SO LONG STRUCTURE

"I thought we finished Structure, Bum, so what's with the title?" asked Bear the next day when we met.

"I made a mistake, Bear," admitted Bum sheepishly.. 

"You?" said Bear.  "That's not like you."

"Nice of you to say so, Bear, but alas it is true.  I got out Paul's 13 page Reader's Report to find our next topic of conversation.  It is called Recommendations and is rather short, which is a plus, wouldn't you say."

"Yes, I would say, and furthermore I now can understand the title of this post.  Structure was so long, it took 3 posts and we have the relief of a short one.  Right?"

"Pretty insightful, my dear Bear, but no.  I missed a whole page of Structure which we now have to finish and then we can say so long Structure, as in bye bye Structure."

"How could you miss a whole page?" asked Bear.

"It stuck to what I thought was the last page," said Bum.

"What is the missing page about?" asked Bear.

 "Ironically, Bear, it's about you, and how germane you are to our story," answered Bum.

"I don't like that word germane, Bum.  It sounds like a disease," said Bear.

"Germane is the perfect word, my dear Bear.  It means relevant or pertinent."

"So, my dear Bum, you are showing off again.  Most people would better understand words like relevant or pertinent, so why use a high fallutin' word like germane?"

"I give, as Mom would say.  The missing Structure stuff is about you and how relevant you are to our story."

"That's better," said Bear.  "What did Paul say about me?"

"Paul said the climactic issue of the story needs to be thought through clearly and presented clearly.  Indeed the nature of the answer may determine the nature of the specific plot type that the story is.  As an example, he said that Gordon and Janey may both feel that they have obligations that require them to choose as they do:  Gordon to his sister back east, and Janey to her own sister here---or, who knows, maybe even to Bear the dog.  This might be more of a sacrifice plot, like, say Casablanca.  A story is about why people do what they do, and we need to know why they're doing what they're doing."

"I don't like to see myself as a sacrifice," said Bear.

"Who does?" responded Bum with a bit of a shrug.

"What else did Paul say about me?" asked Bear.

"He said there's the issue of how Bear plugs in to the climactic problem.  He needs to be integral to that situation, or the story will lack unity---it will be  two stories, one about a dog, and one about a romance."

"Interesting, Bum, that Paul used the word integral and not that stupid word germane that you seemed to favour," said Bear.

"Perhaps his vocabulary is not as good as mine.  Have you ever thought of that?" asked Bum.

"No," said Bear, and said no more.

"Before we finish up Structure, Bear, have you heard the latest about President Trump?" asked Bum.

"How would I hear that Bum.  My master's wife is not interested in politics, or anything like that.  She doesn't even listen to the news on the radio."

"Oh, how dull for you Bear, living with a bore like that.  Anyway, President Trent has announced that he is taking something called hydroxychloroquine, which is used for malaria of all things.  People are outraged, but not so much as when he recommended injecting yourself with a disinfectant to protect yourself against the virus."

"Like many stupid people, he seems unable to stop proving it.  Regrettably, he is the President of the United States," said Bear.

"Everyone does stupid things on occasion," said Bum, "even I, or should that be, even me?"

"You are allowed to do a stupid thing, Bum, because you are not important," said Bum.

"Thanks...I think," said Bum.

"So what was the stupid thing you did, Bum?" 

"I brushed my teeth with that spray thing I use to clean my toilet, tub, and sink.  It's called Fantastik and I always use the one with bleach."

"That sounds nasty, Bum, and pretty stupid.  How did it happen?" asked Bear.

"I sprayed my sink with Fantastik and wiped it down.  It does a very nice job.  However, around the taps, it is hard to completely clean the bits stuck to and around the taps.  I pulled out an old toothbrush from under the sink to use.  I keep old toothbrushes for that purpose.  Anyway, later I was brushing my teeth after flossing and grabbed the wrong toothbrush."

"Dare I ask how that tasted?" asked Bear.

"Luckily, Bear, my taste buds aren't what they used to be.  By the time I realized what I'd done, my teeth were done."

"How'd they look?" asked Bear.

"Although I wouldn't recommend it to replace my usual Colgate, Bear, they looked fantastic."

"Hmph," said Bear.  "That really was stupid.  We'd better get on to the rest of Structure before it is time to part for the day."

 "OK, Bear, I'll read you the rest of Structure and then we can discuss it." said Bum.
 "Paul said...One idea would be to play on something that is a topic in the story: that Bear (like Janey) is getting older.  What if he's getting near the end of his life in dog years?  What if Janey is the only person he's every spoken to, because she's the only one he felt he could open up to?  In short, it's a real relationship, and Janey could feel that she would be abandoning her new but dear friend, who will likely die while she is away.  This is pretty good, because it ties together all the elements.

This would be all the better because Janey could not tell Gordon about the talking dog.  Now it might be that Gordon is turned to the idea of taking Janey with him back East, but Janey demurs because of Bear.  Gordon might not be able to understand  it, or might think it's because of the problem with his sister--but it's not.  The issue is around Bear, and that's as it should be.

That's what I would propose as a story solution, as a way of making the plot work."

"Who's he calling old?" said Bear in a very disapproving tone.

"We are old, Bear," responded Bum, and shrugged.

"We are old, Bum, because we are not dead.  That matters," said Bear, "which leads me to that Black Matters bullshit."

"Whatever do you mean, Bear?"  Bum looked puzzled.

"We are one," said Bear, "and people have forgotten that, or never knew it.   Black Matters is disrespectful to blacks.  It separates them once again and that is not right. Blacks are not the only group that have been discriminated against, and some Blacks discriminate against other races.  Today, people who are not racist but only stupid, are afraid to treat a Black person as an equal and argue or disagree with them, fearing they will be called a racist.  That stinks,  and that's all I have to say about it," said Bear.

"We'd best get back to Paul's analysis.  He feels, and I agree with him this time, that you Bear are my best friend and I chose to stay with you over Gordon," said Bum. 

"We really are one, Bum," murmured Bear and placed his head on her knee.

They sat in companionable silence for a bit before Bear spoke.  "I like that top you're wearing, Bum.  It's so different and so you with that razorback and those deep openings under your armpits."

Bum likes that about Bear.  He notices what you are wearing and doesn't mind commenting on it, unlike many people who say nothing even if you're sporting an outrageous gold lame dress with sequins.

"As you know, Bear, I have too many clothes and am trying to downsize.  So, I get two things out, usually tops, and decide which one I like the best.  The other one goes to the Thrift.  Today, I chose this one over the black Tshirt with white Chinese letting on the front."

"Good choice," said Bear approvingly.

"I told my sister about it and that I was worried the Chinese letters said Fuck You, and I don't know a Chinese person to ask.  She said it is more likely that awful sucky saying Have a Nice Day.  I told her I prefer Fuck You.  I knew you would, she said."

  




 














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