Yea, I Know Seems

Western wisdom: Describing the Mexican governor of New Mexico at the time the US invaded, Don Manuel Armijo:

Armijo was, above all, a survivor, and while he put on a bold face, he could be an impressive coward when cornered. "It is smarter to appear brave," he liked to say, "than to be so."

From "Blood and Thunder" by Hampton Sides.

Lilacs

Now that lilacs are in bloom
She has a bowl of lilacs in her room

T.S. Eliot "Portrait of a Lady"

Seems a perfect couplet to me.

The Customer Is Always . . .

Favorite new strategy employed by spam e-mailers in their subject line, in order to pique my interest:

"You look really stupid bullwinkle"

Currently playing

Album of the moment (as of 20 minutes ago):

"All I Intended To Be" -- Emmylou Harris

Talking in America

From the story "Dance in America" by Lorrie Moore (and quite nicely read and discussed by Louise Erdrich on a podcast from The New Yorker.)

The narrator is having dinner with an old friend Cal, and his wife Simone, who she (the narrator) has not met before.

Simone has prepared Peking Duck, which is ropy and sweet. Cal keeps passing around the basket of bread, anxiously, talking about how modern man has only been around for forty-five thousand years and bread probably hasn't changed much in all that time.

"Forty-five thousand years?" says Simone. "That's all? That can't be. [. . . ]"

There are people who talk with their hands. There are people who talk with their arms. Then, there are people who talk with their arms over their head. Those are the ones I like best. Simone is one of those.

This made me laugh: "Then, there are people who talk with their arms over their head."

Then, this pleased me: "Those are the ones I like best."

That kind of look . . .

from Girl Factory (the extended, overly-specific simile a recurrent comic device in this novel):

Immediately to my right as I entered was a lone flamingo, its pink plumage darkened to crimson by the colored lights. The shadowed hatchet of its bill, combined with its beady eyes, gave it a criminal look, the kind you might see on a guy caught while stealing car stereos, leaning up against the side of a squad car in his sweatpants and athletic shoes, waiting to be taken down to the station, booked, and then let out on bail. I wasn't sure whether this was a bad sign or a good one.

Cri de coeur

Found on the internet, searching for something else entirely:

I have apologized for the cat issue and have explained how I can understand how you would feel and how it would make me feel if it happened to Donny and I told you how absolutely WRONG I was for that to happen. I told you that my PREVIOUS behavior was totally unacceptable. I realized that.

So, WHY IS THAT AN ISSUE STILL?

I explained that I am not used to a kid bouncing all over the place. Corwyn doesn't He's an introvert. He's the only other ten year old I know, so he's the only one I can base things on. I never, ever said or implied that there was something WRONG with Nathan. I never said or implied I didnt want to be AROUND Nathan, I never said or implied that my children were BETTER than Nathan.You did all of that, without once asking what I thought, or to elaborate when I had first said anything. AND, I apologized for that entire scenario and told you I knew although Nathan would take some getting used to, and that I was willing to do whatever it took.

As far as Kenny goes, I have never, ever said or done a single thing to him in any way, shape or form. The guy is loud. That's all I have said.

http://rontalks.blogspot.com/

(Good news -- the guy has met a new woman named Charlotte)