“SEE ME!”
December 8, 2009
I just learned that my second grade teacher, Mrs. Storm, is very ill… it’s been 45 years since I was in her class but I still have many fond memories.
There’s one very vivid memory I have never shared before… but under the circumstances, I’d like to share it now. Besides, the statute of limitations for second grade violations surely has lapsed by now… right? I’ll let you be the judge.
“SEE ME!” was written in red ink at the top of my paper. After making my way to Mrs. Storm’s desk, she said, “Michael, a period is a small dot… why do you insist on making yours so large?” I glanced down at my paper. The nearly dime-sized dots sprinkled about suddenly seemed to be the only visible things on the page.
“Um, I really don’t know,” I responded. My answer wasn’t truthful. I knew exactly why I made my periods so big. I also knew I couldn’t tell her. In kindergarten I learned our imaginations were good things. In fact, kids like me with overactive imaginations were actually celebrated. But this celebration stopped—abruptly—in first grade. By the time I reached second grade, my glory days of sharing unusual ideas and observations with others had ended. But Mrs. Storm was a nice person and the fact I couldn’t tell her the truth made me feel terrible.
My punctuation problem (large periods) started one cold and rainy fall afternoon. Instead of going right home after school, I hung around the playground with some older kids until it started to get dark… until only Jim and I were left. Jim didn’t attend our school and I didn’t know him too well… only that he was considered a hoodlum of sorts by many parents, including mine. Read more
Improve Your Creative Ability: Embrace the Golden Rule
December 3, 2009
Late one fall evening, I was in Alaska delivering a speech to about 500 people. My challenge was to motivate them to embrace creative thinking and to be open to new possibilities. The event theme, “Flying Outside the Box” (the subtitle of my book “Paper Airplane”), seemed especially fitting, considering the audience consisted mostly of pilots and aviation experts.
Having spoken for 45 minutes, I was nearly finished when I said, “Before I close, does anyone have any comments or questions?” A woman toward the back of the auditorium stood and raised her hand. “Thank you for coming to Alaska and sharing your inspiring insights on creativity with us… I have thoroughly enjoyed your presentation. But I do have a question for you.” With everyone’s undivided attention, she continued, “What can we do right now to improve our creative ability?”
Before I share my response, there are a few things I need to tell you:
1) I had just arrived in Alaska that morning. 2) Chicago is 3 hours ahead of Alaska… and while the clock read 9:30 pm… to me it was 12:30 am. 3) This was not a religious event. 4) I am a truth seeker and don’t like being misled. 5) Sometimes when I’m tired, my brain filters stop working properly and I become brutally honest. Read more