On Thursday, it rained. It rained while the sun baked the rocks. It rained from clouds too bright to look at.While rain splashed down in the hot sunshine, Aubrey and I stood in the kitchen, watching it sparkle on the pool, when the windows began to shake, then the floor.
"Earthquake," I said, not whisking my kids to the safe spot, but freezing, staring at Aubrey while she stared back at me.
"What WAS that???" called Orion from the den.
"Earthquake," we said in unison, "only a little one." ( A large one, far away, would've lasted longer.)
“What a waste”, said Aubrey. “I'm soooooo disappointed! Why couldn’t this have happened on 6-6-06? Believers all over panicking in their shoes…running naked into the streets.... Damn. That would've been great."
Yesterday Orion and I swam in the evening. Despite care, we are both developing deep tans and greenish hair. No sunscreen stays on for long in water, though I can buy products to get rid of swim blonde (otherwise known as lime green.)
I squint in the bright white light and remember well my winter post Claws so arrogant as to garner many comments, even one from the great panjandrum Himself.
We bask like Gods…
The ‘cowering like rats’ season is upon us. Nearly every time I go outside-- now impossible without shoes or mats to walk on--I enter some science-fiction planetary disaster story. On Tuesday, Pete and I measured for the canopy we’re building over the pool. The canopy I mused about last summer. The canopy I thought would be nice but that now I know is necessary.
Bright Light is loud in my head. Now is the test. How well can I recall standing in silent snowy woods, when the sun burns even the part in my hair?
The sun is our star, and our life source. The Desert, well, is what it is.
But we will build shades and drink water and make art that feels like crisp, cool air. In my heart of hearts, I am Winter Folk.
12 comments:
...till the gunpowder ran out of the heels of their boots.
My youngest son, Max, must be part merman. He's happiest in the water, so the kids are out back in the inflatable pool ever day. I think he purposefully heads for the muddiest patches of the yard on his way back in so that we have to give him a bath.
He makes a mess of himself at dinner and then delights in being washed off in the sink. I should just put a little plastic pool next to the table for him to eat his meals in. Max-soup.
Ah, an Aubrey Anecdote. I love her sense of humour.
I've been trying to imagine in more detail what the land looks like where you are, when you have rain and bright sun at the same time. Here, the hills and grass glow very green under the dark sky, and the city looks like a stage set because of the odd artificial-looking lighting. I imagine it's very different with you!
I hope nobody is going to very imprudently marry the Barber.
Who is the great punjangrum Himself? Neil?
Yes, but it's panjandrum, which people assume is punjangrum but is actually the stuff gummy bears use on toast.
Punjangrum? You are kidding? It's a mythical creature, a very wild one, whose story has been passed on for thousand and thousand of years in a little region of India. It does look like Neil. A bit.
Of course I'm kidding....
Panjandrum is a mock title given to someone of great influence or importance. I think the first time heard it was on "Fraggle Rock".
sheesh...
I really don't know what a punjangrum is but I'm pretty sure one wouldn't put it on toast.
It's a tentacled thing. It would fall off from all sides of the toast anyway.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I salute you and everyone else who manages to survive and thrive in those climes, I couldn't do it. I really couldn't.
e a s t ... c o a s t...
Great Panjandrum comes from a poem written by Samuel Foote as a memory test for some actor with a good memory. You can read it http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18417/18417-h/18417-h.htm
Neil: Thanks for that Samuel Foote link. Very cool. Where are my matches? Aubrey actually said "Christians." Forget the matches. I should be looking for my journalistic backbone.
K: Sharp girl!!! We are impressed.
Robert: very subtle. nice.
dan guy: kids recognize where they came from
anonymouse:send me a link for punjungrum and I'll send you some toast
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