The Fox

Have you ever hit an animal while driving? Many of us have. Every time it has happened to me, it has been a sad moment etched in my history. Unfortunately, I have had a handful of experiences now. From frogs to squirrels and giant bugs. Our vehicles can wreak havoc on nature. I have even seen a rattlesnake strike at the tires of a car as it fought for it’s life against an oncoming vehicle.

When my husband and I went on our first trip to Arizona to visit my folks, about 14 years ago, we had been traveling all day, and arrived in Phoenix late. Mike and I had a two hour drive to Tucson ahead of us. We got the rental car and right away started to get going on the highway. The speed limit was faster than I was used to, and it was very dark. I had just got up to speed when a tractor-trailer truck in front of us swerved out of the way clumsily. Before I had a chance to react, I saw a coyote turn it’s head, stare me in the eyes, and then I slammed into it’s back end. Up ahead to the right there were cars pulled over and people off to the side, and a bit further ahead there was the largest pack of coyotes I had ever seen. We just kept moving, what more could we do. I continued on crying behind the wheel. The vision I had of that animal in the last moments of its life has stayed with me.

A few years ago I decided to paint a roadrunner. I had been working on painting desert birds and I was so please at how they were going. The day after I finished the illustration of the roadrunners, I was driving to the grocery store and even though I veered and tried to miss the road runner that crossed the road in front of me, I ended up hitting the beautiful bird. I look at my painting as a tribute.

I spied a magical red animal at the side of the road out of the corner of my eye yesterday. All I could think was, what kind of cat is that? It quickly became skittish, I saw the long red creature move quicker than any cat and I swerved away, realizing it was a lovely fox and it headed straight at my car. I am guessing you understand it did not end well for the fox and I have written this poem for this red ghost who haunted my night.

The Fox

The darkening sky glooms overhead.

Wet drops carry on the wind and splash down in great splats against the moving glass.

The fall night has lost some of the sparkle of the earlier day.

Off to the side an amber flash is sensed.

A glimpse.

A brilliant blur.

Turning more vibrant as the seconds dash by.

Blazing in the minds eye as a red orange shock.

As quickly as it lit the fuse awake,

the thud and crush under us sputters for acknowledgment.

Thumping beats skip,

Steeping in pain.

Cascading down like sharp teeth.

Cheeks wet with the fleeting memory of one’s own vision.

The red ghost moved through the brush as a delicate wave.

Catlike and agile in magical ways.

Over in an instant.

No chance to stop.

The tears bleed like the red orange fire of its tail.

Leading in a dull empty question

of how to say sorry?

Amy Frissore 10-4-2020

Actions Speak Louder

I reserved Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s children’s picture book Stickman online a few weeks back at my local library.  I had watched the short film of the same name over our winter break.  It was sitting in our kids Netflix queue and I thought - This is so odd. Who would care about a main character that is a stick?  I was curious to know and thought I would get a quick laugh, an opportunity to make snide comments. Pretty quickly upon watching it, I was eating my words. I cared.  I watched the movie three more times. Once by myself, once with my husband, then again with my kiddos.  My daughter has already seen it at her school.

It’s not a new book and Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler have teamed up quite a few times, making much magic as they go.  They are responsible for The Grufflalo and Room on the Broom, which also have companion movies.  So no doubt I am late to the party. 

I was excited to pick up Stickman today, and see it as it was originally presented.  I need to have this book in my collection.  It speaks to my soul - the story is so touching.  Axel Scheffler’s illustrations are great, but the magic is in the storytelling.  This is not always the case with picture books.  I have plenty of books which grab me with the illustration.  I often feel the illustrator is an unsung hero of the picture book, as illustrations can make or break a story.

I only wish to weave tales as deftly as Ms. Donaldson, who brought sticks to life and made me feel tenderly for this family man’s plight.  It’s clever and full of action and has sweet language.

Julia Donaldson is a master of rhymes.  “Stick Man is lonely, Stick Man is lost.  Stickman is frozen and covered in frost.”  The picture painted by the words alone, is so moving.  I really hadn’t expected to be so touched and we all loved this book/movie.

I am not the only one who finds this book so charming, as I waited weeks for it.  While I waited, I also read Tabby McTat (2009), The Detective Dog (2016), and The Ugly Five (2017).  All great but the Ugly Five’s music spoke to me most.  It was fun, just not nearly as deep as The Grufflalo books or Stickman.  

Donaldson’s rhymes bring to head my own struggles, my own writing frustrations. Witty Pigeon Press is my attempt to publish my own stories, and eventually, others’ too. The journey has been meandering and lengthy. On and off again. Peppered with advancing a career, marriage, mothering children, health woes and self doubt. You know, making all the life choices that crop up daily, that cause us to delay our deepest dreams - the ideas you have that excite you, that at one time had momentum and real promise. However, as you look back, you realize years have been invested and very little fruit from all those plans.

My first attempts at my pigeon stories were rhymes, and I liked them. I was proud of them. So I signed up for a critique at a writers workshop. It was a great critique. The author was kind, and she gave me my first push to make more out of my story. At first I wanted to write a simple “tour Paris” story. Since then I have had to come to terms with the challenge of rhyme, after being pushed during my critique to abandon it. At first I mourned the loss of it. But since, I have come to terms with the reality of it … of how it is hard to do it well.

The saddest part is that in some way, through all the growth and progress I have made thus far with my Pigeon books, I am really nowhere. I can talk for hours about what I plan to do. But if I am honest with myself, I have been paralyzed by the feedback from my critique years ago. As an artist, I am used to getting and giving critiques. In writing, it is more personal for me, and I feel much more vulnerable. Which isn’t bad. But I have entered a moment where I need to finish something. I need to have something to show. So, I have shelved my passion project for another idea. At least for now. I have set a goal to publish a book this year. I have a support system, or at least some friends and some Facebook groups to riff off of, and a great new focus. So I hope you will be able to follow me as I work through this new book I am creating. I will be abandoning my lofty writing goals, and focusing on illustrating a story with minimal words, and lots of inspiration from my current and past worlds. It will be focused in action and I truly wish to share the journey with all who are interested.

I have every intention to take what I have learned from this journey and revisit my epic plan to conquer the world with my storybook pigeons, Pippin and Millie.