Dot Hatfield

First Person Limited

Fourth Sunday in Advent

4 Comments

Every year at Christmas time, the media is full of human interest stories. Many of these stories are followed by a plea for assistance to provide a meal for a family, a special toy for a child, or some other effort to insure some individuals a pleasant holiday. Then, the narrator usually ends with, “After all, that’s what Christmas is all about.” And, while all of these activities are worthwhile, and I’m certainly not suggesting we shouldn’t take part in them, none of this hits the mark of what Christmas is really all about.

Surely, one of the first Bible verses that we heard in church was John 3:16. “For God loved the world so much, he sent his only son …” Wait a minute! I have children, each one dearer to me than life. He sent his son? He loved  me so much that He sent His Son? Is that what Christmas is all about?

That’s it. Christmas is about God coming into the world as a baby. It’s about His life, His miracles and, yes, it’s about His death and resurrection. Christmas is about the Holy Spirit in our lives every day we live.

The Good News is: What Christmas is all about is available to each of us. Even if we don’t find that special gift for our child, or we are not with family we love, or we are with family that’s dysfunctional, or we eat a peanut butter sandwich for Christmas dinner.

Because Christmas in all about Love so great it is impossible to contain.

Have a blessed Christmas.

Third Sunday in Advent

4 Comments

Each year we bemoan the commercialized event Christmas has become. And while it concerns us that the celebration of our Lord’s birth is used as a marketing ploy, nothing seems to change. We still dart about in a nervous frenzy in an effort to ‘get ready for Christmas.’

Are You Ready for Christmas?

Are you ready for Christmas? That’s the question we hear
‘Most everywhere we go this time of the year.

Heaven knows, I’m not ready, is the usual reply,
Why, I haven’t baked — not one single pie.

I haven’t had time to put up the tree …
Christmas just couldn’t come, were it left up to me.

I’ll decorate the house, but first I need to clean,
And find just the right spot for the new Christmas scene.

I have to bake cookies for a party at school.
I signed up last September; I must have been a fool.

I’m making a costume for my child’s Christmas play
And the dress rehearsal is — well — later today.

We’re having choir practice almost every night,
I’m invited to three parties; there’s no end in sight.

There’ll be last minute shopping; the mall’s open until ten.
Then, Christmas Eve Communion — if I can work it in.

What? You say there is more? There’s something I missed?
Well, tell me what it is. I’ll put it on the list.

My Christmas is too small?  I’ve left out a big part?
You say there’s a miracle that should happen in my heart?

Have I been too busy to celebrate His birth?
Do I really want His peace in my corner of the earth?

I’m not ready for Christmas. I’ve left one thing undone:
Preparing my heart for the gift of God’s son.

If I own His peace and love all the year through,
Then Advent is more than a list of things to do.

Are you ready for Christmas? Stop right where you are
And look for the Christ Child, the Manger, the Star.

© Dorothy Hatfield 1994

Second Sunday in Advent

3 Comments

Called to Be a Dad

How did Joseph feel? One can only imagine. He must have loved Mary very much. Even though he believed she had betrayed him, he could not bring himself to disgrace her … or to allow her to be stoned for her sin. What a relief when the angel came to say Mary was a good girl after all … chosen by God, even!

The angel said, “You are to name the child Jesus, because he will save the people from their sins.” Joseph had heard the prophecy that the Messiah would come to save the people from their enemies. What was the angel talking about? Thirty years later, Jesus would tell us that sin is the enemy.

So, reassured, Joseph took Mary as his wife. Did the old women of the town count on their fingers? Did they gossip that Joseph had either acted irresponsibly or been made the fool?

If they did, I don’t think Joseph paid them any mind. His Mary was chosen. This made him love her even more. He was told to not take her as his wife until after the child was born. Not an easy thing to do. But it afforded the young couple time to establish a different kind of relationship. Their marriage was not based on Joseph pursuing the quest of every Jewish man to produce a son … and Mary doing her best to please her husband in every way. It was grounded in a common task God had given each of them to do.

And then, when Mary was due any minute, they had to travel to Bethlehem. Joseph must have delivered the child himself (no midwife is mentioned). He was frightened and Mary was brave. As most new fathers are, he was awestruck at the miracle of birth, proud of Mary and determined to never fail his family or his God.

Yes, Joseph was a very special person. He was chosen as surely as Mary was to fulfill a special place in history. Barely considered at times, yet he played an integral part in the Plan.

As each of us do. Whatever God is calling us to do is part of the Plan. Maybe we are to stand in the background, be supportive, ask no questions, make no waves, put aside our pride and take no thought of what others think of our call. And always, always trust God even when the situation seems impossible.

Background reading Matthew 1:18-25

Lost – An Essay from the Archives

3 Comments

The child in the Target store suddenly missed her mother. The little girl pulled her attention away from the toy display and looked around. Her eyes grew large. She turned in a full circle, frowning, catching her breath.

I thought to speak and reassure her but, being a stranger, I hesitated. She took a tentative step down the aisle and I watched — knowing, remembering how she felt . . .

It was 1940. A carnival had come to town and set up in a big field at the end of Main Street. Everyone in the county must have been there. Never in all my six years had I seen such sights. Daddy bought us cotton candy and then we rode the merry-go-round.  As we walked along the mid-way, I saw a man pounding a stump vigorously with a huge mallet, trying to ring a bell. The muscles across his back flexed with each swing. I stopped to watch.

He slammed a mighty blow and the “bong” could be heard all over the fairgrounds. I spun around to see the family’s reaction to this amazing feat.

“Look, Mama . . .”

I was alone. Daddy, Mama and all four siblings had disappeared. I looked right — left — all about. They were nowhere to be seen.

My chest felt tight; I needed to go to the bathroom. My nose and eyes burned as I turned and turned, searching the crowd of strangers. What should I do? Never in my most far-fetched fantasy had it occurred to me there might be a time when Mama and Daddy were not with me. I whirled around once more.

Then, through tears, I spotted Mama coming toward me, followed by the rest of my loved ones. Saved!

Mama told me “good girl” for standing still so she could find me by returning to the last place we’d been together. I didn’t tell her I was just trying to decide which way to run.

The little girl in the Target store made her decision and took of in a dead heat. I followed. The mother came around the end of the next aisle, scolding the child for wandering off. I wanted to tell the mom that she was the one who wandered off, but again, as a stranger, I reconsidered.

The pair moved on to continue shopping, the youngster clinging to the cart. No hug. No “good girl.”  Maybe the mom didn’t know the feeling of being lost.

But the child will never forget.

From Every Day a New Day and other short stories © 2006

Breaking Bad – a character study

7 Comments

We have all heard people … okay, men … say that they read Playboy for the excellent articles. And most of us roll our eyes and think, “Yeah, right.”

But I understand this sentiment better now, because during the past year I have followed the TV series “Breaking Bad” to study the character development.   I started watching this award-winning series during the summer and thanks to Netflix I caught up on all the past episodes in time to watch the season finale last month. For those of you still on the Breaking-Bad-dom journey, there are no spoilers in this post.

Television writers — especially on the premium cable channels —  are creating more edgy protagonists.  These are leading characters we can’t really admire but who are more-dimensional than the heroes of decades ago. We always knew Marshall Dillon, Perry Mason, Magnum and even Maverick would end up doing the right thing and by the end of the hour, evil would be conquered once again.

The imperfect — or at least very complex — protagonist emerged a few years ago in Tony Soprano and Jack Bauer.  I never watched “The Sopranos”, but I rented the first season of “24” and after  those 16 episodes, I was a nervous wreck.

Then, a friend at work said would enjoy “Breaking Bad” and I decided to give it a shot. Over the next couple of weeks, with my 24-year-old son, I watched the first season.

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) plays a High School Science teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer. He needs money for his treatment. I don’t remember the amount — $400,000 say. That’s all he needs. He hooks up with a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) who cooks and sells meth from time to time. Walt, being a scientist, decides he can cook pure meth with no danger of contamination that often proves fatal to the users. Therefore, he won’t really be hurting anyone and he will do it only until he has the money he needs.

At first the close scrapes they have are rather amusing. No one is being hurt. They are simply making a product that is in current demand. If they don’t cook it someone else will.  When their meth becomes known as a very pure product, others want in on the business. Things get more complicated and finally someone has to be killed.

Did you catch the passive phrase there? No one takes personal responsibility for another person’s death — it’s just necessary to the operation.

As the series develops over the next five seasons, more and more compromises have to be made. There is always a reason to need or want more money, to do one more cook. Walt and Jesse change, though their loyalty to one another continues. Each has many chances to betray the other to further their own share of the business but they always refuse. And the viewer can see that each time it becomes a little harder to say “no.”

I saw the series finale a few weeks ago and I’m satisfied with how it had to end. I can appreciate the writers for giving us a study of what a character can become depending on the choices he makes and the rationale he uses for those choices.

Luck is where you find it

5 Comments

One summer a few years ago, I experienced the good fortune of having a stalactite drip a bit of water on me.  After a pleasant weekend in East Tennessee seeing the sights with my eight-year-old son, we climaxed our mini vacation with a visit to the Lost Sea. This huge cave with an underground lake is near Sweetwater, Tennessee, just this side of the Great Smoky Mountains.

As part of the cave tour, Phillip and I, with a group of other tourists, boated around the lake while the guide directed our attention to various points of interest. We gazed at rock formations on the lake floor that appeared to be only inches away when actually they rested in forty feet of water. As we marveled appropriately at this wonder of nature, a bit of liquid hit me on the face. I looked at Phillip as he studied the splash of water on his arm. The guide explained that the drops were from the stalactites on the ceiling of the cave. Active stalactites emit moisture from time to time. The guide assured us that this was a very fortunate happening. Stalactite drops bring seven days of good luck

Wow! Good luck! Magic words for a child. Phillip anticipated aloud the prospect of the good fortune awaiting us during the upcoming week. For extra insurance, we rubbed the bear claw rock at the cave’s exit, since that also is said to guarantee a happy future. But as I found out later, luck is in the eye of the beholder.

We left Sweetwater Sunday morning in plenty of time to reach Nashville by early afternoon. We planned to stop for lunch and gasoline at the halfway mark on the Cumberland Plateau. About 45 minutes from Sweetwater, where Interstate 75 merges with I-40, a truck crowded me and I found myself on the opposite end of the Y – headed in the wrong direction.

Irritated, I pulled off at the next exit into a travel-mart, deciding to fill the gas tank before making a turn-around. I pumped approximately $2.00 worth of gasoline – then suddenly realized my purse was still in Sweetwater. Scrounging through the car for change and borrowing a dollar from Phillip still left me a little short, but the kind station attendant understood my predicament.

As I returned to the car and started the motor, Phillip commented he was glad we had rubbed the bear claw stone for extra good luck. Weren’t we lucky the truck crowded us so we left the highway and stopped for gas earlier than we had planned? Because that happened, we didn’t have as far to backtrack when we discovered my purse missing. And weren’t we lucky that Phillip didn’t spend that dollar the day before, as he had really wanted to do? While not in complete agreement with his outlook, still I was happy our luck held and a quick phone call assured me the pocketbook was lying where I had left it, waiting to be retrieved.

That evening, when the same purse was snatched in the parking lot of a Nashville grocery store, Phillip’s belief in our good fortune was tested again. But, when the police officer said I was lucky the purse was not over my shoulder (or I might have been dragged across the parking lot), and lucky I didn’t lose my keys, and lucky I had only $17.00 cash in my wallet, and lucky I was able to cancel my bank card and checks right away, Phillip’s confidence was restored. The next day, my purse was returned with all my ID intact and he was convinced the drip from the stalactite and the magic of the stone were responsible for things turning out so well.

Actually, Phillip’s way of thinking has merit. How much better to go through life expecting the best. Maybe good things don’t really come from a weeping stone, a rabbit’s foot or a lucky charm. That doesn’t matter. The truth is: blessings in life abound if only we recognize good luck whenever it comes our way.

(I wrote this essay in 2002. It won 2nd Place in an essay contest at the Arkansas Writers Conference, and is included in the book Every Day a New Day and other short stories. ©2006. Phillip is now 24 years old.)

Fall Literacy Festival

2 Comments

I have been invited to read at Harding University’s Fall Literacy Festival this Thursday, September 12. This is a celebration of literacy that happens every year when faculty, students and guests share their writing. I am honored to have been asked to read in the past and always feel as nervous as an ingenue on opening night.

Other readers invited from the White County Creative Writers group are Christine Henderson and Debra Wantulok.  Both are accomplished writers, holding awards from recent Arkansas Writers Conference and White County Writers Conference.  They each will be reading a piece from their award-winning works. As will I.

This event is open to the public and if you love literacy and enjoy listening to readings from both established and emerging authors, come to Harding University Heritage Center, 7:00 pm Thursday.

For more about Christine and Debbie visit their sites: Christine Henderson and Debra Wantulok

Wonderful Writers’ Weekend

4 Comments

“You become a writer by writing. If you write, you are a writer. This is true of no other profession in the world.” So said Susan Kaye Quinn at White County Creative Writers Conference in Searcy, AR yesterday.

I so concur. In fact, just a few hours earlier, I had said to the group, “Don’t you dare say you’re not a writer just because you haven’t been published.”

Of the crowd gathered in the Heritage Center at Harding University, several were there for the first time, some write family stories that will never see publication, and at least one came “to see if he could be a writer.” The others were more seasoned writers, there to learn more about what they love to do, to see old friends and be supportive of the newcomers.  A highlight for all the writers is the contest awards luncheon.  One first-timer, who had not even entered a contest, commented, “That was so exciting!”

A couple of years ago, we decided to add a Writing 101 component to the conference to benefit the newer writers and to refresh everyone on the basics of the writing craft.

This time it was my turn, so I spoke on “How to Improve Your Short Story … going from B- to A+”. Some of the items I covered were:

1. The benefits of belonging to a critique group.

2. Read your prose and poetry aloud to check for errors.

3. Show something of the character of the time and place of your story.

4. Be aware of being too wordy when you are telling or showing the reader something about your characters. (Kidding! I just used 18 words when 3 would do.)

5. Don’t explain your jokes (as I just did).

6. Don’t over do . . . anything . . . ever.

Susan Quinn, author of several teen and young adult novels, is an excellent speaker who shared with us words of encouragement and support as well as writing and story-telling tips. Her afternoon presentation included information about indy publishing and the e-book market. For more about Susan and her exciting (and clean) books go to www.susankayequinn.com.

Tommy Hancock, our third speaker, has a vast amount of knowledge about a re-surfacing genre, pulp fiction. If you don’t think this genre is returning to the markets, just look at the list of super heroes in movies and books today. Many are knock-offs of the pulp heroes of the early Twentieth Century dime novels. Even those of us who will never read or write in this genre were captivated with his presentation.  For more about his pulp publications visit prose-press.com

© 2017 Dot Hatfield.