Sticking with a recent topic here: I received a half-dozen e-mails quoting a line that is usually attributed to Dorothy Parker, though one of my correspondents thought it was said by George S. Kaufman. Just about every witty thing ever said by any writer in New York for about forty years was at one time or another attributed to George S. Kaufman but I doubt he said this unless he was quoting Dorothy Parker.
The line is "I hate writing, I love having written." And a quick search of this site for "written parker" would have shown the folks who wrote in that I've discussed it many times on this blog, though not lately. At one point, I said, "To me, that's like saying, 'I hate hitting myself over the head with a ball-peen hammer but I love how it feels when I stop.'" Why become a writer if you hate writing? I hate cole slaw. Why would I become a professional cole slaw taster?
And I wonder if Ms. Parker really hated writing. Those of us who try to write witty, amusing things often say or write lines that we don't believe. We just believe they're witty or amusing. I don't think Henny Youngman really wanted you to take his wife…please. Don Rickles probably never had any true intention of dropping his pants and firing a rocket. Dorothy Parker might have loved writing but thought it was colorful or funny to say she didn't.
I love writing. If no one would pay me to do it, I'd probably get a job I hated to pay the bills and then when I wasn't doing that job, I'd be at this computer writing, if only for myself.
And in saying this here, I think I just answered my own question of earlier this morning as to why I was at this keyboard at 4:08 AM.