Scheherazade Project-"Facing a Hard Truth About Bergamot" or "Gee, That Izzybella Sure Does Cheat!"

So here I am trying desperately to feel inspired for the Scheherazade Project. We have a choice of themes this go-round: someone faces a hard truth or “What is bergamot anyway?”

Inspiration is lacking.

Before yesterday afternoon, I didn’t actually know what bergamot was. I vaguely recall having seen the word in one of the many magazines I subscribe to. Maybe a perfume ad? Something with essence of bergamot? I looked it up in my dictionary a couple of days ago, but my pocket Oxford failed me. I was crushed. Bergamot was nowhere to be found. Yesterday at lunch with my sister, I learned what a bergamot is when I cleverly asked, “What is a bergamot anyway?” Apparently it’s a type of orange, rich in anti-oxidants and used in Earl Gray tea. It is, incidentally, also used in many perfumes to add a vaguely citrus aroma. My sister chose the “What is bergamot anyway” theme for her submission and wrote an excellent “oh, snap!” story putting an overbearing oenophile in his place. By the way, for the benefit of those of you hoping it was autobiographical, it wasn’t. Still. She’s a deft, snarky one, isn’t she? I like my sister.

So now I knew whereof I spoke when I spoke of bergamot. Yet still, I lacked inspiration. Clearly, there are times when knowledge is not, in fact, power. It is instead useless facts rattling around in an uninspired head.

“Bergamotbergamotbergamot.” Even saying it quickly three times in succession like plimco didn’t help.

It occurred to me that I must face the hard truth: my submission for this issue of the Scheherazade Project has been hampered by an extreme lack of inspiration and writer’s block.

I surrender.