Pages

Friday, January 30, 2009

Merci, La Belette Rouge


A couple of weeks ago, La Belette Rouge bestowed upon me the honor of being a proud bookworm. Besides being far superior to being recognized as the hungry tapeworm I normally am, this honor is a kick to me because there was a time when I actually was a bookworm. Lately, though, the only time I can be seen with a book in my hand is when I least want anyone to see me. Let's just say that even though I close the door, some cat or other will force its way through to investigate, looking at me reproachfully before swishing its tail in disgust and leaving in haste. For my part, I remind them that the door was shut for a reason.

That's usually when I notice that my feet have gone numb from sitting on the throne too long. The lengths I will take for a moment alone in quiet.

So the point of this bookworm honor is to do the following: pass it on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 46. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences.

So here's the thing. I'm going to grab the book nearest me and write the fifth sentence plus a couple more from page 46. The book is Pete Hamill's Forever.
There were no signs of obvious grief; no tears, no sniffles, no choking sounds. He took two more rush mats from the old woman and floated them down over Rebecca Carson's body. With spade, he began to cover her. He threw down seven loads of black earth and then handed the shovel to the boy. "Seven," he said. "Only seven." The soaked dirt was very heavy, and Robert didn't want to do this, but his mother was already covered, and so he added earth to earth.
A friend had recommended a while ago that I read the Pete Hamill novels and I'm glad that I'm finally getting around to it. Somehow it seems fitting that I would begin reading Hamill with this particular novel. When you open it up to Chapter One, you find this passage:
And what a people loves it will defend. We took their temples from them and forbade them, for many years, to worship their strange idols. They gathered in secret, deep in the dripping glens, Chanting their prayers before a lichened rock.
- John Hewitt, "The Colony," 1950
I didn't know anything about Irish poet John Hewitt who wrote The Colony, but John Hewitt is the name of my paternal great-grandfather. I like the symmetry of that.

This honor has made the rounds. I am feeling lazy and a bit emotionally wrung out. The last couple of days, my mothering skills have been called upon in complicated ways that stretched my patience and tempted me to abdicate the role altogether, so let's do this...if you have not received this award and you are sitting within three feet of a book, consider yourself tagged.

Thank you, Belette, for thinking of me when you were handing out this tres sexy honor. Je t'aime comme une soeur.

12 comments:

  1. The bathroom is the "office" of the home here. I go in, get comfortable, the cat opens the door, with the jealous dog following, and the cat rubs around me and the dog has her head under my armpit. If I'm lucky then comes thegrandson with a question or observation....no rest for the wicked you know!!! I may just take you up on this one - I'm reading an excellent book at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We have 'library' with a 'reading stool'. Because it is an old apartment with no 'fart fan', don't have to worry about interuptions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. About your pictures, there are porn socks and poultry porn at the same time. Be still my heart!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I did it.

    And I tagged Gine too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am still reading the immortal poems that are in the can.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I thought that said Mark Hamill.

    You guys write stuff in the bathroom stall?

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are a sexy reader. No tapeworms here. You can't write like you do without being a serious reader. Well, you could just be a savant and write brilliantly and then I would be a green envious worm.
    p.s. Love the title. You are most welcome and thank you. Moi aussi.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I second La Belette, your briliant writing can only come from a briliant mind that adores the written word.
    Well deserved!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yeah, it's the worst when your feet go numb from sitting on the throne too long while reading a book. But you're right, if you want to get any reading in privacy done, that's the place to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can so identify with the book reading thing. Can't sit on the throne without reading material! If forced to I'll read the back of the shampoo bottle! And Baxter HAS to open the door and come in and poke around and rub on my knees while I'm there.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the "tag" and I have been tired and uninspired for days...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh, this is fun!! I am so doing this.

    Just so you know, I saw you at Bee Drunken's place. Your blog is really awesome too. All this blog reading is making me neglect my book reading. But it sure is interesting!

    And I love your strategy of not specifically tagging anyone. That leaves it open to new folks. Yay!

    ReplyDelete

And then you say....

(Comments submitted four or more days after a post is published won't appear immediately. They go into comment moderation to cut down on spam.)