And There Was a Comma

One day the dot and the semicolon decided to go to the park they met humanity and started to embellish  our books. Some people noticed that together with the dash the comma and other useful signs they could form a family: the punctuation family. Here to make our life harder and easier.

Their use changed through history and many many texts discussed their particular use.

Our modern technological world even gave them the power to turn a not nice phrase into a nice one.

Example:

1. ok (awkward and can be taken as rude)

or

2. ok :D

3. ok ;)

4. ok:)

5. ok!!

(All perfectly ok)

SEE THE DIFFERENCE.

Yes I know, eliminates the awkwardness of a text immediately. It's the magic of punctuation.

Commas in addition have saved lives. There was this kid who remembered to add a comma to a post it and saved his Grandpa:

"Let's eat Granpa!"

"Let's eat, Granpa!"

SEE THE DIFFERENCE.

Fabulous 

Q as in Quilt

Did he say "Caesuras in monologue" as in a complete silent pause? YES. Oh, well then I disagree.

I discovered that for me at least it's the lack of inspiration that makes me scared. To run dry of creativity. Quotations do in a way invite the ideas you didn't have to a text you are creating. On the contrary, they also show that you care to read what everyone else is saying. Isn't interiorizing what others think equally important to interiorizing your own marvelous thoughts?

I find it interesting that you can't escape how you were raised. It is as if your skin was a quilt half done and you're meant to finish it during your life time. But that half you were born with can't be changed. So, you start of communicating through quotations of what you hear. Mamá, Papá, si y no.
One realizes that one has to be original at some point in your life. You have to feel important in any way. But then aren't you quoting does that have been original? Those that did make it to your ideal.

Originality is a cliche. It is original to say so.

So what is it that annoys "us" about quotations? Well perhaps we want to be able to finish our quilt without looking at the quilts others are knitting. Perhaps we expect to much of our quilt so it becomes an uncomfortable quilt. A quilt that itches and really who wants that?

That's why I say quotations are good. Feeding of others' knowledge is good, "what is knowledge if not something to share and take?" (I don't really know who said that first but I'm quoting him).

Lying Face Down

Brent has to lay on his stomach for ten days. I can't imagine how that must feel. When I turn myself at night and try to sleep facing down my neck hurts like hell. Now doing that for ten days would be agony. He writes about the pain he is going through and how much he hates this recovery treatment. He is definitely uncomfortable. One of the things he asks for is ice chips because his throat gets really dry. 

While reading about this awkward and painful situation, I can't stop thinking about that phenomena that got really popular last year: Planking. 

People took pictures of themselves "planking". In my opinion it was not even funny, but it was very popular. I just now discover that it got stuck in my mind, cause I couldn't stop picturing Brent in a sort of planking position. Isn't it weird that people did this type of thing for so long? Well, at least this trend it's over. 

To amuse my readers here's the definition of planking from wikipedia:

Planking (or the Lying Down Game) is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. Both hands must touch the sides of the body. Having a photograph taken of the participant and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game.Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play. The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Since early 2011, many participants in planking have photographed the activity in unusual locations. Planking can include lying flat on a flat surface, or holding the body flat while it's supported in only some regions, with other parts of the body suspended.

Now returning to my easily traumatized self, I do suffer when reading the pain Brent is having to deal with. He manages to express his agony in a very simplistic manner. He has used hard words to express his frustration towards people that say they understand what he is going through, when obviously they don't. I don't know if it is childish to do this, but I can relate with that type of frustration. There is nothing more annoying than someone pretending to understand what you are going through (when you are going through a rough patch).

His burns have to be cleaned everyday and he says this is what hurts the most. Taking the bandages out and putting new ones on is torture for him. 

I haven't been able to decide if it would be better for him to have more nerve damage so he didn't suffer as much, or if he should have no nerve damage at all.

Both options seem bad. 

What's Wrong With The Therapist's Method?

 Therapy or Treatment, is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a diagnosis.

What's wrong with her method? Everything. She made herself annoying since day one. She didn't approach him with sensibility. Therapists can be very helpful, but some of them make everything worse. I had a family therapist called something Cobos. He was really good making us say what we disliked about each other. On the other hand, he was very bad making me understand what the problem was. At the end of therapy I concluded that I hated him. It was only two years after that I saw how he had helped me and the family.
""Brent you must understand this is for your own good. And for your parents' good"
"Why?" I'm really crying now" p. 50
As readers we can see that she truly wants to cure him of his depression. But we can feel his tension and stress as well. We have read how he is suffering and how tired he is, and it's hard to think that the therapist is good when she only bugs the poor boy.
I believe telling his parents that he tried to commit suicide is part of a process. He seems very lost when he talks about suicide. He doesn't realize how serious it is.

Heroes Are Those Destined To Suffer

Hercules a Greek mythological character was a semi god. He was condemned to do 12 labors that were extremely hard. In the first seven Hercules is representing the fight of man vs nature. This made me realize that we have always tried to repress our natural instincts, to eliminate our animal side. But that actually makes us more violent. We wonder sometimes why people do the things they do. In burn journals I have asked myself that same question several times. Why did he try repeatedly to kill himself, why would anyone. But Hercules gave me the answer. It is our instinct that makes us crazy. We are striving constantly to attain happiness. Happiness, which is completely relative and personalized has grown to become this cliche goal for people. (And probably is inexistent.)

Brent in the book feels alone and wants to be happy. He tries even to describe happiness. He wants to own it, like you own milk after paying for it. "I was so happy making that sand horse and I kept thinking, if I could only remember how it feels to be happy, then when I go back home, I won't try to hurt myself again..." p. 62

Runyon lies to us when he tries to be real with his suffering. How is that possible? Well he shows us that he felt like he deserved happiness because he had suffered. That he was still suffering. (Just like a Greek hero.) But it is his intention to make us feel sad for him what lays beneath the words. He wants to sympathize with the audience and the audience (The Greek people) award him with their grief. 

... 

I couldn't help myself... the resemblance...