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Cocoon of Bluster
Mar. 19th, 2023 10:34 pmYesterday: awoke to the spooky gleam of new-fallen SNOW. Argh! More snow! The traditional date for planting peas is on St. Patrick's Day. That does not work in Michigan. Normally, the ground is still frozen. One year it was just very cold, and I did plant peas. They came up, too, but not for weeks. Peas aren't stupid. Snow kept falling all day. The kids left somewhat earlier than usual. They got home in the early afternoon. It took them a little longer than usual because of continuing snow. I'm very happy that they went early, thus making sure to miss the 50-100 car pileup that closed the highway at around 4:30 until 10 that night. People say it was due to whiteout conditions.
Normally I am, as you all have been told, quite diligent about shoveling snow. On this occasion I was just disgusted, and besides, it kept on snowing, so I kept on putting it off. I decided that since the kids left early, I might as well console myself by making some onion-walnut bread for a potluck we were going to that evening. It's been awhile since I did this, and I was happy that it came out well. I also disassembled a chicken and made broth, so the house smelled good. This was more fun than shoveling. We picked our way to the car through the snow and went to the potluck. This morning: brilliant sunshine! My sloth was rewarded by having the snow all melt away without assistance from me. Every once in awhile, circumstances reward the dilatory rather than the punctual. I am pleased.
Tonight we watched "People Will Talk"--a very weird movie! But one with a satisfying ending where all the good people come out okay, while the bad guy creeps off in disgrace, like the unfortunate in Schiller's "Ode to Joy" . . . "der stehle/ weinend sich auf diesen Bund." In fact, the whole plot can be summed up on one verse of the poem, which I will supply for you in case anyone likes German Romanticism.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
It was adapted from a German play by Curt Goetz, so I guess that's not entirely surprising.
Normally I am, as you all have been told, quite diligent about shoveling snow. On this occasion I was just disgusted, and besides, it kept on snowing, so I kept on putting it off. I decided that since the kids left early, I might as well console myself by making some onion-walnut bread for a potluck we were going to that evening. It's been awhile since I did this, and I was happy that it came out well. I also disassembled a chicken and made broth, so the house smelled good. This was more fun than shoveling. We picked our way to the car through the snow and went to the potluck. This morning: brilliant sunshine! My sloth was rewarded by having the snow all melt away without assistance from me. Every once in awhile, circumstances reward the dilatory rather than the punctual. I am pleased.
Tonight we watched "People Will Talk"--a very weird movie! But one with a satisfying ending where all the good people come out okay, while the bad guy creeps off in disgrace, like the unfortunate in Schiller's "Ode to Joy" . . . "der stehle/ weinend sich auf diesen Bund." In fact, the whole plot can be summed up on one verse of the poem, which I will supply for you in case anyone likes German Romanticism.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
It was adapted from a German play by Curt Goetz, so I guess that's not entirely surprising.
