Parisian Phoenix Publishing

By Larry Sceurman, author of Death of Big Butch and the short story collection Coffee in the Morning.

Inspired by conversations at the Parisian Phoenix tent at Disability Pride Lehigh Valley

Buy Larry’s books from Amazon here.

We all have WOW moments. Most of us have had wow moments when gazing upon a glorious sunrise or sunset, witnessing a breathtaking view on a mountaintop, or looking into a microscope or a telescope for the first time. When witnessing things that are sensational, impressive or a delightful surprise, the word “wow” can naturally surge from our lips. Wow, for the most part, is a pleasurable admiration.

But wow doesn’t always have to be spectacular.

This past weekend, I attended the Lehigh Valley Disability Pride Festival. The festival itself was an enjoyable time. The wow moments were not astonishing moments full of pizzazz, but observations of little pleasure-filled moments of surprise. A juggler doing a trick with a glass filled with water and not spilling a drop. Watching a musician playing a lap guitar and realizing his feet are motionless, not tapping in time with the music, because he’s in a wheelchair. Listening to Gayle, the art director at my publisher, telling of her up-and-coming eye operation, saying that she might be blind for a brief period of time.

Then, the response from Nancy, a blind poet, “Make sure that things are cleared away so you will not trip over them and eat over the sink. Blind people should eat over the sink because it’s so much easier to clean up.”

My reaction was, “Wow, I do that, when I eat alone.”

Then I have this little ‘Larry Land’ vision of having lunch with Nancy, both of us at the sink eating bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. Nancy and Gayle are contributing writers to the anthology, Not an Able-Bodied White Man with Money. This anthology is a wow moment.

What is the opposite of the wow moment? Is it a yuck moment or an ooh moment? Yuck and ooh are usually a negative, displeasing reaction. Yuck, what a mess. Ooh, that must hurt. Ooh, crap, I can’t believe I did it again.

But the thing that connects wow, ooh, and yuck is surprise. The element of surprise crosses all boundaries of emotional, mental, and physical awareness. As well as negative and positive reaction or perspective. An ooh or yuck moment instills fear and a distasteful perception. Where the wow moment is the enlightenment that strikes the touchstone of majestic awareness. A divine consciousness that can change your thinking and outlook of life.

A wow moment can be picking a big ripe juicy tomato from your garden. Realizing that everything fell into place at the right time, and you had nothing to do with it. Going fishing with your grandkids. Talking to an elderly man at the laundromat that knew your uncle Al. A person in line to buy popcorn and finding out that they had the same kindergarten teacher as you. A nurse in the doctor’s office, who read your book and liked it. All can be wow moments.

A butterfly landing on your shoulder. Not one, but two eagles flying majestically across the sky. The mist coming off a hot sidewalk after a thunderstorm. Lying in bed and holding hands with my lovely wife and telling each other stories.

To me, they are definitely wow moments. The real WOW moment is to recognize the wow moment and to incorporate the wow into your life.