キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか? しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか? 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな?』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう?もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Captain's Log, Stardate 10.15.2009
(Don't forget to weigh in on my podcast poll, which I posted yesterday!)
As I write this, I’ve just come back from church youth group, where I’ve been a youth group leader for 13 years.
Yes, you read that right. And no, I’m not completely insane (although my friends might beg to differ). I think God has given me a gift for working with teens, and since there aren’t many people who can say that, I’ve just run with it. I really like it.
Anyway, one of the games we played with the high schoolers was where Captain Caffeine flashed pictures of household items on the TV (it was a chance for the Captain to use his iPod Nano—he loaded the pics on his iPod and then hooked it up to the TV in the Sunday School room where we had the high school Bible study). The kids had to come up with creative ideas of how to use the items that weren’t conventional.
For example, he showed a (brand new) toilet plunger on the TV screen, and the kids came up with the idea that if someone were talking a lot, you could just pop! them in the mouth to shut them up. (This was aimed at a few girls who tend to talk a lot, so there was general laughter at that one.)
Anyway, he went to me as the “impartial judge” and I have to admit, while some ideas were Very Lame, some were rather creative.
Where do they come up with this stuff???
So where did my creativity go? And when did I lose it? Sometime in the ahem years since I was a teenager?
Granted, I’m not in the same environment as these kids. I don’t go to their schools, I certainly don’t spend as much time IMing and playing games on Facebook, and while I watch some of the same TV shows, I’m sorry, but I have to draw the line at One Tree Hill and Vampire Diaries (just too much teenage angst for me to stomach. After all, I continue to be very relieved I am no longer a teenager).
(Although a few of them and I do like to rehash the past week’s episode of Glee!)
Where I can dip into that teenaged well of wild imaginings and creative connections? And can I dip while avoiding the emotional angst of caring more about zits than a chem final?
Do any of you have teens? Do you know what I’m talking about?
And no, you may not mail your teens to me!
(Don't forget to weigh in on my podcast poll, which I posted yesterday!)
As I write this, I’ve just come back from church youth group, where I’ve been a youth group leader for 13 years.
Yes, you read that right. And no, I’m not completely insane (although my friends might beg to differ). I think God has given me a gift for working with teens, and since there aren’t many people who can say that, I’ve just run with it. I really like it.
Anyway, one of the games we played with the high schoolers was where Captain Caffeine flashed pictures of household items on the TV (it was a chance for the Captain to use his iPod Nano—he loaded the pics on his iPod and then hooked it up to the TV in the Sunday School room where we had the high school Bible study). The kids had to come up with creative ideas of how to use the items that weren’t conventional.
For example, he showed a (brand new) toilet plunger on the TV screen, and the kids came up with the idea that if someone were talking a lot, you could just pop! them in the mouth to shut them up. (This was aimed at a few girls who tend to talk a lot, so there was general laughter at that one.)
Anyway, he went to me as the “impartial judge” and I have to admit, while some ideas were Very Lame, some were rather creative.
Where do they come up with this stuff???
So where did my creativity go? And when did I lose it? Sometime in the ahem years since I was a teenager?
Granted, I’m not in the same environment as these kids. I don’t go to their schools, I certainly don’t spend as much time IMing and playing games on Facebook, and while I watch some of the same TV shows, I’m sorry, but I have to draw the line at One Tree Hill and Vampire Diaries (just too much teenage angst for me to stomach. After all, I continue to be very relieved I am no longer a teenager).
(Although a few of them and I do like to rehash the past week’s episode of Glee!)
Where I can dip into that teenaged well of wild imaginings and creative connections? And can I dip while avoiding the emotional angst of caring more about zits than a chem final?
Do any of you have teens? Do you know what I’m talking about?
And no, you may not mail your teens to me!
Comments
~Sasafras
Rebecca--tell me about it! They're CRAZY! I don't know where they get all that energy. Maybe their parents are feeding them sugar tablets.
Camy
Lol...nice post : ) I am a teen and I think that really all you need is ONE person who might have a bit more energy than needed. Then, they just egg you on and befor eyou know it...we're all crazy! Just what I have been observing lately at musical rehearsal...I have plenty of time for observation because we're there for 3 hours a lot of times! And that's on school nights! We need to feel like we're doing something or(for a lot of us anyway) we'll just sit down and cry from all of the stress!
Thought I'd get my input in! : )
Hannah
Camy
Hannah