Welcome, Ben Franklin: IWSG Post

Have you noticed that insecurities tend to wreak havoc with the creative process? Well, Alex J. Cavanaugh  did something about this problem; he founded an Insecure Writer’s Support Group. We’re posting monthly, exposing our vulnerabilities and/or offering support to one another. Please check out Alex’s blog to visit others’ posts. It’s a group of kind-hearted bloggers/writers, authors and great folks.  Join us, if you haven't already! All that's required is an insecurity or two hundred.
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Robyn is too anxious to talk. Ben Franklin strolls on stage, decayed and disheveled, but extremely polite. 

Trembling, Robyn takes a large stride towards him. She slips and falls onto her butt, at Ben’s feet. “Oh *bleep*! God, I mean *bleep!* I’m so sorry.” He helps her up. A red-faced Robyn extends a hand to offer a formal greeting. Ben and Robyn shake hands, then sit in their respective La-Z-boy recliners.

Ben: Not to worry, a slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.

Robyn:  Um, yes, well my tongue slips too, but only on very rare occasion. *Bleep!* Oh sorry, I think I’m just nervous. I mean, you’re Ben Franklin, philosopher, author, inventor, American diplomat and all-around hero who’s been dead for 222 years.

Ben: My dear, fear not death for the sooner we die, the longer we shall be immortal.

Robyn: Good point.  On behalf of all Americans, Ben, I wish you a happy Independence Day. We have so much to thank you for. I don't know where to start.

Ben: No need for platitudes. Where liberty dwells, there is my country.

Robyn: I see. Well this is my Insecure Writer’s Group Post for July, so I'd like to ask for advice for all of us writers who struggle with insecurities.

Ben: Certainly.

If you would not be forgotten
As soon as you are dead and rotten,
Either write things worth reading,
Or do things worth the writing.

Robyn leans in closer to Ben's face, appearing to listen intently. Instead, she is lost in heated fantasies involving a man of Franklin’s wit, preferably one who hasn’t been dead for 222 years.  

Ben continues, with clarity but no logical string of thoughts:

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.

Beware of the young doctor and the old barber. 

Interrupting (she likes young doctors), Robyn says: Thank you so much, Mr. Franklin. I hope to see you again. She stands up, gives him a wink and nuzzles his arm to escort Ben off the stage. Franklin walks with her, continuing:

By my rambling digressions, I perceive myself to be growing old.

He’s a fool who cannot conceal his wisdom..

Dear blog friends, whether or not you celebrate Independence Day, may you appreciate our countless freedoms – including our limitless opportunities to express ourselves through writing.

Keep writing the things worth reading and doing things worth the writing.

Happy July 4^th!

Thank you, Ben Franklin ~ 1706-1790. May you continue to rest in peace.

The italicized quotes above were found at www.quotationspage.com, jpetrie.mywebluga.edu, and www.goodreads.com/author/quotes.