Nine of Clubs

Have you seen those calendars that give you a different word to learn each day?  You can even explore new meanings and uses for common words that you already know.  I like words because they tell a story.  The Nine of Clubs will help us with our word study this week.  Let's take a look at some nine letter words and see how they contribute to the stories that impact us.  When I started thinking of common nine letter words, these are the ones that came to mind:  newspaper, narrative, nutrition and notoriety.



A newspaper tells lots of different stories about a variety of topics.  It is divided into sections:  business, sports, classifieds, comics, and other categories.  If you had to produce a daily, weekly, or even monthly newspaper that told your stories, what would you say?  Would your Business section have articles about your current job, your dream job, or your entrepreneurial plans?  In your Classifieds section, are you buying, selling, or promoting a service or product?  There should be a purpose to what you write.  It doesn't always have to be serious or formal.  Everyone needs to have a Comics section in their publication.  A sense of humor helps to keep things in the proper perspective.  Laughter is a universal language.  You are the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Me Monitor.  You will decide on the content and the audience.  It may be a personal journal for your eyes only.   You might decide to use social media (Facebook, Twitter, or a Blog) and require people to subscribe to your paper.  Regardless of how you decide to present your story, the content should be the focus.


Some people may be better speakers than writers.  They will express their stories through a spoken narrative.  This can be quite entertaining because of the voice inflections, hand gestures, and facial expressions that may be used.  It is informative for the storyteller because they can interact with the audience and make instant adjustments to their approach as well as the content.  They can control which points receive emphasis and provide the foundation of the story.  Another good thing about a narrative is that those who hear it may recognize similarities to and differences from their own experiences.  This reflection leads to new stories that will impact, inspire, and stir the imagination of listeners.

For our purpose this week, the term nutrition will refer to our storytelling theme.  We want to tell and hear stories that we can easily digest.  They should be seasoned with humor and prepared according to a recipe that will produce a well balanced dish.   If the story is supposed to be an appetizer or healthy snack, then it should be short and to the point.  Of course, a dessert story needs to be sweet and tasty.  When the story is the main course, make sure it is fully cooked and served on time.

Our last word is notoriety.  What do you want people to remember about you?  What is your story?  Others can share their opinion and perspective of you, but you have the final say.