Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Story Behind the Story: Norm

A couple years ago I found myself between writing projects.  I had started a novel (one that will yet be written, by the way!) but it fizzled and I didn’t have the wherewithal at the time to fix what needed to be fixed.  I knew I had more to say, but my writing mojo was nowhere to be found.  I was frustrated, to say the least.
I had gotten home from work one evening and took a call from a friend.  Given that it was an especially pleasant late summer/ early fall day, I opted to walk around outside as we talked.  I saw my neighbor Norm (not his real name, just the one I assigned him for the story), an elderly man who lived a few doors down from me.  I nodded to him, he nodded to me and he walked away.  I ended the conversation with my friend and thought about the last time I had talked to Norm.  It was the previous Christmas and he given me some McDonald’s gift certificates in hopes that my boys would enjoy going there.  I thanked him and promised we’d use them soon.  I later tried to thank him again and tell him that we enjoyed our meal, but as Norm was very much a reclusive sort I never had that opportunity.
So I thought about Norm and his hermit ways and his long beard and baseball cap and windbreaker.  I wondered what drove him.  I wondered if he had a family or close friends and what he did on the holidays.  It was unlikely I’d ever know, as Norm certainly wasn’t one for conversation.  
I suddenly felt a little spark of inspiration and grabbed onto it for all it was worth.  I started writing about Norm almost immediately.  It became the story of a young single mother and her interactions with an elderly man in her neighborhood.  It was an interesting exercise in that it was written first-person from the young woman’s point-of-view.  I hadn’t yet written from the female perspective at that point in my writing career.  I finished the story just a couple days later.  I sent it to a couple friends, who told me they really enjoyed it (kudos are very nice to get).
A couple days after that I was flipping through the local paper when I saw something that made my jaw drop.  The real-life Norm had passed away, in fact on the day after I finished my story.  Sadly, it was only through his obituary that I learned about his life.  He worked until retirement as a computer operator and left behind one brother.  The obituary also said that he loved children (that much I knew).
The clean up began weeks later.  When someone passes away, they generally leave a lot of possessions behind, and it’s up to the family to sort through everything.  I've been there (as most of us have) and know that it can be a laborious, emotional process.  The clean up was on a much larger scale in Norm’s case.  He left behind the duplex he lived in, another house on the corner and a two-car garage. It was even bigger job than I had imagined, as Norm was apparently something of a hoarder.  The garage alone was packed quite literally floor-to-ceiling.
Several months passed and while out on a walk I struck up a conversation with an older gentleman.  He was standing outside one of Norm’s houses and had just gotten done conferring with some laborers.  The man was, of course, Norm’s younger brother.  We talked for a good long time about Norm, his life and his passing.  He sorely missed his older brother and loved spending what little time he could with him.  He acknowledged that Norm was very much a hermit and suffered from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, but that didn’t diminish their brotherly love.  We ended our conversation and bid each other well.

I was glad to have finally gotten to know the real Norm somewhat, even though it was after his passing.  I hope my story stands as a proper tribute to his spirit.

“Norm” is one of the fourteen stories that I’ve included in my new book, “Advent: A Short Story Collection”, now available on Amazon.com.  
http://www.amazon.com/Advent-Short-Story-Collection-ebook/dp/B008K12Q3U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342404759&sr=8-1&keywords=advent+jim+moens

I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick peek “behind the scenes”.  You’ll see more “Story Behind the Story” blog posts soon.

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