[lit-ideas] Sunday Twofer
- From: David Ritchie <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:08:18 -0700
Till now I have worked in wrinkled shirts covered by sweaters. We choose how
to spend our days and though I like ironing, other tasks have precedence. It's
the same with making the bed; no big job but those minutes can add up. Save
for a painting or a pilgrimage. Now I own shirts with stiffness built in.
Possibly beds will follow. When I was in school they told us we'd all have
leisure time. And we do. We do indeed.
I used to look at Hemingway's beard and think, "I might want one of those one
day." When Papa and I meet in a clearing, we do the 'mirror your interlocutor'
thing.
There's a fire. Booze. He's in a good mood. We talk of his sister's
paintings. There's a silence.
"Ernie," I say, "did your father ever perform surgery?"
I feel his mother present. There's a struggle.
"Harry Crosby got the Croix de guerre. He didn't have a beard. My father did."
David Ritchie,
Portland,
Oregon------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
