Music is magic. I’ve known it for years. Let me tell you how I was just reminded about it today.
I spent the day at work muddling through. I don’t know if it was a kind of a migraine or spring allergies kicking, but I felt light-headed and nauseous all day. Sorry to complain; just giving you the picture. I thought I would have to take a Blogger’s Sick Day and wondered if I would make it to rehearsal for Morning’s at Seven, the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre.
Eventually I got some ginger ale out of the machine, which helped the nausea. I tried to feel thankful that it was light-headedness and not pain. Counting one’s blessings can go a long way. I came home and laid down for a while with my heated face mask, then had some coffee and food.
While all this was going on, I knew I had to make a blog post. Of course I did not write one while at work, muddling. Pondering what I could write, I checked my email and Facebook notifications. I tried to forget how light-headed I was still feeling. This was difficult, because it is not easy to hold a thought in such a light head (cue jokes about how that must often be the case for me).
As I sat here in front of a blank screen with increasing feelings of panic (I have to leave for rehearsal in less than an hour), Steven said he was going upstairs to lie down (fine wife I am; I didn’t even ask what was wrong). I asked him to turn off the television or put it on one of the music channels.
“1945,” I suggested, picking the one I have memorized, because it is a year. Suddenly, jazz was bouncing out of the television, and my fingers were on the keys and ready to type.
It has always been this way with me. I remember sitting at my parents’ house, when I lived there. I had Mom’s portable typewriter set up on the coffee table, paper rolled in, novel notes nearby, and I felt blank. I put on a record album. It was the soundtrack of StarWars, as I recall (it was the 1970’s). It turns out, instrumental music is a writing trigger for me.
It is not my only trigger. Sometimes I can write quite handily on breaks and before starting work with various factory sounds around me. The ambient noise of a diner or bar works fine. Sometimes the relative quiet of the library is nice.
Now I am over 400 words and I have about a half hour till I’d better leave. So I guess this is my Tired Tuesday post. Not a long whine about not being able to write, but a short story about how I managed to write… something. Something good? Well, we don’t ask for miracles on Tired Tuesday.
Mohawk Valley Girl 