Tag: compound

Questions, No. 6


Forgive me for delving into some of these books for posts. I’m doing a lot of writing right now (this is good news), as well as keeping up with my October skeleton posts on Instagram (staging those photos can take a lot of time), plus trying to take care of household stuff. Yesterday, I emptied all my lower kitchen cabinets and cleaned and reorganized them. It’s so funny to remember The Compound and how limited my cabinet space was and wonder where the heck I kept all this stuff that now fills so many more cabinets–plus a pantry! The kitchen at Houndstooth Hall was a definite selling point for this house.

From the 3000 Questions About Me book: 1474. What three songs will always be found at the top of your playlist?

The first two are easy answers, although they often switch positions. But that third one… I mean, there are hundreds of songs that I never get tired of hearing. But for the sake of answering the question:

1. The Boxer – Simon and Garfunkel
2. Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen
3. Til I Die – Beach Boys

It’s all about the poetry in those songs’ lyrics (although the music is also fantastic). If you only knew how many Beatles (group and individuals), Randy Newman, Beach Boys, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Byrds, and Bob Dylan songs are eyeballing that number three spot, and I haven’t even mentioned the female artists, who are legion.

It’s funny that I found “Thunder Road” with lyrics that say “Mary’s dress waves.” This is an ongoing battle among fans AND Bruce’s own documents as well as his team’s–whether Mary’s dress waves or sways. I once taught this song with Andrew Marvell’s poem “To His Coy Mistress” as fine examples of the carpe diem theme, and Mary’s dress was waving in my version. I visualized it as the breeze making the lower half of a dress undulate like waves. To me, “sways” makes it seem like the dress is moving to the sway of hips, and I kind of feel like the sway’s gone out of poor Mary’s life. Listen to the speaker, Mary! Get your sway back and wave goodbye to the ghosts in the eyes of all those boys forever!

I’m sorry, students, if I led you wrong, but I have plenty of support for “waves.”

Sleigh bells ring…


Longtime readers may remember that each year I order a Wallace silver-plated sleigh bell for the holiday season. When I mentioned it to Tom, he said, “Do you really WANT to remember 2020?”

Sure I do. It has shone a light on many things. Yes, that includes plenty I’d rather not exist, but knowledge is power. This year has been a teacher of ways to appreciate many good things, too, if I can see challenges as opportunities.

Happy 50th Anniversary, sleigh bells. I’ve added you to our homes since 1992. You have been there for many family celebrations and sorrows. You’ve brightened Christmases with friends who are still here to celebrate with us again one day, and friends who are gone but never forgotten.

Thank you for being shiny and for ringing in each new year with us.