How great it is to write the single line: Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll
– Edgar Lee Masters, Spoon River Anthology
There are many different reasons why people write. For some, it is a way to create and inhabit a fantasy world; For some, it is a deep and burning desire to express their rage/love/awe; for some it is fame, for some it is fortune although if they’ve figured out how to make that work they are probably a far better writer than I am; for some, the noblest among us I suspect, it’s because they have something to say, a story they feel the world needs to hear or, in the case of the sci-fi guys, a vision of the future.
Only one will survive
For many it’s some combination of these or even a little bit of all of them. For me, it’s like this: Before we were born, millions of tiny little sperm cells are wrapped up in a little spot of goo and launched, like a rocket, down a dark tunnel. At the end of that tunnel one of them, and only one, will make it through the magic door and win the prize – life. The microscopic and ephemeral existence of the rest will come to an immediate and inglorious end.
I think life is a bit like that. A replay of that original race. There are about 8 billion people living on planet earth and the vast majority of them will die without leaving any significant mark on the universe. Their names will not grace the covers of books in the library, their names will not become names of products like Hoover or Levi’s. Oh, sure, a fair percentage of them will reproduce, leaving little copies of themselves here and there but it is debatable whether that is a good thing or not.
When I was young, I dreamed of inventing or at least discovering something important that would benefit all mankind and have future generations singing my praises but my mind doesn’t really work that way. I can change a light bulb, but that’s about it. For better or worse, my gift is the word.
There are a lot of people out there in the same situation. Millions and millions of us, swimming down that long dark tunnel and hoping to be the one to open the magic door, to win the prize, to write something that will make an impact and be remembered. I’m just trying to win.
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