On Jan 28, 2007, at 5:48 PM, John McCreery wrote:
Beautiful. And, this time, I think I can say honestly that I know what you are talking about. A few years ago, stumped for something to celebrate our wedding anniversary, Ruth and I came across a piece of wooden sculpture. Imagine an egg about the size of a grapefruit, carved out of 500-year old wood and polished to a texture that demands to be stroked.
Five hundred year old wood sounds lovely. I hope you remembered the Stephen Foster
http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/usa/jeanie.htm which my grandmother used to sing.
John P.S. The 2007 Burns Supper at the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club attracted a full house (150 people). The speeches were long, curtailing the dancing, which led to some grumbling, but very funny. I wish I'd had a way to record the fellow doing The Immortal Memory who had contrived a hilarious riff on the assumption that Burns and his sister had gone to Edingburgh to go shopping: he for a pair of fur-lined gloves for his current lover, she for a pair of knickers. The packages get confused in the wrapping, and Burns writes about the gloves to his lover, who receives the package with the knickers. You can imagine, I'm sure, the result....the latest fashion....pale in color but not easily soiled...moisture resistant....looking forward to seeing you put them on....the new style is to wear them rolled down with a bit of fur showing.... The crowd, both men and women, was howling.
Brilliant. Maybe one year we'll do Burns in Yokohama. It turns out there's lots of places like home, many of them better.
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