sea-wash never ends the sea-wash repeats, repeats that all the sea knows?
The sea-wash never ends. The sea-wash repeats, repeats. Only old songs? Is that all the sea knows? Only the old strong songs? Is that all? The sea-wash repeats, repeats.
Sea-Wash by Carl Sandburg as published under Mist Forms in Smoke and Steel in The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg (Harcourt, Brace: New York, 1970).
I am reminded of the Bible verses in the Book of Jeremiah 5:22:
I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
Only old songs? Is that all the sea knows? Only the old strong songs? Is that all? The sea-wash repeats, repeats.
they were forced to leave last year account of Hitler’s feelings about things
Stay with me while I connect the dots for today’s Haiku.
Starting with the Thurber Cartoon, it was first published in the New Yorker Magazine on October 13, 1934, 92 years ago today.
If you look at the two page spread of the magazine that you would have seen back in 1934, you will find a short profile, titled The Big Man.
It is a short piece about Director Otto Klemperer.
According to Wikipedia, Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 1885 – 6 July 1973) was a German composer and conductor, originally based in Germany, and then the United States, Hungary and finally, Great Britain. He began his career as an opera conductor, but he was later better known as a conductor of symphonic music.
A protégé of the composer and conductor Gustav Mahler, from 1907 Klemperer was appointed to a succession of increasingly senior conductorships in opera houses in and around Germany. Between 1927 and 1931 he was director of the Kroll Opera in Berlin, where he presented new works and avant-garde productions of classics. He was from a Jewish family, and the rise of the Nazis caused him to leave Germany in 1933. Shortly afterwards he was appointed chief conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and guest-conducted other American orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, the New York Philharmonic and later the Pittsburgh Symphony, which he reorganised as a permanent ensemble.
What struck me in reading through that short profile was the short, common place sentence, “They were forced to leave Germany last year, Mr. Klemperer giving up the directorship of the Berlin State Opera on account of Hitler’s feelings about things.”
This was 1934.
Hitler had come to power in 1932.
Within 2 years, folks felt forced to leave on account of … Hitler’s feelings about things.
I would think that it would be hard to grasp that things took place and decisions were made and lives disrupted … on account of one man’s feelings about things.
I would think that had I not lived in the United States of America and experienced that last 10 years first hand.
In commenting on the self proclaimed ‘Energy Ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, that man in office said, “They agreed. You know why? Because I said, ‘You agree’ – that’s why. They agreed because I said they agreed, and that thing has to get settled.”
I guess Russia and Ukraine “agreed” on account of the feelings of that man currently in office.
The home of a member was Congress was ransacked yesterday.
Why?
That man currently in office said, “I’ve always found her to be totally crooked, personally, but that has nothing to do with me. I think she’s a terrible person.”
I guess on account of his feelings.
Come to think of it, I have a constant ringing in my ears as well.
PS: Available classic music recordings abound with the name Otto Klemperer, Directing on the label. But the family maybe more remembered for Mr. Klemperer’s son, Werner. In the profile, Mr. Klemperer refers to his 14 year old son as being interested only “in football and the cinema, particularly Mickey Mouse.” Werner would go into acting and played the part of Colonel Klink in the TV show, Hogan’s Hero’s. Somewhat goody considering the family left Germany “on account of Hitler’s feelings.”
never be idle or bored, have to take refuge in the modern age
On November 18, 1948, Winston Churchill received an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from the University of London during its Foundation Day.
In his response to the award, Mr. Churchill said:
The university education is a guide to the reading of a lifetime.
We should impress upon those who have its advantages the importance of reading the great books of the world and the literature of one’s own country.
One who has profited from university education has a wide choice.
He need never be idle or bored and have to take refuge in the clack and clatter of the modern age, which requires something new not only every day, but every two or three hours of the day.
There is a good saying, which you may have heard before, that when a new book comes out you should read an old one, though I perhaps should not recommend too rigid an application.
Reading something new … every two or three hours of the day.
good food isn’t fast best low country fish sandwich fast food isn’t good
With the rain from Hurricane Isaias shutting down most of the things you can do on the island where we live, we made the most of it with a trip to one of our favorite bookstores, The Bookstore on the Hill, in Richmond Hill, Georgia.
It’s an hour away but worth the trip though inflation has hit and all hardcover books are now $5.00 and all paperbacks are $3.00.
And going to Richmond Hill has the added plus of lunch at Fish Tales at Fort McAllister Marina where they promise good food and good fun.
For my money, the fish sandwich – grilled white fish or mahi mahi on a fresh roll with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickle – is the best fish sandwich in the Low Country.
The problem is that Fish Tales isn’t in the Low Country.
Once you cross the Savanah River into Georgia, you find yourself in what they call, The Coastal Empire.
Still the best sandwich on the coast.
Few signs of a hurricane by lunch time
Fish Tales isn’t the biggest place though I am not sure we have ever had a long wait for a table (and if there was a long wait, we go down the street to Bubba’s Bistro) and I am also pretty sure, once seated, that there has been a long wait for our order.
But for those diners who DO experience a wait for their order, Fish Tales has a sign over the hostess station.
was hugely impressed name every species of bird tattooed on her leg
Every once in awhile, I have to take a break from pointing out that the king has no clothes on and other aspects of trying to save the world and just goof off.
Readers of these essays know that a regular part of my Saturday morning reading is the Blind Date column in the Guardian where the, as the paper says, we fix up two Guardian readers.
The paper selects two readers who have requested a Blind Date and set them up at some posh restaurant for a free dinner.
Participants are asked to respond to a list of questions after the date and their responses are cobbled into the weekly column.
I am drawn to their responses as well as to the menu at these posh restaurants as well as the opportunity for me, while writing this down, to use the word, posh.
In today’s column, Holly, 42, a horticulturist, meets Graeme, 47, a forest manager, went on a Blind Date and when asked the question, “What were you hoping for?“, Holly responded, To meet someone interesting and fun, while Graeme (also love to guess how some of the names are pronounced) responded, Really, just a fun night with minimal awkwardness was my fairly low expectation before the meeting.
To the question, “What do you think Holly made of you?”, Graeme said, “I reckon she was hugely impressed I could name every species of bird she had tattooed on her leg.”
Talk about answers to questions that ask more questions than they answer.
Remember, this is the feller, Graeme (see in the way terms of address for Grandparent’s come about, my wife is Grammy, but I digress) said he was hoping for a fun night with minimal awkwardness.
Yet somehow he managed to examine his date’s leg, tick off and identify the species of bird tattooed on her leg, while seated (I guess … or was this later) in a posh restaurant.
If you look at the photo with the article, it shows that Holly’s arms are covered with species identifiable tattoos of birds, but does not show her leg.
Graeme and Holly on their date …
Then asked, “Most awkward moment?“, Graeme said, Holly destroying an aphid, which had landed on my forehead, with a firm thumb squish. I should make clear that the poor aphid wasn’t in the lovely restaurant; it was outside an entirely different place, which had hanging baskets.
Not, I point out, checking out his date’s leg … but maybe that wasn’t in the lovely restaurant.
Maybe we just leave this right there.
I will say that Graeme, when asked if they would meet again that he was hugely looking forward to doing so (though it must be pointed out that Holly said, We live quite far apart, but we’ll see …)
So Graeme is out there, hugely attracted to the adverb, hugely, and we will hope for the best for him and Holly as we go forward on our own with our own efforts to enjoy life with with minimal awkwardness.
As a postscript, the restaurant, The Palmerstonin Edinburgh, did not disappoint.
Our couple, in their effort to enjoy a fun night with minimal awkwardness were hugely rewarded with a menu that offered such delights as:
Pappardelle, summer girolles, tomatoes, basil, goat’s curd and parmesan Goat’s curd, friggitelli peppers, basil and pine nuts on toast Burrata, roast black figs, honey, hazelnuts and Marsala Grilled squid, cucumber, grilled peppers and tomatoes Pig’s skin ragu and parmesan on toast Berkshire pig head salad, dandelion, radishes, shallots and sweet mustard dressing
And for dessert:
Uva fragola sorbet Alp Blossom and membrillo (Bavaria, Germany, unpasteurised cow’ s milk) Sinodun Hill, strawberries and honey (Carmarthenshire,Wales, pasteurised goat’s milk)
