All Aboard the Leanne Train

Newsletter Issue #63

Last Wednesday was a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day. It was a slog for lots of reasons, not the least of which was I had dentist and doctor’s appointments. I hadn’t slept well, so I was tired. I had a lot of work to do, and it wasn’t getting done because I was out running around from appointment to appointment. On top of that, I had to get some blood work done before the doctor’s visit. By the time I went to get blood drawn in the late afternoon, I wasn’t in the best mood.

While I was waiting in the lobby for my test results, a young man introduced himself and struck up a conversation. His name was Aaron, and he was there with his grandmother. I’m not much into talking with strangers in waiting rooms—I prefer to be left alone to sulk in silence. So I’ll admit, I started out wishing his grandmother would rein him in. “Aaron, leave the nice lady alone,” I expected her to say at any moment. But she didn’t. She let Aaron be himself and do his thing.

When Aaron introduced himself and told me his name, he then asked me mine.

“Leanne,” I said.

“Leanne?” he asked. “Is it L-E-A-N-N-E?”

“Yes,” I said. “That’s right.” I was a little bit delighted because most of the time people get the spelling wrong. Such a little thing that made me feel seen.

“Leanne is a cool name,” he said. “I have a friend named Leanne.”

“Oh really?” I asked.

“Yes,” Aaron said.

I felt myself warming.

I’m always surprised to hear about another Leanne, especially one with the same spelling as mine. Leanne is a fairly uncommon name, and there isn’t a lot of consensus about it. Some sources say it’s from the French and means “canoe maker.” Others say it’s of both French and British origin and means “gracious” or “merciful.” Others say it’s of Arabic orgin and means, “tender,” “delicate,” or “gentle.” Its popularity peaked in 1969 and has declined pretty steadily since. In the 1960s, about 500 babies in a million were named Leanne. Only 22 babies in a million are named Leanne these days.

It’s weird how a little thing like spelling a person’s name right or complimenting a person’s name can make that person feel special. Aaron continued to make me feel that way throughout our conversation.

Aaron and his grandmother had spent the day before at Disneyland. Aaron told me about his trip to the Magic Kingdom and about his favorite rides and shows. Every step of the way during our conversation, Aaron shared details about himself, but he also made a point of asking me for details about my life, and he seemed to be genuinely interested in my answers. When he told me his favorite ride was Space Mountain, he then asked me about mine (Splash Mountain). “Oh, Splash Mountain isn’t there anymore,” Aaron said. His voice was filled with empathy for me. “It’s called Tiana’s Bayou Adventure now. Same ride, but a different story. I liked Splash Mountain better, too.”

When he told me he liked to make and compose music, he asked me if I make music. When I told him I don’t, but that I love to listen to music, he asked me about the kinds of music I like to listen to.

“I wrote a song for my friend Leanne,” Aaron told me. “It’s called ‘All Aboard the Leanne Train.’ Would you like to hear it?”

Duh! “Yes, I’d love to hear it,” I said.

Aaron pulled out his phone and played the song for me. It was a very cool song, light electronica. It was beautiful.

Then Aaron asked me if I’d seen the Disneyland World of Color show. I hadn’t, so he showed me a video he’d taken of the show and pointed out the way scenes are played against the colorful, brightly lit water.

Aaron shook my hand as I left and told me it was nice to meet me. I told him it was nice to meet him, too, and that I’d enjoyed talking with him. I was telling the truth. Aaron had made the conversation so pleasant. It was not one-sided. He told me a lot about himself, but he’d taken a genuine interest in getting to know me, too, for absolutely no reason other than that I was another human being on our shared planet who’d floated into his orbit that afternoon. Aaron gave me the gift of a real human connection. He made my day, and I left in a much better mood.

It’s the little things that lift our spirits, and it’s the little things that may lift someone else’s spirits, too. Aaron will never know that he made a bad day a little better for me last week, but he did. I wonder how many people’s days he brightens each and every day that he ventures out in public. I can almost feel Aaron’s authentic joy in life spreading throughout San Luis Obispo and seeping out into the world.

XOXO

Leanne

P.S. If you’re feeling low, I hope you’ll get out into the world and be open to letting another human being lift your spirits today. And if you have a little extra to give, I hope you’ll take a moment to lift the spirits of someone else. It takes so little, really. Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

“Scribble out the world since it was not to your liking
and make up a new one, something better.”

—Alice McDermott

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Please join me at the Central Coast Writers’ Conference, September 26th & 27th, in sunny San Luis Obispo, California!

Vicious Cycle by Jaime Parker Stickle
My friend Jaime Parker Stickle’s novel Vicious Cycle: A Corey in Los Angeles Thriller is available for pre-order! I had the opportunity to read an early draft and it is so good! “A former reporter gets a new spin on life in this gripping debut from author Jaime Parker Stickle, whose psychological roller-coaster ride set in sunny Los Angeles tackles motherhood and murder.”

“I do not weep at the world—I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.”

—Zora Neale Hurston, How It Feels to Be Colored Me

SOME THINGS FOR READERS

7 great but notoriously hard-to-finish books
(Scotty Hendricks for Big Think)

7 Fairytale Retellings Transformed into Horror
(Donyae Coles for Electric Literature)

What’s the Future of Books?
(Kate Dwyer for Esquire)

“It’s where we go, and what we do when we get there, that tells us who we really are.”

—Joyce Carol Oates

SOME THINGS FOR WRITERS

Turn Fact Into Fiction—Without Hurting Someone or Getting Sued
(Caroline Leavitt for Jane Friedman)

The Power of Vulnerability: How strong can a story be if all the characters have everything together? Author Brandy Vallance shares how the power of vulnerability can make a more compelling story.
(Brandy Vallance for Writer’s Digest)

The Odds of Making it as a Writer Aren’t as Low as You Think
(Michael Jamin for What the Hell is Michael Jamin Talking About?)

“If you want to fly, give up the shit that weighs you down.”

—Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

SOME THINGS TO MAKE YOU SMILE

Niche Romance Novel Microtropes
(McKayley Gourley and Madeline Goetz for McSweeney’s Internet Tendency)

Credit: McKayley Gourley and Madeline Goetz, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”

—Virginia Woolf

Leanne Phillips
Writer | Book Coach | Editor
​leannephillips.com

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