Write Now!

Do I dare say that I'm taking another class?  This time not in photography but for my scrapbooking...a journaling class with Big Picture Classes called "Write Now!"  Journaling is the toughest part of finishing a scrapbook page for me.  I've been know to put lots of pictures and embellishments and not leave enough room for much journaling!  I was a few days late starting the class so I'm playing catch-up. I won't be posting all the assignments. We have a quick write project each day where we strictly write for four minutes about a prompt we are sent by email. This is to get us in the habit of writing every day.  Sometimes I may post one, but probably not all of them.

For this assignment we were to write a Thematic Mini Essay. We're learning to get away from stating the obvious about the photos on a page.  For instance on this page I would probably have said something like "I had a wonderful time riding the carousel with my grandsons. I remember riding it as a child.  We had so much fun today". It's pretty obvious we were riding and having a good time...we're on the horses and we're smiling.  A thematic essay makes a point about a specific topic.  The topic on  this page is the carousel. The theme is my childhood memories of the carousel and the joy of riding it with my grandsons.

Here's the journaling:

Up and down the horses go . . . round and round to the sound of calliope music. These are sights and sounds that flood me with memories of my childhood. My parents would take my sister, brother, and me to a small amusement park near our home to ride the rides. My favorite ride then and still today is the carousel.

Up and down the horses go . . . beautifully painted horses with gorgeous saddles. Horses of every color with flowing manes. We hold on tightly as our horse takes us high in the air and back down again causing us laugh out loud.

Up and down the horses go . . . making us feel free. In my imagination we are going on a marvelous adventure, galloping through the meadow of tall, wavy grass together. The sunshine is on our shoulders and the wind is blowing our hair. We are free to run as quickly and as far as we want.

Up and down the horses go . . . keeping time to the bright and cheerful carnival tunes blaring through tinny speakers. The sound of polkas and waltzes fill the air. Music that makes my heart beat faster. Music that makes me happy, oh so happy,

Up and down the horses go . . . as I share the excitement, the thrill, and the joy of riding the carousel with my four grandsons!! We’re riding on the same newly restored carousel called “Over The Jumps” that I rode on as a child.

I wanted to have pictures of my grandsons on the layout also, so here's the second page.

This information is on the second page:

Over The Jumps Carousel

Located in Little Rock, Arkansas is the only fully operational carousel of its kind in the world. Research has revealed that it is the only surviving example of an undulating track carousel manufactured by the Spillman Engineering Corporation in North Tonawanda, New York around 1926. The undulating track moves up and down with the horses attached to the track. It was initially a traveling carousel and made appearances at the Arkansas State Fair as part of a circuit of amusement rides The track carries forty hand-carved wooden horses and four chariots.

I'm not sure this is really a thematic essay, but it's what came when I put my pen to paper and it's much better than I would have done in the past.