“Rabbit Heart:” When writing, will chasing the details lead one down the rabbit hole?
What are those “orange things?” I wanted to know as I was working on introducing this school into my story.
I tried asking AI but got goofy answers.
I wondered who the architect was, knowing that Chris Risher designed multiple buildings in my hometown Meridian, MS.
But wait a minute! I have my own personal architect I can ask—my son, a recent graduate. So, I sent him the photo.
We had a lovely, extended exchange, albeit via text.
As I explained why it was important to me to know the answer, I dug deeper into what I was attempting at this point in the story. I wanted to convey the modern look of this school building, as compared to others around town. The 1967 building, the last constructed by the Meridian Public School System, struck me as more modern. But to be sure, I needed to know about the materials used and correct architectural terminology.
We debated multiple possibilities for the materials and settled, for the time being, on “vertical ribbon” as the window type. Aha, I thought! It reminds me of assembling a lattice top crust for a pie.
And I was off—back to writing my scene. Inspired with some fresh ideas and happy to have had the time to engage in this way with my son.
So, had I fallen down the rabbit hole of researching? It was too soon to tell. I still needed some answers, so was off to check in with Robert Markham who, twenty years after the school was built, became the second principal in its history…
That same week, I read Joyce Vance’s “Cutting Cancer Research” issue of Civil Discourse, her posts offering “the legal knowledge and analysis you need to be an advocate for democracy, along with a dose of savvy optimism.”
In this issue, she tackled the question of what recent cuts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) mean to us all. Like me, she needed help from multiple sources. Also like me, she turned to her daughter.
As with others of Ms. Vance’s posts, I appreciated the understanding I gained from reading this one. But, given my recent experience asking my son for help, I especially appreciated this: “Writing this piece tonight has been a gift. It’s given me the excuse to get my daughter to explain her work to me in more detail.”
I chose the song title—”Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” by Florence & The Machine—for this post as a way to explore the multitude of ways one can receive a gift, even in trying times.
Lead vocalist and primary songwriter Florence Welch has said this about writing “Rabbit Heart:” “I’d written all these dark songs, and the label suggested we should have something that was a bit more upbeat. In the process of trying to do that, I realised maybe I was sacrificing something. So I had a really upbeat piano and drums, but the lyrics that came out were, ‘This is the gift/It comes with a price/ Who is the lamb/And who is the knife? The rabbit heart is a reference to fear – I’m so afraid of what’s about to happen. Of being in the spotlight.”
I know many who are currently experiencing fear. It would seem that “Rabbit Heart” turned out well for Ms. Welch. The single reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in June 2009. But I don’t know how she answered these questions she raised when speaking to DIY Magazine: “‘What are you actually giving up?’ or if it’s not a ‘give,’ ‘What is it actually taking away from you?’”
For now, I take comfort in staying informed and connected and keeping an eye out for gifts. I appreciate Florence Welch and Joyce Vance for doing the same.
In closing, I’ll again borrow from Ms. Vance. First, her delightful habit of sharing photos of her chickens. Last night I shared with my friend Anna that things were weighing me down. This morning, these beautiful flowers with her heartfelt note appeared on my doorstep. And, last, Ms. Vance’s standard optimistic closing, “We’re in this together.”
Things that Make Me Smile:
Flowers from my caring friend and Joyce Vance’s charismatic chickens Toot and Red Rover