Writing Challenge -- Day 13

The instruction for Day 13 of the 30-Day Writing Challenge reads:

A change of environment can sometimes refresh and recharge the brain. Do you normally write at a desk or at your kitchen table? Today, go someplace different to write. For example, try writing outside or in a public place such as a coffee house or mall….

I normally write at the table in the conservatory, and at night lying on the bed – not the best of posture, leading to a sore neck and other ailments. As I do not have a tablet or similar device and have just acquired a Toshiba laptop, writing in a public space is a bit more inconvenient. However, I could choose to make mental notes of my creative attempt and then to transcribe my efforts later (like now, tonight)… On Wednesday, I chose three separate venues, to wit:

• In the doctors’ surgery waiting rooms;
• In the parked car near Te Horo Beach; and
• In a coffee place in the Mahara centre.

Waiting rooms:
I am sitting one seat from the corner near the children’s play-pit filled with colourful plastic toys. The blue upholstered easy chairs are tastefully arranged all along three walls of each of the two waiting rooms for patients. The short-pile carpet tiles are of a neutral colour and design so as not to show wear or soiling. Although there is no music, there are a couple of television screens with repeat loop adverts for lifestyle, diet, medications and good health practices, this feature being without audio.

A few couples sit here and there, and two men sit as single patients. I suppose I could surmise why each of these folk was there, what their ailments were, but the concept doesn’t hold my interest, as it would be totally fictional, unless someone walked in with a plaster cast on the leg or an arm in a sling.

Parked car:
We drove up north along state highway 1 in the direction of Otaki. On the way I turned off left and we headed through the farming lands towards Te Horo Beach. About three k’s down, Jeanette called out that she’s just witnessed a calf being born and that it had hit the ground as she spoke. I stopped and reversed back slowly and carefully, thankful that the country road carries very little traffic.

Indeed, she was correct. The little calf, now scarcely two minutes old, was staggering around like a drunk at a free-for-all booze-up on a Friday night. But, unlike the drunk, the calf remained upright and did not end up in the gutter. Instead, it tried to snuggle closer to the mother, who continued licking her offspring clean.

Another cow in the same paddock seemed to be equally large in the calf department and appeared to be in labour. I shut off the engine, while we sat waiting and watching for a live birth. After some considerable time, we gave up, and moved on.

Coffee place:
After the trip to Te Horo, we went for coffee at Mahara Place in Waikanae. The bakery and coffee shop is plain and unpretentious, with pies, tarts, cakes and gingerbread men. There was only one other person, a little old lady having a cup of tea, having completed her grocery shopping for the day.

Conclusion:
No excitement there, either. On balance, I prefer to do creative writing in a controlled and familiar environment after perhaps “researching” venues where the stories might take place, rather than trying to write in situ.

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[ The brief for Day 14 reads: Write a story that includes: a blind man, a tent, and a train... ]