EMOTIONS

                                                            

In my years of writing I have met lots of writers and if there is one thing, all the ones I have met and I, have in common, it’s the fact we tend to be very emotional people. Now that’s not restricted just to writers by any means, there are lots of emotional people around. Their tear wells are always leaking be it sadness or pride. It’s not that hard to tug at their heartstrings. Emotions, put another way, are simply feelings and they come to us in very different degrees. I myself think it’s a blessing to have such strong feelings because you get the real meaning of things, good or bad and you want to feel them as strongly as you can to fully understand them. It also helps you to cope with the situation at hand and to heal, both body and mind.

My mom was very emotional when I was growing up way back then. I saw all her tears and snotty noses as a weakness. Later in life I admired that in her because she was just being genuine. My dad was unemotional and somewhat of a curmudgeon. When Mom would start crying he’d say, “Here we go again.” Or pass out the Kleenex.” About the only thing that would tear dad up was a 23lb. or larger Northern Pike, or a box of white owl cigars or if he found a five-dollar bill. I once won a baseball game for our team in school, in the bottom of the ninth inning and my teammates carried me off the field. Meeting my dad at the gate for my ride home he said. “You forgot your glove bonehead.”

As a Fire fighter I knew I would have to leave my emotions at the door when I was at an emergency. When you are sitting in a ditch, holding and comforting a four year old that just lost his parents in a car accident, trying not to cry yourself isn’t easy believe me. Going home and upsetting my family was not the place to do it either. So you went to a park and had your talk with God and then tried get back to life, as you knew it. I wasn’t alone in this and several times after you did your best to comfort the survivors, you found yourself back at the fire station comforting each other.

I think of the people in our lives that deal, day in and day out with this kind of sadness and sometimes I wonder how they cope. Doctors, nurses, clergy and counselors to name a few. Way to many people to mention, who are just like you and I, when it comes to getting your emotions rubbed raw. I’m betting they do the same thing I occasionally had to do-- just on a more frequent basis. Men in particular can be strange creatures when it comes to sadness. It’s been my experience that those who don’t cry will just show their grief in other ways, such as anger and this just  prolongs the sadness and makes the whole thing worse.

But back to the writing and writers. One of my jobs as a writer is to set the scene for you. If its sad I want you crying and if its funny, then I want you laughing and if I can’t do that then neither I, nor any other writer is doing the job we should be doing. Charles Dickens wrote in “Great Expectations” and I quote,” Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, Overlying are hard hearts.”