Well, it’s August 1st and at this point I used to see the hourglass sand of summer quickly slipping away.
the sands of summer slipping away
August would be the month that all the school supplies lining the aisles of stores and all those incessant reminders to get ready to go back to school would curb my enthusiasm to embrace the rest of summer vacation. A tiny spark of anticipation would form and increasingly grow larger as each day of August ticked by until the inevitable email would land into my inbox reminding me of all of my obligation to attend all the in-service meetings at school.
Ah–but that was then and this is now.
Three years into retirement and I welcome August and recognize summer is not over. So I shall celebrate with an original poem.
July by Pam Webb
July arrives in dragonfly fashion on star-spangled wings dancing in after June’s somewhat fickle days flitting here and wandering there. The days are full of hammock reads, lazy BBQs, and required air-conditioned nights. July is the true summer month. And when its fulsome days have dwindled down to rest
Suddenly–
July forsakes glad company and speedily zooms
into
August.
How do you view August? Is it your true summer month or the nudge that summer is ending?
I always look forward to summer, and I especially look forward to the outdoor Shakespeare performance that comes round in August. It’s not easy waiting another month, so with the prompting of a recently vowed Folger Shakespeare Library post I will pass on some of Shakespeare’s best summer quotes because he must have really liked summer having mentioned summer over 80 times throughout his writing.
Thus sometimes hath the brightest day a cloud, And after summer evermore succeeds Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold; So cares and joys abound, as seasons fleet. —Gloucester, Henry IV, Part 2, Act II, scene 4
Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this son of York, And all the clouds that loured upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. —Richard III, Act III, scene 1
And of course the most summery of his summer tributes is Sonnet 18.
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed. But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Here’s to you with a hope you can catch an outdoor summer Shakespeare performance. A wondrous season indeed exalted by a wondrous writer.
As we move on down the line of our cliché alphabet let’s get ready to take a running leap at a few “r” entries.
Raining cats and dogs:raining heavily. The origin of this common cliché isn’t certain, although it does possibly go back to Norse mythology and the obsolete word “catadupe” (waterfall) and was associated with it raining so hard that animals, most likely cats and dogs, were found drowned in the streets; hence, the logic being the skies must have released animals in the rainstorm.
Read between the lines:to understand what is being said without it being actually stated. Secreting messages within messages via code or invisible ink used to be common practice around the 19th century, which meant people might literally be reading between the lines to get the actual message. Modern day application involves listening to what is not being said to get the possible true meaning of a message.
Rags to riches:going from poverty to wealth. Fairly self-explanatory and who doesn’t appreciate a good old destitute to millionaire story? Horatio Alger was known for this particular theme in his stories and present day rags to riches real life examples include J.K. Rowling who went from welfare mom to millionaire author with her Harry Potter series. Movies and stories like The Great Gatsby and Slumdog Millionaire remain popular as audiences cheer for the underdog.
Rack your brain: to think very hard. Torture is not a means people voluntarily chose to recall some bit of knowledge, yet this was a method often employed to nudge a person into relaying some knowledge they had. The inquisitor would place the person with the needed knowledge on a device called the “rack” (refer to most medieval movies for the gruesome details) and applied pressure until the knowledge was revealed. One has to ponder if the revealed information was truly believable at that point.
Rain on your parade: to spoil someone’s enjoyment or ruin plans. It’s a common phrase but a relatively new one since parades came into popularity around the 18th/19th century, going from serious celebrations such a military pomp and circumstance to the traditional splendor of Macy’s annual Thanksgiving parade. Barbra Streisand popularized the phrase with her well-known song from Funny Girl.
Raise the roof:make a lot of noise. One origin story is how a community would come together and build a barn (aka a barn raising) and hefting up a barn roof took a whole lot of effort and was probably a bit noisy.
Raise your eyebrows:something that initiates a response of surprise or shock. It’s a human response to show surprise or shock with the facial expression of lifting up one’s eyebrows and the phrase came into popular use around the Victorian era when people had certain standards that when jeopardized might cause the subtle response of eyebrows indicating disapproval.
Raise Cain:to be disruptive or display rowdy behavior. Cain refers to the biblical brother story where Cain slays his brother Abel and it is thought the expression is to behave so unacceptably that one could raise the dead. Brotherly squabbling takes on a new context with this revelation.
Ring a bell:something sounding familiar. One origin story is how church bells have been employed through the centuries to toll time, honor the fallen, and to sound alarms—their use being a familiar part of life. While church bell ringing isn’t as common today, our familiar cell phone alarms do an adequate job of reminding us to get up and go to work.
Rake over the coals: to harshly scold. Another tortuous origin story. If the rack wasn’t enough to get someone talking there was always the method of dragging them over hot coals, perhaps giving way to the expression of hotly denying an accusation.
Rock the boat:disrupting an otherwise stable situation. This one makes absolute sense: don’t upset the boat otherwise you will end up in hot water (or maybe not, but that is an idiom that comes to mind).
Read the riot act:being chastised for unacceptable behavior. The British created the “Riot Act” of 1714, which involved reading a proclamation to dissemble any unlawful gatherings of 12 or more people or risk being charged with a felony. While riots still occur today, and with consequences, being read the riot act usually involves an unpleasant scolding.
Well, there “r” a few more clichés we could explore, but a dozen is fine without the need to rack up more Word Nerd points.
Today is Cow Appreciation Day. And I really appreciate our bovine friends. They are noble, as well as humorous. They are inspiring with their ability to placidly spend their days grazing while they are producing milk for the masses.
Cows are so amazing they deserve the Pulitzer Prize for being outstanding contributors in their field.
Next time you quench your thirst with a cold glass of milk, or sprinkle some cheese on your pizza, or dip into that bowl of ice cream be sure to thank a cow.
Which three letter word sports the current title of having the most definitions?
A. lie
B. set
C. run
Lie?
Sorry—only two : to tell something that is untrue or to assume a horizontal position.
I’m not lying about not taking word knowledge lying down
Set?
Previously the champ, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED—THE leading dictionary) tagged it with 200 meanings, starting with the expected “put or lay something down” and then running on for another 32 pages with various meaning. Speaking of run—
Run?
Congratulations on this pick as the OED folk have determined that this little word carries a whopping 645 definitions. Impressive, right?
Here’s a sample (taken from RD.com)
When you run a fever, for example, those three letters have a very different meaning than when you run a bath to treat it, or when your bathwater subsequently runs over and drenches your cotton bath runner, forcing you to run out to the store and buy a new one. There, you run up a bill of $85 because besides a rug and some cold medicine, you also need some thread to fix the run in your stockings and some tissue for your runny nose and a carton of milk because you’ve run through your supply at home, and all this makes dread run through your soul because your value-club membership runs out at the end of the month and you’ve already run over your budget on last week’s grocery run when you ran over a nail in the parking lot and now your car won’t even run properly because whatever idiot runs that Walmart apparently lets his custodial staff run amok and you know you’re letting your inner monologue run on and on but, gosh—you’d do things differently if you ran the world. (And breathe). Maybe you should run for office.
And I have run the course on this post. Until next time.
Time to catch up on my reading shares. I’m having an absolute jolly time in my retirement reading books whenever I want. Mornings used to find me scrambling out the door to get to class before the parking lot filled and evenings were often spent grading, leaving a smidgen of time during the weekend to leisurely read.
Not so anymore. I have started to luxuriate in bed in the mornings and read for a couple of hours before starting my day. Since I am still on teacher time I get up at 5 am and even reading for a couple of hours I am up and ready for whatever the day brings by 8 a.m. I am also deeply investing in hammock time this summer and depending on the book (a shout out to Anthony Horowitz) will spend ALL DAY reading.
When not reading I am at the library volunteering (my happy place), working on my own stories, or fiddling about with yardwork. Reading is definitely my retirement go to.
Here are the five star reads over the past couple of months:
I Could Murder Her by E.C.R. Lorac
Inspector MacDonald steps in early and in his usual smooth, methodical manages to untangle this messy family drama.
Mockingbird Summer by Lynda Rutledge
As with her other book, West with Giraffes, the main character is full of heart and refreshing insights as the book explores the complications of friendship across the tracks in 1964. The ending resonates after the last page is read.
The Essence of Malice by Ashley Weaver
A tangled case for Milo and Amory–this time in Paris.
The Wright Sister: Katharine Wright and Her Famous Brothers by Richard Maurer
Who knew Wilbur and Orville had two other brothers, let alone a dynamic sister? An informative middle grade biography of the Wright brothers’ sister who turns out contributed significantly to their success.
Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
The third outing for Susan Ryeland provides readers with a different perspective. No Andreas, for one. And only a brief mention of Katie. Susan is absolutely on her own and once again caught up in editing a book with a sinister agenda that will threaten her life and livelihood.
Candle Island by Lauren Wolk
As with her other books Wolk provides a unique setting with a memorable set of characters. This story combines many plot threads: loss, new beginnings, creativity, animosity, respect, and adapting. Wolk’s signature lyrical prose is admirable.
Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
A concise, user-friendly overview of Shakespeare in under 200 pages divided into quick chapters blending in known facts with neutral conjecture that adds nicely to anyone interested in learning something but not everything about the Bard.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
A deeply profound story of healing through the emotional language of flowers that centers on Alice, who literally rises from the ashes of childhood abuse to a strong, confidant woman. This was also made into a series with Sigourney Weaver, but I have yet to watch.
The Poet’s Dog by Patricia MacLachlan
A short, poignant story of a dog and two children surviving a winter storm huddled together in a cabin once owned by a poet.
As always, you can find my other reviews on Goodreads–I hope you stop by.
Although it may seem I’m late in wishing William a happy birthday, I might actually be on time.
While traditionally Shakespeare’s birthday is celebrated April 23, it’s not certain what day he was born. Something about birth registry and waiting a few days blurs the true date.
Besides, birthdays weren’t that big of a deal in Shakespeare’s time, unless you were of nobility. I imagine Queen Liz I had quite the bash.
Bring on the birthday fun!
The more common folk instead celebrated their saint’s day. Shakespeare’s saint’s day was St. George, the purported dragon slayer guy.
Cakes and candles came upon the scene much, much later.
In fact, Shakespeare didn’t get a party until after his death. He even got a parade.
Not late but perhaps elated
So Shakespeare might not have blown out candles and made a wish over an iced confection on his birthday, he did get a parade. It only took a century or so to get one.
Anyway, happy birthday, William. May your words continue to live on.
June 14th commemorates adopting the flag of the United States, which all began June 14, 1775.
No worries if you didn’t even know about it. The banks are open, so is the library, and there will be no parades or a big star-studded concert at the nation’s capitol.
I will celebrate by hanging out our flag and by going out to dinner. Then again it’s my birthday and what better way to celebrate than to have flags hung out and enjoy a night out.
Hope you find a special way to celebrate Flag Day—even if it isn’t your birthday.
Let’s think for a moment about the 1990s. For some a moment might be too much for others it might be a welcome nostalgia nudge.
After all the nineties introduced fashion statements like grunge and the music genre hip hop. One influenced the other. TV shows and the workplace became more relaxed in attitude. But one, if not the biggest contribution to life, was the WWW. No, not World Wide Wrestling—the World Wide Web or what we mostly call the Internet (and now it’s such a ubiquitous aspect it’s not even capitalized anymore). The internet was still in its dial-up infancy.
some fashion statements are best left in the past
Since this is my Word Nerd post I’m going to focus on how the internet contributed to our cultural lexicon. Here are words that came out of the internet age:
viral: an infection that used to be related to health like how a cold can be spread, and in the same manner misinformation, memes, and other aspects can be quickly spread from one person’s computer to another.
catfish: it still refers to that strange whiskered fish but has taken on the meaning of being duped, usually when it comes to internet dating profiles. Read here for the backstory.
ghost: not like Casper, yet the term shares with the friendly entity the ability to disappear without warning or reason.
cookie: not the sweet treat you’re thinking of—instead it’s that little bit of information that websites use to keep track of user information. It’s not always so sweet to have personal data kept in a business file.
hallucination: not LSD related yet in the same sense that what you are looking at on the screen is not always real or to be trusted. Now that AI has entered our lives there is more hallucinations than ever before.
stream: relating to flow, like how water moves, information and more commonly, entertainment like movies, flow from our tech into our lives. No longer do we have to wait for our weekly episodes of our favorite sit-coms as some station no doubt is streaming Friends or The Dick Van Dyke Show 24/7.
24/7: the concept of easy access around the clock didn’t start with the internet, although it brought it to the forefront that information can be had at the push of a button at anytime day or night.
troll: these despicable creatures are found living under bridges in folklore and are all about harm and deception, which makes a perfect description of those who hide behind websites and do mischief with misinformation.
I could probably come up with a couple more but I really want to go stream another Death in Paradise episode and I’ve got to get an email out before being accused of ghosting, and I better clear out my cookies before a troll finds them.
Apparently one is supposed to say ‘Rabbit, Rabbit” first thing in the first day of the month. Not sure why but hints of good things happening are implied.
It was easy to rabbit trail on this first day of June since it is my favorite month. Why my favorite? Well, thank you for asking.
my inner feelings revealed
School ends in June—referring to most K-12 students. Knowing that summer break’s imminent arrival created an anticipatory exhilaration. And I suppose students felt that way too. I know as a teacher I did.
Flag Day! Not only is this a day to honor our nation’s flag it’s my birthday. Yes, not everyone can claim the truth that people hang the flag out for them on their birthday. That’s what I believed because that’s what my mother told me. Believed it. I still do, actually.
Family birthdays. Winter must have been long because we have a plethora of family birthdays in June.
Summer solstice. Shades of Shakespearean delight as summer officially begins with the solstice. Watch out for fairies and wayward thespians if walking in the forest.
wood you care for a walk?
5. Settling into summer mode. Even though May provides some bodaciously warm days there remains a sense of “just kidding!” since May still tosses in some rain and inclement weather. June seems more confident in providing consistent blue sky days.
6. Birds and blooms. Giving credit to April and May for nudging winter to pack up and leave for a while, June ushers in the season of winged friends and garden flurry. My backyard is a small slice of paradise as hummingbirds and assorted feathered friends cavort amid the feeders and bird baths while I appreciate the lavender, lilies, and other blooming details. And the busyness of bees is a bonus. 🐝
7. Then there is the celebration of the hammock. Reading, lounging, napping—aah, so nice.
Pam Webb 