rowling, writer's block, and juice

I have recently been introduced to J.K. Rowling's official website... and I love it! The time she takes to update posts and research fan sites is amazing. She really cares about her fans, and her writing. Just sitting there at my desk reading, watching the clock, and waiting for a call to come in, I realized that the cure for my writer's block is simply to read. I can't believe I never realized it before! When I first started my blog I was constantly reading something. When school started, I reserved reading for strictly business purposes. How could I have been so foolish?!

Something as simple as perusing Rowling's biography started to bring back long-forgotten childhood memories and images. Rowling's first dateable memory, the birth of her sister, is centred on a young J.K. playing with a piece of plastesine.

This brought me to the distinct and deeply buried memory of my sister's birth day which, oddly enough, revolves around a cup of juice. It is a bit strange that a cup of juice should mean so much to me, but this is not just any cup of juice. This is the juice that comes in a clear molded plastic cup that is sealed with a silver foil lid with a perfect little pull tab. The kind of juice that is best eaten frozen with a bendy white plastic spoon. The juice that you used to get at McDonald's, Braeside, the first aid room in grade one, and incidentally, the hospital cafeteria.

On this special day my daddy walked me around the dimly lit, quiet hallways of St Joe's, keeping me occupied during the big event. A nice lady, probably a nurse, gave me a frozen juice cup and it has stayed with me ever since.