“Telling” and “Showing”
TELLING - summarizing your thoughts and actions without specific details.
My friend took me to a bar for the first time in fifteen years. It was a nightclub where they played old disco music, music from my youth. I felt uncomfortable and unsure of myself.
SHOWING – describing your thoughts and actions by using specific details to recreate
the event.
We arrived at Bellbottoms at 10:30 PM. Cindy said that timing was everything. I walked in and walked back into time. The Village People were singing “YMCA” and people were on the dance floor with their arms over their heads spelling out the letters. With each trumpet blast, the wire in my bra throbbed to the beat.
My head was swimming from too much Chardonnay and my high heels were feeling higher than they had at the apartment. Cindy was showing me the ropes, how to walk, how to talk when men came up. She said one more drink would help my nerves.
When we got to the bar, Cindy ordered two whiskey sours. Time for something stronger to take the edge off. I tugged at the hem of my short black skirt, attempting to make it longer.
“Stop that,” Cindy said. “You look fine. Show off them gorgeous legs.”
I shrugged and removed my hand, but didn’t know where to put it. I rested it on the top of my skinny black purse. One hand on the purse, the other holding my drink.
I wobbled as seductively as I could through the dimly lit room. I arched my back, pushed my chest out, swished my hips, and held my head high. The bar strut. Cindy was directly in front of me, doing the same damn thing. Two hens strutting in front of a row of roosters. I heard the faint cackle of barnyard chickens.
