook together. But, like common sense teaches (reinforces, or just is) ... ugh, I just lost my train of thought. Which turns out to be for the better, because it turns out to make my point in a better way than I would have. The problem is I took a drink of milk, then was worried about that parenthetical phrase "(reinforces, or just is)," and forgot ... ugh, I did it again, this time without the milk and merely because of that phrase.

It's just like parentheses, they always mess things up. They mess me up badly when I'm trying to read something, like a textbook -- or Finnegans Wake is notorious for this -- and there's a huge parenthetical section and before you know it you're lost. It'd be better, sometimes, if they just dropped the parenthetical part to an asterisked footnote and let you worry about it there. The parenthetical section just shows a mind that's being too particular and probably should let it go (if only...).

Anyway, common sense does teach-- See, I have problems with that. Common sense isn't "teaching." It might tell, suggest, or point out. But if it's common sense indeed (and there's no reason to term it such if it isn't) -- I'm not lost this time -- it's not a matter of you being taught, because you already know what it is that common sense is trying to say, or is saying. Try that again...

Anyway, common sense does say ... ugh, I lost it. Seriously. I heard Grandma moving on the bed and telling the cat to "Get down," then I had some peanut butter up against one of my back teeth I needed to scrape out, meaning my finger needed to be licked and dried, and finally, I'm worried about getting all my grammar right, the LYs on adverbs and all that crap ... so it's very easy to lose your way.

My mind isn't all that sharp either. About half my thoughts are off on other things I have to do today. I'm just happy to have words coming out of my fingers. Except it's disturbing if my fingers are operating independently of my mind, because how do I know? I might suddenly wake up and find out I'm inappropriately massaging someone below the shoulders and end up on an MSNBC documentary. The host will step out of the woodwork. They'll wrestle me to the ground. I'll be rolling back and forth, depending on where the cameras are, to make sure they get my good side.

What I'm trying to get to -- and I know this blog post is a hash today -- is -- let me reread that ... What I'm trying to get to is that certain stories (fiction, straight news, a descriptive piece, an essay) -- pressing on -- are, or do, stand independently, and certain others demand more connections, because they are ongoing pieces, like a novel or short story. That's a complete thought!

Everyone knows this, as common sense makes clear.