The Gulf of Mexico and Beyond

THE GULF OF MEXICO
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

"I vote we go to the Gulf of Mexico
You and me by the sea
Palm trees call me, oh, that's the place I want to be
Down where the southern breezes blow
On the Gulf of Mexico" (1990)

Song by Alabama
Photo: Florida Keys

Slow Sequence

From Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties of upper
New York State rise the Ischua and Tunnungwani [Tunungwant]
Creeks; which, passing the Cornplanter Indian
Reservation, form the headwaters of the Allegheny
River; which winds down through Pennsylvania and
at Pittsburgh runs into the Monongahela and forms
the Ohio; Big O, pushing, moving, moving down,
Cincinnati, Louisville, and Cairo, Illinois,
where it joins the Old Man, the Mississippi;
already wide as the length of an airport, at
St. Louis the Mississippi picks up the Missouri,

Sunrise Across the Wide Missouri

doubles its size, and starts its long slide
down the continent, one thousand miles, past
Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, Baton Rouge and
New Orleans, as heavy as pregnancy itself, come
all the long way down, rooted from Idaho to New
York, and now, laden with ships, set sunken in
its vast swampy delta ninety miles south of New
Orleans, canopied with mosquitos, enters the
greasy shallow mud-puddle of the Gulf, rushing
and roiling and dissipating, spreading outward,
washing and swirling around the pillars and the legs
of the ravening multitude of clustered oil rigs.

2 / 3 / 68

by Dan Propper (1937 - 2003)
[See also Samurai & UN]

Did somebody say Gulf of Mexico?

Arbitrary name change,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"We named the Gulf of Mexico into the Gulf of America."

Wait, there's more, there's always more.

Here's a SECOND batch of nonsense,
[Also posted on The Quotidian Kit]
just as inappropriate and cringeworthy as before!
1.

Can you say Stepford Wives?
In thrall to someone living with dementia.

2.

Headgear fashion faux pas
by someone living with dementia.

3.

A Cartoon for Fun

Recent urban construction,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"Majestic skyscrapers, the towers that I see . . . and all of the different [unintelligible] I’ve seen a lot of different towers. I didn’t think there’s any version of a tower that I haven’t seen in one form or another."

4.

Insomnia,
as described by someone living with dementia,
completely misunderstanding that
tossing and turning = guilty conscience:

"Mohammad, do you sleep at night? How do you sleep? Huh? Just thinking. What a job. He tosses and turns like some of us, tosses and turns all night, how do I make it even better, all night. It’s the ones that don’t toss and turn, they’re the ones that will never take you to the promised land. Won’t they? But you have done some job. True."

5.

Who's hot & who's not,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"The United States is the hottest country — with the exception of your country, I have to say, right? I’m not going to take that on. No, Mohammed, I’m not going to take that on. Wouldn’t that be a terrible thing if I made that full statement? But I will not do it. You’re hotter. At least as long as I’m up here, you’re hotter" [in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025] . . . "Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she's no longer 'HOT?' ” [online Friday, May 16].

6.

“…a top of the line, uhh, timberman like...
Like... You know who? Sean... Duffy,”
as described by someone living with dementia:

“He's a great Sean though, I have to tell you but Sean Duffy was the world champion for five years climbing trees and down, up and down, world champion! So that's what you call a serious a lumberjack."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click here for FIRST batch:
"I Didn't Even Know Anything"
QK & FN

CREDITS
I think we can count
on a steady stream of material for this project.
Above comments taken from:

Occupy Democrats

Speech in Riyadh

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next Fortnightly Post
Friday, June 14th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blogs
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com

I Didn't Even Know Anything

SPEAKING NONSENSE
~ UNCEREMONIOUS, UNACCUSTOMED ~

No! You may not have the rainbow,
not 3 dozen, not 1 dozen -- only 5!

Scarcity vs Plenty,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"I’m just saying they don’t need to have 30 dolls.
They can have three.
They don’t need to have 250 pencils. They can have five."

“In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’
All issues are political issues,
and politics itself is a mass of lies,
evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia.”

George Orwell (1903 -1950)
Politics and the English Language (1946)
I have started a new series of facebook posts, referred to by my friend Tom as my "Wish this was satire, but it's actually the President of The United States quoted verbatim" column! I started brooding about this idea on Easter Sunday, when a facebook friend posted Trump's latest skreed and asked in dismay, "How is the author of this the President of the United States?"

Responses from her readers:

1. "I don’t understand why he being allowed to remain president after an outburst like this. He is obviously psychologically compromised.

2. "Beyond being POTUS, the greatest danger we confront as a nation is the tens of millions who support him. History has now vindicated Hilary Clinton who gave us a sober, mild and respectful definition of who they are."

After reading the entire thread of very thoughtful responses, I started wondering, what is a "sober, mild and respectful" way to call out these repeated disrespectful and totally demented outbursts that so clearly signal "psychological compromise."

I settled on "living with dementia." That's respectful, right? Nicer than "totally demented." And I wouldn't even have to say his name. Everyone knows. Also, in case anyone wants to make a comparison, even on Biden's worst day, he never sounded this disconnected from reality!

Of course, my loyal reader Tom totally gets this approach of publishing verbatim statements that are so absurd in the original that without even so much as an Op-Ed comment, they come off as effective political satire. However, I do worry that no matter how asinine those comments may sound to many, they might sound completely normal to those who support the current administration -- or worse yet, those who might read them and say, "Oh cool. Good idea!" I certainly don't want to do them any favors by posting their nonsense or accidentally colluding in heightening their visibility!

Nevertheless, here is the first batch.
[Also posted on The Quotidian Kit]
May they inform and entertain and outrage:

What it means to be popular,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"If you look at some of these internet people, I know so many of them. Elon is so terrific, but I know now all of them, you know they all hated me in my first term and now they're kissing my ass. You know [mumbling] it's true. All of them. It's true. It's amazing. It's nicer this way."

Inappropriate gossip about "trophy wives,"
from someone living with dementia:

"He retired and he led a beautiful life. He had a wife, I must tell you, it was his second wife. It was a trophy wife. What can I say? I don't like telling you everything, but we're all friends, right? Can we talk? We're all friends. He had a trophy wife."

Change and resistance,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"Change is never easy. And the closer you get to success, the more ferociously those with a interested interest in the past will resist you."

Majoring in journalism,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"You're available. It's a good time to be available. There are some times when it's not so good to be available, but this is a great time. . . . To the journalism majors, of which I've had a lot of problems with, I must be honest. I'm not sure I like them. No, I do. I do. But you're really leading of everything because we need a great and free press."

Bird Flu and Easter Eggs,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"And when I took over, you remember the big thing with eggs? They hit me the first week, 'Eggs, eggs, eggs,' like it was my fault. I said, 'I didn't cause this problem. This problem was caused by Biden. What's the problem with eggs?' And they said, 'They've doubled it,' Well, eggs are down 87% since I got involved. . . . And by the way -- and there were plenty of eggs for Easter, which we just went through. There were plenty of eggs for Easter. They were saying, 'You won't have enough eggs for Easter.' We ended -- our sec -- my secretary did a fantastic job on eggs."

~ A helpful book for children ~

The Declaration of Independence
as described by someone living with dementia:

"Well, it means exactly what it says, it's a declaration. A declaration of unity and love and respect, and it means a lot. And it's something very special to our country."

~ Alcatraz as seen in "Eh, the movies." ~

Alcatraz Prison,
as described by someone living with dementia:

"Well, I guess I was supposed to be a movie maker. We're talking—we started with the movie making and will end. I mean, it—it represents something very strong, very powerful in terms of law and order. Our country needs law and order. Alcatraz is, uh, I would say, the ultimate, right? Alcatraz. Sing Sing and Alcatraz. Eh, the movies. But, uh, it's right now a museum, believe it or not, a lot of people go there. It housed the, uh, most violent criminals in the world, and nobody ever escaped. One person almost got there. But they, as you know the story, they found his clothing rather badly ripped up. And, uh, it was a lot of shark bites, lot of, a lot of problems. Nobody's ever escaped from Alcatraz. And just represented something, uh, strong having to do with law and order. We need law and order in this country. And so we're going to, uh, look at it. Some of the people up here are going to be working very hard on that. And, uh, we had a little conversation. I think it's going to be very interesting. We'll see if we can, uh, bring it back in large form, add a lot. But I think it represents something. Right now it's, uh, a big hunk that's sitting there rusting and rotting, uh, very, uh, you look at it, it's sort of a [?]. You saw that picture that was put out. It's sort of amazing. But it sort of represents something that's both horrible and beautiful and strong and miserable. Weak. It's got a lot of, it's got a lot of qualities that are interesting. And I think they, they make a point. Okay."

CREDITS
I think we can count
on a steady stream of material for this project.
Above comments taken from:

Interview with Kristen Welker~ NBC

Interview with Terry Moran ~ ABC

Commencement Address
at the University of Alabama

My favorite line in one of the above interviews:

"I didn’t even know anything about
what you — we were talking about."

You can say that again!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Fortnightly Post
Yet Another Batch of Nonsense
The Gulf of Mexico and Beyond
Wednesday, May 28th
Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blogs
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com

Indoor Rocks

INDOOR ROCKS
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

Ellie & Aidan's treasure stash
(one of many)
containing numerous indoor rocks.

Kitti's Courage ~ Forever Rocks
These good luck rocks in my car are souvenirs
from Ben & Sam's sleepover at St. John the Divine
Junior high field trip ~ New York City ~ 2004

For many years now, my friend Jan and I have sustained an ongoing conversation about the role of rocks that come into our lives, sometimes bringing luck and stability, other times discomfort and consternation, but always providing a tactile connection to the universe. We keep them in a pocket, in a drawer, in the car, on the window ledge. If they get lost, we grieve their disappearance, then take up another favorite -- a new one is never far.

Jan's Forever ~ Between Rocks
are from the Word Garden
at the Highlights Foundation Retreat Center
More from Jan:
We Are On A Rock ~ Access ~ Pocket

Literary Connections

Starting with two collections of "indoor rocks"

1. "She is sitting at the desk where Hamnet kept his collection of pebbles in four pots. He liked to tip them out periodically and sort them in different ways. She is peering into each pot, observing that the last time he arranged them, he did so by colour, not size" (245).

Hamnet
by Maggie Farrell


2.
"I have saved two white stones,
whiter than any I have seen,
found in a patch of emerald green,
two white stones have I . . .
All these things I love best
I have kept in this old chest,
sorted and counted hundreds of nights
they all have given me a thousand delights.
Who can say how much they are worth?
For they are the miracles of the Earth."
[click to hear Johnny Whitaker sing: @ 57:15]

from the 1969 movie of The Littlest Angel

These two fictional boys, the Littlest Angel and young Hamnet (based on Shakespeare's real son) share the pastime of sorting and re-sorting their favorite pebbles and rocks (and other assorted items) sometimes by color, sometimes by size. Likewise, the real life Sir Isaac Newton recalls the childhood diversion of searching out pebbles and shells at the seashore. The little brother in Julie Otsuka's story has a souvenir from the sea -- "his lucky blue stone" -- but instead of a treasure box or a series of sorting pots, he keeps everything in his pockets.

3. While living in the Japanese internment camp in Utah, the little brother is given "a small red Swiss Army knife" for Christmas. He "carried the knife with him in his pocket wherever he went. Sometimes, when he was running, he could hear it clacking against his lucky blue stone from the sea and for a moment he felt very happy. His pockets were filled with good things" (92, emphasis added).
When the Emperor Was Divine
by Julie Otsuka

4. “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” ~ Isaac Newton ~

As does Newton, the next three writers combine the imagery of rocks with that of water. Kingsolver says that love is not the rock, love is the water, because water is stronger. Kind of like scissors, paper, stone. Armin adds romance and language, writing the name of a loved one on a rock in a river. Maclean expands into another dimension: the mystery of the universe. The rocks he describes are "from the basement of time," and "Under the rocks are words." Kind of like "In the beginning was the Word!
5.
"Love is no granite boulder, praised
for its size. It's the water that parts
around it, moving mountains."

by Barbara Kingsolver
from the poem "How to Be Married"
in How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons)


6.
And remember how I wrote your name
On the rocks down by the river Seine

by Armin van Buuren
from the song "Looking For Your Name"

7.

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”

by Norman Maclean (1902 - 1990)
from A River Runs Through It

8.
And because we all still believe
in Mother Earth and lucky rocks . . .

My Lucky Rock

I said to a squirrel,
“What is that
you are carrying?”
and he said,

“It is my lucky rock;
isn’t it pretty?”
I held it and said,
“Indeed.”

I said to God,
“What is this earth?”
And God said,

“It is my lucky rock;
isn’t it wondrous?”

Yes, indeed.

by Tukaram (c 1598 - 1650)
17th Century Saint and Poet
From what is now the modern-day state of
Maharashtra, India


9.
Not forgetting The Lorax

Next Fortnightly Post
Wednesday, May 14th
Between now and then, read

THE QUOTIDIAN KIT ~ See Lucky Rock & Rocky Road
my shorter, almost daily blogs
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com

Sitting Down to Read Keats

KEATS READING SHAKESPEARE
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

1821 Portrait of John Keats
by Joseph Severn (1793-1879)
Oil on canvas ~ London, National Portrait Gallery

On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again

O golden-tongued Romance with serene lute!
Fair plumed Syren! Queen of far away!
Leave melodizing on this wintry day,
Shut up thine olden pages, and be mute:
Adieu! for once again the fierce dispute,
Betwixt damnation and impassion'd clay
Must I burn through; once more humbly assay
The bitter-sweet of this Shakespearian fruit.

Chief Poet! and ye clouds of Albion,
Begetters of our deep eternal theme,
When through the old oak forest I am gone,
Let me not wander in a barren dream,
But when I am consumed in the fire,
Give me new Phoenix wings to fly at my desire.

John Keats (1795 – 1821)
[More on QK & FN]


To Humbly Assay
Keats has combined techniques from both the Petrarchan and the Spenserian sonnet forms in "On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again." The sonnet is true Petrarchan in that it contains a definite octave and a definite sestet, and the rhyme scheme of the octave follows the traditional Petrarchan pattern: abbaabba. At this point, after the octave, the sonnet taks the traditional "turn," and there is a turn in the technique as well. Rather than choose any of the variable sestet patterns associated with Petrarchan sonnets, Keats switches to the Spenserian sestet rhyme scheme: cdcdee.

The sonnet concludes with another irregularity: the final line is not written in iambic pentameter (as are the first thirteen); it is in iambic hexameter, an Alexandrine appropriately split with a caesura: "Give me new Phoenix sings / to fly at my desire." Though this extra syllable is not characteristic of the Spenserian sonnet, it is characteristic of the 9-line Spenserian stanza which always concludes with an Alexandrine.

The form of any sonnet is related to its content. Of major importance in this sonnet are the apostrophes which begin both the octave ("O Golden-Tongues Romance with serene lute!") and the sestet ("Chief Poet!"). In the octave, Keats introduces the problem to be dealt with, the conflicting merits of Romance and Tragedy. The reference to Romance, in the initial apostrophe, is clear. He addresses Romance, only to bid it "Adieu!" Romance is "golden" and "fair," but the day is "wintry," so he feels compelled to turn to tragedy. The reference to tragedy is not as explicit, but surely "the fierce dispute / Betwixt damnation and impassion'd clay" is the antithesis of anything romantic.

In this sonnet, Keats identifies our human tragedy as Byron does: "we are cooped in clay." Cooped in clay and filled with passions, we only ensure our damnation if we give in to passion. I think this is the "dispute" that Keats refers to. These lines are also his description of the play King Lear, and, though the title says "to Read," the verb has now become "to burn":
Adieu! for once again the fierce dispute,
Betwixt damnation and impassion'd clay
Must I burn through; once more humbly assay
The bitter-sweet of this Shakespearian fruit.
"Burn" is the verb for the comprehension of tragedy, while in earlier lines "melodizing" is the verb of romance. Also, the poet orders Romance to "Leave melodizing." It is Romance not he who is acting, but now he must act. Tragedy does not serenade nor present itself to him -- he must "burn through" it.

The exchange of the common verb read for the startling burn takes on even more significance if we glance ahead to the final image of the Phoenix consumed in fire. Keats has chosen one of the few things we know of that is never subject to damnation. The Phoenix may suffer in death, but not in afterlife. There is no time to punish or damn the Phoenix, for it must live afresh immediately.

The final image in the octave is inescapable in its appeal to our physical taste of bitter-sweet as well as our emotional grasp on the bitter-sweetness of human tragedy. Surprisingly but appropriately, Keats has picked something earthly, something of clay with which to compare the play -- a piece of fruit. This is another surprising exchange for the more common image of the written word as immortal, a fixed monument. Of course, fruit may be immortal in the same sense that the Phoenix is -- their shared cycle of continual regeneration: flowering, ripening, falling to the ground, then beginning again.

In the sestet, the sonnet turns with the Poet's address to Shakespeare. But it is imperative to notice that the apostrophe runs on beyond the exclamation point: "Chief Poet! and ye clouds of Albion." The reference to Albion, the old Celtic and wonderfully nostalgic name for England, is the poet's way of once more including the Romance he denounced in the octave. Shakespeare and Albion, Tragedy and Poetry: he beseeches them both, recognizing that they both are "Begetters of our deep eternal theme."

Still, the reader is inclined to conclude that his vote is finally cast for tragedy. For is not the "barren dream" he wishes to avoid the very Romance he ordered to "be mute"? He wants instead the fire. He wants to "burn through" tragedy and have another chance to "fly at his desire," perhaps this time without threat of damnation. As a Phoenix he will "burn through" the "fierce dispute betwixt damnation and impassioned clay. In this way does the sestet answer the octave.

My favorite painting of King Lear:
Cordelia's Portion (c. 1866)
by Ford Madox Brown (1821 - 1893)
English painter of moral and historical subjects
loosely connected to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

To the left are the malevolent sisters, Goneril & Regan, staring each other down; and kneeling at their feet, the Dukes of Cornwall & Albany, Lear's corrupt sons-in-law. To the right, are the fickle Duke of Burgandy; dear Cordelia, Pure of Heart, whose "love's more richer than her tongue," and the loyal King of France. In the center is King Lear, dejected, misguided; and at his feet, the Map of the Kingdom, divided. In this painting, the Fool is only a minor character. You can see his blue hood if you look closely behind the dark - haired sister. [More on QK & FN]

Next Fortnightly Post
Monday, April 28th
Between now and then, read

THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com

The Worthy Butterfly

SELF-POISED LITTLE BUTTERFLY
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

Previously featured: September Butterfly Away
and on my calendar: A Rebirth of Wonder

William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) confesses in his "Preface to the Second Edition of Lyrical Ballads,"I may have sometimes written upon unworthy subjects, but as he states earlier, never without a "worthy purpose." It is because of this worthy purpose in each poem that Wordsworth can claim, "that the feeling therein developed gives importance to the action and situation, and not the action and situation to the feeling."

In the poem "To a Butterfly," Wordsworth is once again "in that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts to the mind." His situation: sitting in the orchard. His action: watching a butterfly for a full half-hour. The feeling developed:

To A Butterfly

I’ve watched you now a full half-hour,
Self-poised upon that yellow flower;
And, little Butterfly! Indeed
I know not if you sleep or feed.
How motionless! – not frozen seas
More motionless! And then
What joy awaits you, when the breeze
Hath found you out among the trees,
And calls you forth again!

This plot of orchard-ground is ours;
My trees they are, my Sister’s flowers.
Here rest your wings when they are weary;
Here lodge as in a sanctuary!
Come often to us, fear no wrong;
Sit near us on the bough!
We'll talk of sunshine and of song,
And summer days when we were young;
Sweet childish days that were as long
As twenty days are now."
Is a butterfly an unworthy subject upon which to write? 20th & 21st Century readers are more accepting of Wordsworth's chosen topics than perhaps were his peers and critics in 1800. Following Nabokov's example, we've long been allowed to write about butterfly collections, luna moths, and dreams of butterflies. A butterfly might seem trivial to those expecting every poem to focus on death and justice, good and evil, archangels and continents. However, "To a Butterfly" does indeed have a worthy purpose, despite the apparent simplicity of a little butterfly. Wordsworth's purpose in this poem is to mention, if fleetingly, the relativity of time.

In "To a Butterfly," the subject, action, and situation may be "unworthy"; but the purpose and the feeling developed are "worthy." Wordsworth reminds us that the ever - changing butterfly is a time-honored symbol of metamorphosis. He reverses the association: this butterfly makes those long ago hours seem timeless. The feelings concerning the relativity of time which are developed in the poem give importance to the action of sitting and watching a butterfly: "How motionless! . . . More motionless! And then what joy awaits . . . ."

Previously featured: Not Always what They Seem & Syntax of Love
and on my calendar: A Rebirth of Wonder

Next Fortnightly Post
Monday, April 14th
Between now and then, read

THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com

Laughing at Death

VANITY FAIR
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

"All is vanity, nothing is fair."

Beautiful movie & music, this song especially:

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

lyrics by
George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788 – 1824)
sung by Sissel (b 1969)

In the novel Vanity Fair (1848), the author William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 63) makes death a topic at which his readers can laugh. He also shows his characters laughing in the face of death. One example of this juxtaposition of death and laughter is the light and joking manner in which the -th regiment views the impending battle. The prevailing attitude is well illustrated by Dobbin's reply to George, who is imagining himself, "among the killed and wounded returns, and at the top of the list."

"Psha! It will be time enough to cry out when we are hurt" (290).

George, characteristically, is easily convinced, and the two, who are presently vacationing at Brighton, join their party for "an exceedingly brisk and merry" dinner. The conversation is jolly and filled with the excitement of the coming campaign. Dobbin amuses his friends with accounts of the army in Belgium, "where nothing but fetes and gaiety and fashion were going on." The lively dinner progresses, but when Amelia and Becky declare their intentions of going along with the regiment to Brussels, Dobbin is more inclined to worry than he was earlier.

"She can't go," he said; "think of the -- of the danger," he was going to add; but had not all his conversation during dinner-time tended to prove there was none? He became very confused and silent. (p. 295)

Along with George and Dobbin, Rawdon also views the campaign as a lark rather than as a life-or-death matter. His attitude is displayed when Becky is dictating to him the letter intended for Miss Crawley.

"Before quitting the country and commencing a campaign which very possibly may be fatal --"

"What?" said Rawdon, rather surprised, but took the humour of the phrase, and presently wrote it down with a grin. (p. 302)

Business taken care of, the intimate little party leaves Brighton, but the holiday does not come to an end. Indeed, when the regiment reaches Brussels the spirit of gaiety, if anything, grows stronger:

The place was full of English soldiery as they passed. English bugles woke them in the morning; at nightfall they went to bed to the note of the British fife and drum: all the country and Europe was in arms, and the greatest event of history pending: and honest Peggy O'Dowd, whom it concerned as well as another, went on prattling about Ballinafad, and the horses in the stables at Glenmalony, and the clar't drunk there; and Jos Sedley interposed about curry and rice at Dumdum; and Amelia thought about her husband, and how best she should show her love for him; as if these were the great topics of the world. (p. 328; Chapter 28)

Undoubtedly, the majority of the -th regiment shared the sentiments of Amelia, who "was not much alarmed." But Thackeray takes care to warn his readers, if not his characters, that although "all looked as brilliant and harmless as a Hyde Park review . . . Napoleon was preparing to lay so many of them low" (p. 325). Thackeray is able to see the comic side of death, but he also takes it seriously. What is required to impress upon the -th regiment the import of their mission and the inappropriateness of their behavior? While laughing in the face of death may have its place, along with black garb and dirges, the campaign is not, as Rawdon thinks on departure, "as gay as a hunting party."

Le Déjeuner De Chasse ~ The Hunting Lunch

Also of interest:
Picnic After the Hunt
&
Hunter, Hero, and Friend
The British Soldier's Dog in the Napoleonic Wars
Next Fortnightly Post
Friday, March 28th
Between now and then, read

THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts ~ Taking Death Seriously
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

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KITTI'S LIST
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The Courtier and the Judge

THE SMILE OF REASON
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

Jean Baptiste Joachim Colbert,
Marquis de Croissy (1703 - 1777)
1749 portrait
by Louis Tocqué (1696 - 1772)

I enjoyed this compare / contrast assignment, way back in graduate school, when our 18th Century Literature professor instructed the class to go the art museum in search of portraits featuring what he referred to as "The So-Called Smile of Reason." I devised similar assignments for my own students and sent them on various artistic quests at least once per semester. I loved that museum -- called The Snite -- at the time (1985) -- not only for the artwork but also for sitting quietly to read or write or grade or wander aimlessly with a friend, to soothe the soul.

Sir Thomas Rokeby (1631 - 1699)
1661 portrait
by Nicholaes Maes (1634 – 1693)

After perusing the available examples of
Enlightenment portraiture, here's what I came up with . . .
The Marquis de Croissy (1703 - 1777) wears an expression of satisfaction. Rather than a smirk, I see a smile of tolerance and amused resignation. He knows that he lives in a world numbering many fools, and he knows that his wealth and position have made him luckier than many. He appears, in his 1749 portrait by Alex Louis Tocqué, more pleasant than pleased. The habit of mind evinced is one of complacence. His expression suggests that he accepts as natural the numerous disparate elements of human behavior (even those which may be artificial!) without brooding about the possibility of hypocrisy or inconsistency. As a courtier, he has cultivated an expansive view of life which allows for folly as well as generosity of spirit in both himself and others.

The Marquis does not lead a life of study and contemplation. If his complexion is somewhat pallid it is so from an indulgent diet and erratic sleeping habits. A life of sensuous excesses is taking a physical toll on him; yet he presents, if not the picture of health, a delightful sense of the robust life. His attire is ornate: rich brown and blue velvets, gold and red brocade, golden buttons. He gazes straightforwardly from a background depicting a tempestuous storm. An aura of illumination lights his head and face from behind. His life is lit by a knowledge of the world which is external and objective. His eyes are knowing, if not far-seeing. He himself has become a center of order and gaiety in a potentially dark, oppressive, brooding world.

As the poet William Blake (1757 - 1827) wrote:

There is a Smile of Love
And there is a Smile of Deceit
And there is a Smile of Smiles
In which these two Smiles meet . . .
Sir Thomas Rokeby (1631 - 1699), is his portrait by Nicolaas Mass, is rather more placid and self-contained than the Marquis de Croissy. His habits tend neither toward generosity nor folly. As a Presbyterian judge, he follows a path of restraint in all things -- from dress and diet to entertainment and socializing. Instead of surrounding himself with witty and amusing people, as the Marquis must have done, Rokeby looks to himself (and perhaps to God) for a communion of spirit and intellect rather than one of body and intellect. He appears to be philosophical and knowledgeable yet vulnerable in a way that the Marquis is not and probably has never been. He looks young, probably younger than he is in years. Whereas the Marquis' habits of excess have aged him prematurely, Rokeby's more stringent habits of body and mind cause his cheeks to fairly burn with health and a restrained passion.

The color in his face is high and intense, and his lips are full. His black and white attire is somber but not his expression. He is neither robust nor severe. He is not easily provoked, but one would not call him gentle. He strives always to be temperate and rational. Though he cannot be credited with the Marquis' expansive acceptance of humankind, he is not cold-hearted. His demeanor suggests that self-discipline and self-knowledge provide the key to order in a world which tends toward untidiness. His glance is steadfast; behind him all is quite dark, though to his left filtered light suggests dawn or sunset. His face only is illumined directly -- with an internal, subjective light which must come from either within or above.

The Judge and the Courtier: both were born to titles and distinction; both had the means to live lives of taste and refinement. However, each was trained in his own way to an educated awareness of his surrounding environment and culture. Thus the two developed widely differing concepts of self and order.
Both paintings held by
Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
University of Notre Dame
South Bend, Indiana Next Fortnightly Post
Friday, March 14th
Between now and then, read

THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
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www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

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Red Dresses and Sad Songs

RED IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVE'S DRESS
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

Nivôse by Martha Romme
from her Calendar Series ~ Les Douze Mois de l’Année, 1919

Sometimes mistakenly translated as "Level"
but, in fact, that would be niveau;
this is Nivôse, an old French term for Winter:
"In Nivôse earth is sealed and usually covered with snow.
At this time earth is resting . . . "

Some years Valentine's Day is snowy,
and you need a red coat
to throw on over your red dress.

Marching On by Sebastian Bauer

For Valentine's Day, I have been saving up a few red - dress paintings and searching for poetry to match. Many songs and poems feature a red dress (as posted previously). However, nothing that I came across) felt quite right for today, so I settled on one of my favorite sad cowboy songs. After all, the word red is in the title. Furthermore, there are those who experience Valentine's Day as a doleful occasion, so perhaps the connection is fittingly forlorn:

Red River Valley

From this valley they say you are going
I will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile
For they say you are taking the sunshine
That has brightened our pathway awhile . . .

Come and sit by my side if you love me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
But remember the Red River Valley
And the one who has loved you so true

Sung by Marty Robbins (1925 -1982)

I am also thinking that Henry David Thoreau's observation about the number of chairs in his house is equally appropriate to these three paintings:

". . . one for solitude [plus cats!]

Seen on The Cat Café
[still searching for title and artist]

. . . two for friendship

Young Girls Reading (aka The Two Sisters), 1889
by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

. . . three for society."

The Three_Sisters, 1896
by Léon-Henri-Marie Frédéric (1856 – 1940) ♥♥♥ Happy Valentine's Day!

May it be filled with cats and sisters, books and fruit,
red coats and dresses, and a selection of sad songs!

Two recent favorites:
Wishing you A Perfect Day with No Hard Feelings

. . . and this old favorite that I always seem
to find myself humming around this time of year.
Next Fortnightly Post
Friday, February 28th
Between now and then, read

THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

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Sisters, Friends

"LOVE YA LIKE A SIS"
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

Painting by Claudia Tremblay

Reminds me of ~ Di, Kit, Peg

****************
"I remember standing at the wide white sink doing dishes
while the three girls braided their hair into a single fat rope.
Their conversation consisted of one of them telling the other
two to hold still, and then another one complaining the others
were pulling and would mess everything up. . . . our three girls
were firmly tethered together as one daughter" (36 - 37).

from Tom Lake ~ by Ann Patchett

[See also: FN, KL, QK]

This Fortnightly post will continue the theme of "Friends in Art" that I was having so much fun with last time! The various paintings have all come to my attention recently, but all of the literary passages below have appeared on previous blog posts -- at least a decade ago. So, it does not seem too soon to re-share these favorite thoughts on the depth and breadth of true friendship.

"And friendship had other charms to captivate my heart.
We could talk and laugh together
and exchange small acts of kindness.
We could join in the pleasure that books can give.
We could be grave or gay together.
If we sometimes disagreed, it was without spite,
as you might differ with yourself,
and the rare occasions of dispute
were the very spice to season our usual accord.
Each of us had something to learn from the others
and something to teach in return.
If any were away, we missed them with regret
and gladly welcomed them when they came home.
Such things as these are heartfelt tokens
of affection between friends.
They are signs to be read on the face and in the eyes,
spoken by the tongue and displayed in countless acts of kindness.
They can kindle a blaze to melt our hearts and weld them into one."

Augustine (354 - 430)
from Confessions, Book 8

"Companion or friend? I have come to believe that you can get along without anyone — that is, without the close contact of any one person. That is a terrible shock to me, but I think it is true. You do need companionship, but wherever you go, in whatever new environment, you will find people who, to a large degree, take the place of those you left. That is, you will find as many contacts, they will become as intimately a part of your life, as friends before.

"If you can get along without friends is it all gone after you leave a person? I don't think so, because when you see them again, or write to them, it all comes back. You can meet and talk with as much intensity and freedom as before, your connection is as strong even though the contact surface is not as great.

"Besides, I think that companionship is a static, objective thing. You can have it with anyone and it is relatively the same, while friendship is subjective and multicolored. There are as many different kinds of friendship (for me, at least) as there are friends. The intimate companionship goes, I think, when you leave a friend, but friendship stays. It is an inherent possibility of relationship that, once admitted — well, there it is."

Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906 - 2001)
from Bring Me A Unicorn, 1972

Drei Winterthurerinnen, 1822
[Three Women from Winterthur, Switzerland]
by David Sulzer (1784 - 1864)

Old Friendship
Beautiful and rich is an old friendship,
Grateful to the touch as ancient ivory,
Smooth as aged wine, or sheen of tapestry
Where light has lingered, intimate and long.
Full of tears and warm is an old friendship
That asks no longer deeds of gallantry,
Or any deed at all - save that the friend shall be
Alive and breathing somewhere, like a song.

Eunice Tietjens (1884 - 1944)
from Leaves in Windy Weather

****************

"None of us are as young as we were.
So what? Friendship never ages."

W. H. Auden (1907 - 73)

****************

"There was a definite process by which
one made people into friends, and it involved
talking and listening to them for hours at a time."

Dame Rebecca West (1892 - 1983)

****************

"The proper office of a friend is to side with you
when you are wrong. Nearly anybody
will side with you when you are right."

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
See my QK column: "Built-In Shit Detector"
[right-hand side-bar]

Need to send someone a birthday hug?
For me, this painting by Jennifer Yoswa says it all.

Next Fortnightly Post
Friday, February 14th
Between now and then, read

THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com