Brooding about Broods

Dear TLC:

I am a fan of American Chopper. Watching the Teutul family is a melange of action, engineering, graphic design, comedy, drama, and family. Bravo. No, not Bravo. Bravo.

As we are in the middle of November Sweeps, I feel compelled to write to you about your other shows, which all seem to be about about freakishly large families. (Freaky, freakier, and still more freakiness.) They are taking over your network. I understand that shows are in the works for several months before going on the air. Perhaps you lined up all these crazy families before the Jon and Kate lost the love. TV executives live and learn. So in the spirit of living and learning, I humbly suggest you find something else to exploit.

The only monstrous family I want to see on TV is one made of up of adopted or fostered children. If at all possible, it'd be great to follow the lives of a family who takes in the children of an immediate family member, after their tragic death in a car accident.

Thank you for reading.

Warm regards,

Michelle Panik

http://www.straycarrierpigeon.com/

Stories

I recently discovered an HGTV show called "If Walls Could Talk". If you love stories like I love stories, you might want to check it out. The dramatic recreations can at times be a bit corny, but the stories they tell about people's houses (typically the home's history, which also typically incorporates past owners) are fascinating.

The theme of storytelling continues. Today I read a Little Bill book to my Rolling Readers class. Basically, everyone in Little Bill's family has their "thing" (the father, jazz records; the mother, kitchen heirlooms; the brother, baseball cards). Little Bill doesn't. Upon learning of Bill's frustration, his great-grandmother asks him to make up a story for her. What follows is a silly, nonsensical story about a "something" becoming a "no big thing." I read those pages and thought, "This is like ninety percent of my writing."

I have been remiss in thanking Veronika, my mom, and Bryan for their editing assistance (in both English and Spanish) on a story I submitted to the Napa conference. The manuscript is by no means done, but it would be utter crap without each of your help. Muchas gracias!