Thoughtful Thursday

Late last week, The Baroness was in the throes of medically making herself, ummmm....hollow. All in the name of -ologies and -oscopies. (I'll let you fill in the gaps here)(because thanks to this, there are many, many gaps)(still)

Needless to say (so I won't)(too much), I could not really stray far from the confines of my home. Setting foot outside would be akin to releasing a helium balloon into the air. And, although I love to travel, this is not my method of choice.

What to do? What to do? What to do?

Few things say discomfort to me more than confinement and the ensuing mopey-ness. And what, pray tell, is the cure-all for reality? Escapism.

So I decided to have a mini-movie marathon.

And somewhere, in the middle of "Shall We Dance", there was just such a lovely conversation crafted by writer Audrey Wells between the beautiful Susan Sarandon (Bev) and the wry Richard Jenkins (Mr. Devine), that I had to share it for today's TT.

Enjoy.

Bev: Why is it, do you think, that people get married?

Mr. Devine: Passion.

Bev: No.

Mr. Devine: That's interesting. Because I would have taken you for a romantic. Why, then?

Bev: Because we need a witness to our lives.

There's a billion people on this planet. I mean, what does any one life really mean?

But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything...the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things...

All of it, all the time, every day.

You're saying, 'Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it."

"Your life will not be unwitnessed, because I will be your witness."

Thoughtful Thursday

One of my favorite gifts this past birthday was a gift certificate to a book store.

Because I am ca-RAY-zee for the books; they're shiny, they have that smell, when you hold them in your hands you can feel the potential hum between the covers. I also love that oh-so-satisfying "crack" when you break their spine - I feel very Hulk-like.

But before I went on my hunting/gathering foray - and because I know that this bookstore sells a variety of things other than the written word - I presented myself with a challenge.

"Self", I said (please note that the majority of conversations The Baroness engages in are either talking about herself in the 3rd person, or talking to herself)(so very easily self-amused is she), "Self - I dare you to go into that store and use that certificate for everything but a book".

"Self?" I shot back (because the Baroness is such a sassy wit), "you are on like Donkey Kong."

I almost did it.

Out of all embarrassment of riches I procured, I only got one book.

That is some kind of record. For me.

Interestingly enough, today's Thoughtful Thursday source is not from this book, but from an T'ai Chi DVD I scooped up.

The quote comes from one of China's preeminent poets, Li Bai, who literally roamed the earth from 701 to 762. It is said that he perished during one of his many artistic benders, when he went to embrace the reflection of moon while riding in a boat on the Yangtze River (let's be real here - hasn't this happened to us all at least once in our lives? Praise be the PFD).

I'm afraid I don't know the title of the poem, and my translation and punctuation from 8th century Cantonese might a a little rusty. But enjoy it as you can:

I take my body and breath
And I go to play
beneath the trees in the mountains
We are always three
Counting the sky
And my friend the nurturing earth

Happily
The sky
does not judge me
And the earth
gives me lessons

After class, students and teachers
go their separate ways
But this sadness
I do not know

When I go home
The earth goes with me
And the sky follows me.

And on this blustery fall day, these are just the soothing words I need to hear to appreciate the humble majesty that is the outdoors - the beauty I dare only see through a window.

Have a connected Thursday, everyone.

Thoughtful Thursday

There is no explaining what compells The Baroness to do what she do, when she do it. It defies usual logic, which is strangely appealing to me.

When I was recently at my local library, my hand inexplicably reached for a CD, "Jazz for Kids", because I thought it would be fun and lighthearted; good errand-driving music.

It certainly was both. Fun and lighthearted. Great music by equally great jazz artists.

And as I listened to "When the Red, Red Robin" by Carmen McRae, it immediately brought back childhood memories of my mom singing this to me.

Double bonus.

Now, I'm fully aware that the seasonal clock has ticked over into Autumn.

But the lyrics and the bouncy music sure bring some hopes of Spring into a dreary, rainy West Coast fall day.

When the Red, Red, Robin

music and lyrics by Harry Woods

When The Red, Red, Robin
Comes bob, bob, bobbin'
Along, along,
There'll be no more sobbin'
When he starts throbbin'
His old sweet song.

Wake up, wake up you sleepy head,
Get up, get up, get out of bed,
Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red,
Live, love, laugh and be happy.

What if I've been blue,
Now I'm walkin' through
Fields of flow'rs,
Rain may glisten
But still I listen
For hours and hours.

I'm just a kid again, doin' what I did again,
Singing a song,
When The Red, Red, Robin
Comes Bob, bob, bobbin' along.

The line about "Live, love, laugh and be happy"?

My decree for today, people. Do it.