Writing for Retrospect

Altho I’ve RetroFlashed about my feelings for Retrospect,  there’s more to say about this wonderful website!

In September 2019 at the urging of my friend Betsy,  and after some transcontinental calls to Suzy with tech questions,  I wrote my first Retro story for the prompt Road Rage.  It was about an accident I had with my husband’s beloved T-bird,  a car that had been his mid-life crisis gift to himself when he turned 60.  And by the way he’s now 79 and the car now 19,  both still running fairly well with the occasional tune-up.   (see Fender Bender.)

Since then I’ve written over 200 stories,  in fact several more about my relationship with cars,   see Smash-Up,  Rainy Night on the Highway, and The Chain Letter and the Fender Bender.

I enjoyed writing those as well as some other humorous stories evoked by other prompts,  see The Corpse in the Office,  Spoiler Alert!,  17 Gas Stations,  and Words with Suzy.

And I enjoyed writing to prompts that reminded me of beloved pets,  see Missing Pussycats,  ASPCA, The Puppy in the Waiting Room,  and Mr Bucco and the Ginger Cat.

And prompts evoking childhood memories , see My Heart Remembers My Grandmother’s Hotel,  Our Special Guests,  Blizzard,  and Skate Key.

Looking back there were also Retro prompts that evoked some painful memories of loss,  and writing about them was cathartic,  see Take Care of Your Sister,  Piano Man: Remembering Herb,  Cantor Gladys , and Comfort Food for Renee.

And stories evoked by prompts about home –  see 2026 McGraw,  My Beloved Basement,  Parkchester, Celebrate Me Home,  and Magnolia, The Story of a Garden.

And other prompts that elicited emotional responses and stories about family ,  see My Game Mother,  My Father, the Outsider Artist,   Call Me by Their Names,  Around the World in 80 Days, Hermine’s Morning Joe,  College Girl: for Aunt Hannah,  My Cousin Rick,  Aunt Miriam, Diva,  White Shoulders for Aunt Frances, and Family Photo.

And my college years,  see The Fortune Cookie Candidate and Theatre Dreams.  And my dating years,  see Cherry Coke,  The One Who Got Away, and Playing with Fire.

And marriage,  see Bed and Breakfast,  Flowers on the Windshield,  Both Sides Now,  Valentine’s Day in Foggytown, and New Leaf.

And politics,  see Getting Woke,  Birmingham,  What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?,  and The Naked Emperor.

And the joys and trials of parenthood,  see The Great Hampton Babysitter Heist,  Our Noisy Nanny,  Aruba Nights,  Reading with Hattie, Baking with Julia,  and Three Noahs,

And stories about my long, rewarding library career,  see My Snowy Year in Buffalo,  Magazines for the Principal,  and The Diary of a Young Girl.

And just as meaningful as writing my own stories has been reading those of my fellow Retro writers across the country.  Sharing and commenting on our stories has meant more to me than I could ever have imagined,  we have truly become a family and I thank you all.

And to our tireless Retro admins Suzy,  Barbara,  Laurie and Marian I send my love and deepest gratitude!

– Dana Susan Lehrman

2026 McGraw

Leaving Manhattan recently on a wintry Friday afternoon we hit rush hour and my husband turned off the highway to avoid the heavy traffic.   We were taking a detour through local Bronx streets when I realized we were about to pass my old neighborhood,  and we decided to drive down my old street.

I’ve written before about 2026 McGraw Ave,  the house I grew up in,  and that I last saw a dozen years ago when I went to a wonderful neighborhood reunion.   (For more about my childhood home see  Reunion,  Parkchester, Celebrate Me Home,   Magnolia, The Story of a Garden,  Mr Bucco and the Ginger Cat,  and Fluffy and the Alligator Shoes)

But it had been heart wrenching then to see the changes to the house since my parents sold it in the 1970s,  and now I was sorry to see there had been even more changes.

Our property had spanned two lots and we had a large garden with a lovely stone birdbath,  a garage and tool shed,  a charming grape arbor that bore fruit,  and on each side of our front door a beautiful magnolia tree –  but now all those were gone.

And that recent winter day seeing the house again,  now painted a garish yellow,   I regretted that we’d made that detour.

But maybe Thomas Wolfe had it wrong,  because lying in bed that night I saw the house once more  –  it was painted a warm brown,  it was early spring,  and our magnolia trees were in full bloom.   And I went home again.

– Dana Susan Lehrman

What’s Your Story?

Knowing I write,  my friend Betsy invited me to join Retrospect.   I was already blogging,  but writing to weekly prompts sounded intriguing.

Yet little did I know how special Retro would become for me and writing would be only one part of the experience;  reading stories by fellow writers another;  and building friendships across the country as we commented on each others’  stories the best part of all.

I’ve met some of my Retro  friends in person,  and hope to meet you all to share more of our stories,  some laughs,  and even a few tears.

So my friends – keep writing!

RetroFlash / 100 Words 

– Dana Susan Lehrman

It was the dark winter solstice of December 2020.  Everything was shut down because of COVID, and vaccines were a mere glimmer.  Life was suspended.  Work had stopped abruptly one day in March—I was too old to risk showing up in person, and virtual options were poor—so de facto retirement came more suddenly than I expected. All travel plans cancelled.  Lots of walks in the park with the dog, now with plenty of time for ruminating over life.  Reading. Lots of time on the internet, catching up on e-mails, signing up for book clubs and meetings and zoom sessions.  At Suzy’s urging, I said yes to Retrospect.

I didn’t know what to expect, and after sending in my first story was surprised to get comments on it.  Then I figured out how to read the other stories early in the week and comment on them, and started to recognize the names and styles of frequent contributors.  For someone who has avoided social media, this felt different and seemed like a safe space, and I valued the new connections and interesting stories.  I still do.  Life has taken me far from early days, geographically and socially, and there is nothing else that fills that ecological niche in my life.

Retrospective writing was new for me, though I wrote for work all the time.  Each week a new prompt goaded me into recalling some bit of history to share–sometimes difficult to find or reveal, but the discipline was good.  I wouldn’t have gone those memorable places otherwise, and if not now, when?

Two years later, I have a sheaf of stories in a drawer, travel is fraught but open and I have even met a few fellow Retrospectors in person.  The site has had some technical issues and enthusiasm is apparently waning after seven years in operation.  I am late to the game so it still feels fresh to me, but the future is uncertain.  For me, this would be a great loss: loss of encouragement to write, loss of camaraderie on line, loss of connections.  I hope this is not the end.