Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Drive About Stories: Six : Six Words

By Carol Memmott, USA TODAY
Could you sum up your life in six words?
Writers took the pithy challenge in Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure from Smith Magazine, edited by Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith (Harper Perennial, $12, paperback original).

This online publication's request for quick memoirs (sixwordmemoir.com) garnered 15,000 submissions; 800 made the book.

Here's what some of the more famous contributors wrote:

"Well, I thought it was funny." Stephen Colbert

"Me see world! Me write stories!" Elizabeth Gilbert

"Secret of life: Marry an Italian." Nora Ephron

"Fearlessness is the mother of reinvention." Arianna Huffington
"Relatively famous parents, very low self-esteem." Molly Jong-Fast

"Revenge is living well without you." Joyce Carol Oates

"Born bald. Grew hair. Bald again." A.J. Jacobs

"Fifteen years since last professional haircut." Dave Eggers

"Mushrooms. Clowns. Wands. Five. Wig. Thatched." Amy Sedaris

And now for my own:

"I lived well, I lived unseen."

Those who know me well will recognize those six words as a form of my life's philosophy.

So my fellow readers and bloggers what are your six words of a life summation?

12 comments:

Dr. Bill Loney said...

Yes, I have a vestigial tail.

or

I wonder if this is edible?

or

The payment is in the mail.

or

That dont belong to me, officer.

drlobojo said...

Yes, that last one covers a lot does it not?

I thought this one might work as well for me:

"Yes Dear, whatever you say, Dear."

TStockmann said...

Much fun. Many T-Birds taken away.

Erudite Redneck said...

Always ready to rant about something.

Erudite Redneck said...

Dr ER says:

Through pain I learned about peace.

Dr. Bill Loney said...

Rudy,

I had to read yours twice...first glance I thought you said:

Through Palin I learned about peace

William T. Loney, MD

Geoffrey Kruse-Safford said...

Lather, rinse, repeat. Lather, rinse, repeat.

drlobojo said...

"Through Palin I learned about peace"

That's the way I read Dr. ER's first time too.
How about
" to doing be do be do "

I guess I'll have to get the book

Feodor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Feodor said...

There is a pill for that.

drlobojo said...

Re: "There is a pill for that."

Ah yes:

"64 years old living on chemistry"

Pecheur said...

The destination outweighs the hellacious journey.