Taking Action and Writing About It Becomes Easier

After my “Cop-out” experience I decided not to return to college; instead, I decided to devote some time to doing something more productive in the community.

An opportunity presented itself when I heard the then Governor of California, Jerry Brown, (1976) on the radio asking listeners to visit residents in nursing homes or other institutions. That sounded wonderful to me. For a year and a half, I spent lots of time and effort in a local convalescent hospital.

Because of my observations and experiences there, I was among the registered students at Solano College again the following year. This time, I presented a paper regarding convalescent hospitals to a professor that earned me an A.

The paper was in a fictionalized story of my experiences at La Mariposa. As narrator, I told the story about a woman called Rosemary in a story called “The Sudden Activist.” I had not intended to be an activist; I just wanted to be useful in the community. After one whole year of being welcomed by both the staff and the patients several days a week, the administration changed. With that change, I became an unwelcome nuisance by the new staff. The patients still wanted me to visit, so I endured an increasingly tense relationship with the staff, especially because I fought back in writing.  I gathered a series of correspondence that became the basis of an expository essay which I submitted to a History Class.

One of the skills I had learned in English classes in previous years was that a writer does not have to use the word “I” all the time. It is possible to be a narrator and put oneself into a story as just another character.

The experience of thinking myself a “cop-out” had made such an impression on me that it was logical to write out this story in the third person singular. The Marianne who endured the sting of criticism from an authority figure was not the same Marianne who loved her family. Writing in this style was one way to separate myself from the event.

In fact, writing had become very therapeutic for me. As my family continued life at work and school, I remained vigilant. Although I no longer felt panicky or in imminent danger, my responsibilities as a mother of an American family were clearly in focus now. I kept a close eye on news events, especially those of a political nature, and sent lots of questions to the people who made confusing or contradictory statements. It was clear to me that a mother of an American family should not be misinformed or misled.  I wrote lots of letters to various corporations and agencies in my quest for the truth and eventually regained my sense of humor and peace of mind.

As a realist,  I knew that I could not depend on the media to give me the straight truth about nutrition, medical care, national defense, and a variety of other subjects relevant to the well-being of my family. I wrote personal letters that got actual responses and investigated locally as much as possible rather than gather knowledge out of books at school. I viewed my time at La Mariposa as a chance to see just how much impact good nutrition, and especially a laugh or two, would make on the overall health of a person.

Was I ever surprised!