DEJA VU ... Embrace It!

Everybody’s done it, at least once in their lives, walked into an unfamiliar place and felt as if they’d been there before.  It’s often referred to as DÉJÀ VU. I visited a school today, Meadowbrook Elementary, I’d never been there before but as soon as I walked into the building, I felt as if I had. It was quite bizarre really, that feeling. This particular school appeared much older than it was. It was built in the seventies, but it had a much older feel, to me, than that.

Walking the path toward the school, laced with grass and trees, I immediately noticed the concrete steps that led to the large double doors. The brickwork caught my attention, real brick, with pillars, and accents that stood out. Details that I appreciate, and are often found in older structures. The difference between built and poured comes to mind, and this structure was solid.

Schools as a whole smell the same, especially to a visitor. Kids, cleaning solutions, cafeteria food, and all of these odors wafted through the air. Huge clocks hung from the walls, and I couldn’t help but notice the filing cabinets, they were old, like the building, but they fit. My mind grabbed every detail as I walked the corridors that it could: the floors, ceilings, kids, chairs, clocks,


carpet, shelves, books, teachers, backpacks, hairstyles, and even the type of boots that the kids wore, to name a few of the details I grabbed. I want to describe the auditorium because I know, as a writer, that most writers would love to soak up the magnificent images/details, that I witnessed today.  The kids were great; but the environment, the auditorium where I spoke was absolutely amazing.

Auditorium: Two main entrances, my mind says, unusually close, with lovely large wooden doors. Steep concrete slope, leading toward the front of the room, that held rows and rows of wooden, flip, chairs, the old kind, thin, worn, loud and close together. There were three sections, two aisles, leading to the center stage, largest section in the middle. The stage, large, curtained and of course elevated, complete with stage entrance, wooden stairs and a side door. This blew my mind, I’m in Texas, steam poured through white, wide lattice that covered the underneath area of the stage. Boilers, a boiler room somewhere, with boilers still in use. Wow! Air conditioning poured through the ceiling, so the temperature was inconsistent, and the combination of the steam and cool air produced mist. Very cool! Considering all of the kids that I addressed aren’t writers, their attentiveness, questions, and behavior, was exceptional. All eyes on the presentation or the speaker (me), as my eyes noticed the kids that truly hung onto the ‘writing’ information. Those kids stayed behind, those kids love to write. 

I attended schools just like this, growing up in England, and the memories that flooded my mind were startling. I realize writing a blog post about details maybe boring to some; but for a writer, we thrive on details. I went to a school today to share with students as a favor for one of my business partners, who knew a teacher (his friend), and he did her a favor. I received a gift. Details. DÉJÀ VU, embrace it. I did. Soak up the details, embrace DÉJÀ VU, and if you’re a writer or illustrator, use them daily to enhance the work that you love.