Day #532 Class Photos

I belong to Sisters in Crime. It’s a nationwide organization for people who like mysteries. We all read them, some of us write them, and some sell them. There are a large number of librarians in the group, too.

We have a members-only online discussion forum, and a while back someone asked how do established authors choose names for their characters.

Good question.

Lots of people joined the discussion, and some of the talk centered around our own names--how often or how seldom we come across people with our own names.

The best post, though, came from Hank Phillipi Ryan, a well-established writer who mentioned a cartoon she’d seen in the New Yorker several years ago. It was drawn like a typical first grade class photo, with three rows of kids and a frumpy teacher. 

The caption read:

        Mrs. Prohaska’s First Grade Class:

• First row: Jennifer, Jennifer, David, Jennifer, David, David, Jennifer, Jennifer, David
• Second row: Jennifer David, David, Mrs. Prohaska, Jennifer, David, David, Jennifer, Jennifer
• Third row: Jennifer, David, David, Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer

Were you ever in a class like that?

Just think of it. In a bee colony the class photo would read:

• First row: worker, worker, worker, queen, worker, worker, worker
• Second Row: worker, worker, worker, worker, drone, worker, worker
• Third Row: worker, drone, worker, worker, worker, worker, worker

BEEattitude for Day #532:

       Blessed are those who continue to plant flowers, for they shall hear us humming all summer long.

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