When I was very young, my dad confronted me about something broken and I yelled out, "I did it ON PURPOSE!" which I thought meant "by accident." My dad thought I was being a smartass, which understandably pissed him off, so he sent me to my room, where I cried stormily. I was outraged at the injustice -- I clearly hadn't meant to do whatever it is I did.
My mom figured out the misunderstanding, and my dad came in and explained the difference between on purpose and by accident. He then said, "You tried to explain and I didn't understand. I apologize." Even though I was no longer in trouble, and even though I had, in my view, been proved right, I suddenly became aware of the fact that my dad had just told me that there was a circumstance under which he could be wrong -- and this brought on a huge storm of renewed wailing. My poor father just patted my back in confusion until we moved on. After that, my world was a little bigger and a little scarier.
When I read Ohler's suggestion to ask a grandparent about any story that he or she remembers, this story came to my mind right away. In this story, you can see the elements of conflict and transition. I was conflicted by my father's misunderstanding, and I was transformed by my realization that he could ever be wrong. At the end, my resolution was that I felt better from the incident, but I was changed by my more mature understanding of my father as a fallible person.
Looking at that story with a story spine, it's easy to see how using that framework is a useful tool in storytelling.
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