Ensemble and Job Safety!
Here I am on the day election resolved into conniption, or vice versa. I am happy --perhaps I never look down. My forearms are mostly scar tissue now, after outdoor work in 2 strangely connected centuries. Yes, off and early on, I worked indoors and suffered 10 years of jumps, tyrants, subterfuges, people crying "out damned spot!" (Macbeth, which causes Spot to dash out onto the street, get run over and likewise does damage to humans --even those not named Spot. Ergo, "Now thrive the armorers..." (Shakespeare, Henry V, prologue Act 2). This brings us to Don Santino:
It is not Spot. Don is an early 21st century gift from a beloved occupational-safety consultant. Despite my having retired from gardening public places in 2009, we have kept this outfit. As a wearable collection of hinges, levers, inclined planes and other safety devices it is unparalleled. I should have worn it oftener.
It was a happy day indeed Geo.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture! He resides in that of your garden now I presume? And so your retired from gardening in public places? I bet that job had to bring some joy...even hence the scarring? I know when I go to many public gardens I often am happy there are places like this and am thankful people like you are the caretakers.
Dear Maddie, Don Santino has spent most of his years in our living room. He's only been outdoors since Norma started painting the ceiling in there --like 3 days ago. I hope he wants back in when she is done. Thank you for your closing compliment --I enjoyed my job and my scars are only on the outside.
DeleteDon Santino looks at home in the garden, but he most likely appreciated the comfort of indoors. What a nice and very unusual gift from a family member. I am curious as to his composition and imagine he must be quite a hefty fellow. Does his name have special significance as well? It was nice to see you in this post and to peek inside your comfy room with all thise wonderful book cases, what a reader’s delight!
ReplyDeleteThanks, dear Beatrice. Daughter has always been a source of remarkable gifts. In recent years I've welcomed receipt of thematized socks, which are far more manageable than armor. Don Santino is the armor-spirit's given name. That's all I know.
DeleteI think you'd have few social distancing issues if you wore that out and about.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Mike, but I'd rather comply with social cautions than wear clothes that take hardware tools to remove. I'd hate to see folks in your profession have to start examinations with cutting torches and hacksaws.
Delete"He proved best man i’ the field" (Coriolanus Act 2, Scene 2). Soon he will be back in the house.
ReplyDeleteDon is definitely outstanding in his field. Thanks for the Bard reference, dear Emma. It's a quote I missed and am glad to remember it again.
DeleteI'm so thankful for the results of this election. It is one truly good thing that has happened in 2020. It feels like many, many folks around the world - not just in the USA - have had to wear something like a suit of armour just to get through the days full of vile attacks by Trump and his hangers-on. I feel such palpable relief and lightening of my spirit. I can only imagine that feeling multiplied many times for Americans.
ReplyDeleteNorma paints ceilings? Well done, lady! My hat is off to her :)
0_Jenny,the relief you "imagine" is real, multiplied many times and the product is equally real. Relayed your compliment to Norma, but I don't go in there with my hat off --ceilings drip!
Deletecan he come to my house and entertain my ggs?...love this so much
ReplyDeleteDear JACKIESUE, Invitation appreciated by Don Santino. He loves kids. Sadly, he suffers from rust and can't move --see L. Frank Baum-- but loves you right back.
DeleteIs he having a good knight's rest?
ReplyDeleteI do hope Spot is feeling better, and up to celebrating better and freshly painted days :-)
xx
Dear Lisa, "Knight's rest"...in the throes of political upheaval you can coax the laughter out of me even when I'm pretty constantly freaked out. Spot is a canine metaphor and can't really be run over. I'm sure the Bard would back me up.
DeleteI think Don Santino is an excellent sentry and guardian of your yard and your home. Speaking of which, I love your room with the lighting, the bookcases, the wood floor, the Oriental rugs. I could go on and on. Well I guess I did. Anyway, I could feel right at home there. And my compliments to the ever-hard-working Norma. Methinks she'll need a back rub when she's done with that ceiling. And, as our daughter would say, a martini!
ReplyDeleteDear Bruce, the room(s) you mention are kitchen-dining area. Of course there are books, which extend down the hall into the living room and provide excellent insulation against weather, civil unrest, cabin fever and ignorance. In a time when new readers are skimming superficialities on the internet, I find great comfort and alarm in the millennia that brought us here. Hopefully, our history books decrying election tantrums can ease political bullying and public proliferation of automatic weapons --but, per your suggestion for Norma, I think much general American relief can start with martinis and back rubs.
DeleteYou are looking very good Geo, and your pose is so debonair. I love your background also. What a lovely room! I would love to borrow it for my Zoom background.
ReplyDeleteLast week I felt like I was stuck in something like Don Santino and couldn't breathe, but now I and millions are free of the other Don - almost.
Thank you, dear Arleen, I'll turn 71 in a month and NEED to be told I look good --whether I do or not. We're experiencing a highly dolorous disunity as a nation and have been for a while, but we're still on our feet.
DeleteGeo:
ReplyDeleteI hope he does get to return inside. Very cool to have him there!
I too am very pleased the election appears to have gone well. Just hoping for a little magic in the run offs in Georgia in January..... so good progress can proceed.
PipeTobacco
Same hopes echoed here, dear Prof. Best wishes for unity and sanity in our wonderful country.
DeleteHi, friend Geo ... long time no see ... I know it and you know it ... smiles ... anyway ... I gather that everybody is happy and healthy in your family? If so, same here ... all is well regarding covid.Other than that nothing really terribly exciting happening here ... except my daughter is divorcing from her husband of 3 years, and my son went out to the farm deer hunting and on the way he hit a deer ... I'm just starting my very last cycle of shifts before retiring Dec 11 ... Then off to Mexico ... hopefully ... smiles ... but if regulations won't let me fly, I'll walk cuz will have all the time in the world ... Anyway ... Sending love, cat.
ReplyDeleteDear Cat, thanks for the welcome update! Retiring next month? Congratulations, my friend. I retired 11 years ago and feel better already. Sorry to learn your daughter has suffered misfortune. Also recognize the irony of your son hitting a deer en route to deer hunting. Mexico? I haven't been since 1963 but am sure it's still a beautiful country. To all, best wishes.
DeleteDoes it still fit? Probably not much use for COVID protection...
ReplyDeleteDear Squid, Don Santino exists in a timeless world in which armor discourages threat and covid does not exist. Unfortunately, every time I've checked his armor, he is not inside it. The enigma must go unsolved until I find a tailor who is also a ironsmith.
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