Inspiration can come from some pretty strange places. I found this cap in an antique store about 10 years ago. I spotted it because of the calcium carbide lamp on the front. I knew this was a mining lamp because my grandad used them in the mercury mines but the cap was so small. It is so small that no one here can wear it. I have it propped up on a mint tin, my salt and pepper shakers and a water-glass. Yeah, I’m all about high-tech. Anyway, a bit of research revealed that this was a child’s cap most likely used in the Illinois coal mines. Yes, a cloth cap on a child in a mine. Sigh, shake your head and read on. It is definitely appalling.
The novel that I’ve had to set aside to write about the Dakota Access Pipeline is set in a community where the mines have played out. I just re-found this cap cleaning at my dad’s. I should be noodling over pipelines and water rights and the Army Corp of Engineers but I’m thinking about kids in mines and my novel.
I have a new twist that will help increase the stakes rattling around in my head. When I don’t have time to write it. I sent myself an e-mail as a reminder and I’m hoping that will buy me some time. If not, and the idea just won’t leave me alone, I’ll try to find fifteen minutes to work this into my “outline.” It seems kind to call the increasingly chaotic jumble of notes an outline but there you have it.
Thank you, inspiration. Your timing is just a tiny bit stinko.
–SueBE
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