{"id":11412,"date":"2022-03-06T11:31:36","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T18:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/?p=11412"},"modified":"2022-03-06T11:31:42","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T18:31:42","slug":"gimme-shelter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/gimme-shelter\/","title":{"rendered":"Gimme Shelter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer\u2019s voice on the page<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gimme Shelter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>By\u00a0William Frank Hulse III\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we\u2019re watching a movie from the comfort of our recliners, relaxed and mellow, my bride will become frustrated when the hero does something physically impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For me it\u2019s the magic of movies. I don\u2019t believe it for a second, but the scenes are fun and allow me to freestyle through the adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since I almost always immerse myself in a character, I want to enjoy moments of charmed innocence, believing everything I see and hear and feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;It has a gauzy sheer that stays in place, even when the curtains go up. It helps give the events an element of reality that only lasts until the closing credits roll. When Nancy gets uptight about the science&nbsp;friction, I remind her, \u201cSuspend your disbelief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I enjoy being drawn into the story. It is surely escapist, in the best sense of the word. It distracts me from the realities that loom on the horizon or are present and accounted for, clamoring for my attention \u2013 begging me to worry or fret. Not fair!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I cannot solve all of the world\u2019s problems; I can barely keep my own from bubbling over and scalding me with their persistent demands on my attention. And, I\u2019m healthy! What a terrible price life inflicts if I can\u2019t escape its anxieties for a time. But I can do better than escape. I can withdraw from the fray and enjoy sanctuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not like the escapist and vicarious enjoyment of some wild movie or book. It\u2019s that still, quiet haven where I can preen \u2013 clear out the dust and grime and parasites and align my feathers so that I can fly again \u2013 better yet, soar again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a completely blue sky this morning. Try as I may, I can\u2019t find that shade of blue in my box of crayons but when I close my eyes, it is shining brightly in my mind\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that sun,&nbsp;oh, that sun, is shining even brighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I will soar again and warm my soul \u2013 but I\u2019ll remember not to fly too close to the sun. My crayons might melt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wonder what color would emerge from 48 crayons. That will keep me guessing and smiling at that wonderment. It\u2019s not something I see into my immediate future, but I do plan to get a jar of bubbles and watch that tiny miracle unfold and then make tiny pops to end their flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There now, isn\u2019t that better. A moment of examination and another of reflection to set the stage and allow me to wend my way on this soul\u2019s passage, right here and right now. Namaste\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>William Frank Hulse III<\/strong>\u00a0is a native Oklahoman, born and raised in the Indian Cowboy Oilman community of Pawhuska. He began his college career at Central State College in Edmond but enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968. While serving in the military Frank completed his undergraduate degree with the University of Maryland. Upon his return to civilian life in 1975, Frank was employed by Phillips Petroleum Company for almost 30 years.\u00a0Since retiring he plays guitar and writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Note From Marlene:<\/strong>\u00a0You are welcome to comment on this story on my\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JumpstartYourWriting\" target=\"_blank\">Writers Forum Facebook Page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer\u2019s voice on the page. Gimme Shelter By\u00a0William Frank Hulse III\u00a0 When we\u2019re watching a movie from the comfort of our recliners, relaxed and mellow, my bride will become frustrated when the hero does something physically impossible. For me it\u2019s the magic of movies. I don\u2019t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1474],"tags":[1613,1190],"class_list":["post-11412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sparks","tag-frank-hulse","tag-writing-freely-just-write-writing-prompts-the-write-spot-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43Dj8-2Y4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11412"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11414,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11412\/revisions\/11414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}