So, my girl Paige and I have been coming up with some great, and I mean great class ideas, on the chance we win the lotto and get to open our much-dreamed-about writers’ cafe. Or more likely, work our tails off and earn it. Oh, you don’t know about that? Well, we have plans. And SuperGirl‘s our baker. But all that’s for another post.
One of the class topics I threw out was my love for animal symbolism. I mean, all y’all already know my affinity for bees and frogs and zebras, am I right? Hulloh, annoyingteasingnoticing everyone with my Bee pen at Blue Ridge two years ago? Priceless. And the Dazzling Zebra theme on social media? It’s just fun.
So now I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of the New Inklings Press Media Menagerie. Ladies and Gentlemen (and lions and tigers and bears), I give you Bruce Allen.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Meet Bruce Allen
Bruce has been around for a while. As long as Nippers, actually. I’m a bear collector. For realz. I mean, how could I not be? My dad had to kill a bear to survive when I was a baby. It was in all the papers. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t all that dramatic, but I grew up with this story. He really did shoot a bear. And now the rug is in my cedar chest. [Read: The Bear Rug ~ A Heritage Story.] I still have the teddy bear my mom gave me for Christmas when I was nine months old. So, yup. I’ve been collecting bears since I was born. At last count, I have over a hundred, although most are in storage.
Thankfully, Bruce Allen (B.A. for short) stayed in the house. And he’s turned into a growly great reminder:
He reminds me that it’s okay to forage my way through the forest.
He reminds me that even when I’m not exactly sure what’s coming next, I just need to know whatever I need will be there.
He reminds me to slow down when I need to, give the body a rest.
He also reminds me it’s okay to bare my soul, to expose those vulnerable parts of me or my characters, that my audience can connect with.
And he reminds me to not be afraid to make some noise.
I mean, people and bears. Not always a good mix. Am I right? But B.A., he’s adorbs. Who doesn’t want his cute little mug around saying, “Go for it!”
And here’s another thing. Remember the A-Team? I’m talking the original TV series created by Stephen J. Cannell, (although the movie was pretty decent, too) and the character B.A. Baracas. Now there was a bear of a guy, but at heart, really just a teddy. Yeah. That’s another reason my bear is named B.A. [read: Why I Write. Every Day.] When I was a nobody, Stephen took my inquiry and made it something. He reached out, and through example on social media, helped me gain courage to claim the title Writer. He networked with me before I knew what networking was, and I was lucky enough to meet and talk with him a few months before he passed.
Frankly, My Dear . . .: Meeting Stephen J Cannell
That was really a foraging moment for me. I knew what I wanted and needed, and I found a way to get there and make it happen. He was the first famous person to call me “Molly Jo”. #suchatreasure
So here’s a little video advice from Stephen to every aspiring writer:
And here’s a little more advice from Bruce Allen: Take the word “aspiring” out of your vocabulary. As soon as you’ve put pen to paper or finger to keys, you are a writer. What you do with it, well that’s your journey through the forest.
My question to you is, what does your foraging look like?
Okay. Not really. But it should have been. For me it was. Maybe I’ll start a trend. Yup. It’s already on my iPhone calendar. Every First Friday in May shall be “Bring Your Frog to Work Day”.
I had intended to spend my lunch hour at the Park behind my office, taking photos of flying hawks and scurrying ground squirrels. Instead, it evolved into me taking photos of Nippers every chance I got.
It started with him accepting his role. That is, being the Frog that I took to work today.
Bring Your Frog to Work Day
When I won the monthly office contest, he helped me celebrate.
Red Robin…. yumm!
Then he joined me for lunch.
Tacos and Frogs. Do they really go together?
Later in the afternoon, we did the daily bank- and mail-run for the office. He wanted to check our P.O. Box. Sadly, other than himself, it was empty.
Postage Due?
Shortly after, it was time to wind up the work week and head home. But not for long – I won tickets to the local minor league baseball game for tonight. Nippers and I took Dot, my Second Daughter, and my Second-Second Daughter to see the High Desert Mavericks wallop the Lancaster Jethawks. It was quite the game! Back and forth, strike outs, errors, runs, outs… it was intense! And oh, so fun.
Nippers at Stater Bros. Stadium. My little photo-bombing frog.
Mavericks Warming Up
After a while, the girls and I got hungry. Every Friday home game is Family Feast Night: hot dogs and sodas for just a dollar each! Nippers certainly likes his foods…
Ballpark Food. Yummm!
In keeping with my Luck lately, halfway through the second inning, a Mavericks staffer walked by and handed everyone a card. Okay, sure. Everyone got one. But if I hadn’t won the game tickets, I wouldn’t have been present to get this ticket. Am I right?!
Bowling, anyone?
And then of course it was time to document the humans. My Second Daughter Elisa Jo took this wonderful photo of all of us.
A new kind of Family Game Night.
We sang the Seventh Inning Stretch. We sang “Sweet Caroline”. We ate dollar hot dogs and drank ballpark beer (well, two of us did!). We freaked out, multiple times, when a moth the size of Calcutta decided it really loved Dot and Elisa Jo. And we were laughed at, often, by those around us who experienced our girlish screams.
Would we do it again? Quicker than you can say, “Yes!”
The Mavericks won. It was a wonderful game. Not slow and draggy as some baseball games are. At first it seems the Mavs had no kick and were gonna go down without a fight. But by the third inning they snapped to and gave the Lancaster Jethawks a run for their money! In the end, the Mavs won 7-9.
Friday’s over. “Bring Your Frog to Work” Day is done. But the memories of this nearly perfect day will remain. Can a frog bring you luck? I’m pretty sure mine can. Does. Has.
Handsome little guy, isn’t he? I also call him “Nippers”.
He just wanted to hop on over and see what this blog is all about.
He cuts quite the profile, doesn’t he?
He’ll be making appearances now and then, with and without his friend, Will Power.
Right now, he just wanted to introduce himself and say hi. Well, actually, he says “Ribbit!” and let’s me interpret for him.
‘Le Grenouille’ is French for ‘The Frog’. I come from a diverse ethnic background… on my father’s side. From my mother, it’s just French. A little Canadian thrown in, but the French kind. So I don’t think it counts. Her brother, my favorite uncle, also had a love of words and writing. He let me live with him during my college years and introduced me to the term Le Grenouille.
Many years later (hey! Not that many!), NCIS ran an arc through Season 4 that involved a French arms dealer nicknamed Le Grenouille. I was so excited. I explained to Dot what it meant.
Now, my daughter has all the ethnicity I have and then some. But she loves her French heritage. While I’m only about 0.05% Italian, you’d think I’m 100%. It’s how I decorate, cook, talk with my hands, love. My daughter is 100% French. No matter what other countries run in her blood.
So having a personal link to a character nickname on NCIS was just a fun little treat for her. And me. Shortly after the first few episodes, we went out and bought a Webkin and named him Le Grenouille.
But as we moved and she grew older, Le Grenouille found himself buried in boxes and bins. Through this weekend’s spring cleaning, he’s been rediscovered and just in time.
Because I need a frog for my mascot. And this little guy just jumped at the chance!
He’ll be playing a much more important role in days to come, and we’ll be more than willing to share those stories as they come along.
But now it’s time to hop off to bed and get a good night’s sleep. We’ve got some flies to catch tomorrow.
“Ribbit!”
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Sweeten my tea and share:
Buy NOLA, a romantic location mystery, by Molly Jo Realy
NOLA, by Molly Jo Realy
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