Gold leaves falling on the ground,
Joining in sweet autumn-sound,
Warm winds swirling sea-deep sky
Rain from lifeless treetops high
Gold leaves falling.
Red leaves shower freely round
Caring not where they are bound,
Seeking life before they die;
Red leaves falling.
Leaves that recent frost has browned
By a better beauty crowned,
Winging down they swiftly fly,
Sing without a halting sigh:
Loving life they finally found;
Brown leaves falling.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
"WE'RE ALL...GOING...TO DIE!"
[Happy St. Cripsin's Day]
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
-- Wm. Shakespeare, King Henry V
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
-- Wm. Shakespeare, King Henry V
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
I so deserved that...
I called someone I didn't know today, and a man's voice answered: "Pizza Hut." I laughed. "Is this --'s residence?" And sure enough, it was.
After all, he left out the best part:"will that be dine in, or carry out?"
After all, he left out the best part:"will that be dine in, or carry out?"
Friday, October 20, 2006
College for Football Players
COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM - FOOTBALL PLAYER VERSION [not mine--credited to Unknown--but an old favorite]
Time Limit: 3 WKS
_________________________________________________________________
1. What language is spoken in France? ____________________________________________________________
2. Give a dissertation on the ancient Babylonian Empire with particular reference to architecture, literature, law and social conditions -OR- give the first name of Pierre Trudeau. ____________________________________________________________
3. Would you ask William Shakespeare to ___ (a) build a bridge ___ (b) sail the ocean ___ (c) lead an army or ___ (d) WRITE A PLAY
4. What religion is the Pope? ___ (a) Jewish ___ (b) Catholic ___ (c) Hindu ___ (d) Polish ___ (e) Agnostic (check only one)
5. Metric conversion. How many feet is 0.0 meters? ____________________________________________________________
6. What time is it when the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 5? ____________________________________________________________
7. How many commandments was Moses given? (approximately) ____________________________________________________________
8. What are people in America's far north called? ___ (a) Westerners ___ (b) Southerners ___ (c) Northerners
9. Spell -- Bush, Carter and Clinton
Bush: ____________________________________________________________
Carter: ____________________________________________________________
Clinton:____________________________________________________________
10. Six kings of England have been called George, the last one being George the Sixth. Name the previous five. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________
11. Where does rain come from? ___ (a) Macy's ___ (b) a 7-11 ___ (c) Canada ___ (d) the sky
12. Can you explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity? ___ (a) yes ___ (b) no
13. What are coat hangers used for? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________
14. The Star Spangled Banner is the National Anthem for what country? ____________________________________________________________
15. Explain Le Chateliers Principle of Dynamic Equilibrium -OR- spell your name in BLOCK LETTERS. ____________________________________________________________
16. Where is the basement in a three story building located? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________
17. Which part of America produces the most oranges? ___ (a) New York ___ (b) Florida ___ (c) Canada ___ (d) Wisconsin
18. Advanced math. If you have three apples how many apples do you have? ____________________________________________________________
19. What does NBC (National Broadcasting Corp.) stand for? ____________________________________________________________
20. The Cornell University tradition for efficiency began when (approximately)?
___ (a) B.C. ___ (b) A.D.
_________________________________________________________________ Name: ____________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
*You must answer three or more questions correctly to qualify _________________________________________________________________
Time Limit: 3 WKS
_________________________________________________________________
1. What language is spoken in France? ____________________________________________________________
2. Give a dissertation on the ancient Babylonian Empire with particular reference to architecture, literature, law and social conditions -OR- give the first name of Pierre Trudeau. ____________________________________________________________
3. Would you ask William Shakespeare to ___ (a) build a bridge ___ (b) sail the ocean ___ (c) lead an army or ___ (d) WRITE A PLAY
4. What religion is the Pope? ___ (a) Jewish ___ (b) Catholic ___ (c) Hindu ___ (d) Polish ___ (e) Agnostic (check only one)
5. Metric conversion. How many feet is 0.0 meters? ____________________________________________________________
6. What time is it when the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 5? ____________________________________________________________
7. How many commandments was Moses given? (approximately) ____________________________________________________________
8. What are people in America's far north called? ___ (a) Westerners ___ (b) Southerners ___ (c) Northerners
9. Spell -- Bush, Carter and Clinton
Bush: ____________________________________________________________
Carter: ____________________________________________________________
Clinton:____________________________________________________________
10. Six kings of England have been called George, the last one being George the Sixth. Name the previous five. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________
11. Where does rain come from? ___ (a) Macy's ___ (b) a 7-11 ___ (c) Canada ___ (d) the sky
12. Can you explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity? ___ (a) yes ___ (b) no
13. What are coat hangers used for? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________
14. The Star Spangled Banner is the National Anthem for what country? ____________________________________________________________
15. Explain Le Chateliers Principle of Dynamic Equilibrium -OR- spell your name in BLOCK LETTERS. ____________________________________________________________
16. Where is the basement in a three story building located? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________
17. Which part of America produces the most oranges? ___ (a) New York ___ (b) Florida ___ (c) Canada ___ (d) Wisconsin
18. Advanced math. If you have three apples how many apples do you have? ____________________________________________________________
19. What does NBC (National Broadcasting Corp.) stand for? ____________________________________________________________
20. The Cornell University tradition for efficiency began when (approximately)?
___ (a) B.C. ___ (b) A.D.
_________________________________________________________________ Name: ____________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
*You must answer three or more questions correctly to qualify _________________________________________________________________
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Gray Day
Gray beauty startled me today. The fairies have run away, my childlike innocent capering world is gone; the world that remains is old and wise. I am wandering alone.
And I, who grow dizzy with giddiness in sunshine, and weep with color in sunsets, am learning to love gray.
("I who so love scarlet
Wear a gown of black,
Quaintly fitted tunic
Buttoned up the back.")
Color has not disappeared, only given up its gaudy frolic. It has grown more deliberate, more careful. The trees have wrapped themselves more closely. Fields' green, red velvet of roads, belongs to them and not to me; even the scarlet splashes of sumac are separate, apart. I neither wish, nor wish not to be, but simply am--alone. There is no lightning or thunder; those would require energy. Only gray and mist.
The sky reminds me of the ocean, our last day together at the beach--do you remember? We strode silently through the sand, our toes and legs numb with the wet cold, without feeling it. Solitude immense as the sea, intense as the waves went with us, walking together. The quiet was so deep I was afraid to breathe, could not look at you.
Now I turn, my Baggins side uppermost, saying I "should have been home yesterday." There are days one wants nothing more than a fireplace and a checkered tablecloth, waiting for someone who will be glad to be home. But that is not what I have now.
I shall have tea and Mendelssohn, and wait in quietness.
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my wearied soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.
~George Matheson
And I, who grow dizzy with giddiness in sunshine, and weep with color in sunsets, am learning to love gray.
("I who so love scarlet
Wear a gown of black,
Quaintly fitted tunic
Buttoned up the back.")
Color has not disappeared, only given up its gaudy frolic. It has grown more deliberate, more careful. The trees have wrapped themselves more closely. Fields' green, red velvet of roads, belongs to them and not to me; even the scarlet splashes of sumac are separate, apart. I neither wish, nor wish not to be, but simply am--alone. There is no lightning or thunder; those would require energy. Only gray and mist.
The sky reminds me of the ocean, our last day together at the beach--do you remember? We strode silently through the sand, our toes and legs numb with the wet cold, without feeling it. Solitude immense as the sea, intense as the waves went with us, walking together. The quiet was so deep I was afraid to breathe, could not look at you.
Now I turn, my Baggins side uppermost, saying I "should have been home yesterday." There are days one wants nothing more than a fireplace and a checkered tablecloth, waiting for someone who will be glad to be home. But that is not what I have now.
I shall have tea and Mendelssohn, and wait in quietness.
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my wearied soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.
~George Matheson
Saturday, October 14, 2006
No es futbol...
This is football. (or, What it was was...football).
I am happy.
Today, along with 84,150 other people (this is more than 2.5 percent of the state population), my father and I watched the Oklahoma Sooners beat the Iowa State Cyclones (whose mascot is a cardinal...) in Norman. It was...well. I was so happy my voice was gone by the end of the first quarter.
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to watch the game at first, because it made me dizzy to look down at the field. I wanted my opera glasses. I'm thinking this was probably the highest I've ever been on a man-made structure. Our section was over the 6th level of parking, and we were about 20 feet up in it (and yes, I know I'm a hick: think of the song from "Oklahoma" where the cowboys are singing, "everythin's up to date in Kansas City/ they've gone about as fur as they could go;/ they went and built a sky scraper seven stories high..."). I felt like I couldn't lean forward, or I might fall and keep falling. But I forgot about that when the team came onto the field. I hope the people sitting around me weren't too annoyed with the noise I made, but really, when 40,000 people are yelling, "Boomer," at you, the least you can do is give a rousing "Sooner!" (sigh. And I suppose most of you still don't understand this.) Being in a crowd like that makes one think a little of the Romans...and what could a mob like that do if they were angry?
Funniest part of the game: when the ref didn't realize his microphone was still on, and looked at a close-to-first down play, and we all heard, "we're gonna have to take a look at that..."
saddest part of the game: (which we didn't know until afterward) A.D.'s injury. Adrian "All Day" Peterson, a.k.a, "The True Freshman," performing in the first game his father was able to come to (for reasons of incarceration) since he was 12, had 183 yards (that's good!). But he also broke his collarbone diving into the endzone (that's bad--it puts him out for the rest of the season).
We got out of the stadium faster than the Romans got out of the Colliseum. The only bad part is that walking with my dad is a little like walking with Helen and MB--I had to jump every two steps--and I was wearing my ridiculous not-made-for-walking (but pretty!) new shoes...and now my feet are rather beat up. And I am tired and happy and hoarse.
I am happy.
Today, along with 84,150 other people (this is more than 2.5 percent of the state population), my father and I watched the Oklahoma Sooners beat the Iowa State Cyclones (whose mascot is a cardinal...) in Norman. It was...well. I was so happy my voice was gone by the end of the first quarter.
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to watch the game at first, because it made me dizzy to look down at the field. I wanted my opera glasses. I'm thinking this was probably the highest I've ever been on a man-made structure. Our section was over the 6th level of parking, and we were about 20 feet up in it (and yes, I know I'm a hick: think of the song from "Oklahoma" where the cowboys are singing, "everythin's up to date in Kansas City/ they've gone about as fur as they could go;/ they went and built a sky scraper seven stories high..."). I felt like I couldn't lean forward, or I might fall and keep falling. But I forgot about that when the team came onto the field. I hope the people sitting around me weren't too annoyed with the noise I made, but really, when 40,000 people are yelling, "Boomer," at you, the least you can do is give a rousing "Sooner!" (sigh. And I suppose most of you still don't understand this.) Being in a crowd like that makes one think a little of the Romans...and what could a mob like that do if they were angry?
Funniest part of the game: when the ref didn't realize his microphone was still on, and looked at a close-to-first down play, and we all heard, "we're gonna have to take a look at that..."
saddest part of the game: (which we didn't know until afterward) A.D.'s injury. Adrian "All Day" Peterson, a.k.a, "The True Freshman," performing in the first game his father was able to come to (for reasons of incarceration) since he was 12, had 183 yards (that's good!). But he also broke his collarbone diving into the endzone (that's bad--it puts him out for the rest of the season).
We got out of the stadium faster than the Romans got out of the Colliseum. The only bad part is that walking with my dad is a little like walking with Helen and MB--I had to jump every two steps--and I was wearing my ridiculous not-made-for-walking (but pretty!) new shoes...and now my feet are rather beat up. And I am tired and happy and hoarse.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Mia Familia
Es loco. I really understand myself better in their context. Witness this conversation from this morning:
Me to L: [stop smirking about something]
L: I'm not smirking!
Me: You most certainly are! That's a textbook example of a smirk!
L: You should know. You're the queen of smirking.
Me: does that make me the smirqueen? I can't very well be a king...
C: well, if you ever meet a man who's king of the smurs, you'll know he's for you.
Me: nobody loves me.
L: your coffee loves you!
Me: no, because I drink it.
L: It likes to be drinken, drunk, drank...
Me: it shouldn't be drunk, because then it gets tipsy and spills all over me [my dad's still making fun of me for spilling a whole cup all over myself one Sunday morning...it's not for nothing my name means grace]
or last night, when we were comparing the infamous Curby eyebrows (I hope Josiah has recovered by now. pobre tomate.) My dad certainly has the wiggliest, and he is also the only one who is ambi-eyebrowed. And he is the only person I know who can wiggle his eyebrows and laugh while whistling the theme from the Andy Griffith show, thereby making any opponent lose his concentration entirely. and (almost) the only person who can make me blush on command.
and evidently the furry with the syringe on the top has joined the ranks of the Arab Texan by the name of Hep Usef and the large urban shopping centers...
sometime I'll have to explain Harry and Hair Back on the Air (or maybe have them on as guests...), but right now I'm too confused. How did I end up related to these people?
Me to L: [stop smirking about something]
L: I'm not smirking!
Me: You most certainly are! That's a textbook example of a smirk!
L: You should know. You're the queen of smirking.
Me: does that make me the smirqueen? I can't very well be a king...
C: well, if you ever meet a man who's king of the smurs, you'll know he's for you.
Me: nobody loves me.
L: your coffee loves you!
Me: no, because I drink it.
L: It likes to be drinken, drunk, drank...
Me: it shouldn't be drunk, because then it gets tipsy and spills all over me [my dad's still making fun of me for spilling a whole cup all over myself one Sunday morning...it's not for nothing my name means grace]
or last night, when we were comparing the infamous Curby eyebrows (I hope Josiah has recovered by now. pobre tomate.) My dad certainly has the wiggliest, and he is also the only one who is ambi-eyebrowed. And he is the only person I know who can wiggle his eyebrows and laugh while whistling the theme from the Andy Griffith show, thereby making any opponent lose his concentration entirely. and (almost) the only person who can make me blush on command.
and evidently the furry with the syringe on the top has joined the ranks of the Arab Texan by the name of Hep Usef and the large urban shopping centers...
sometime I'll have to explain Harry and Hair Back on the Air (or maybe have them on as guests...), but right now I'm too confused. How did I end up related to these people?
Monday, October 02, 2006
Because it's Monday...
And I feel like I've been writing support letters for a loooong time:
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Chocolate Lava Muffins (tested and approved by the Curby family during that week of fall before the return of summer. They're a little more like brownies than muffins--very rich.)Thanks to Alton Brown of "Good Eats" and the Food Network for the recipe--this and the rest of the "chocolate" show airs tomorrow night at 7ET, for any Food Network junkies--or are we the only ones?
Recipe difficulty: easy
prep time: 20 minutes
(also leave time for chilling batter)
cook time: 11 minutes
yield: 1 dzn.
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips [ed. note: we substituted dark chocolate =]
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
[more ed. commentary: we also added 1 tablespoon baking cocoa]
4 eggs
more cocoa powder
ice cream
preheat the oven to 375^. In a double boiler (or small metal bowl over saucepan/tea kettle with simmering water), melt chocolate and butter. Stir in vanilla.
In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt (and 1 T. cocoa). Sift into chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next. Beat on high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, appx. 4 min. Chill.
Coat top and each cup of muffin tin with butter. Dust with remaining cocoa powder, shaking off excess. Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle. Bake 10-11 min. Outsides should be cake-like, centers should be gooey.
Serve with ice cream (if preferred, melt vanilla ice cream in small saucepan, and stir in 1 teaspoon espresso powder. Serve over warm ice cream.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In, other news, SoonerSports.com reads, "welcome to OU-Texas week..."
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Chocolate Lava Muffins (tested and approved by the Curby family during that week of fall before the return of summer. They're a little more like brownies than muffins--very rich.)Thanks to Alton Brown of "Good Eats" and the Food Network for the recipe--this and the rest of the "chocolate" show airs tomorrow night at 7ET, for any Food Network junkies--or are we the only ones?
Recipe difficulty: easy
prep time: 20 minutes
(also leave time for chilling batter)
cook time: 11 minutes
yield: 1 dzn.
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips [ed. note: we substituted dark chocolate =]
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
[more ed. commentary: we also added 1 tablespoon baking cocoa]
4 eggs
more cocoa powder
ice cream
preheat the oven to 375^. In a double boiler (or small metal bowl over saucepan/tea kettle with simmering water), melt chocolate and butter. Stir in vanilla.
In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt (and 1 T. cocoa). Sift into chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next. Beat on high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, appx. 4 min. Chill.
Coat top and each cup of muffin tin with butter. Dust with remaining cocoa powder, shaking off excess. Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle. Bake 10-11 min. Outsides should be cake-like, centers should be gooey.
Serve with ice cream (if preferred, melt vanilla ice cream in small saucepan, and stir in 1 teaspoon espresso powder. Serve over warm ice cream.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In, other news, SoonerSports.com reads, "welcome to OU-Texas week..."
Friday, September 29, 2006
A few words
"One understands a word much better if one has met it alive, in its native habitat."
C.S. Lewis, Studies in Words
C.S. Lewis, Studies in Words
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
5 things that made me laugh...
or 4 (can't think of a 5th right now). Anyway, minor amusements in the life of Hannah:
1. The cow who kept sticking her head out of the back of the trailer in front of me to stare at me rather vulgarly; or to look at surrounding countryside every once in awhile (maybe you had to be there for that one...)
2. A sign: "try our new shrimp items go Jackets win!" (the 'Jackets being the local high school football team--and yes, it would have been funnier without the "try our," but I'm honest)
3. When I was sitting in the waiting area of a psychiatrist's office last week (waiting for a rider to finish), and the psyche dr. came in and said (in a tone and accompanied with a hand motion used toward children and dogs by people who don't understand them) to me, "come on back, Maggie!" I'm afraid my eyebrows were a little rude (she interrupted Fitzgerald, and I was wearing red, too), but the rest of me tried to be polite. (There's nothing they can do anyway...)
4. Another sign: "flea/farmer's market" (no comment)
1. The cow who kept sticking her head out of the back of the trailer in front of me to stare at me rather vulgarly; or to look at surrounding countryside every once in awhile (maybe you had to be there for that one...)
2. A sign: "try our new shrimp items go Jackets win!" (the 'Jackets being the local high school football team--and yes, it would have been funnier without the "try our," but I'm honest)
3. When I was sitting in the waiting area of a psychiatrist's office last week (waiting for a rider to finish), and the psyche dr. came in and said (in a tone and accompanied with a hand motion used toward children and dogs by people who don't understand them) to me, "come on back, Maggie!" I'm afraid my eyebrows were a little rude (she interrupted Fitzgerald, and I was wearing red, too), but the rest of me tried to be polite. (There's nothing they can do anyway...)
4. Another sign: "flea/farmer's market" (no comment)
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
On the Road
The red rivers intersect and merge on the white page beneath my finger, calling to the red within my veins. I follow them a little absently, tracing my finger across miles no bigger than an elm bug. In my mind they are transformed; no longer red lines (whether curved or straight), but blinding ribbons of white furling ahead of me, smoking along behind; consuming me in the rhythm of the road. Each has its own siren song number; it is a delight to recognize old friends traveling in new places.
I am a faithful wanderer. A fugitive from my comfortable home. I seek safety from the mundane through something larger than myself. And I have joined the eternal Quest, unsure of what I am questing for. Not the end of the road, for real roads have no end I can find. Knowledge? Only of my frailty and ignorance, since there is always more road to know. I recognize my own limits through my love.
I am a jealous wanderer, having a passionate impatience for those who travel in front of me. Not for being in my way, but because they are having my experience before me. I meet people with curiosity, wanting to know what they have seen; knowing what they are about to see.
The center stripe reflects the joy of sunflowers, and I am free.
I am a faithful wanderer. A fugitive from my comfortable home. I seek safety from the mundane through something larger than myself. And I have joined the eternal Quest, unsure of what I am questing for. Not the end of the road, for real roads have no end I can find. Knowledge? Only of my frailty and ignorance, since there is always more road to know. I recognize my own limits through my love.
I am a jealous wanderer, having a passionate impatience for those who travel in front of me. Not for being in my way, but because they are having my experience before me. I meet people with curiosity, wanting to know what they have seen; knowing what they are about to see.
The center stripe reflects the joy of sunflowers, and I am free.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
A Better Resurrection
Psalm 121; 119:145-147; 39:4-7; 51:10; Job 23:10; 2 Corinthians 4:4-18; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; 1 Peter 1:3-9
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have no wit, no words, no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numb'd too much for hopes or fears;
Look right, look left, I dwell alone;
I lift mine eyes, but dimm'd with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is in the falling leaf:
O Jesus, quicken me.
My life is like a faded leaf,
My harvest dwindled to a husk:
Truly my life is void and brief
And tedious in the barren dusk;
My life is like a frozen thing,
No bud nor greenness can I see:
Yet rise it shall--the sap of Spring;
O Jesus, rise in me.
My life is like a broken bowl,
A broken bowl that cannot hold
One drop of water for my soul
Or cordial in the searching cold;
Cast in the fire the perish'd thing;
Melt and remould it, till it be
A royal cup for Him, my King:
O Jesus, drink of me.
~Christina Rossetti
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have no wit, no words, no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numb'd too much for hopes or fears;
Look right, look left, I dwell alone;
I lift mine eyes, but dimm'd with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is in the falling leaf:
O Jesus, quicken me.
My life is like a faded leaf,
My harvest dwindled to a husk:
Truly my life is void and brief
And tedious in the barren dusk;
My life is like a frozen thing,
No bud nor greenness can I see:
Yet rise it shall--the sap of Spring;
O Jesus, rise in me.
My life is like a broken bowl,
A broken bowl that cannot hold
One drop of water for my soul
Or cordial in the searching cold;
Cast in the fire the perish'd thing;
Melt and remould it, till it be
A royal cup for Him, my King:
O Jesus, drink of me.
~Christina Rossetti
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Question
For my entertainment (borrowed from others):
What does my name (first and last) sound like I should be? (if I weren't what I am, of course)
Anyone want to offer an opinion?
What does my name (first and last) sound like I should be? (if I weren't what I am, of course)
Anyone want to offer an opinion?
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Study in Strangers I
"There are chance meetings with strangers that interest us from the first moment, before a word is spoken."
~Crime and Punishment
Our eyes locked in a crowd.
I turned mine down--
Unwilling he should see a secret
Burned in fire and trembling--
But not before
A smile had slipped between us:
Knowledge of our mutual ignorance, an instant's
Curiosity, or interest, it may be; recognition
Granted innocence and possibility. Unanimity
In living strangers, sharing
The hunger and humor of humanity
In silence.
Whose face, whose smile, what name from long-ago?
I'll never know;
I'll never need to know.
~Crime and Punishment
Our eyes locked in a crowd.
I turned mine down--
Unwilling he should see a secret
Burned in fire and trembling--
But not before
A smile had slipped between us:
Knowledge of our mutual ignorance, an instant's
Curiosity, or interest, it may be; recognition
Granted innocence and possibility. Unanimity
In living strangers, sharing
The hunger and humor of humanity
In silence.
Whose face, whose smile, what name from long-ago?
I'll never know;
I'll never need to know.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Nostalgia
Okay, so I’m suffering it: post-college withdrawal. I miss…lots of things. Not quite the tests, but I miss Latin parties, and I miss metaphysical parties with Someone sitting with a jar of sugar cubes on her head, and I miss taking personality tests at three in the morning when we have a test at eight, and I miss "studying" at coffee shops, which always turned into something more important. I miss intelligent conversation and people who get my jokes (which, as the Lyonesse heretic noted, are two things not related—but I would like to point out that she was the one who started the conversation, "if you were a french fry…" I love you, Ashley! ;). I miss "sprawling" in the hall for backrubs and talk (or just plain giggling); I miss trying to fit too many people on a bed to watch a movie, and ice cream at the slightest excuse; I miss dancing around the mirror in the morning with all of us trying to get ready; I miss being a french shrub or an ewok. I miss hiccups through the wall, and I miss told being not to drink coffee, and I miss throwing snowballs at our RA’s window, and I miss the nod and saying, "we know." Lyonesse, and the Dragons, and the World, and the Radical Freudeggerian Feminists Against Interpretation and the Older Sisters of Brothers on Campus and the Brothers in Burqas Society and the Society for the Defense of Hannah and the League of the Sleep Deprived. I miss you people something awful.
But I don’t just miss the people: I miss the place, and what was possible there. I miss stalking security guards (or occasionally assaulting them, although not usually when they were on duty—there was that time when one tried to break into the bookstore…) and Viking burials for goldfish and funeral ceremonies for de-Caput-ated knights and warm-fuzzy wars and Hobbit parties and duels and haunting the main building and play rehearsals and dancing and engagements (and all things attendant upon those occasions). I miss a place where I could wear red hats to finals and where red wigs were out of dress code (it looked pretty awful on me anyway). I miss a place where boys could propose just to give someone the pleasure of rejecting them, or where we could expect email proposals every time it snowed. I even miss ASEs and Councils of War. I miss knowing more about everyone else’s lives than I ever should have. I miss the Chestnut race and the GSE and the ever-present game of Ultimate. I miss the professors. I miss the way they ate with us and played with us; and I miss being scared to talk with them for fear I would say something stupid; my distant adoration. I miss the way their eyes lit up when someone understood.
I miss chapels, and I miss praying together, at planned and unplanned times; the spiritual challenge and encouragement by people who were sold out for God; the way we were bound together in Him.
I don’t want to be one of those people who’s constantly remembering college as the best years of my life and believe life goes downhill from here: I think it does get better, because I have that as part of me now, and I can go on to new and exciting things God has for me. But there are moments when I just miss Us Being There.
But I don’t just miss the people: I miss the place, and what was possible there. I miss stalking security guards (or occasionally assaulting them, although not usually when they were on duty—there was that time when one tried to break into the bookstore…) and Viking burials for goldfish and funeral ceremonies for de-Caput-ated knights and warm-fuzzy wars and Hobbit parties and duels and haunting the main building and play rehearsals and dancing and engagements (and all things attendant upon those occasions). I miss a place where I could wear red hats to finals and where red wigs were out of dress code (it looked pretty awful on me anyway). I miss a place where boys could propose just to give someone the pleasure of rejecting them, or where we could expect email proposals every time it snowed. I even miss ASEs and Councils of War. I miss knowing more about everyone else’s lives than I ever should have. I miss the Chestnut race and the GSE and the ever-present game of Ultimate. I miss the professors. I miss the way they ate with us and played with us; and I miss being scared to talk with them for fear I would say something stupid; my distant adoration. I miss the way their eyes lit up when someone understood.
I miss chapels, and I miss praying together, at planned and unplanned times; the spiritual challenge and encouragement by people who were sold out for God; the way we were bound together in Him.
I don’t want to be one of those people who’s constantly remembering college as the best years of my life and believe life goes downhill from here: I think it does get better, because I have that as part of me now, and I can go on to new and exciting things God has for me. But there are moments when I just miss Us Being There.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Read it and Laugh
On today’s edition of On My (Library) Bookshelf, we have these special guests:
If I, like Solomon,…
could have my wish—
my wish…O to be a dragon,
a symbol of the power of Heaven—of silkworm
size or immense; at times invisible.
Felicitous phenomenon!
Ogden Nash (selected poems), I Wouldn’t Have Missed It (from which, Oh, how to choose a sample?):
From "The Slipshod Scholar Gets Around to Greece"
I sing of the ancient Greeks.
They had magnificent physiques.
[…]
If the Greeks had never existed who would have been the most annoyed?
Freud.
Wendell Berry, A World Lost
Wendell Berry, Farming: a Hand Book (I decided if Dr. M. was going to write about’m, I wanted to read’m):
From "A Letter"
Now back in Kentucky, far from you again,
I often think of those days and nights, and long
for their music and their mirth. And then
I remind myself: the past is gone. Remember it.
Wodehouse
And my (favorite) find of this time:
Odgen Nash (trans. James Gleeson and Brian Meyer), Ave Ogden! Nash in Latin (original in comments. The meter is not the same as Nash, or Vergil, for that matter, but it’s still fun):
"Hipppotamus"
Ecce hippopotamus, sis!
Ridemus quomodo videatur nobis,
Tempore tamen miserabili
Miror quomodo videamur ei.
Pacem, pacem, hippopotame!
Videmur grati nobis vere,
Es dulcis sine dubio
Aliorum hipporum oculo.
Marianne Moore, Complete Poems:
"O to Be a Dragon"
If I, like Solomon,…
could have my wish—
my wish…O to be a dragon,
a symbol of the power of Heaven—of silkworm
size or immense; at times invisible.
Felicitous phenomenon!
Andy Adams, Why the Chisolm Trail Forks, and Other Tales of the Cattle Country
From "The Slipshod Scholar Gets Around to Greece"
I sing of the ancient Greeks.
They had magnificent physiques.
[…]
If the Greeks had never existed who would have been the most annoyed?
Freud.
Wendell Berry, A World Lost
Wendell Berry, Farming: a Hand Book (I decided if Dr. M. was going to write about’m, I wanted to read’m):
From "A Letter"
Now back in Kentucky, far from you again,
I often think of those days and nights, and long
for their music and their mirth. And then
I remind myself: the past is gone. Remember it.
Wodehouse
And my (favorite) find of this time:
Odgen Nash (trans. James Gleeson and Brian Meyer), Ave Ogden! Nash in Latin (original in comments. The meter is not the same as Nash, or Vergil, for that matter, but it’s still fun):
"Hipppotamus"
Ecce hippopotamus, sis!
Ridemus quomodo videatur nobis,
Tempore tamen miserabili
Miror quomodo videamur ei.
Pacem, pacem, hippopotame!
Videmur grati nobis vere,
Es dulcis sine dubio
Aliorum hipporum oculo.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Rebuilding
I went unto the place where I had been a safe child, and had grown to be a vulnerable child, and its walls were broken down. The offices of my fathers were changed, with new people at their desks and new books in their classes; the school suffered great trouble and shame. And I wept for the places that were vacant, for the people in exile, for those who survived; for my nourishing mother, for I love it. And I prayed to the God of heaven that He would rebuild the walls His people destroyed in their sin.
I do not know the rest of the story. But I pray that it will be one of His servants rising up to sort through the rubble and fill in the gaps in the wall, to rebuild while fending off the arrows of the Enemy and his servants. A story showing that the God of heaven is a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, who has not dealt with us as we deserve, but has dealt faithfully even when we acted wickedly. I pray that His Holy Spirit will work with His supernatural power in the hearts of men, that where there has been pain and anger and bitterness and injustice, there may be love. That the world may see us, and know there is a God by the way we love one another. That we may have the attitude in us which was also in Christ Jesus; that our love may abound more and more.
Have mercy upon us, Oh God, because of your unfailing love.
I do not know the rest of the story. But I pray that it will be one of His servants rising up to sort through the rubble and fill in the gaps in the wall, to rebuild while fending off the arrows of the Enemy and his servants. A story showing that the God of heaven is a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, who has not dealt with us as we deserve, but has dealt faithfully even when we acted wickedly. I pray that His Holy Spirit will work with His supernatural power in the hearts of men, that where there has been pain and anger and bitterness and injustice, there may be love. That the world may see us, and know there is a God by the way we love one another. That we may have the attitude in us which was also in Christ Jesus; that our love may abound more and more.
Have mercy upon us, Oh God, because of your unfailing love.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Over the Rainbow
I love airports: they are one of the magicalest places I know. Where else are there so many possibilities? Walking down the hallway, there are doors a person could step through and magically end up in Denver, Detroit, Atlanta, Tampa, L.A. or D.C. Not to mention Paris and Oklahoma City.
I love watching people in airports. They are usually hurried and bored, but I can imagine interesting things about them all. In BWI I stood up to walk around and get a drink, and when I came back, my seat was gone. The elderly lady sitting next to her overalled husband looked up from her baby blue crochet, smiled at me and patted the seat next to her. We talked.
I love airplanes, too. They are one of my favorite property-things; even though they are not substantial, they almost seem to have an essence of their own. I sat in row 5, counting the individual rocks on the pavement outside. The engines came to life beneath me, and I caught their excitement, drawn into their passion, impatient to fly. It occurred to me that airplanes are rather like people, with the coach area being the belly, the passions. But it was alright, because we the passions were controlled by reason in the pilot. I was happily trying to finish up my comparison and remember the third part, when the pilot’s voice came over the system. "Welcome to our flight to…" he cut off for a minute, and I was about to decide it was a glitch in the sound, when his voice returned… "Memphis." I laughed at my metaphor.
Just west of Memphis there are strange squiggly lines on the ground that reminded me of Dr. V.; I wondered if they had anything to do with communications from outer space.
I saw a thunderstorm from the air: a flashing silver thread of electrical energy, a rainbow underneath me. "Oh, let me dance on rainbows..."
And I read Chesterton, on the magic of repetition in nature; the marvel of the beauty and humor of the cosmos; the smallness and greatness of man. I looked out the window and saw he was right.
I love watching people in airports. They are usually hurried and bored, but I can imagine interesting things about them all. In BWI I stood up to walk around and get a drink, and when I came back, my seat was gone. The elderly lady sitting next to her overalled husband looked up from her baby blue crochet, smiled at me and patted the seat next to her. We talked.
I love airplanes, too. They are one of my favorite property-things; even though they are not substantial, they almost seem to have an essence of their own. I sat in row 5, counting the individual rocks on the pavement outside. The engines came to life beneath me, and I caught their excitement, drawn into their passion, impatient to fly. It occurred to me that airplanes are rather like people, with the coach area being the belly, the passions. But it was alright, because we the passions were controlled by reason in the pilot. I was happily trying to finish up my comparison and remember the third part, when the pilot’s voice came over the system. "Welcome to our flight to…" he cut off for a minute, and I was about to decide it was a glitch in the sound, when his voice returned… "Memphis." I laughed at my metaphor.
Just west of Memphis there are strange squiggly lines on the ground that reminded me of Dr. V.; I wondered if they had anything to do with communications from outer space.
I saw a thunderstorm from the air: a flashing silver thread of electrical energy, a rainbow underneath me. "Oh, let me dance on rainbows..."
And I read Chesterton, on the magic of repetition in nature; the marvel of the beauty and humor of the cosmos; the smallness and greatness of man. I looked out the window and saw he was right.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
To my Friends in VA, and Otherwise
To any friend(s) I may happen to possess in the VA (no, not Veteran's Administration) area:
WHEREFORE, The First Dragon Wedding (DWI) is taking place upon the 4th day of this month of August (an excellent day for marriage, if I may be allowed to recommend it as the daughter of my parents who were married on that excellent day), and
WHEREFORE, I wish to attend said wedding, and furthermore
WHEREFORE, I am on the support-raising trail,
LET IT BE KNOWN THAT
I, H. Rebekah C., will be visible in the VA area from the seventh (7th) to the thirteenth (13th) of this month, and desirous of seeing you. If the feeling is mutual, let me know and we'll get together.
Otherwise:
we are all here (albeit briefly). This is not a statement about the mental state of my multiple personalities (all schizophrenic), or royal Self with a hamster in the pocket. Nor is it a statement about the mental state of my family. But he is making jokes, and I am laughing at them (and stealing an old one).
And the happiest of birthdays to the youngest of the tribe, who entered the perilous year between 11-12 today. May God have mercy.
WHEREFORE, The First Dragon Wedding (DWI) is taking place upon the 4th day of this month of August (an excellent day for marriage, if I may be allowed to recommend it as the daughter of my parents who were married on that excellent day), and
WHEREFORE, I wish to attend said wedding, and furthermore
WHEREFORE, I am on the support-raising trail,
LET IT BE KNOWN THAT
I, H. Rebekah C., will be visible in the VA area from the seventh (7th) to the thirteenth (13th) of this month, and desirous of seeing you. If the feeling is mutual, let me know and we'll get together.
Otherwise:
we are all here (albeit briefly). This is not a statement about the mental state of my multiple personalities (all schizophrenic), or royal Self with a hamster in the pocket. Nor is it a statement about the mental state of my family. But he is making jokes, and I am laughing at them (and stealing an old one).
And the happiest of birthdays to the youngest of the tribe, who entered the perilous year between 11-12 today. May God have mercy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)