Folktales

Recently, I started wondering whence those picturesque expressions we’ve all heard originated.

Well, of course, something like madder than a wet hen has to have country roots. We city dwellers wouldn’t know a wet hen from a dry one. We also wouldn’t have any idea how angry being wet would make her.

These little bits of the vernacular can make your speech more colorful and colorful language makes conversation more entertaining.

I have favorite colloquialisms, of course, but I’ll be gobsmacked if I understand where they came from.

Some are just cute as a button. Others are cumbersome. As? What? I don’t know a slangy comparison for that one.

Unwieldy as a tractor on a mountain top? Is a tractor that uncomfortable with heights?

Familiarity with animal husbandry or just animal psychology does enter into some of these choices. You’re as hungry as a bear. Then there’s “as cunning as a fox.” How about ‘as persnickety as a porcupine’?

The argument or assumption that this flavorful language has a Southern connection may stem from too many episodes of Designing Women. Idioms come from all over.

Sometimes, the really clever raconteur adds another component, doubling up on the metaphoric. The analogy can become more specific if s/he says, “as cunning as a fox with a PhD.”

Why can’t word-play be more urban than rural? “She’s as twisty as Columbus Circle” may not be sheer poetry, but it’s my start. “He’s tracking farther than the A train?”

“He wears so many hats that he’s Fifth Avenue on Easter Sunday.”

I have to admit I am on the fence about most of the little similes I just built.

I wish I could say my linguistic alterations made me feel as cozy as two peas in a pod

Celebrating

What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?

With Cinco de Mayo close on the horizon, this prompt is an exercise begging for a single answer. I am fickle, like Ado Annie: if I’m not near the holiday I love…”

Honestly, I know that as Americans we are fond of our holidays. One of the places I used to frequent would always announce its next closure with utter glee well in advance of the holiday.

There are all those “make-believe” celebrations like National Pizza Day to honor. Your local pizza parlor should definitely stay open for that one!

I think I am most drawn to the made-up International Coffee Drinkers Day. I celebrate this one just about every morning and sometimes when I hit the coffee trail.

Going to the post

There is something about getting mail- and giving mail- that puts a little bounce in the step.

Observing a woman on her way to drop a package at the post office reminded me of this simple pleasure.

When I was a teen, I remember mailing figs to my grandfather who lived in Israel. I thought it ridiculous to send figs or dates to the Middle East, but packing the dry fruits and taking them to the post office was fun.

When your neighbor says “ah no mail; at least I didn’t get a bill,” you nod in understanding. But you are both a little disappointed at the empty mailbox.

Street furnishings

There was a time when I could furnish an apartment with stuff I found on the street.

Not now. My taste has, shall we say, evolved. In short, it’s better than other’s “what were we thinking” discards.

I did find a shelf that once properly installed was a sturdy staple in our bathroom for years.

I was sitting on the bench typing away as is my wont when a fellow traveler asked if I was taking it. My new friend had already picked up the tray table.

I said no, I will give it to you.

You can’t guess how delighted he was with his windfall.

As the saying goes, one man’s no thanks is another’s treasure.

Emotional expression

What are your favorite emojis?

Emojis are intrinsically confusing, at least once you are past a certain age.

I tend to use three “favorites” without a clear understanding of what it is they represent. 😕 😞 😌 Sigh 😕 😔 😪 😞 😑 😢 😕 [see what I mean. All this came up when I typed that one 4-letter word.

My preferred sign-off emojis are: 😇 🙃🧐

Gateway (drugs)

People sometimes call alcohol a drug, especially in the hands of those who tend towards an addiction. For the sad lovers in Days of Wine and Roses, alcohol is not just a drug but seriously dangerous.

For most of us, it’s a beverage before, during, or after dinner.

Now that marijuana is legal, I have declassified its status as a drug. I won’t bore you with my last use of pot nearly a half-century ago.

It’s been ages, at any rate, since weed was hysterically labeled a gateway to major addiction like heroin. And to answer the unasked question in the ‘graph above, no, I did not develop a habit.

My friend D stopped for a visit bearing no less a goody than Kedem Sparkling Grape Juice.

All morning, I have been grappling with whether to consider this a gateway to wine or more exotically to Champagne 🍾 🤔.

Tango

I am kind of over the moon over dance, dancers, and dancing. My passion covers all genres from the à gogo to the ballet to zumba. My affection for the Iberian-inflected dances like Flamenco and Tango is extreme.

Truth is The Tango, that great dance of love, originates in Argentina, not in Spain.

If Tango is seen as romantic, Flamenco can be sexy but edgier. And I have no idea what prompted me to include à gogo in my list, but it too is pretty provocative.

The ballet engaged my interest from an early age. I came to appreciate ballroom dancing later.

Of course, all of the dance, except the zumba, for me is basically a spectator sport. For instance, I always loved watching all sorts of ballet but hated ballet lessons.

Fancy flight

It might be enough that Amelia Earhart was a woman and a pilot.

Her disappearance adds a touch of tragedy to her profile.

For me, it is the fact that she took to the sky that makes her story. Losing her in flight is a poignant fact that grows out of that story.

You can admire her for her staunch advocacy of women’s suffrage as well.

In her honor, the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum opened in Atchison, Kansas, this week. Earhart was a native of the town.

The Museum was founded by Karen Seaburg, with the inspiration of her late husband Ladd. It combines, she says, information about Earhart’s life with the science and technology of aviation and centrifugal force.

Earhart’s legacy will be front and center at this new center for learning.

En_joy_ment

What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?

Happiness is fleeting, and it is also enduring. Ordinary things can be so satisfying that they bring on smiles.

When I smile, it is in gratitude for the small things.

To all the crocuses that peak out to commemorate the spring, I say thank you.

Hey, it’s a bright sunny day! Wow, that drizzling rain just feels so good.

Did you notice how adorable that hat looks on that little fella over there?

And fifth but not least, let’s be grateful for a well-toasted bialy. For today.