Wednesday, June 15, 2016

MEMPHIS

I went there once. I don't think I'll ever go back. If you ever go, drift over to Mud Island in the River. It is very worthwhile. We watch no TV at all except the cooking channel. We like ATK and Annabelle Longbean and the essential chef, so, as you can see, we just don't watch TV; also, excepting the videos from Oz and BBC and the stray things that find their way over the transom from Pittsburgh, we're just not watching. We're reliable non-watchers, that's what we are. We read stuff.

THE SHIPS AND CHARACTERS OF MY YOUTH
You know what a transom is? I dare say you do. There's two kinds of transoms and I was the victim of both kinds. The transom they speak of is the louvered window over the door that lets one's grandfather know that yes, once again, despite some stern warnings about hell to pay if caught reading in bed after lights out, there you are, reading in the almost dark. The other transom figures in boats somewhere behind all the rest of all the other stuff that has special boat names. I remember being 16 and swimming up to the transom of my putative racing sloop in Charleston after the wake of a passing submarine caused my crew and I to pitchpole rather dramatically. Usually, when disaster hits a sailboat, it stops sailing but something about pitchpoling gives life to the boat and encourages it to finish the race without the crew. This tends to be a problem when the crew is swimming madly to keep up.

We watched the last of Aaron Sorkin again the other night. A couple of years ago, neither of us had any idea that there was a 3rd season. We should pay attention.

GOOGLE ARE SCUM

7 comments:

OldAFSarge said...

Do tell, how are those books by Mr. Pease?

(Not that the list of things to read is too short, I'd just rather not miss a ripping good yarn if I can help it.)

HMS Defiant said...

These books are history and you had to be the right age to read them and truly enjoy them. They were the post war version of Narnia or Swallows and Amazons. Those of us who found them at the right moment read books for the rest of our lives. Those who didn't missed out and too many never read for pleasure, or at all.

OldAFSarge said...

Ah, I love those sort of books. I remember some like that from my younger days. Hooked me on reading and history for life.

(not necessarily your) Uncle Skip said...

Thunderbolt House was my introduction to Howard Pease.
Later, I had his son as a substitute teacher.
Didn't make the connection until it was too late to distract him.

(not necessarily your) Uncle Skip said...

I don't think I have ever seen that many left handed guitar (and bass) players in on place before.

HMS Defiant said...

One of the nice things about driving to Maine and staying here every year is the chance to get around the old second hand book shops where this kind of book is still to be found. They even have some at Library sales. It's not like that in the far west or midwest where the second hand book shop has just about vanished.

HMS Defiant said...

An astute noticer remarked elsewhere that they had somehow gooned the video tape and run it inside out making them all appear left handled. Even I play the guitar right handed and I do most things like that to favor my stronger eye which is to say, left handed.