Things I'd much rather be writing about today...

One of the problems I’ve had about writing for a living is that I never feel like writing as a hobby anymore. In fact, sitting in front of my computer is probably the last place I want to be when I’m not working. But today, I was thinking about something because of a story I read last night, and I decided to sit down and capture my thoughts before they fade away. Here they are.

What I’d RATHER write about today versus what I HAVE to write about

In the Feb. 11 ’08 issue of the New Yorker there’s a story about a Polish guy who wrote a novel about a murder, and then they found out he actually committed a murder. It was a fascinating story for a lot of reasons and I couldn't get out of my mind. Plus, it brought up so many issues I’d like to write about:

1) Why do so many people today think that killing someone is the solution? What makes them think that’s ok? At what point to do they say to themselves, “I know, we’ll kill him!” I would NEVER in a million YEARS think that. Well, wait, that’s not true. I did have a couple of times when I was dealing with my ex-husband that I WANTED to kill him, but it was more a spur-of-the moment reaction to something he did. I would never in a calm moment have said, “Let’s kill him.”

2) What kind of person is it who thinks that way? Examples: woman in Allegan who, along with her current husband, sister- and brother-in-law, killed her ex-husband, leaving many children’s lives shattered as well (his, hers, theirs, etc.) Why didn’t someone in that group, parents all, say, “What if we get caught?” or, “What about the kids?” These were “normal” people! What made them think they could 1) do it, and 2) get away with it? It’s insane.

3) Another example: The woman in Rockford who was having long-distance (internet) affair with a guy. They corresponded for awhile. Then she flew to California, where they had sex a couple of times. She flew back home, and put up a notice on Craig’s List or somewhere saying, “Freelance person need to eradicate a problem…” or some such similar thing. But basically what she was doing was advertising for a hired killer to do away with her new boyfriend’s wife! On the WEB! Is she insane?? And she has a husband and two teenagers! What the HELL are these people thinking???

4) Anyway, that story in the NYer reminded me of how I’d love to dig into this whole topic of murder and find out what the deal is: Why do so many people today think killing is the solution? It also reminds me how I’ve always wanted to write a thing about the 10 commandments. I mean, shouldn’t “Thou Shalt Not Kill” be a universally understood and accepted concept? Maybe we just all need some new rules to live by; a universal list we can all agree on: No killing. No having sex with children, especially your own. No cheating. No lying. What else? It reminds me, too, that killing is becoming so commonplace, it’s becoming accepted. Some recent headlines in the newspaper: guy killing the kids at Northern Illinois University this week. A few weeks ago, a guy killed a bunch of workers at a Lane Bryant store near Chicago. (My friend Jane and her husband and son were actually in a Target store in that mall the week before the shootings. Then there are the constant suicide bombing report from the Middle East. I mean, what the hell? We read about people blowing themselves and others up every day. We’ve become so immune to it.

So, those are just a few of things I’d explore if only I had the time.