Ten years ago I was writing several blogs on various subjects - F1 motor racing, Music, Classic Cars, Great Romances and, most crushingly, a personal journal that included my thoughts on America, memories of England and Africa, opinion, humour, writing and anything else that occurred. It all became too much (I was attempting to update the journal every day) and I collapsed, exhausted and thoroughly disillusioned in the end.
So this blog is indeed a Toe in the Water, a place to document my thoughts in and on WdC but with a determination not to get sucked into the blog whirlpool ever again. Here's hoping.
The distortion of time and enhanced memory does wreak havoc on many catch phrases as you illustrate. I cannot fathom a life distilled to that one unforgettable line. I wonder if my grandgiggles will remember me offering this reply to their questions. I'm going crazy. Want to come?
I loved this!!! Thank you for sharing it. I clung on to every word. I love dogs, though we don't currently own one due to traveling Southwest each winter. Though many people we see in campgrounds and RV parks, own 1 - 3 dogs! It seems to be a trend right now. But anyway, this was so well-written. Again, thank you.
Ah... Sometimes I wonder why people actually own dogs. It all seems rather complicated and dangerous, something to read and write about but not experience. Thanks for sharing!
JACE May 12, 2025 at 11:30am In response to "Futon"
Thank you for reminding me of my one professional failure. For more than 40 years, I've been a professional woodworker, specializing in kitchen and bath cabinetry, but making anything in wood made to order.
I had always wanted to make a futon--I even bought the hardware for one some 30 years ago. Now I'm retired and no longer have the bulk of my equipment. Oh well.
I love that Shakespeare is lamenting his need to produce plays in order to make a living when he wants to be a poet above all else. I think the same was true of Don Marquis, who had to churn out newspaper columns, and let his friend archy write the "nest of poems" collecting on the floor.
Your link doesn't work for me, or at least it says it is unsafe. Maybe you can use another link to help people find more information.
Oh, to live in the day when journalists were poets!
A few days ago, Andrea and I had a conversation ending in speculation on what Shakespeare would sound like in Australian (Strine). Just try speaking Hamlet’s famous soliloquy in your best Ozzie impression and you’ll understand why we found the idea amusing. And that’s in spite of admitting that it’s entirely possible that Strine may be pretty close to how the Bard himself would have spoken. Much of the English spoken in former colonies has preserved some of the speech patterns of earlier ages.
But the matter reminded me powerfully of something that was reported during my time in southern Africa. It seems that the play, Hamlet, was translated into Afrikaans and then staged in some posh theatre or other, probably in Johannesburg. All was going along swimmingly until the following line was proclaimed:
“Omlet, Omlet, Ek is jou papa se spook!”
The audience collapsed in uncontrollable laughter.
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