wow, that was one heck of a response! i think this is a record for me, and everyone's been so enthusiastic. i can't tell you how cool it's been reading this thread.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.stopstart.freeserve.co.uk/smilie/widegrin.gif)
(where's a smiley that goes "<blink, blink. jawdrop. WHOOOoooo, thunk!>" when you need one?
wendy said:
I don't know... you're a genius at side-splitting comedy, and you can also produce a wistful, poignant piece like All Alone - is there no end to your talents?
thank you!
to answer your question, though... yes, there is. it appears to be around 40k.
while i do appreciate the compliments on my range (which, in fact, is limited to the fickleness of inspiration), i can't seem to write anything with an involved, decent plot. people who can write good quality long fiction (yourself certainly among them) really impress me, especially the ones who can also come up with their own characters.
pam, about my sig... i dunno. a possibility for the end occured to me, but it just didn't seem to make sense. ah well. i'll keep on it.
kathy mentioned laurel's name. i'm not sure where it came from. i've since discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) that several other folcs have used it for similar reasons. i guess there aren't that many girl's names starting with l and ending with el. i especially like how it looks kind of like "lara el" and rhymes nicely with "jor-el." i also just like the sound of the name. oh, and there's the fact that the laurel tree is used as a symbol of a significant accomplishment. a nice way to celebrate being able to have a kid, after all, and it's also rather lois (not to mention much better than "pulizer kent" or "kerth kent"
). anyway, i'm glad you got something out of guessing it, kathy.
sarah said:
How do you *do* that??? I think you're definitely the funniest writer in folcdom.
how do i do it? i have no idea. just sort of popped into my head and wrote itself.
as for the second half, thank you! i do think, tho, that i've got some comptetion in that dept, yourself among them.
hazel, i think it's good to be able to worry people sometimes. if i couldn't do that, i'd be worried that i was going sane. of course, last time that happened, i drove myself crazy worrying about it, so it turned out okay.
as for laurel being a girl, i don't know... i'm not sure why, but i just knew, even before i started writing, while i was still in the very early conceptual stages, as a matter of fact, that i was writing about a girl. no reason for it, it just seemed to fit. glad it provided an amusing surprise for you, though.
her age, now... you're the only one who listed an age. i'm still not sure how old she is. at first, i was thinking she was about 8, but, as i was writing, i realized she sounded older than that, precocious tendencies from her parents notwithstanding. i ended up making the book report about "catcher in the rye," which is usually given to students about 12-15. i'm still not sure how old she is, really, but i think 12 or 13 sounds closest.
now i need to take a sec and give proper credit to a couple sources of inspiration, which i really should have done earlier.
So, I guess he figured "if life hands you lemons, make lemonade" or something like that. Maybe more like "if life hands you lemons, laugh maniacally and use the chemical energy to power your evil device."
this was inspired by one of my all-time favorite teachers, prof alex slocum. over the time i wasin his class, he's said some rather memorable things. among them:
prof slocum on grading: i don't grade on a curve. you get the grade you earn. if all of you follow along with the program, do the work, and show that you understand the material, i will give you all As. if all of you slack off and do nothing, i will fail every one of you. it's against department regulations, but i have tenure, so there's nothing they can do about it!
prof slocum on dating: next week, i'll be showing "donald duck in mathmagic land" one night after class. you don't have to come, but i encourage you to see it. it's a great movie. it's how i met my wife. if any of you have been thinking of asking someone out, this is the perfect opportunity. just say, "hey, baby, wanna go see 'donald duck in mathmagic land?'" it can't fail. works every time. well, i only used it the once - i love my wife and i'd never see anyone else - but i'm telling you... it can't fail.
prof slocum on pacing yourself: it's like when you're snowboarding (i love to go snowboarding. going next weekend, actually, with my wife and kids. it's really neat.)... so, you're at the top of the mountain and you're all set to go, and you jump into it and you go "
YA!" <jumps on the floor as if he's on a snowboard> and charge down the mountain. but then you get to the moguls and you want to go "
YA!" <jumps again> and hit them at full speed. but, if you do that, you'll just hurt yourself. when it comes to the moguls, you have to take it more slowly and just cruise over them,. <demonstrates sliding over the moguls> then, when you get past them, you can go "
YA!" again.
(prof slocum, as it happens, owns his own snowboard company. he designs some, if not all, of the boards they produce. he also uses snowboard metaphors a fair amount, and, at least once, jumped from the floor onto his desk to make his point)
prof slocum on life's little difficulties: "you're MIT students! when life hands you lemons, you go "HA!" and then run off and make some kind of weird lemon-powered gizmo."
so, that's where that line came from.
there's also the bit about laurel's scrapbook. that was inspired by a memory of
this "ozy & millie" strip, which i read a few weeks ago. thanks to bethy for introducing me to
ozy & millie. anyway, thanks again, everyone, for the wonderful comments! i've really been blown away here. you guys have seriously made my week.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.stopstart.freeserve.co.uk/smilie/jump.gif)
Paul
p.s. this is my 500th post to the boards.
(that's laughing so hard I cried)
![[Linked Image]](http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/jump.gif)
If you ever remember what the rest of that saying is, please let us know... 
