Thursday 3 July 2014

For the Sake of Posting.

I need something to make a post about, but it isn’t easy when you’ve been in a bad mood all evening and bad moods don’t shift easily.

I thought of doing a ‘Further Ashbourne Encounters’ post, but they weren't all that interesting. There was Medeea, my Transylvanian dentist, who was as spectacularly wonderful as usual. There was the new checkout operator in the supermarket whose name badge said ‘Liss.’ ‘What’s Liss short for?’ I asked. ‘Alicia. Nobody can say it.’ ‘You mean A.L.I.C.I.A?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘…and nobody can say it?’ ‘No.’ So then I told her the story of the Italian waiter and the sea trout (which is on this blog somewhere, but I’ll be blowed if I can be bothered to find it.) She didn’t really get it, which is why I didn’t succumb to the temptation to write her a ditty. (Lots of words rhyme with Liss – some of them polite and some less so – but anybody who fails to see the funny side of my anecdotes has to remain in the chorus.) And then there was the woman in the bird food shop who said she never goes to dentists because she can’t afford them. ‘I work in a shop. Haven’t you noticed?’ Enough said. Oh, and then there was the man standing outside another shop who was accompanied by three creatures: a big Pit Bull Terrier, a little girl in a pushchair, and a tiny Chihuahua about the size of an adult rat which the little girl was cradling to her chest. I thought of asking him whether the Chihuahua was an emergency food supply for the Pit Bull in case of nuclear attack, but decided he didn’t look the sort to get the joke either, so I desisted.

See? Boring. Instead, I decided to give some thought to a list of the things I most want to achieve before I die. So far I’ve got:

1. Have dinner with Mistress M and her folks. I’m sure the conversation would send a March Hare round the twist.

2. See the Aurora Borealis.

3. Make contact with Emily Bronte in a seance and ask her whether my theory about Wuthering Heights is correct.

4. Eat a big piece of baked Alaska, lightly drizzled with raspberry sauce and accompanied by a dollop of Devonshire clotted cream.

5. Hear Zoe Mintz say ‘Jeffrey’ one last time. (This mustn’t accompany the eating of the baked Alaska, though. If Zoe Mintz had been a passenger on the Titanic, she would merely have had to stand in the bow and say ‘Jeffrey,’ and the big white thing would have melted and gone down instead of the ship. Zoe Mintz’s rendition of the word ‘Jeffrey’ is almost as spectacular as Medeea the Transylvanian dentist’s dentistry.)

I think that will do for now. The 5.9% ABV IPA is beginning to take effect.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you're back to writing occasionally. It's nice to see new thoughts when I stop in from time to time.

This is the former Forest Lass. I deleted my blog last year, to clear any possible confusion there may have been.

JJ said...

Sara?

Sara!!! How dare you become one of my favourite people and then disappear without a trace? I worried that you might have got caught up in the popular protests that have been going on in Turkey, and whether you might have been arrested or hurt. Alternatively, I wondered whether you might have been dragged down into a deep depression, or moved back to America. (You're not Dallas, Georgia, are you?)

Sara, I have truly missed you. Honestly. I remember the feral kitten and the singing. I remember the discussions about the cello, and the enigmatic nature of a big man's smile. I remember the bear. And you might be interested to know that horses seem to have started liking me.

You are a light and lovely spirit, you know. A rare one. I've been hoping ever since you closed down that one day you'd drop a comment onto the blog, so thank you.

So what 'confusion' are you talking about? As I recall, your blog was full of joie-de-vivre and home made clothes and jewellery. Where's the confusion?

Anonymous said...

You remember everything. :]

Dallas, Georgia is indeed my place marker. I stopped blogging because I moved back to the United States and my online space no longer suited my state of being; blogging seemed to me too artificial a practice for the vibrant life I'm cultivating for myself. It became too much a burden, too much a DISTRACTION. It detracted from experiences, wondering if I should take photos for the blog, or if I'd write about it at all.

The reception you've provided has put a smile on my face. I'll be sure to make my presence more conspicuous more often.

The confusion I mentioned regarded any befuddlement you may have felt over my disappearance. I didn't target any specific people when my blog dropped from public eye. Just canned the whole thing.

Thank you, JJ.

- S

JJ said...

In that case, I'm pleased that there was still a small space for me in your vibrant life, and I'm glad things are going well for you. (Georgia seems an odd destination for a New Yorker, though. I imagined there was still a hint of restrained hostility across the Mason-Dixie line.)

I know just what you mean about the distraction, but in my case it doesn't generally detract from the experience, but rather augments it. It helps to rationalise those things which can be rationalised, and even helps to make some sense of those subtler inner experiences which are beyond full rationalisation. And then there's my driving need to communicate (which can sometimes become a bit self-obssessed - something I need to watch out for.)

Anyway, it really was wonderful to hear from you, Sara. Whatever attention you want to give to my little corner of cyberspace will always be more than welcome.

Anonymous said...

Georgia IS an odd destination for a New Yorker. I have family down here though, so it makes a bit more sense...

Mm, everyone interprets experience differently, the act of blogging included. :]

I'll be back frequently.

Here's a tune for later: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JgcoBKWTW14

JJ said...

Later? You remember that I watch YouTube after midnight? My! Later it shall be.

JJ said...

Whoops! Should have been 'Mason-Dixon.' Please always feel free to correct my faulty American.

Anonymous said...

I remember lots of things! (Oh, but I do hate correcting people. It always feels like I'm being snarky.)

JJ said...

That's OK. Just do snarky NY-style and I won't mind a bit.

So, we're back to Mr T. I remember that very well. I found this track on YouTube a year or so ago and wasn't too keen at first, but it grew on me. Our appreciation of music does, after all, have a lot to do with our state of consciousness at the time. I now have the extended version of LOTR, by the way - just waiting for the long winter nights to watch it.

A friend and I have been having some discussion on the subject of funeral music lately. This would make a good choice, wouldn't it? My current choice is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PkrNYDFCBo

Do you still have anything up on YouTube? I remember you doing Pippin's song (or Merry's, or somebody's.)