Midwest Memo
A bit of conflict
by Alan Shultz

Sitting in the same room with me right now are three green rectangular boxes perched atop the piano. These boxes, still wrapped in shiny holiday paper, represent our gift giving surplus for the Christmas season just passed. Missed connections, a party postponed, a no-show guest, there's a little story behind each gift box of chocolates undelivered. Each now awaits an uncertain destiny.

A box of chocolates is safe in my company while still in its original sealed wrapping. I can shore up my resolve, look away from temptation, I can go hungry just as long as the box remains wrapped and unopened. But, pop the top off that sweet pound of confectionary delight and I'm in line, multiple times, to partake of more than my share of creams or chews or nuts or combinations of same.

So here, even in our little happy home, conflict finds a subtle means of entry. In this particular case conflict enters masked in all sweetness and sugar. And doesn't that just make things all the more interesting?

Some years back a friend of mine and I labored for months writing a screenplay. Each week we'd each write a chapter. On Tuesday nights we'd get together to combine, compare and critique. My writing partner and I got along just swell. We had a great time working on the project together. Our characters got along pretty well, too. Too well, apparently, for Hollywood. "Not enough conflict," the powers that be penned on their rejection letters they included when they returned our story.

Conflict is sometimes a sought out commodity. The little tiff that developed recently between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump certainly got more than its share of media attention. Soon the tiff became a fight, the conflict got bigger and the coverage increased. Of course Rosie and The Donald are both laughing all the way to the bank. Free publicity and increased ratings line their pockets with dollars that would otherwise elude them if peace and friendship were all there was that linked the two insatiable publicity hounds.

Conflict can be actinically inserted into a situation. This past summer I watched as a family friend introduced an off limits topic into the conversation somewhere between the corn on the cob and the watermelon. I detected a little twinkle in her eye as she stirred folks up and out of the lazy afternoon quiet that had settled over the group. Interesting? You bet things got interesting. A little conflict can yield something bigger pretty

quick.

There's an old saying that suggests that just one lawyer in a town will starve but that two lawyers will do just fine. I suppose what that really means is that two lawyers create the necessary space in which conflict can take place. One party to a lawsuit is no story, no suit. But two sides, in conflict, well now you're talking.

Long before my time I understand that newspapers used to go at each other. I suspect it was good for circulation. If I wanted to stir up a little dust in the county I'd kick some in the direction of The Reminder out of Monticello. They print a regular column comprised solely of anonymous rants submitted by readers. It's mostly complaints and snipes. I don't think anonymous stuff merits any print ink or reader's time.

And as I sit here contemplating creating a little editorial conflict I'm noticing that the tape on the flap of one of those candy boxes looks as though it has come open and I think I have to take a break to check this developing situation out.