James Joyce
was as unyielding in his thoughts as I. Browsing in bookstores often had me pausing at names of artists I had information they were important. When I found Portrait I immediately knew it was for me. Empathetic and ready for more, I found a few poems and then Dubliners. Totally receptive when I opened Ulysses, I read until somewhere in Bloom's early chapters and then couldn't proceed. The empathy felt for Joyce remained. In the 60s I watched the film of Ulysses that featured Milo Oshea. After a few more failed beginnings I finally dove into it and read it straight through as if it were Mickey Spillane. Between this reading and seeing the film I developed a good understanding of the overall structure of Ulysses. Over the years I have read articles and revisited the novel in part to enjoy the language and in part to increase my knowledge of the more difficult pieces. When in New York I saw a film of Finnegan's Wake. While it was interesting, and had subtitles, in the end I realized I hadn't the mental strength to take on the book. I have read parts of it, but never set out to conquer it. As I wrote at the beginning, I have much empathy for Joyce. Understanding of the man? Just a bit.
Not sure what happened with the neighbor's dogs. They haven't been seen or heard by me in almost a week. As a dog lover I wish them well. They are untrained through no fault of their own.
When I paid everything with a debit card and had no current credit history, it was nearly impossible to get companies to trust me. Now that I am mortgaged to the hilt they all want to serve. Sorry; my bones are picked clean.
Gezzy, on Facebook, posted that her washer quit emptying and spinning. I helped her diagnose it was the lid switch. She thinks she can repair it herself. Between my advice and a few Youtube instruction videos she is likely right. She ordered the new switch for ten dollars. She doesn't go by Gezzy there. I just thought a few of her a2k friends would appreciate hearing about her. She's a very resourceful person.
Got a king size bed. Flat and stiff as a board. I just put on memory foam. My wife loves it.
@edgarblythe,
Thanks for sharing. Also your expertise with repairing is invaluable.
@Ragman,
I'm proud to call her a friend, even if we have never met.
My edit of Quiet Beneath the Moon is complete. If I could buy professional editing I would do so. But it's finished. Moving on to edit On This Soil tomorrow. It's a shorty but in need of surgery I am sure.
I mentioned our new kingsize bed. My wife and her sisters think it's fabulous. I don't know why. I mentioned previously that it's flat and rock hard. The addition of memory foam alleviates it somewhat, but I find myself cool, almost cold beneath the sheet while sweating in the foam. Reminds me of when we had a water bed. Rocking and tossing and cold on cold nights because it doesn't pay to heat the water for the short duration the cold prevails. I was miserable while she loved it. I long for the old fashioned cotton mattresses. These new constructions are devised by companies that almost surely create torture racks for the CIA.
Time to mow the yard. Yard crews have begun asking me to hire them. so I know it's too high out there.
Been following the art of R Crumb on facebook. Seeing a lot I missed over the years. He was born to never give a ****. Just draw anything that catches the fancy and do it well. I laugh, I cringe, but I can't look away.
All the activity of the past week finally caught up with me. Setting up the kingsize bed twice with minimal help from my wife, mowing some rugged terrain with my little mower, shopping and carrying in groceries on shot knees - It adds up. Slept an hour late and then after breakfast took a good nap. We'll see what the rest of the day has in store.
The kitty I've been feeding is small, pretty much a tuxedo cat, except the chest is black. His fear of people makes him an elusive guest. He likes to sleep out back where the water dish is. Sometimes the birds drive him off and I don't see him again for a while.
@edgarblythe,
So pleased to see you Edgar : )
@Joeblow,
Hi, Joeblow. You're looking great.
I griped previously about the new bed. But after two or three nights I adjusted and it's alright.
Once I successfully recast the last paragraph, On This Soil will be ready to the best of my ability. Still have Teapot's Empire left to go.
Had a few pleasant words with Olga today. It made my day.
The weather was a monster last night. High wind and heavy rain kept me awake until morning. It's unnerving to live among 60' pines under those conditions. Especially when the voice on the TV tells mobile home dwellers get the hell to someplace safe. There was no serious problem, but I will need to clean debris off of the roof. It already needed it but I was waiting for a bit more trash to make it worth the trip.
During the heavy rain and wind I wrote about I heard the roof getting pelted with tree branches, gumballs, pine cones - Since the top had been gathering trash all winter until now I decided to clean it off today. When I got to the top of the ladder to look the roof over it turned out that the heavy winds had blown off the majority of trash. I stood looking for at least ten minutes before deciding to get up there and get it done. I had put an aluminum extension pole over the rake handle so I could reach the areas I can't walk. Came down ready to rest and the wife wanted to walk. So we went to the park. Later I put on a DVD of The African Queen and settled back, thinking to get my daily nap. But I enjoyed it too much and remained alert. Haven't done any editing yet. I guess I better get offline and do it.
I finally settled on a title for my short story. It is permanently "Over Here," derived from the WWII song, "Over There."
The edit for Teapot's Empire will require lots of heavy thought. I hope to finish by month's end, but I have never been a fast writer.
Some of the records I am passing on to my kids and one nephew is a four or five record album of The Persecution and Assassination of Marat by the Inmates of the Asylumn at Charenton. I have just one son in law who has the education and intellect to appreciate it and I suspect that even he may not appreciate it. I hope I can find it a good home. It was recorded by the same cast as in the movie, but unlike the movie cuts no corners. It takes a long time to hear it all. I may call a conference with my family to ask about it. To some this sounds silly, but I've loved the album since 1968. It represents a portion of my radicalization politically.
