Serendipity Redux

Life has been a bit hectic lately, and I failed to mention that Rhonda Blasingame (whose wonderful quilt Alice's Restaurant I was lucky enough to get in the Swap) is from Jackson, Miss. where Erin lives. Then in further emails, discovered that she grew up in the Fondren area (a small town with distinct artsy flavor within the "city") and currently lives just 8 houses north of the boundary. Now, my hope is to meet her soon and have more than a "virtual" acquaintance with a member of the QA digest.

To continue in a humorous vein:

ACQUAINTANCE, n.
A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or famous.

from Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary, one of my favorite little volumes.

The following are from Samuel Johnson's Dictionary (published in 1755):

Oats: A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland appears to support the people (this was one of Johnson's prejudices, inspite of the fact that one of his best friends and biographer Boswell was from Scotland - nothing personal Frances!)

Patron: One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery.

Nothing to do with anything, but I just found this poem by Philip Larkin that I'd never read before; I've read a lot of Larkin's poetry over the years, don't know how I could have missed this one. Daughter Amelia's full name is Amelia Larkin Mullen, but she wasn't named after the poet.

Some Talking in Bed

Talking in bed ought to be easiest,
Lying together there goes back so far,
An emblem of two people being honest.

Yet more and more time passes silently
Outside, the wind's incomplete unrest
Builds and disperses clouds about the sky,

And dark towns heap up on the horizon.
None of this cares for us. Nothing shows why
At this unique distance from isolation

It becomes still more difficult to find
Words at once true and kind,
Or not untrue and not unkind.

Philip Larkin

I started this the other day and saved it to draft. Just got home from a rough night at Mother's so I'm posting this and settling in for a nap.