Becky Says...

January 2006

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The Big Deal - January 29

There are people who want to know what the big deal is that James Frey lied. They mention his being a writer, using what he must have perceived the truth to be.

When you start perceiving several hours spent in jail as being close to three months, I'm thinking your perception needs a reality check in a huge way.

The big deal for me is that his story had inspired so many people. A lot of people admired his strength. A lot of people took comfort in his words. A lot of people figured if he could stay strong in recovery, they could too. A lot of people with loved ones in recovery found reason to hope.

All because he said his story was true.

This is beginning to remind me of the aftermath of the Kaycee Nicole saga, when people who wondered why those of us who broke that hoax wide open couldn't just keep our suspicions to ourselves.

I wrote about it here, and one thing I said of us was, "We don't need to have readers afraid to write us, for fear that their genuine gestures (of support) are going to a liar."

James Frey really should have read that entry.

New Friend, Old Friend - January 28

A new friend of mine has led me back to an old friend, through a favorite word.

I've told you before that I have a good memory. I don't, however, usually remember where I learned a specific word. This word, "namaste," which is from the Sanskrit, is different in that respect. I learned it a few years ago from Kay, who used it sometimes in an earlier incarnation of her "Letters from New England."

I had asked her what it meant, and she said it roughly translated, "I bow to the divine within you."

Kay had stopped writing online for a while, and I lost track of her. But I didn't forget her, or the lovely word and its meaning.

Last weekend I was reading the archives of a journal I had recently found. And there, at the close of a quite powerful entry, was the lovely word. I wrote to Francis-Maria to tell him how much I liked his writing. In the course of that note, I didn't mention the word. But we have both had occasion to use it in subsequent correspondence.

Of course, seeing the word and using it myself made me think of Kay. So this morning I looked through my e-mail archives and found an address for her from several years back. I wrote, on the chance that she might still be using the address.

She is, and shortly after getting my note she wrote back with an update on her life and a link to her current journal. I'm so glad this worked out.

And I hope you will become acquainted with my two friends, if you aren't already. To both of them, and to all of you, namaste.

Text � copyright 2000-2006 Becky