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The Trip Down Memory Lane by Average Guy


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This is a remarkable story, it deals with a topic I have tried to write about on a number of occasions but I have never been able to make the stories work. They have either come out as sentimental slush or self pitying clap trap. Average Guy has managed to avoid either of the pitfalls I have fallen into and also the myriad of other pitfalls that no doubt lay waiting for anyone who has the nerve to tackle this subject. This may not be some of the best writing on the site but I think it is some of the most important and suggest everybody should read it.

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This may not be some of the best writing on the site but I think it is some of the most important and suggest everybody should read it.

I think you're wrong: I think it is very good writing. Very moving story, and well-done. I found it very affecting.

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I just read The Trip Down Memory Lane by Average Guy. This is a very real story. This is a very sad story.

Ask yourself a question: what do you do when you see someone who is disabled coming down the sidewalk toward you? What do you think when you look at this person? Do you smile and say hello? Do you think that they would like you to ask them if they'd like to have coffee or tea with you? What would you say to them if that happened? Would you try to avoid questions about their disability? Think about this, and wonder what it would be like if you were the person with the disability. What would you do if someone asked if you'd like to have coffee or tea with them? What would you say if they asked about your disability? What would you like them to ask you? What would you want to talk about with them?

Good questions, I think. I think they are harder to answer when you are young. We're never taught how to talk to others. It is assumed that we will pick up the habit of talking to others from our interactions with them. That doesn't often happen with people who are disabled. It should, but it doesn't. That is a very sad story.

It is fixable. Go to a senior center. You will find disabled people there. Talk to them. Ask them to help you understand so you will be able to talk to them and other disabled people. Go to the local children's hospital. You will find disabled children there. Talk to them. Children are brutally honest. That is a good thing because they will tell you exactly how it feels to be disabled and how they want people to talk to them. You will come to understand and be able to talk to them and other disabled children.

Once you know how to talk with disabled people and with disabled children you will begin to ignore their disabilities. That is a wonderful thing.

Try it. It doesn't cost any money, just time and effort. Try it, please do.

Colin :icon_geek:

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Thanks for your mostly positive response to this story which, though not a happy hike through the woods, is a story that needs to be told. My friend Hugh taught me so much and by the time I was twelve and he was gone, I had become sensitive to the issue.

As Average Guy isn't able to read our forums easily, if you'd like to comment on the story please write him as well as posting here.

Many thanks,

-dude

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Thanks for your mostly positive response to this story which, though not a happy hike through the woods, is a story that needs to be told. My friend Hugh taught me so much and by the time I was twelve and he was gone, I had become sensitive to the issue.

As Average Guy isn't able to read our forums easily, if you'd like to comment on the story please write him as well as posting here.

Many thanks,

-dude

Dude, would it be possible for you to copy the contents of this topic to him as well? He deserves to know how his work is appreciated.

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Sorry, that is how it came up when I clicked on Quote. Will go in and edit it to see if I can change it.

I have also sent him an email basically saying what I said above.

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Thanks for your mostly positive response to this story which, though not a happy hike through the woods, is a story that needs to be told. My friend Hugh taught me so much and by the time I was twelve and he was gone, I had become sensitive to the issue.

Dude, if you ever turn your hand to writing, I think your own story would make a terrific short-story. I think the story of a 12- or 13-year-old boy who slowly falls in love with a handicapped boy in his school could be very moving, particularly if the other boy is slowly dying.

I think the way I would write it is, I'd describe the love affair, go into detail, then end on the boys together, talking about the fact that they won't have a lot of time together and embracing. Then I'd add a coda where the boy is now grown and returns to his friend's grave, accompanied by his current partner, and tells him the story. I think it could work.

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This story is humbling, both as a person who probably lacks more empathy than most, and also as a writer. We assume that if we can get to 80,000 words we have achieved something. What this story shows is that you can compress the most important message of the year into just a few thousand words of beautifully crafted honesty. The author feared that it was "gloomy"... on the contrary it shines a brilliant shaft of light into the gloomiest corner of the closet.

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