Have you ever referred to one of your close friends as sticky? Kathy is one of my stickiest friends. She has stuck with me through thick and thin. When others questioned my motives, she had my back. When I stood my ground and fired five of the teachers who taught at my yoga studio, she never asked why. Two weeks ago, when I struggled with the question of alcoholism. Am I an alcoholic? Am I the living legacy of my mother? She texted me every day. “Been reading your blog. Stay strong. I love you. As they say, one day at a time. Sending love and healing energy your way. You’re on my mind and wanted you to know I’m here for you in any way I can. Good for you. You deserve a great day.” Now that is a sticky friend. No judgement, no shame, no doubt, just love and support.
Although stickiness is not a quality you might strive to achieve, it embodies all that is good in life. Honey is sticky. Who does not like honey? Adhesives are sticky. They hold things together. What would we do without Elmer’s glue, super glue, hot glue, wood glue, rubber cement, glue guns, glue sticks and epoxy.
How would we attach a stamp to an envelope? How would we keep wrapping paper on the presents we give to our loved ones at holiday time? Without stickiness, super models would have to forgo fake eye lashes and nails, children would not have stickers to play with and I would never have chewed bubble gum, which by the way, rotted my teeth. And what about gummy bears? Now there is a sticky business that is bad for the teeth.
If something is worthwhile, if it has purpose and meaning, if it is universal, like a moral, a folk-tale, an urban legend, it will stick. Good ideas stick. Inventions that make life easier stick with us. What was a kleenex called before it was a Kleenex? Kimberly Clark trademarked the name Kleenex for its paper handkerchiefs in 1930. Now we call every facial tissue, Kleenex. The name stuck. Copy machines were once just that. Now we know them as Xerox machines. Apple was Steve Job’s favorite fruit. There are more sticky brand names that are now nouns: Alka Seltzer, Frisbee, YoYo, Escalator, Chapstick, Ping pong, Styrofoam, Scotch Tape, and my all time favorite, Hoola-hoop.
As a writer, I want to be sticky. I want my ideas, my thoughts, my words, my sentences, my stories to stick with you. I want them to be unique and universal. I want my name to be bandied about like, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Woolf, Henry Miller, Toni Morrison,Maya Angelou, Flannery O’Conner, and Margaret Atwood. These are not just words, These names mean “writers.” Do I want to be famous? No. I want to be good, really good at what I do. I want to challenge, awaken, enliven and engage my reader. I will keep writing, day after day, month after month, year after year, until I learn how to be sticky.
Writing into the Light 