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November 4, 2021

The There There Letter: Dabbling, Dalliance, and Delicacy

Three things from DAH. 

DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. Really, just a shallow paddle. 

First up this week, Dabbling …  
I have a dear friend who once explained that she was a "serial hobbyist." She's seized by a passion and takes a deep dive into its practices. After a while, a new passion seizes hold with an associated deep dive. I can't make the same claim. My passions are passing, and my inspirations fleeting. I'm a shallow diver. I dabble, I'm dabbling, I'm a serial dabbler. Or that's how I perceive myself. The prefix "poly" comes from the Greek, meaning very or many. I'm not a polymath (very learned) so I guess I'm a ligomath (ligo, in Greek, means "slightly"). That's what serial dabbling gets me: The notion that I can invent new words to explain my life. In a world rich with choices, how can I help but distractedly dabble?
Overchoice: The Burden of Choice

Second up this week, Dalliance …  
It's a balancing act, dabbling just enough to gain a shadow of awareness without slipping over the edge of dalliance into a deep dive. My dalliances don't usually bring long-term satisfaction. They do, however, allow me moments of wonder. I notice something and that thing grows great and fascinating. I dream big on that thing, then, inevitably, I'm distracted before committing too deeply. I'm maybe convinced that by stopping before losing my balance, losing myself, that I'm open to see more, feel more, and explore more. Yay for that! On the other hand, I often wish I was really good at something, or somethings. But that might require a deep dive, and I'm not that dedicated a swimmer.
DAH had no idea: How to Dally, Just Rodeoin 12

Third up this week, Delicacy …  
Balance and delicacy can be key to lovely Pinot Noir. I confess, Pinot Noir has never been my favorite: Too many disappointments at the price points I would willingly pay. But I had a recent dalliance when I tasted three from Murder Ridge Winery with its high elevation vineyard islands poking up out of the forested Mendocino Ridge AVA (between California's Anderson Valley and the Pacific Ocean). Tasting with friends, there was consensus about our favorite (the most expensive, of course) "Final Confession" bottling. It was both delicate and deep. The least expensive (still not cheap) "Wildlands" bottling was a surprise close second in preference. It was all about delicacy. The proprietor/grapegrower/winemaker thought it might be too light, and that perhaps he'd made a mistake bottling it on its own. And it is light, compared with the third bottling, "Perli Vineyard," which is fuller and darker, due to using some of the "best" (fullest flavor, darkest color) estate grapes. Erasmus wrote, "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." I suppose that, in a sea of lovely delicacy, the unusual, least delicate grapes might stand out as best.
Quick Facts: Pinot Noir

And a bit more:

Your Catfish Friend, by Richard Brautigan

If I were to live my life
in catfish forms
in scaffolds of skin and whiskers
at the bottom of a pond
and you were to come by
   one evening
when the moon was shining
down into my dark home
and stand there at the edge
   of my affection
and think, "It's beautiful
here by this pond. I wish
   somebody loved me,"
I'd love you and be your catfish
friend and drive such lonely
thoughts from your mind
and suddenly you would be
   at peace,
and ask yourself, "I wonder
if there are any catfish
in this pond?  It seems like
a perfect place for them."

And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem Sometimes …  
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it. 

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