STRUCTURE

"Good morning, Bear.  Paul said every story needs structure in order to give it shape and make it feel like it's going somewhere.  Just as the characters need to be based on archetypes to give them coherence and solidity, the story too needs to be identified as to what basic kind of story it is.  A helpful guidebook is 20 Master Plots by Ronald B. Tobias.  As he explains it, while a story relates one event after another, a plot connects the events by causation.  It's not just this happened and then this happened, but rather this happened because this other thing happened.  A plot connects events by cause and effect."

"Hold it, Bum.  That's a pretty big mouthful of information to start our day," said Bear.  He looked taken aback.

"I know Bear.  This section on Structure is so big that it may take a couple of days for us to get through it," said Bum.,

"Well, best we get started then," said Bear.  "Paul said a plot connects the events by causation.  Thank God he explained what that means."

"You go first, Bear.  Give me an example from your life in our book, and make it fast, I have an appointment in an hour and a half."

"Don't rush me, Bum.  I know I'm fast and you're slow, but I'm not a robot."

"What do you mean I'm slow?  I take exception to that."

"You are a slow talker, a slow walker, and a slow thinker.  You always need time to come up with a decision about anything.  On the other hand, I am fast as you know, and I take exception to being pressed for speed by a slow person."

"This is getting us nowhere, Bear," and "I'm starting to get annoyed," thought Bum.  "Do you have an example or not?"

"I've got one," responded Bear.

"I knew you would," said Bum, wryly.

"I ended up living on Strathcona Road where you walk by with your little book, recording people and dogs you meet.  We met one morning, in your imagination granted, because the other thing had already happened.  I was born in Calcutta and was purchased by my master, a pilot who had a stopover there.  He bought me for the price of a light meal and brought me home to Deep Cove where you were waiting."

"That's pretty good, Bear.  I wish I could think of an example of causation as good as that," said Bum.

"Never mind that, Bum.  Tell me about your appointment with the radiologist.  You waited long enough for it so I hope it went well," said Bear.

"Not so much, Bear.  I think it was one of the worst days of my life," responded Bum.

" I don't understand, Bum.  You were so happy when your appointment was changed from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm.  Was there a problem with the parking?"  Bear looked puzzled:.

"No," said Bum.  "I arranged it carefully so I would arrive at 12:30 which would give me time to buy the parking ticket from one of those awful machines, walk across the street to St. Paul's Hospital and have sufficient time to walk slowly, which I now do, to see the radiologist in the Providence building.  The parking lot is part of the building where my doctor, Dr. Lim, has his practice.  I purchased 3 hours of parking.  I felt that would give me plenty of time for my one hour consultation with the radiologist, and sufficient time to walk back from the hospital, and cross the street to Dr. Lim's.  I had already told his office I would drop by after my appointment with the radiologist because I wanted to renew my Valium prescription.  I thought I might need it, and I only had one pill left.."

"So, what was the problem, Bum.  Couldn't you find the Providence building?" asked Bear.

"No, I found it, Bear."

"Couldn't you find the Radiology department?" queried Bear, still looking puzzled.

"No, I found it, Bear, and that was where my bad day started."

"How so?  I don't understand," said Bear.  "Did you have to wait a long time?  That's always annoying."

"I got there about 10 to 1:00 pm.  I checked in and they took down my medical card information and told me to take a seat.  The waiting room was full so I had to lean against a wall until someone was called into the office.  There were no magazines to read so I took out my book, The Eighty-Dollar Champion, about an old plow horse called Snowman who could jump very high.  Frances found it somewhere, cheap, and thought I might like it.  I did because I like unusual stories, and I like books about horses, my favourite animal, other than you of course, Bear.  Anyway, it was very interesting and I didn't notice the time passing."

"Never mind about that bloody book," interrupted Bear.  "What happened in the Radiology department that ruined your day."

"I glanced at my watch finally and saw that I had been waiting about 45 minutes.  I went up to the desk to see if they had forgotten me, since most of the people in the waiting room had been taken away to the back.  Not only had they forgotten me, but they were not expecting me, and they said the girl who took my medical information should have known that, but of course had now left the building.  They sent me to the third floor."

"I hope that girl who took your medical information was fired for incompetence," muttered Bear.

"Get real, Bear.  It seems to me that no one is fired for incompetence these days because of fear of a lawsuit.  Anyway, you know I am seeing a radiologist because I am having trouble walking, so sending me to another floor to find the right department was downright mean.  I traipsed upstairs and wandered the floor, stopping and checking different departments, until I was told I needed the 8th floor.  I had now been walking for more than one half hour.  One department was locked but had a phone near the door.  I called and because I didn't know the name of the doctor I needed, was given short shrift.  Again, I walked the corridors of the 8th floor for quite some time, slowly of course as I was fading in the stretch just like a horse, until I found the right place.  Dr. Wong couldn't wait for me, I was told, and took another patient.  I sat down to wait."

"That is abominable service, Bum," said Bear in a very disapproving tone.

"Yes," said Bum, succinctly.  "I was near to the fuck them stage, when the radiologist appeared, introduced himself and escorted me to a back room.  Dr. Wong, a lovely man, told me to remove all my clothes below my waist, except for my underwear.  I did so and he examined me minutely all over, pressing and murmuring, do you feel any pain, and moving my feet in particular this way and that.   He then told me I didn't have enough pain to get the shot they sometimes give for my kind of condition.  I was disappointed but it had been that kind of day.  He informed me I should walk more.  I told him I'd done just that the past hour looking for him.  He gave me a funny look but didn't comment."

"God, Bum, all that waiting for a radiologist and there's nothing he can do.  I give up on the medical profession, just like you," said Bear.

"At the end of my appointment, he suggested I see a physiotherapist for some exercises for my back, keep up and increase the walking, and that was that."

"Hmm," said Bear non-committedly.

"As I left Dr. Wong, I felt relieved that I had had that pedicure because he spent so much time on my bare feet during his examination.  I think that guy's got a foot fetish, Bear."