This morning while I
was making my porridge, I also bustled around doing the washing, feeding the
cats, tidying the kitchen, emptying the slops, and giving the sink drain a
routine freshen up with borax, bicarb and vinegar.
So it came about that by the time I gave attention to the
porridge, though it had not actually burnt it was starting to stick quite
firmly to the bottom of the pan. When
this happens, if I take it off the hotplate and gently scrape away at the base
of the pan with a wooden spatula (with the porridge still in there), it does
gradually loosen so that it all comes out cleanly into the bowl. Because the porridge is still in the pan in
this process, it’s not possible to see if all the stuck bits have come
off. You have to feel it by the amount
of resistance to the spatula working along the bottom of the pan. I found I could do it best with my eyes
closed – there is something akin to cranial osteopathy about this
exercise! It occurred to me as I gently
scraped all the stuck porridge free with my eyes shut that this would be
something a blind person would do spectacularly well.
This brought back to mind Etta James’ song of teenage
memory, “I would rather be a blind girl, than to watch you walk away from me.”
I turned this proposition over in my mind and concluded that
I did not share it. Offered the option
of going blind or seeing my sweetie walk away from me, I’m sorry to say I’d
keep the eyesight. You do recover from
heartbreak, and there are more ways to relate happily with a person than
through marriage. I am still good
friends with my first husband, regard him as a loved family member, and am very
happy with my present situation in life – though it did seem like a disaster of
epic proportions at the time the first marriage collapsed.
So I decided that the sentiment (“I would rather be a blind girl, than to watch you walk away from me”) is attractively extravagant but lacks
prudence. That led to pondering on
prudence as a virtue, and reflecting that we don’t hear much about it at the
present time. In the days and circles
when they gave girls names like Faith and Hope, Prudence was right up there
with the most popular choices. Not sure
about the name – I think, because the sound of it is too similar to Prunes, and
who would want to call their daughter Prunes? Only the type who would just as
likely christen her Germoline or Baguette – but I esteem the virtue highly. Prudence, in my view, is under-rated in the
modern pop song.
By this time I had finished both my porridge and a large mug
of nettle tea and progressed to hanging out the washing on this sunny and very
windy morning – perfect drying weather.
Still thinking about Prudence, and how it might be related
to caution, mindfulness and forethought, wisely provident in a world where
there are few certainties except trouble, another song floated into my mind.
For those of you who find detouring into links annoying, it’s
by Irving Berlin, sung here by Fred Astaire and it goes like this:
There may be trouble ahead
But while there’s music, and love and romance,
Let’s face the music and dance!
And it seemed to me that this is not foolhardiness but the
gaiety of courage, a virtue without which prudence can too easily become sour
and fearful. In your life, my life –
anyone’s – there will be trouble
ahead. Prudence recognises this, pays
off the mortgage, keeps up to date with the repairs and stocks up the larder,
winning some space for courage to face the music and dance. Prudence and courage make good dance
partners, and they ought to stick together.
---------------------------------------------------
Oh yeah. “Can you tell what it is yet?”
When The Hardest Thing To Do came out we had a groovy book
launch. My wonderful family and a handful of equally wonderful friends – Donna Mercer, Clare Cooper, Richard Eldridge,
Rog & Carol Wilcock – gave the whole evening to working like hard-driven
slaves to produce an absolute feast for a launch party in our church and clear
it all up at the end, leaving everything spick and span. They moved the (large, heavy) church
furniture to make a story circle with a wonderful story throne surrounded by
candles and covered in furs. They set up
a book table with a display draped in fairy lights. They brought musical
instruments and played and sang medieval music.
Rosie brought her harp to the party and yes, we did ask her to play. I had
invited the whole church and every person I knew who lives in Sussex. I invited one or two influential people – I don’t
really know anyone influential – it was only another author and the local
paper. And I invited the whole church.
About 75 invitations went out, fifty or so people replied to say they’d
be coming, there’s about 15 of us family, and about 150 people worship in our
church on a Sunday morning. So I thought
maybe we’d have 100-150 people, and catered accordingly. I bought 50 copies of The Hardest Thing To Do, 30 copies of the one-volume trilogy of
which it is the sequel, 15 copies of The
Road of Blessing and In Celebration
of Simplicity, and 7 copies of Learning
to Let Go.
Hahaha.
35 people turned up and we sold 11 books total. I've been giving them away even since. Even my mother didn’t buy one. Of the expensive mistakes I have made in my
life, this is well up the list.
It was a medieval-themed party (The Hardest Thing To Do is set in the fourteenth century) and
everyone was to come in medieval costume.
The red thing is this photo, in fact an Islamic hijab, is the headdress I
wore.
Ah. Overdrive. Momentum.
When I got into hats (last summer?) I thought how pretty a hat would
look with blue and white flowers all clustering on it. Nah-ah.
Shouldn’t-a done that.
I bought a straw hat with a big wide brim from an Etsy
trader a while back. It’s natural gold-coloured
straw all tangled up with black straw and I like it a lot. It has a hatband of gold and black ribbon,
but the lady kindly put in this spare one in case I fancied a change. I like the main one it has already, and I
wear it only for weddings and on really bright sunny days anyway, so I thought
I could dispense with the spare lace decoration thingy without breaking my
heart (though I did keep it for a while because I could see where she was
coming from). I added it to one of the
textile craft kits I made up for Freecycle.
In case my camera burst into flame while I was pottering
about the house with it in my pocket, the manufacturers thoughtfully provided
me with this plastic container in which the battery must be carried at all
times. Yeah, right. As if!
Because I am at heart a compliant and cautious individual I did keep the
plastic container for a very long time.
I think I have had the camera about the same length of time as this blog
has been running. The Badger bought it
for me to play with when I decided to start a blog. I have seen the light now. It has dawned on me – I don’t think I’m
likely to use that plastic container. Of
such things as this, friends, is clutter created.
8 comments:
I well related to the winding paths your pondering took you. It would be like me (and possibly like you?) to say something to someone, "Oh, speaking of those hollyhocks outside, did you remember to have the oil changed in the Highlander?" and wonder why I got a confused look. It makes total sense to me.
I also would choose sight, and I feel a little guilty for saying it. :(
You should have had your book launch party here. xxoo
:0D
Yes, I felt a bit guilty too! x
My dad once preached at a town an hour south of here. We went to the church pastor's house for lunch. He had a daughter named Prudy, short for Prudence, I think. :-)
That's a good balance, courage and prudence.
:0) Hi Pilgrim! Waving!
You do realise that now your camera will explode in a fit of pique!! I must show you my box labelled "various connecting devices"! xx
oh! and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ppmdvXsMBE
xx
:0D
The story about Prudence and the Beatles that comes with the YouTube video is v interesting too. x
I wish you would write a book about just how to combine prudence with courage!! I think I'm a bit over-the-top on the prudence side, but hopeless with the courage. Think it's a marvelous idea though.:-)
:0) Yes, the balance between them is interesting, isn't it!
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