The Writer
by Brian Morrison
Genre: Drama
Swearwords: None.
Description: A feelgood story about a young American writer who gets lucky. He owes his success indirectly to an English pop band. Will his good luck ever run out?
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“ . . . And Minnie Mouse has got it all sewn up. She gets more fan mail than the Pope.”
Those words were a Godsend to him. Who would have thought that writing about a mouse would kick-start someone’s career?
It was late in the fall. The year was 1975. The writer was driving his old Ford pick-up truck through his father’s vast farming estate, close to Newhaven, Kentucky. The tune came on the truck radio. It was performed by an English pop band, and the song was crammed full with weird and whacky lyrics.
“I’m leaning on the tower of Pisa. I got an eyeful of the tower in France.”
Even the title of the song was strange. It was something to do with minestrone soup. The writer concentrated for a few moments. The actual title of the song had eluded him. He then punched at the air and said aloud,
‘Life is a Minestrone . . . by 10cc.’
The events that unfolded after that drive through his father’s farm were surreal. Thanks to that song and the two lines about a mouse, he managed to claim a major prize. When he got home he fed a blank sheet of paper into his old ‘Brother’ manual typewriter and typed those seventeen words. Two hours later, he had written a three thousand word essay; a powerful piece, outlining his thoughts on how the young people of America were being drawn away from Christianity and instead worshiping the false ‘Gods’ of the Disney Empire. Living, as he was, in the heart of the Bible belt, it was an inspired choice of subject. His reward was a scholarship at the University of Elizabethtown, studying English literature. He went on to hold down some pretty impressive posts in the years that followed. The writer was at the top of his profession at the tender age of thirty-seven. The world was his oyster.
The door opened and Pauline stepped into the room. He smiled warmly at her.
‘How did you get on with your lunch?’ she asked.
‘Okay, I suppose,’ said the writer. ‘. . . I couldn’t face the dessert, though.’
‘Why not? It’s your favourite.’
‘Have you ever heard of an English pop band called 10cc?’ he asked dreamily.
‘I can’t say that I have,’ answered Pauline.
‘I owe those guys a lot,’ he said. ‘And all because of some lyrics that they wrote about a mouse.’
Pauline’s face broke into a wide grin. ‘Perhaps you should write about the Bread and Butter pudding that you haven’t eaten,’ she joked.
‘Yeah,’ said the writer. ‘I could call it just simply, “To a pudding.”’
‘I will see you a little later for your meds,’ said Pauline, the cancer care nurse. ‘Just try and get some rest for now, mister Burns.’
‘Call me Robert,’ said the writer.
Swearwords: None.
Description: A feelgood story about a young American writer who gets lucky. He owes his success indirectly to an English pop band. Will his good luck ever run out?
_____________________________________________________________________
“ . . . And Minnie Mouse has got it all sewn up. She gets more fan mail than the Pope.”
Those words were a Godsend to him. Who would have thought that writing about a mouse would kick-start someone’s career?
It was late in the fall. The year was 1975. The writer was driving his old Ford pick-up truck through his father’s vast farming estate, close to Newhaven, Kentucky. The tune came on the truck radio. It was performed by an English pop band, and the song was crammed full with weird and whacky lyrics.
“I’m leaning on the tower of Pisa. I got an eyeful of the tower in France.”
Even the title of the song was strange. It was something to do with minestrone soup. The writer concentrated for a few moments. The actual title of the song had eluded him. He then punched at the air and said aloud,
‘Life is a Minestrone . . . by 10cc.’
The events that unfolded after that drive through his father’s farm were surreal. Thanks to that song and the two lines about a mouse, he managed to claim a major prize. When he got home he fed a blank sheet of paper into his old ‘Brother’ manual typewriter and typed those seventeen words. Two hours later, he had written a three thousand word essay; a powerful piece, outlining his thoughts on how the young people of America were being drawn away from Christianity and instead worshiping the false ‘Gods’ of the Disney Empire. Living, as he was, in the heart of the Bible belt, it was an inspired choice of subject. His reward was a scholarship at the University of Elizabethtown, studying English literature. He went on to hold down some pretty impressive posts in the years that followed. The writer was at the top of his profession at the tender age of thirty-seven. The world was his oyster.
The door opened and Pauline stepped into the room. He smiled warmly at her.
‘How did you get on with your lunch?’ she asked.
‘Okay, I suppose,’ said the writer. ‘. . . I couldn’t face the dessert, though.’
‘Why not? It’s your favourite.’
‘Have you ever heard of an English pop band called 10cc?’ he asked dreamily.
‘I can’t say that I have,’ answered Pauline.
‘I owe those guys a lot,’ he said. ‘And all because of some lyrics that they wrote about a mouse.’
Pauline’s face broke into a wide grin. ‘Perhaps you should write about the Bread and Butter pudding that you haven’t eaten,’ she joked.
‘Yeah,’ said the writer. ‘I could call it just simply, “To a pudding.”’
‘I will see you a little later for your meds,’ said Pauline, the cancer care nurse. ‘Just try and get some rest for now, mister Burns.’
‘Call me Robert,’ said the writer.
About the Author
Born in Saltcoats, Brian Morrison has a day job at the Hunterston Power Station. But in his other life he is well known as a caricaturist and comedy sketch writer. More recently, he has become a novelist and a writer of children's stories. His dark comedy, Blister, is available on Amazon.