Through the wonders of linked in, I heard from a college friend I hadn’t seen since 1980. Thirty-six years ago. I hardly feel 36, let along have been in college that long ago.
We briefly caught ourselves up on what we’ve been doing. And it made me realize an old truth.
Every one has a story.
Just that quick interaction and my morning’s survey of the news gave me seven new story ideas.
- A woman marries her college boyfriend and leads an idyllic life in the suburbs with her husband and four children. Then she suddenly dies of a rare brain disease. The husband has to come to grips with her loss, and her children spiral out of control, unable to cope with the loss of their mother. They felt all their happiness went to the grave with their mother.
2. Or the family has just recovered after a few years, finding a new equilibrium. Then the husband is contacted by a lawyer, wanting him a join a malpractice lawsuit. The lawyer claims the doctor misdiagnosed another health condition the wife had, in order to put her in a research study he was conducting. A bad drug as part of the study is what caused the brain disease.
3. Or in going through her things, the husband finds his wife had some secrets. As in she kept in touch with her high school boyfriend. The husband begins to suspect that one of their children is not his.
4. Or in going though her things, the husband learns his wife wasn’t the community college teacher he thought she was. Instead, she trained spies who were being placed as clerical workers in foreign industries. Then he uncovers clues that her brain disease wasn’t the fluke that the doctors told him it was.
5. Or the husband experiences all four of these scenarios. He doesn’t know if he’s losing his hold on reality, or that he’s crossing between three parallel universes.
6. And then there was the report that earth is really made up of two planets that collided. The collision knocked a piece of the earth into orbit, which became our moon. The other planet merged with the remainder of earth, forming the globe we live on. Scientists studying this find traces of the other world, and a previously unknown metal. The race is on to secure the only know deposit and to figure out why everyone who touches the metal dies within a month.
7. A billionaire decides to run for president. Most people don’t take him seriously, but he quickly surges to the top of the polls and stays there for months.
Oh, wait. We’re living that one. Truth can be stranger than fiction.