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Essays & Other Prose at the Treetops Studios
Essays & Other Prose
Treetops John's mother was a resident in the extended care unit at the Sannich Peninsula Hospital until her death in the fall of 1994. After her death both John and Elaine joined the SPH Volunteers. These short pieces were written in the mid-1990's for the Volunteers' Newsletter. They were designed to be read to or by residents. Therefore, they are short, speakable and call up an image. They are also unashamedly nostalgic and pastoral.
Looking back, this series of stories is also the first use of the name 'Treetops' in its current sense, as the name of our Studio, in 1995, one year after we arrived in Saanichton.
Neither John nor Elaine feel any great need for anonymity. But, as we were both very active in SPH at the time, John suspected that an image of the author might come between the reader and the story. Therefore, the stories were originally printed without any names or attribution except the signature block 'Treetops'.
The author, John Oliver Dendy, retains copyright. Volunteer organizations involved in the care of children, the sick or the elderly may reproduce the stories for their own use. As before, no direct citation is necessary but the author would appreciate a note, e-mail or .jpeg on the circumstances of their use. It's always nice to hear from friends. Top
Tall Tales Now, you know that I don't really mean 'Tall Tales'. I mean, and with not a hint of fear or shame in my typing, 'Shaggy Dog Stories'. In this age of microbits and nanoseconds, if I said the "S*D*S*" words almost nobody would click on the link. The Tall Tale just lets me warn you that I am going to stretch your imagination. The Shaggy Dog Story warns you that in addition to stretching your imagination, I am going to stretch your patience, and make you love it too - or maybe just groan. I'm delighted in either case. Because, for several minutes I have played with my words and syntax upon with your interest and patience to set you up for a terrible pun or other twist of meaning.
There has been a change in tempo in entertainment - well 'the media' anyway - in the last few decades. It makes the Shaggy Dog Story hard to pull off. I think that audiences have become accustomed to a much faster directorial pace. Let me give an illustration similar to the one we use for our derivation of the Studio Look in Elaine's part of the Studio. Get out the videos or DVD's of a couple of dozen of your favourite action movies from the 1960's, '70's and '80's. 'Jaws' stands up well. In many of the others the directorial pace seems to be far too slow to my turn of the century eye. Watching them has become a bit like reading poetry. I have to consciously 'gear down'. And with a deliberate change of metaphor, he ended by remarking; 'Then, many of my shaggy dogs are pretty old dogs by now. They don't mind having less speed but more power available on demand.' Top
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