rancherwriterpoet

From the Mind to the Mouth

I write for the pleasure of writing. I enjoy the construction of paragraphs. Words are to me as nails are to a carpenter. I can make that analogy because I have experience as a carpenter. Many of my ideas for articles or poems go into a file titled “under construction”. When I have a moment of delusion, I open the file, pull out one of those items and commence putting words on paper.

I am all about synthetic thinking; the problem I have is getting it right on paper. My head suggests that dueling goes on in my mind between the left side of my brain and the right side. I took a test once to determine which I used most frequently. I tied, nine left and nine right.

‘Right-brain’ people have traits such as imagination, are prone to taking risks, have artistic abilities, are somewhat philosophical, and creative. Most ‘left-brain’ people will be practical, conform to known situations or ideas, are systematic in their methodology, and probably comprehend faster.

I find myself identifying with those analyses. I believe I have imagination, am creative and philosophical although I am generally not into taking risks and I do not know about ‘artistic’ abilities. On the other hand, I also am known to be practical, am suspect to being systematic and if I do say so, myself, comprehend quickly. I am logical and I am analogical. I suppose this means that I am whole-brained. Or, as I have heard, ‘bird-brained’ or maybe no-brained.

Now I do not know if any of this is correct or not. What I do know is I am left-handed and since the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, it simply means I am always in my ‘right’ mind. I suppose one could say I am ambidextrous, mind wise.

Yet knowing all of this information does not indicate that I always say what I mean. How about you? Do you always say what you mean? As I write, I look for words that will convey the thoughts I am intent on putting on paper. Ever so often, when I reread the article I discover, “That isn’t what I meant”. After consulting the thesaurus and dictionary, I rewrite the words and lo and behold, it makes sense again, at least to me.

Occasionally, what a person intends to say does not quite make it from the mind to the mouth. Instead, something entirely different comes out. It seems that it happens more frequently from individuals with increased maturity. However, maturity does not necessarily come with age.

I say this to protect myself. After buying an old farmhouse in 2009, (one could say we suffered from a lack of maturity) my wife and I busied ourselves remodeling it. We tore out walls, carpet, doors, etc. and rewired electrical, replaced plumbing, painted and you get the picture. We often travel to Tyler from our home in Fruitvale, Texas, a small rural community nestled between Edgewood and Grand Saline. A small community is a great place to live; however, to obtain building materials one must venture to a larger city.

Tyler is our city of choice. There are many fine restaurants and retail establishments, some of which we frequent often. They have the traditional “DIY”  building and materials store for “Do it yourself” ‘experts’. I certainly qualify for that distinction (a ‘do it yourselfer’, not expert).

When we go to Tyler, we usually make a day of it. We shop for our materials, stop over for a great meal at, say, (insert restaurant here) and stop at a particular coffee shop for a latte. On occasion, we visit a well-known ice cream shop for our favorite cup of frozen treats. This fine establishment is known for mixing your favorite flavor with a variety of sprinkles, nuts or different flavors of ice cream on a frozen marble slab. It is done this way so as not to melt your ice cream while it is being mixed. It is a superb indulgence.

The first time we visited, was a priceless moment. Priceless because of how the name was pronounced by a person very dear to me (but I am not about to mention the name of this person for fear of retribution). It was, however, a case of not “saying what you mean to say”. Being the ‘whole’ brained person that I am, I picked up on this immediately. I must be very careful now for should this person ever catch me in a moment of ‘not saying what I mean to say’, you can be sure the whole world will know it via Facebook. After all maturity has its place. Well, if you are ever in Tyler, be sure and stop in at the Marble Cream Slabbery (AKA Marble Slab Creamery). I am quite sure you will find a flavor you can enjoy.

Have a nice day. Enjoy a cone somewhere, it’s hot.