Posted by us202 on February 19, 2007 at 20:04:31:
In Reply to: Where Do You Get Your Ideas? posted by Wayne Cheong on February 17, 2007 at 23:44:53:
Apologies to everyone, especially Wayne since he was asking for Greg's
input and not some other shmuck's. I'm feeling a little mischievous,
and this is President's Day after all.
Several years back, I was in DC on business. During a crowded
escalator ride down to the Bethesda Metro, I spotted a cute woman
with short brown hair coming at me the other way. She was dressed in
a business suit, had a black case strung over one shoulder. As she
passed, we made eye contact and she smiled. That doesn't happen
often for me.
A quick mental debate, a look at my watch, and I started moving quick
down the escalator, turning at the bottom and trying to make my way
back up. On Wisconsin Avenue again, I found her quickly. She was by
a limo and an older gentleman was stepping from it. When he went to
kiss her, she turned, offering her cheek. She let him take her bag and
took his hand as he helped her into the car. I was too far away. The
gentleman was getting in and closing the door. But, I did see the
government tags before the limo raced away. I tried to make a mental
note, realizing nothing would probably ever come of it.
And only the first part of that story has any truth (she really did make
eye contact and smile). The rest of it was made up on the Metro ride to
work. My boss would describe this particular case as 'low-hanging
fruit'.
I liked Lawrence Block's quote on that website. He has a collection of
essays on writing, "Telling Lies for Fun & Profit," which is good reading
for us amateurs.