Friday, October 21, 2005

The Meme Story of Threes

So, Lori, the fineartist, tagged me with a meme. but I don’t do such things. So I had to find a creative way to respond without responding. . . .

Once upon a time, in a blog very near here, there lived a little big girl who had three names Maribeth, Liz, and ME. In the world of computers, she had three more. WhizLiz, LizWhiz, and Lizsun were those three. She favored the last of all of the names. It was most special to her heart and her ears. Lizsun. It’s like what you do with music, and she would Lizsun to music whenever and wherever she could. She’s always listening to Peter Gabriel, John Hiatt, and Johnny Clegg. They were in her headphones, on her computer, and in her little blue car—three musicians and three things she couldn’t do without.

Almost a princess, this little big girl, she was a saloonkeeper’s daughter, she learned storytelling at her father’s knee, while street-smarts was what her mother taught her. The rest of her heritage was that of a first-born, last-born, replacement child, the only girl who followed one who died. That she never made up for the missing one, doesn’t mean she never tried. She likes her towering height, her three-foot legs and eyes of shining blue. She isn’t crazy about her nose, her over-shy toes, or the prescription for her failing eyesight. Such a smart one, you would think that nothing scares this girl, but in fact she’s scared of people, of high, windy, open places, and of claustrophobic tiny, kinds of spaces.

Tonight after just writing about all three scary things, she decided to daydream about a perfect movie relationship.

She would be on vacation with Liam Neeson in Trieste, Italy, listening to “Desperado,” and then in Bologna with Val Kilmer singing along with John Hiatt’s “Have a Little Faith in Me. ” Lastly maybe she’d have a fling with Russell Crowe singing “Higher Love” in Tuscany. Every guy who watched her would promise love, honesty, and kindness. She would answer with lies—that she is predictable, dumb, and easy to get along with. Soon enough they would figure out the truth that also comes in threes: she can’t play chess; she can’t swim; and she can’t lie without people telling.

As the three men in her movie vie for attention, they would ask what appeals to her. She would say 6 foot 2, black hair, blue-eyes, and speaks no English. please. At which point, a nice Italian boy, fitting that description would draw a picture of him and her flying kites, listening to music, and driving with the top down. M-L-M would call him three names she liked, Lucas, Gabriel, and Michael. They would do three things she has always dreamed about: see the Aurora Borealis, fly in an airplane with a kingsized bed, and ride off into the sunset in a 1932 Model J Dual Cowl Duisenberg Touring Car.


“And that’s the end, the end, the end,” this little big girl said. “I don’t do memes. I won’t answer anymore. Besides I’ve mixed them up. You figure out what’s missing.”
—me strauss Letting me be

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bologna with Val Kilmer singing along with John Hiatt’s “Have a Little Faith in Me. ”

Can I have this portion of your fairtale please :) You know that's one of my favorite songs :)

Ahhh Good Morning...i'm limited in my typing this morning :) Sprained a finger playing volleyball last night and typing is very VERY hard :)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Thanks Cheryl and one right back at you as they say. :D

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Jennifer,
So that it doesn't look kinky or anything why don't you meet him in Bologna while I'm in Trieste with Liam? How does that work?

Sorry to hear about your finger.
Liz

Anonymous said...

That sounds good to me :)

And I'll live. It's not the first time :)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

It's a deal them. I'll edit the script of my dream. :)

Anonymous said...

You know when I zoomed here I went, "Oh no, Liz has done a long one, and I know it's good but I have to get this thing done, and now I'm gonna feel guilty".

Then I read paragraph one, and here I am about 78.215 seconds later. Very interesting little nuggets there. Might I interest you in a game of chess? [cheeky grin]

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Eric,
Chess huh?
Okay. You win!
smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Liz, thank you, for not completing the meme in a predictable way, and for humoring me just the same. (Wish I had thought of this route.) You had me smiling from the beginning. Clever, creative and just a tad bit ornery, please don’t ever change. What a delight you are. XXX, Lori

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Lori,
I decide a while back I just wasn't up to doing memes. It's hard enough for me to do the writer's checklists. I just feel too restricted and self-conscious like no one will read them. So I had to find a way to make the whole thing work for me and you too.

I'm glad that I made you laugh. That was totally my intention.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Liz:
I'm always amazed by how certain emotions can fuel a creative response, especially when it's something we find to be a slight irritant of sorts. I'm not sure if I would've come up with a fairy tale, but I'm sure Grimms would finish reading this with a mischievous smile. During late June and July, I found myself getting tagged quite a bit. Funny thing, though, is I never heard of the term "meme" until then. Curious, I did a little research and ended writing a post on it:
http://dog1net.blogspot.com/2005/07/couch-potatoes-dweebs-and-memes.html
I find I'm completely in agreement with the sentiment you express in your comment to fineartist. Meme tags, as interesting as they may be, are a distraction, and don't really lend themselves to any serious reflection or discussion.
Thanks for stopping by tonight. I cannot tell you enough how I appreciate your thoughtfulness in response to my writing.
Scot

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Scot,
It's always a pleasure to see you and you always find a way to say something so special and supportive. Maybe that's why.

I enjoyed reading your post tonight and what I wrote was a response to your writing.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Oh Liz- you always weave so much detail about yourself into a creative whole. This was fun to read. 3 things from me.

I like Lizsun the best, too.

Can I borrow your tall Italian? I lost mine.

The saloonkeeper's daughter has created her own magical blogoon, which has no wind, is not too small, or too big, and where the only chessgame is the one with no rules.
--

You did a meme by another name a few days ago, didn't you?

So, what'd you leave out?

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Garnet,
You are the perceptive one. I bet you saw the details that no one else caught. I like the part about this being a blogoon.

I don't remember the parts I left out they were more questions that came in threes, not important ones as I recall. If you go to fineart's blog, her'e is still up. They're the ones near the end.

smiles,
Liz

Anonymous said...

Nothing's missing! It's brilliant.

Truly.

Way to bust out of the box (and way to be so good-natured regarding crabby 'Zillas).

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Zilla,

Thanks, I guess you have to get into the box to bust out of it.

Was there a crabby Zilla round here? I didn't see here. If I do I send here to you, you know how to handle her. :)
smiles,
Liz