In Defense of a Thing

Josh Limon (Bradley Whitford): "He spends his days yelling at the squirrels for eating the bird seed."
Leo McGarry (John Spencer): "You know, they make a thing now..."
The West Wing, "Noel," (2000).

With everything going on... Maybe, a little snippet into the kinds of informative interactions that occur at our house.

We were getting ready to go to - work for her, the dentist for me for a cleaning. Today I found out one of my fillings has broken, and needs to be replaced. Needles, mouth pried open for half an hour and that heavy feeling. Plus, worrying about chewing a hole in my numb cheek. The office manager erroneously made the follow-up appointment in a few weeks for my wife, not me. 

What better way to avoid the dentist? I thought I'd just keep it to myself until the phone call. "Patricia, I'm calling to confirm your appointment tomorrow to have the filling replaced."

Surprise.

I digress. I asked on my way out what is an operative and essential question, one that gets asked most mornings - "Can I take (leftover) for lunch?"

We are busy people. We love to cook. We subscribe to Sun Basket, who send us three meals a week. Some of the ingredients (not all) are pre-sliced and diced, all are pre-measured. It usually takes between 20 minutes and an hour to make. They are generally fabulous, generally straightforward and there are almost always leftovers.

So - busy people, microwaveable... Edible at the desk while typing out missives to colleagues, reading emails from "The Boss" and watching BigJet TV.

Me: "Can I take the curry stew for lunch today?"
Her: "Yeah, go ahead. I have a thing at noon."

I have a writing instructor who doesn't like the insertion of thing into any kind of writing. Lazy, she says. Lacks description, or details. It doesn't really say anything?

Oh, yeah? Oh, yeah?!

Actually, it is especially descriptive. When Leo says "They make a thing," has anyone who spends $20 a week on bird seed only to have it eaten in its entirely by squirrels... There is a saying, that there is no more motivated a problem solver than a hungry squirrel.

Everyone who has tried to outwit a hungry squirrel knows what I'm talking about. Most of us have tried several "things," always with the same result. The squirrel defeats it, somehow and sits there, munching.

But, in our mind's eye we can see the gizmos.

That's the essence of good writing. No less an authority on story telling than singer/songwriter John Prine said it best - tell the listener enough to stir their imagination. Let them fill in the rest.

A long-time and dear friend always referred to any sort of malady, virus or ill ease as "The Otch." In fact, it is derived from the Italian/American word agita, which is an upset stomach, heartburn or indigestion.

Leo: "Donna's going to take you to the hospital to have your hand looked at."
Josh (hand wrapped in a bandage): "It's fine."
Leo: "It could be infected, you could have a thing..."

You know?