[lit-ideas] Sunday Wotsit
- From: David Ritchie <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 10:37:39 -0700
One way of representing thoughts had while painting our house: I have a
daughter who remembers. To get to my lofty current status in life, I had to
remember from the moment when I left all my condensing of notes until the
moment when the examiner said, "Pick up your pens." Before looking at the
questions, I scribbled as quickly as possible as many of the makings and
breakings of the French Revolution as I could conjure. What remains of this in
my brain is the rough equivalent of a beach following a storm. Bits and pieces
of other stuff have also stuck--this, from Shakespeare, that from Harry
Lauder-- but when we play a Gilbert and Sullivan disc I sing, "Go ye heroes go
to glory, go to...something, something tea." My daughter, by contrast,
remembers all the words. You know that nightmare song from Iolanthe?
For your brain is on fire, the bed-clothes conspire
Of usual slumber to plunder you:
First your counter-pane goes, and uncovers your toes,
And your sheet slips demurely from under you...
She can recite the whole thing without breaking a sweat. I do admire what I
don't gots.
Another way of representing thought had while painting our house: what a
wonderful shade of orange is the loose dead branch that's caught high in that
fir i hope it falls soon imagine if that thing were to catch fire is painting
about protection or looks if a job's worth doing it's worth doing well that's
dad's view why am i rushing where's the fire if it's about looks whose opinion
is it that matters neighbors family friends passing house critics i can't be
bothered to do more sanding and scraping enough is enough cover it with a
couple of coats and call it good or as bev says put a fork in it and call it
good i wonder if i've ever sent her a photo of the massive fork sculpture in
vevay i don't know if there's a french equivalent to put a fork in it and call
it good this color's not going to match so i think i'll make the patches look
like water tumbling down a slope and over here we'll try some happy happy trees
god my back hurts
And here's the highly-condensed version:
pre-owned cars
pre-owned books
the book of uncommon prayer
David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon
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