Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Chrysanthemum Quote


Austin and I went on a date last week. We went to Maggiano's, ate far too much, and then found ourselves back in the car at a truly embarrassing hour. 8:43 P.M. to be exact.

With not enough time to go shopping (we totally both love to shop whilst on a date) or see a movie, we decided to...just...drive...until...we...found...LOOK! BORDERS!

We should have felt completely and totally lame to be walking around a bookstore on a date. But we didn't. We love to read. We love to be surrounded by books, even if we aren't reading. So we walked in, sat down, and stared at each other. So I decided to...just...walk...around...until...LOOK! BARGAIN BOOKS!

Lately, there hasn't been much for us to say to each other. We are getting on just fine, thank you very much. But life is doing a complicated dance step, and neither of us have learned this particular number. At the end of the day, my AdonisApolloAragorn is tired, full of stress, and doesn't know what to do to change his circumstances. I'm little help. In fact, I might be pushing things in the negative direction, because I have my own woes as of late. I feel as if I repeat my actions and words and feelings day after day, and I continue to turn the hamster wheel and can only lament that I cannot get out of the cage. Yes, I love my kids. Surprisingly, I even like homeschooling. I care more about food dyes than I would like, but I'm trying to let it go.

But still...we don't always have new, exciting, or even interesting things to say. Someone at his work is being a gigantical ass. Woowoo...heard that one before. Sabra got out of trouble by finding a loophole, Moira's skin can't tolerate things with aloe or Shea butter, Isla ate a hairball. Or wait, was that yesterday? It might have been next year...or...something.

So as we walked the aisle of bargain books, me stopping to admire collections of History's Most Interesting Architecture and 1001 Things To Never Tell Your Mother-In-Law, I found myself searching and longing for something to say. Anything, really.

I found a book of quotes. I'm kind of a sucker for quote books. There's always something good to be read, and when I don't have the time to find my own meaningful quip or phrase, someone has already gathered a tender bouquet of offerings just for me! A quote book is a shortcut to literary happiness; and though I prefer the scenic drive, I'll not snub the smaller jaunts. And, after all, Winston Churchill himself said "It's a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations." I'll assume he meant that educated women also might like them.

I picked up the $7.99 book, The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said by Robert Byrne. I said, "Hey, it would be fun to blog about each quote. You should buy this for me! I'll write a blog a day...for...um...several years. Although I don't even get to bathe every day, so it will most likely take me a decade to write through this book. I'm never going to be a real writer, am I?"

Austin looked at me, took the book, and went to buy it. I asked if he wanted me to pick something out for him, but he said that he has neither time nor energy to read right now. (I suspect that he secretly wanted the Percy Jackson series, but he didn't give me time to go get it.)

So, I don't know. Maybe I'll write on all of them. Maybe just some. Maybe, maybe I'll just educate myself about things other than how to bloody well find Halloween candy that won't send my kids to the hospital.

Maybe I'll give Austin something to read, and something to talk about other than the gigantic ass at work.

The first quote is:

Why don't you get a haircut? You look like a chrysanthemum. -P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975)

So. There's the literary masterpiece snippet for today. I...think...

Well. Obviously Mr. Wodehouse (of whom I know nothing...smart lady fail) was being funny. Better that that, he was being witty. Who compares a hairdo to a flower? Also, if you ever have to spell chrysanthemum, you are sure to think of Anne (with an 'e') and her love/nemesis Gilbert Blythe. It is a happy, mental kind of quote.

Other than your wittiness, Mr. Wodehouse, I'm not sure what else I can attribute your quote. But my ignorance of who needed a haircut, and of who you were and what you did, shouldn't limit your quote. It stands alone, a small piece of what you were thinking, a key to the way that you thought.

I called someone a gigantical ass. Yours is better, Mr. Wodehouse. Point to you, sir.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks I needed this today.

Anonymous said...

So many truths in one blog post. Love it.

Kristi said...

Well. This made me laugh. At several points. :) Nicely done, Bea.

Ms. Talitha Scott said...

Well done. I would like to buy said book and enjoy it for myself. Although the quotes themselves will not compare with your commentary.

palmahome said...

Well done! I love it. I have some quotes I'd like you to comment on :)