The beginning of wisdom, as the Chinese say, is calling things by their right names. (E. O. Wilson, as cited by Elizabeth J. Rosenthal, Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson)

Monday, November 14, 2011

Keeping It Holy

November 14, 2010.  Sunday.
Situation:  Work all day, again when I get home it is dark.  I notice Moi has taken the garbage down, and I thank her for that when I step in the house.  “Well, it’s too dark to take Mway for a walk,” she says.  I had already made up my mind to follow the precedent I set last spring and confirmed last week, but it was nice to hear her affirm it too.  And so, though Mway greeted me enthusiastically, the stump of her tail wagging, there’ll be no walk for Mway from me today.

4 comments:

sisyphus gregor said...

Yes, squeeze words in. You’re not getting any more paper.

Anonymous said...

Why don’t you just set out a ream of paper, then go off and do something? Pretend I’m dead. MM.

sisyphus gregor said...

There it’s happened again! “Pretend I’m dead.” Another phrase Moi uses all the time, although in a somewhat different context. Whenever I ask her for help with something she thinks I should know how to do – like choosing the proper settings on the clothes washer – and she feels I’m being a nuisance, she’ll say “Pretend I’m dead.” You are definitely picking up on the speech around you – you may just not realize it.

Anonymous said...

If I am, it’s entirely unconsciously. Sure I understand tone of voice and certain things in context, but most of what you say still sounds completely garbled to me. Maybe in having to understand the characters of my four protagonists, I’ve become especially attuned to the emotions and thoughts of human beings. So how about it? You going to set out a ream of paper? MM.