The There There Letter: Randy, Ready, and Resolved
Three things from DAH. Free every Friday!
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DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I await word from the future.
First up this week: Randy …
You might think me a randy old goat with a penchant to keep company with mature round-heeled women. You might. You might also realize that this over-generalization overlooks the bigger picture, the fullness of DAH. Without rendering me merely randy in this way (which would be simplistically silly anyway), randy can also mean a coarse manner, a ranting readiness for what's next. I've always been in a bit of a hurry. That's been tempered by recent personal challenges. I'm reluctantly learning patience. If I'm honest, which I often am, this leaves me with a loose sense of purposelessness, as I feel I should be rushing to prepare. But for what, exactly?
Second up this week, Ready …
Because I'm ready for change. And we're at the change of year that encourages such considerations. Yes, change for the new year is trite. But any excuse works for me, even if only the turn of a calendar page. My loins are girded (what a funny expression) and I long to get going. I'll likely make a list, as is my wont. Then I'll misplace that list, and make another. Rediscovering the original list will lead to amalgamating the first two into a third. Then I should be ready! For somethng! A false sense of readiness I must guard against: Buying a book about the anticipated change and thinking, "there, I'm prepared." Not having read the book yet, silly me, nor including its lessons in my list. But I'll be readier, I hope. Ready and read sound related … I wonder if there's a book about that?
Third up this week, Resolved …
(from Merriam-Webster) "It would appear that New Year's resolutions have existed for quite a long time. A 1671 entry from the diaries of Anne Halkett, a writer and member of the Scottish gentry, contains a number of pledges, typically taken from biblical verses such as "I will not offend any more". Halkett titled this page "Resolutions", and wrote them on January 2nd, which would possibly indicate that the practice was in use at the time, even if people did not refer to it as a New Year’s resolution."
In the nineteenth century there was a sense shared in the press that the month of December was useful for sinning so that resolutions to sin no more might be taken on January 1st, after a full month of satisfying sinning. I'm resolved not to play that game, so there's my first resolution: "Resolutions shall not be an excuse for increased bad behavior prior to making them." I do feel that there ought to be one perfect resolution, and I'm tempted to make mine the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I could certainly do worse or more banal (quit smoking is a popular resolution, but I'm not a smoker). Whether you resolve anything or not, I wish you a Happy New Year!
Another great graphic novel …
The Worst Journey in the World: Volume 1, Making Our Easting Down, adapted by Sarah Airriess from the book by Apsley Cherry-Garrard.
Please accept my apology in advance: You'll have a tough time finding this book. Published by Indie Novella, with underwriting from Arts Council England. The original book, The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, is quite well-known. It's about the 1910 Scott expedition to Antarctica. This first volume of the graphic novel (Cherry-Garrard's work from 1922 wasn't a graphic novel) took eleven years for Disney-trained Sarah Airriess to research, write, and illustrate. It's lovely to look at, and lovely to read, and I hope for Volume 2 before another eleven years have gone by.
And a bit more:
Promise, by Jackie Kay
Remember, the time of year
when the future appears
like a blank sheet of paper
a clean calendar, a new chance.
On thick white snow
You vow fresh footprints
then watch them go
with the wind’s hearty gust.
Fill your glass. Here’s tae us. Promises
made to be broken, made to last.
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's Sometimes
You can subscribe and browse past issues HERE
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I await word from the future.
First up this week: Randy …
You might think me a randy old goat with a penchant to keep company with mature round-heeled women. You might. You might also realize that this over-generalization overlooks the bigger picture, the fullness of DAH. Without rendering me merely randy in this way (which would be simplistically silly anyway), randy can also mean a coarse manner, a ranting readiness for what's next. I've always been in a bit of a hurry. That's been tempered by recent personal challenges. I'm reluctantly learning patience. If I'm honest, which I often am, this leaves me with a loose sense of purposelessness, as I feel I should be rushing to prepare. But for what, exactly?
Second up this week, Ready …
Because I'm ready for change. And we're at the change of year that encourages such considerations. Yes, change for the new year is trite. But any excuse works for me, even if only the turn of a calendar page. My loins are girded (what a funny expression) and I long to get going. I'll likely make a list, as is my wont. Then I'll misplace that list, and make another. Rediscovering the original list will lead to amalgamating the first two into a third. Then I should be ready! For somethng! A false sense of readiness I must guard against: Buying a book about the anticipated change and thinking, "there, I'm prepared." Not having read the book yet, silly me, nor including its lessons in my list. But I'll be readier, I hope. Ready and read sound related … I wonder if there's a book about that?
Third up this week, Resolved …
(from Merriam-Webster) "It would appear that New Year's resolutions have existed for quite a long time. A 1671 entry from the diaries of Anne Halkett, a writer and member of the Scottish gentry, contains a number of pledges, typically taken from biblical verses such as "I will not offend any more". Halkett titled this page "Resolutions", and wrote them on January 2nd, which would possibly indicate that the practice was in use at the time, even if people did not refer to it as a New Year’s resolution."
In the nineteenth century there was a sense shared in the press that the month of December was useful for sinning so that resolutions to sin no more might be taken on January 1st, after a full month of satisfying sinning. I'm resolved not to play that game, so there's my first resolution: "Resolutions shall not be an excuse for increased bad behavior prior to making them." I do feel that there ought to be one perfect resolution, and I'm tempted to make mine the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I could certainly do worse or more banal (quit smoking is a popular resolution, but I'm not a smoker). Whether you resolve anything or not, I wish you a Happy New Year!
Another great graphic novel …
The Worst Journey in the World: Volume 1, Making Our Easting Down, adapted by Sarah Airriess from the book by Apsley Cherry-Garrard.
Please accept my apology in advance: You'll have a tough time finding this book. Published by Indie Novella, with underwriting from Arts Council England. The original book, The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, is quite well-known. It's about the 1910 Scott expedition to Antarctica. This first volume of the graphic novel (Cherry-Garrard's work from 1922 wasn't a graphic novel) took eleven years for Disney-trained Sarah Airriess to research, write, and illustrate. It's lovely to look at, and lovely to read, and I hope for Volume 2 before another eleven years have gone by.
And a bit more:
Promise, by Jackie Kay
Remember, the time of year
when the future appears
like a blank sheet of paper
a clean calendar, a new chance.
On thick white snow
You vow fresh footprints
then watch them go
with the wind’s hearty gust.
Fill your glass. Here’s tae us. Promises
made to be broken, made to last.
And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's Sometimes
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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