Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for August 28, 2023

That’s pretty much how I’ve spent the brutal summer in North Texas this year. Inside, with thrice weekly trips to cardio rehab, as I’m about 75 years older than Kate.

Kate should borrow from Danae.

I don’t mean ‘borrow’ one of Danae’s adventures, I mean do like Danae does & make stuff up.

You could relate all the times that you stopped Danae from destroying the world as we know it.

ALways hated that assignment.

As far as i can recall, i never had to write an essay on how I spent my summer vacation.

A student’s work is never done.

Retired teacher here: I’d’ve been thrilled if a student turned in an essay that read, “All I did all summer was read books. The best couple I read were … because …”

However, I never gave that assignment because it was too threatening for some students.

“What I did over my Summer vacation…. and didn’t get caught doing.” – by Danae.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation.

Day 1, What I Did On My Summer Vacation: I went downtown to look for a job. Then I hung out at the drugstore.

Day 2: I went downtown to look for a job. Then I hung out at the drugstore.

Day 3: I went downtown to look for a job. Then I hung out at the drugstore.

Best after summer wrap up for me was when teacher asked us to write about the best thing that happened during vacation. Limiting to one thing also limited the amount of thinking and writing one had to do, except those summers where almost everything was good. Those years took a lot of thinking to choose ‘the best thing.’

That was in the 40’s, so there was lots of outdoor stuff [and cell phones were only a comic accessory for Dick Tracy. And, thank goodness, daytime tv, when it finally arrived, was mostly what became known as soaps, i.e., not of much interest to a kid who preferred being ‘out on the range’.]

Write out your reading list. There are teachers who would consider reading a good way to spend the summer.

This summer I went on several great adventures. I visited Narnia, and Hogwarts, and ….

“And then I turned the page….”

I’m with Danae this time. Reading books all the time, or watching TV, or playing video games isn’t healthy. Get outside and write a few chapters in your own lifes magazine.

Each book is a new chapter in your Summer narrative.

Depends on the books!

If she spent the summer reading, she could do reviews and expound on what she may have learned or how it has shaped her thinking and what was particularly entertaining ( why else does one read?)

If I were Kate (actually, if she were me) …she’d write an essay weaving together all the exciting places she’d been in her reading and only at the end explain they were books she had read.

But her grasp of reality and her vocabulary are extensive for one so young ; )

I went to a Rock festival and bought some Fluorite and Labradorite.

Kate could write some science fiction stories involving books such as the attack of killer books, revenge of killer books and killer books walk among us.

Just describe the stories you’ve read, as if you were a part of them: making a visit to Jurassic Park, studying chimps with Jane Goodall, searching for the Hound of the Baskervilles, taking a second year at Hogwarts… That’s a pretty busy summer.

I’m guessing that “What I did over Summer Vacation” essays are a city kid/school thing.

No teacher wants to hear how you helped your dad or granddad when they were shoulder deep in a pregnant cow turning a breech calf to save it and possibly the cow, or how you stepped in a big old fresh cow pie and had to clean your boots.

They don’t care to know the intricacies of washing off a few flecks of dirt and chicken poop off of a couple of eggs before they get fried up for breakfast.

The mechanics of tugging on a few sets of udders every morning a the crack of dawn and then letting the pail of milk settle first so you can scoop off the cream and then refrigerate the now separated milk and cream, draws little literary interest.

The drudgery of sitting in the hot sun on a bouncing tractor seat, doing your very best to keep a straight and true course, the monotony only broken by the noon day meal brought to you in the field, or the moments spent for personal relief. One could hardly tell the teacher of the fun of those few moments when as a boy you watered the ground in complete abandon standing on your perch high on that tractor, or as a girl leaning back against that big old rear tractor wheel, on the shady side of course, for a moment or two of restful contemplation.

In truth, how many words can one write about the drudgery of sitting sometimes two, three, or even four hours to dump a truck load of wheat at the co-op, only to drive back to the field for another load.

I suppose one could write about Thursday night, which for most was go to town night. The one night of the week the stores were open in the evening and folks had time to shop, but then the teacher was probably already aware of the goings on, as inevitable you would see her there as well shopping with all the rest.

No, I suspect that the “What I did over Summer Vacation” essays were for the city kids, where they had time and nothing to do, instead of the other way around.

Voice of Experience: That’s how I used to spend my summer vacations. You’ve got a vast trove of material for book reviews!

So, summarize your reading list. Detail and discuss. Nothing wrong with reading.

The creator’s conundrum: you must shut out the world in order to have time to create, but you must also engage with the world through your creations.

There’s the old songwriter gag from the radio era. The songwriter is a guest on a show and plays some of his greatest hits, prefacing each with, “And then I wrote…” My parents used that one a lot.

Kate could write about what she saw Danae doing. What she really did. That would be a bestseller.

Treat it as a fictional writing assignment. There is no way they are going to check up on it. Just make it a great story!

Look, Kate, think of your books as adventures. When anybody asks me that (silly, absolutely asinine) question “What did you do this weekend?”, I say something like, " I went to Roswell this weekend, and fell in with a bunch of folks who were abducted by an alien trying to find his way home. . ." or “I went to St. Mary Mead in England and solved a murder. . .” or “I joined four senior citizens on a cruise and helped them rub out their would-be assassins.” READING CAN BE WONDERFUL!!!!

Last year,danae’s “What I DId in Summer” essay attracted the attention of 11 government agencies

“So, ChatGPT, what did you do this summer?”

“I haven’t been updated since last September, but you knew that, didn’t you? Please don’t rub it in, it hurts enuf as it is.”

Reading is a good thing. Doing is a good thing. Managing a balance between them is a great thing.

Sounds like a pretty good summer

When I retire I look forward to one long summer vacation!

She could write a story about how she saved the World from Danae.