Reflecting on the Grist… 

the inspiration and the process

Twenty-five years or so later, and I still appreciate the potential of this piece.  I was living in Enchanted Lake next door to a yellow house with green trim and purple painted coconuts hanging from the eaves.  The family living there both fascinated and concerned me.  The aging parents and one of the adult sons were dealing with health challenges, and the other adult son seemed trapped by familial responsibilities.  Even the shaggy dog was ancient and decrepit, staggering across the front lawn to poop and pee.  It was painful to watch. 

I had infrequent interactions with my neighbors–a passing greeting or a sharing of tangerines (our tree provided quite the harvest each season).  What little I did know inspired the writer in me to ask, “What if a non-traditional woman moved in next door?”  Alice’s presence forces Mark to re-examine the life expectations and rules he’s accepted (through family, church, community, society) and lived by for three decades. 

It is written in second person and present tense; we see Mark’s world and Alice through Mark’s perspective.  Tom Robbins maintains second person, present tense in his novel Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. And yes, Robbins’s novel inspired me to experiment.   Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas    

I was introduced to Robbins by my friend Sandy through Robbins’ novel Still Life with Woodpecker.  I remember I was around twenty-four and reading it on breaks at the savings and loan where I worked.  It was the first time I felt undressed by an author, as if he knew more about me than even my most intimate lover did.  Tom Robbins still manages to surprise me and broaden my horizons.  

The original title was “The House of Death,” reflecting not only the health issues challenging my neighbors, but at the time my own health challenge with pre-cervical cancer, which was successfully resolved.  I decided to change the title to “Wildflower,” which represents Alice–embodying her beauty and her feral tendencies.    

The Very Best Baby Name Book in the Whole Wide World by Bruce Lansky has been a good resource for naming characters.  I choose names with meanings that represent the personality of the character.  Mark and Luke are both common Catholic names for males, which fit their family’s religious background. Luke means “light bringer” and Mark means “martial, warlike.” (I am also capitalizing on the loaded meaning Mark’s mother has burdened her son with–the expectation Mark will leave his “mark” on society.)  I associate “Alice” with Alice in Wonderland.  In this case, Alice is the adventure, not the hero falling helplessly into adventure. Alice means “truthful” and “noble.” Over the years my high school friend Alyce has inspired me to re-examine my personal beliefs… and I am better for that. And so this character honors her. 

Lansky, Bruce.  The Very Best Baby Name Book in the WholeWide World.  Minnetonka, Meadowbrook Press, 2004.