Favorite Parts: C.S. Lewis Collected Letters Volume 1

Shadows of Splendor: Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis Volume 1.

I've been reading Lewis' Collected Letters for the past few weeks. The Scobells bought them for me and mailed them. Isn't mail wonderful? Especially surprise packages. I've finished the first of three volumes, about 1,000 pages apiece. I wouldn't do this for just any author. It's been so interesting watching Lewis develop themes that will become major works later in life. So far I've caught hints of Perelandra, Out of the Silent Planet, Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, The Allegory of Love and Surprised by Joy. The most astonishing thing of all is how much like Lewis he sounds, even as a teenager. Pompous, arrogant, full of himself, priggish, and an atheist, but still Lewis. Same vocabulary. Here are my favorite Lewis quotes from the first volume:

"Of course Handel is not your ideal or mine as a composer...Of course the inappropriateness of his tunes is appalling - as for instance where he makes the chorus repeat some twenty times that they have all gone astray like sheep in the same tone of cheerful placidity that they'd use for saying it was a fine evening." (From a letter to his brother, 22 December 1914)

"It's just a sign, isn't it, of how some geniuses can't work in metrical forms - another example being the Brontes." (Letter to Arthur Greeves 7 March 1916 - In the same letter he says, "you may even make a Christian of me.")

"...Style is the art of expressing a given thought in the most beautiful words and rhythms of words. For instance a man might say 'When the constellations angelic spirits loudly testified to their satisfaction.' Expressing exactly the same thought, the Authorised Version says 'When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy'. Thus by the power of style what was nonsense becomes ineffably beautiful. See?" (To Arthur, 4 August 1917. From Job 38:7, which in my Bible has a note by me noticing how Tolkien that section is.)

"The trouble about God is that he is like a person who never acknowledges one's letters and so, in time, one comes to the conclusion either that he does not exist or that you have got the address wrong." (To His Brother, 1 July 1921)

Discussing what pleasure he got from knowing that several of his favorite authors knew each other...a foreshadowing of the Inklings "...How delightful to find out suddenly that the Wartons and Collins were at school together and made a sort of poetry club there as boys and had evolved it together." (To his father, 5 January 1926)

"I should like to know, too, in general, what you think of all the darker side of religion as we find it in old books. Formerly I regarded it as mere devil worship based on horrible superstitions. Now that I have found, and am still finding more and more, the element of truth in the old beliefs, I feel I cannot dismiss even their dreadful side so cavalierly. There must be something in it: only what?" (To Arthur, 22 December 1929)

"But it is a real book: i.e. it's not like a book at all, but like a thunderclap. Heaven defend us - what things there are knocking about the world!" (Letter to Arthur 13 January 1930 - referring to Phantastes by George MacDonald)

"Tolkien is the man I spoke of when we were last together - the author of the voluminous unpublished metrical romances and of the maps, companions to them, showing the mountains of Dread and Nargothrond the city of the Orcs." (To Arthur, 9 February 1930.) Describing the members of Kolbitar, a group that met to read the Norse Myths in the original language.

"Terrible things are happening to me. The 'Spirit' or 'Real I' is showing an alarming tendency to become much more personal and is taking the offensive and behaving just like God. You'd better come on Monday at the latest or I may have entered a monastery." (To Arthur 3 February 1930)

"Why do women write such good novels. Men's novels, except Scott, seem to me on the same level as womens' poetry." (Arthur, June 22 1930)

(at the end of a discussion about the difference between German Myths based in the earthy and metallic, and Celtic Mythology based in elements and frivolity. Paganism is ultimately shallow because it will never grow into a religion) "In fact, add Roman civilisation to [paganism] and you get - France." (3 August 1930)

Exhaustion with a side of Injustice

Exhaustion with a side of Injustice

The other day at work (I can't remember which because I spent most of this week working my shift and another girl's who was out sick), at the end of a double shift, I had an incident with the owner.

He was drinking with friends, and eventually it degenerated into gambling for who bought the next round of drinks. At some point, one of the guys lost, and bought two drinks, but wouldn't buy for the third guy with a full glass. He settled up with me, then left. He left a tip on the table. The owner got irate that he hadn't bought a drink, and (long story short) demanded that I take the money left on the table and buy the guy's drink since I hadn't forced him to buy the drink. (The drink was unpoured, since I wouldn't serve it until someone offered to pay). The "remainder" was twenty cents. I went to my GM, and he said "aren't drunk people fun."

I'm rather upset.

Mary Hunt would be so proud

Mary Hunt would be so proud...

I paid off one of my loans tonight. And a bit more of another one. That's three paychecks in a row that I've been able to divert directly to loan payoff.

But I celebrated by buying a Christian Lacroix skirt on ebay.

Demo

Demo

I made a demo today. Three songs to send to Seattle. Now I have no excuses to get out there...

Finally

Finally

For months now I've been hearing the same song playing fromt he upstairs apartment. Somewhere over the Rainbow, the Hawaiian Ukelele version. I could not for the life of me figure out WHY my neighbor, who is on workmans comp and does nothing all day, would play the same song over and over all day.

One day I had a brainwave. Commercials. Of course. They'd play every half hour or more. So I've been watching lifetime, I mean, CNN, (nope -- really Lifetime -- old Will & Grace and Frasier Episodes) for weeks hoping that bloody commercial would come on. Nada.

Tonight It Happened. Just as I was about to mute the tv I heard that old familiar intro.

Organic Rice Crispies.

Imago

Imago

Some images from yesterday...

A tricolored calico crossing a field of alfalfa.

A small child walking down the side of the road, talking on a cell phone.

A tiny dark haired cherub with a backpack bigger than he.

Work

I cannot go to work tomorrow

The off season has hit in full force. Today I spent several hours on my hands and knees in nylons and a short skirt no less, scrubbing table bases and the underbits of chairs. This part of work drives me insane. If I could only work, and make money, and then go home when there's nothing to do, all would be a lark. Instead, when people aren't there, I run around inventing things to do (ie: merge tabasco bottles) to look busy enough that the boss won't decide that I need to do something even "funner" and more useless (ie: scrub down the baseboards with a toothbrush and wood polish). Why is it unacceptable to stand and read a book? When all the sidework for the day is done, and there's nothing more to chop, merge, clean, polish, wipe down, pick up, squeeze, restock or roll, why can't one stand still? And since I spend almost two hours a day without pay getting to and from work, it stands to reason in my own brain that all non-customered time, after the sidework is done, should be guilt-free. Think of all the books one could read in between breakfast and lunch, otherwise spent picking lint balls out of the carpet.

Don't rub your eyes after merging tabasco bottles. Hurts like the Dickens.

DATING

Long Distance Dates

I had a date last night in Seattle. It was lovely. We went out for Italian at Marcello's, and then out for a drink at a club. He called today to make sure I got home alright.

Corny

Very Corny

A new fall promotion at work has prompted an afternoon of terrible gags. Our owner brought in fresh picked corn to hand out after dinner as a thank you to our fall patrons. How to gracefully walk up to a table and deposit a couple of ears of corn in husk was the topic of conversation. Ending in the following "flare" button ideas:

Got Corns?

Wanna hear something corny?

Can you 'ear me?

Then we debated whether we should dress up like pilgrims, as we were already in all black, but we decided feather in our hair would be more appropriate.

The stranger

The Stranger

A man walks into the bar, carrying Dickens. I ask him what he's reading, he tells me. Have I read any of him? I think he's obviously paid by the word. I get bored in his full length works. What do I like to read? You can guess where that conversation goes. He's from Toronto, but has lived in Scotland, BC and the US, wants to go to Asia next. He's in Issaquah now, getting together a hot places to eat website so he can afford to travel and read. He's also well versed in Musical Theater.

Before he left he asked if he could take my picture. I assumed for his website, since he'd eaten in the restaurant. He said as a reminder that beautiful, articulate, smart, well read women exist in the world.

I let him take the picture.