Saturday, March 16, 2013

St. Patrick's Day at the Louisville Tavern




The Set Up


Meanwhile, back at the Louisville Tavern, one of the members of The Presidents Club, Woodrow Risk, is sharing a newspaper clipping with the group. We join the scene near it's conclusion...

The Snippet

Reverend Pritchett now offered up a summary of the situation, “So what we have here is a sign. Maybe not from God, but a sign to which we should give some credence. If this document survived the rigors of a tumultuous journey from someone’s front lawn, into their bathroom, then to the recycle bin, and almost into a bird cage, to now be spread out before us here, on the bar in the Louisville Tavern, it must warrant our serious attention and consideration.”

York chided the minister, “Are you trying to channel William Faulkner or Billy Graham?”
Louie, who had been serving a recent arrival at the far end of the bar rejoined the conversation and said, “I heard you mention Creedence. Are you talking about ‘Fortunate Son’?”
Gold said, “Abe’s friend must have been a fortunate son. It sounds like he must be rich. He sponsored that PBS show I saw and now he’s got his own ‘initiative’ and something called a ‘Government Literacy Project.’”
Fishinghawk had to join the discourse, “Well, I’m in favor of more literacy in government. Woody, did you read this thing before it got the bird shit on it?”

What next?
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The following video is, of course, relevant to this post as well as my previous article on helicopters. Enjoy!

23 comments:

  1. Love this: “Well, I’m in favor of more literacy in government. Woody, did you read this thing before it got the bird shit on it?”

    You have a great way with dialogue and with giving each character a different voice!

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    1. Thank you, Sarah!
      It's been both challenging and fun to get into up to a dozen different characters.
      Nice to hear that it's working.

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  2. I like the journey of the newspaper clipping!

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  3. This is a great scene. The newspaper's journey is clever and I like the minister's reaction to it--God or fate? Very intriguing--what exactly are these mismatched group of men up to?

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  4. This is an great read all the way through, but that last line really did it for me. Awesome!

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  5. An interesting snippet, and I enjoyed the crosstalk between the members.

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  6. Makes me wonder what the men are plotting and how the paper relates.

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  7. The dialogue here is fantastic! Loved this snippet! Agree with all comments above!

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  8. Great dialogue and I can hear their voices and personalities in their words. Well done! Loved this line: “Well, I’m in favor of more literacy in government. Woody, did you read this thing before it got the bird shit on it?”

    Made me chuckle.

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  9. This made me laugh several times. Really enjoyed it and look forward to more!

    ~Joyce Scarbrough

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  10. Intriguing snippet, loved the detail about that poor newspaper. Really makes me wonder what is going on behind the scenes.

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  11. I agree with Belle, it's a laugh out load snippet. I quite enjoyed their interaction.

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  12. Hey Frank, great job describing the life of that newspaper. I laughed out loud. Fabulous work :)

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  13. Your Reverend Prichett character sound tough and gritty. I liked his intro about the paper. Nice!

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    1. Thanks, Carrie.
      Elsewhere in the book, readers learn just how tough the preacher is. In fact, he's one of the Presidents Club who has a concealed carry permit.

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  14. Love the snarky conversation, Frank. Good snippet. :)

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  15. The conversation here is awesome! And makes me wonder about the life of newspaper. Great job.. :-)

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  16. Very enjoyable. Loved the last line! :-D

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  17. All excellent! Without an overabundance of details, I could still clearly see the barroom, and felt quite immersed in the conversation.

    Good post, Chip!

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  18. Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful and favorable comments. This was a fun scene to write. These old men and their banter is a joy to me as well. You just never know what they might say!

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  19. I love this! Sounds just like I'd imagine a bunch of guys at a bar. I'm wondering if there is anything of actual importance in that paper, or if Rev. Pritchett just likes to intone ominously.

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  20. Ok, crossing fingers this works...
    Terrific excerpt with great humor and a candid exchange. I was thinking Faulkner, too! Wondering about the import of what he's about to read.

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