Why do people love mysteries?

Are we all armchair detectives at heart?

I don’t know about you but I have always loved a mystery.  Whether it was why Mrs Stefanski from down the street was so secretive about where she bought her spring bulbs or how my dog Rusty ended up in the willow tree, nothing has ever gotten my engines roaring like a mystery.

Maybe it’s genetic?

My dad was a diehard Mickey Spillane fan and various other mystery writers.  Both Mom and Dad couldn’t pass up a crossword puzzle without trying to work it and the whole family regularly gathered around the TV to watch shows like:

• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• The Avengers
• The Saint
• Twilight Zone
• Columbo
• Dragnet
• The Fugitive
• I Spy
• Ironside
• Mannix

So it could be that some humans just possess the mystery gene.  Anything is possible, right?

Maybe it’s just human nature

Personally, I think people love mysteries because it’s just part of human nature.  We humans are a curious lot and what could make you more curious than a mystery, whether it’s a story, a true crime or just something that puzzles you – a mystery sucks you in.  Curiosity has killed more than the cat.

Another part of human nature is that we like to solve things. Of all the creatures on the earth, I think humans are the only creatures that must solve problems, whether they are their own or belong to others. In real life, though that kind of behavior can get you in a big vat of boiling water. It’s much easier to read a mystery and try to solve the imaginary problem of whodunit – and when you do, you feel so clever too! It’s a win-win situation.

And lastly, I think people love mysteries because typically justice is served in the end.  The bad guy is caught and gets his or her just deserts, the loose ends are tied up and everything leads to a logical conclusion.  Again, in life you could seriously hurt yourself trying to get any kind of justice – but reading a book that’s not risky at all.  It satisfies our need to see things set right and nobody else even has to be involved.

Personally, I love mysteries for all of the above reasons and also because reading mysteries has helped me develop my own critical thinking.  It has taught me how to evaluate information, examination things below the surface and take random pieces of information and form a picture that leads to a solution.  Of course, this is my own belief and no scientists were harmed in reaching this conclusion.

Why do you love mysteries?

But how about you?  Do you love mysteries?  Why? Would you rather read a mystery over any other type of book?  What’s the best mystery story ever written?  I’d love to know what you think.

Writer Chick

Copyright 2013

Why Don’t We Really Talk to Each Other Anymore?

You know I’ve been asking myself this question a lot lately. It seems that despite all the trillions of words published on the Internet, uttered on television and exchanged between people on a daily basis there is really very little genuine communication happening in the world. Oh, the words are coming out fast and furious but is anyone really listening or noticing if anyone is listening? It seems to me that these bagillions of sound bites are just forming a collective blog of white noise that has just become a constant hum in the background.

How’d we get here?

How did we get here? Did we all just wake up one day and realize that there was some sort of spewing-out-words competition going on worldwide? We have to write our blog posts, write our comments in forums, brag on social media channels, and be the first to have 20 affiliate sites online? We have to text about every stupid thing somebody said or did or wore? We can’t put down our phones for one second to even acknowledge the grocery store checker or coffee house barista? We can’t even cross the street without a phone or iPod stuck to our ears? Methinks, yes. That does seem to be the case.

Thanks to technology, we no longer need to leave our homes to get what we want. We can order anything from furniture to diapers online. We can work from home in our pajamas, via the computer. We can stay in touch with family via social media, iPhones, Skype and email. We never actually have to be face to face with another human being. Ever.

What’s wrong with that?

Well there is nothing wrong with technology, in fact, it’s great. However, it does make things too easy for us. It makes it too easy to be disrespectful, mean and rude. It makes it too easy to see people as numbers, opposites, enemies, competitors and rivals. It brings us together but it also tears us apart. And there is one thing that technology can never give us and that’s humanity. We are living, sentient beings capable of incredible things. Kindness that no machine can ever replicate. Caring that no social media outlet will ever express. Love. Companionship. Understanding. Loyalty. Sympathy. Empathy. Joy. We humans really rock. And sadly, we don’t seem to value each other nearly as much as the latest release of our favorite gadget.

Hug your favorite human today

For certain, technology is not going away. And no doubt, better and better gadgets will be developed and embraced. Politicians will come up with more and more classes and categories to put us in. Dueling groups will duel into infinity and beyond. But I challenge you to hug your favorite human today. Put down the phone, the mouse, the iPad and talk to your mom. Sit on the porch and ask your granddad about what life was like when he was a boy. Go out to your garden and dig around in the dirt with your kids. Have a sit-down family dinner and talk about what happened today. Smile and ask the young kid at Starbucks how they’re doing. You may be surprised. You may find that humans are great fun to talk to and have ideas and dreams and wisdom to impart.

Writer Chick

Copyright 2013

Reconciliation

An interesting word. One with many nuances and layers but in the end is about coming to terms and restoring that which was. I have had a lot of time to consider this word and the action of same. And to see how very difficult it can be and all of the reasons why it is so difficult and yet so easy to do, to offer, to want.

Mistakes are made, words are uttered and regretted, or worse, unspoken and left to the imagination to grow into disportionate size and significance – and that which was so simple five minutes ago is suddenly a raging beast with its sites set on you, while you were only just going along minding your own business. It can be a shock to the system and the source of much confusion and distress.

Ah, I wax philosophic and speak in circles, yes, I admit it because I’m looking for the truth of it and quite honestly have not found it. And I want to. It is important to me to understand what is true in my own and in the lives of others I care about. But maybe too important to me about others because I have a tendency to worry less about myself and more about others and go so far over the limit to help, to comfort and console that I forget that I need these things too. And in the forgetting stumble upon land mines that I had no idea were there.

It would be so easy to just shrug it off, forget it, move on. I like going for the easy route because it is more comfortable and makes for a smoother ride and then you aren’t really required to look at the dynamics at play and how you had a part in them. In the end though, you always do have to examine those and come to grips and do what you can to learn from them and move on. So, I am trying to do that in my own haphazard way while always keeping my eye on the very beautiful things in my life – the large and the small things, not let any of it miss my notice and acknowlegement. And though I don’t think things will ever be as they were – I do hope that perhaps in a way they will be better with a deeper understanding and a stronger ability to forgive and forget.

Thanks for indulging in my talking out loud piece. I do apologize if it makes no sense to anyone but me.