The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: STRAWS

For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.

I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?

For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.

This month's prompts are straws, studio, stuffed animal, summer job, tattoos, telephone, tennis court, test, theater.

STRAWS

July 2004 US Open Sandcastle
Competition, Imperial Beach
San Diego, CA (the guy on
the lower left is using a straw)

A straw seems such a simple thing and yet it generates a lot of opinions, doesn't it? I like a straw because sometimes my teeth are sensitive to temperature. Also I read or heard somewhere that using a straw prevents stains on teeth. And since I drink a lot of tea... but then I was lunching with a friend, and she told me she won't use a straw because it will wrinkle the skin around your lips and mouth. Another friend is a proponent of reusable straws to cut down on landfill waste. At the zoo, straws aren't allowed, because they are potentially dangerous if ingested by an animal.
Some artists use straws to help them create their work. In particular I have this memory of watching sand sculptors use straws to blow away bits during a sandcastle competition. Cool!

p.s. My first thought when I hear the word “straw”: MILKSHAKE. Mmmmmm....''