My Story
When I was younger, there were monsters in my closet. I didn't just think they were in there. I knew they were. I also had a friend named "Monster." He was real, too.
My mother used to get on my case about watching TV while sitting too close to it. It was constantly, "Back up or you'll ruin your eyes."
I found out that it didn't matter how close my face was to the pages of a book, so I would read instead.
We used to go camping every summer and I remember the time I came running back to the campsite, proclaiming to everyone that a six-foot bear had just chased me through the woods, and it was growling and foaming at the mouth and it just tried to kill me. There was a hearty round of laughter at my expense. At six the following morning, a group of men were pounding on camper doors, shouting for rifles. Turned out, there was an enormous groundhog heading for the swimming hole and it had tried to attack at least one of the men. And it had rabies.
In other words, as much as I would like to give credit to my vivid imagination and Irish heritage, the truth is, my ability to tell stories came from really, really bad eyesight.
You see, the world looks a lot different to someone who can't see clearly. Clothes hanging in the closet become monsters. The silent shadow that lurks next to a blurred eye becomes a friend, a constant companion. A huge, angry groundhog with rabies easily becomes a six-foot bear with rabies , especially to a girl alone in the woods who can't see anything but trees.
And the books? Well, they were the greatest influence of all. Words were the one thing I could see. Since words together create a picture, I could see the words; I could see the picture. There is perhaps no greater power on the human mind than words. They inspire us, they anger us, they make us laugh, and reduce us to tears.
I use my words to show you something that you didn't see before. Stories very often blur the lines of reality, and that's ok. The world is a lot more interesting when you stop using your eyes to see and start using your mind instead.
So enjoy the journey , you never know what you'll find along the way!