A tale I wrote in the beginning of my last semester at Towson University in 2011.
Every month or so, I will post a little nonfiction tale in less than 400 words, something based on a topic created by Baltimore’s free Urbanite magazine for their “What You’re Writing” section. Here’s what I’m writing for this month:
There used to be a simple, short book that would put me to sleep when I was in kindergarten. It was a calming story about a stubborn monster who wouldn’t get ready for bed. “The Shaggy Little Monster Book,” it read on the green framed cover with an illustration of a tiny hairy monster. My mom would read me that book as she sat on my mattress and I was lying under my warm Tiny Toons quilt, which I still have.
My mom lost the book somehow while we were living in the apartment in Nottingham. And even though we never saw that book again, my mother and I had memorized the whole story that we recited it in the dark bedroom with my night light plugged in. “That night, momma said, ‘Shaggy Little Monster, it’s time to get ready for bed,’ mom recited.
Last night, I realized the only bedtime story I had was the story I was reading for class. I almost forgot about the entire story of the shaggy monster and I’ll bet that book is now out of print. But now that I’m a writer, I’m thinking I should create my own bedtime stories to tell my kids when I’m older and to tell myself to conquer my anxiety disorder and get some sleep.
The Joy in Journalism 