Change the World: Try One More Time

May 23, 2007 by Liz

Hey, Robert, How Can We Change the World?

One nice thing about writing here is that I have so many writer friends. This week I had a conversation with Robert Hruzek via email. He related a simple true story as an example of how we can change the world one person at a time.

It’s a story worth sharing. Here it is.

Try One More Time

Guest Writer: Robert Hruzek

OK, how would you like to change the world? Seems like a somewhat daunting challenge, don’t you think? Just how do you go about making a difference in people’s lives?

Well, perhaps the best approach isÃ¢â¬Â¦ one person at a time.

In church the other day, my wife was sitting next to a teen-age girl that exhibited all the signs of NOT wanting to be there. I have no idea what the back story was, but she was definitely doing her best to appear as sullen and rebellious as possible, even going so far as to pretend to be asleep during the sermon.

There’s always a point in our Sunday service when folks are invited to stand and greet one another, and I wondered what would happen when my wife tried to say few words of greeting to her. Alas, the girl would have no part of it, choosing to simply stay seated with her arms crossed. Ah, well, I suppose it was worth a try.

That’s probably where I would have given up and moved on.

But my wife, who is not one to be put off, did the most amazing thing. After the service had ended, she went back over to the girl and told her, “You know, you have the most beautiful hair!”

I’m telling you, it was like the sunrise on a clear morning! The young woman looked up at her in surprise, then suddenly got a huge smile on her face. In fact, her countenance changed so much she literally looked like a different person.

Isn’t it amazing what a difference a few kind words can make? You can change the worldÃ¢â¬Â¦ one person at a time.

by Robert Hruzek

Thank you, Robert, for a simple story on how to start.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Robert Hruzek Is a B.A.D Blogger!

January 29, 2007 by Liz

Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Robert there?

It was a while ago when Robert emailed me that he was ready to be be a B.A.D. blogger. He warned me, though, that if I was as bad at small talk as I profess to be, the resulting conversation could be rather slow. He said that was because he’s writer, not a talker. I told him I wasn’t worried about my ability to people talking with me.

You might call it irony — that we started by talking about bridges — the bridges in Chicago and in Portland. I live in Chicago, and we have lots of them over the river that flows backwards through our city. Bob remembered them and then told me about the bridges of Portland.

I kind of liked the idea of two bloggers who don’t take to small talk starting out by talking about bridges. It seemed to lie a perfect writer’s segue.

Somehow from there we got talking about “the mysteries.” We discussed people who use the details of their job to cloud the issues by making what they do sound “mysterious.” You’ve run into them, I bet. We mentioned the print buyers who say, “Oh no, that will never work on the press,” nixing what they don’t want to do by using the mysteries of the equipment most people don’t know. We talked about folks across every industry who do the same thing.

Then, Bob told me about his grandmother’s attic where he found a love of reading. He said she had a window there with hundreds of books and magazines. He said he’d sit in the window and read. I could picture him perched in the daylight of the attic window, nose in a book, unaware of the rest of the world.

When he spoke of blogging, Bob was speaking of the cosmopolitation nature of the community. “I’ve met people from every corner of the world . . . It’s fascinating . . . I can travel with my computer . . . It’s really fun.”

So was talking our way across bridge with a guy who doesn’t like small talk as much I don’t.

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

It’s truly addictive to find a voice I didn’t know I had. — Robert Hruzek

Stop by Robert’s Blog, Middle Zone Musings, and say hi!

Thanks, Robert, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar.

Great Find: Very Short Story Contest

January 14, 2007 by Liz

Can You Say It in Six Words?

Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings is having a contest that opens Monday.

Great Find: Very Short Story Contest at Middle Zone Musings
Permalink: http://middlezonemusings.blogspot.com
Audience/Topic: Folks up for a quick fun contest.

Content: Robert is taking his lead from a Wired article, Very Short Stories. He suggests you read the article for examples of how to write a story in just six words. Here are the rules as he states them:

Read (if you like) the stories in this Wired article to get a feel for how itÃ¢â¬â¢s done.

Write a six-word story (a kinda obvious step, I know). In fact, write a group herd bunch – the more the merrier. (There are really only two rules to this contest: a) use exactly six words, and b) because this is for general consumption, I would appreciate it if you would please keep them G-rated!)

For those of you with blogs, post your entry on your blog, and link back to this post here at Middle Zone Musings. Then send me an email to let me know.

For those of you without blogs (and why havenÃ¢â¬â¢t you started one yet?), you can enter your submissions via the comments on this post. No need to email me in this case.

In return, I will link back to your post (or mention you by name, if you don’t have a blog) several times during the week, and once more in the archive post.

Good Luck and enjoy the contest!

–ME “Liz” Strauss