by E. Alan Meece, for UUFLG Band of Writers
My Band of Writers Essays
June 6, 2026, for meeting of June 14, 2026

Prompt: based on the advice to writers you may have heard. "Write what you know". So, What DO you know? Or, Well, what do you know! (Well, whad-da ya know ‘bout that!)

The advice we get is "write about what you know". But as usual, right now I don’t know what to write about. So should I write about not knowing what to write about? I guess so, so here goes.

The newer quantum science says we can only know the probability of what exists. Things are only clear and distinct when we observe and measure them. The ancient Greeks already knew that what moves and changes can’t be pinned down and measured. So what do we know? Everything is somewhat mysterious. The lines get blurry. Knowing that everything blends together in our experience brings some peace in knowing that we are not completely alone.

In a sense, I can’t write what I know, because distinct words do not describe what I know. I don’t really know anything fully, only part of the way into that misty probability. But if I only say what is probable, my writing might get too mushy, like mashed potatoes. But maybe that’s why beatnicks and jazz artists taught us to ask, "can you dig it?" You have to dig up those potatoes. And since we are trying to describe what changes, we can’t just sit still and be couch potatoes and watch TV. We probably need to get up and move. That may not be practical while writing. But at least, when I write, my pencil is moving! And in my mind, I can go places, and remember where I have gone to.

Blurred Lines, by Robin Thicke, ft. Pharrell Williams (everybody get up) a too-sexy popular hit from 2013.