I passed this cat on my walk home last night, sitting in the (garden?) of an apartment building on Finchley Road. It steadfastly refused to look at me, even though I made the pss-pss-pss-pss sound that I learned in Morocco is guaranteed to draw a cat's attention. Maybe it was watching something through that fence. It looks to me like whoever runs that building needs to get a structural engineer in there stat, or at least some competent repair people.
It's chilly this morning, about 40ยบ F. I'd like to mow the lawn this weekend, but we'll see if the weather cooperates. Here's what it looks like at the moment:
Maybe better than that (garden?) in the top photo, but only slightly. I think we'll continue to leave that area at the right unmowed, like we did last year -- there are about 25 teasels growing there which will be interesting in summer. (Not sure how the neighbors will feel about them!) See Olga patrolling her jungle, behind the tree at right?
Dave is back safely from Berlin. He came in about 10 p.m. last night, just in time to fill me in on the high points of his trip before collapsing into bed. Now he's about to go to school to help unload the truck containing the band's equipment and instruments. (Not alone -- there will be plenty of people helping, and in fact Dave still can't lift because of his recent hernia surgery so he'll be mostly pointing and giving directions. When he was released from the hospital he was told not to lift anything heavier than a half-full tea kettle, which we both thought was an amusingly British but strangely ambiguous description.)
Anyway, I've enjoyed my quiet time. Last night before he got home I watched "Condominium," a lengthy TV movie from the early '80s set in Florida that Dave would not enjoy but I consider more cinematic comfort food.
Speaking of nostalgia and Florida, here's the book I'm reading at the moment. Don't you love that cover? It's a young adult book from 1979 that takes place somewhere near Sarasota -- I picked it up in an antique store in Jacksonville last summer. Since the kids in the book are exactly my generation and their parents go through a divorce (like mine did), I thought it might be an interesting read -- and it is. Apparently there's a sequel which I might also buy if I can find a copy online.
My only stumbling block is that the characters talk like no one I ever knew. At one point, one of the girls says: "My mother's in a fantod because she can't find him." And I thought, "What the heck is a fantod?" I have never heard that word before in my life. (Dictionary: "FANTOD: n. informal, North American: a state or attack of uneasiness or unreasonableness.") It seems an unlikely word for a 13-year-old to use, though admittedly this girl wants to be a writer and thus has an impressive vocabulary.
The same character later says: "Well, they seem like normal desires to Amanda, and she hates him for immuring her in his castle." This just seems like trying too hard.
The mother, at one point, says: "I'm not your household helot, and I will not be doled out household expenses." (HELOT: n. A member of a class of serfs in ancient Sparta.) Another word I have never heard.
And the father says of a ringing phone: "Junie, the phone's running over." And the mother replies, "Let it run over. See if I care." This quirky expression is new to me. I wonder if it's a regional thing, though certainly not to Florida. Have any of you ever heard an unanswered phone described as "running over"?
Finally, another girl -- also 13 -- occasionally calls her younger brothers "honey" and even "darling," and that just does not ring true to me. Unless it's meant sarcastically, which it is not.
Anyway, I don't mean to run down the book. In fact, I'm enjoying it a lot, and those 13-year-old characters would be exactly my age now, so I feel a connection to the story, which is also all about growing up amid the birds and sea life of natural Florida. If anything, the peculiar language makes it more interesting.
25 comments:
My father wrote about twenty or more books for teenagers, they were very loved by librarians and academics, even a few teenagers who were then and still remember him fondly, his Hebrew was a bit outdated for the late sixties when the books were written, and my mother typed the manuscripts on the typewriter She would correct his words without his knowledge. Only years later did she tell this.
The first picture shows one of London's secret corners - off the beaten track that most visitors tread. It was on this very spot that Dick Whittington made a rudimentary shelter when he first arrived in London. It is also where John Lennon proposed to Yoko Ono and also where Boris Johnson was found urinating in 1990 by a constable with an electric torch. He claimed that it wasn't him even as he zipped up the stable.
Your garden looks nothing like that eyesore on Finchley Road. Glad Dave got back safely. What a lot of work! The book sounds interesting although I wonder where the language came from. I knew the word helot, but never knew of it being used in common conversation. Never heard fantod. Immuring her in his castle sounds bizarre. And I’ve never heard of a phone running over. Maybe Mary Stolz isn’t a native American speaker. Never mind. She was born in Boston and died in Longboat Key, Florida. Maybe it was her privileged upbringing. She went to the Birch Wathen School in Manhattan which to my mind was very posh. You see how your posts make me explore?
I think the phrases in the book are quite odd, but I also found "not to lift anything heavier than a half-full tea kettle" a bit odd, too.
Carlos, after his hernia surgery, was told not to lift anything heavier tha na five-pound sack of flour. But why not simply say 'Don't lift anything over five pounds'?
I just googled Mary Stolz and she was born in Boston although died in Longboat Key, FL. I've never heard those words either. Very strange. Perhaps she was trying to educate her readers.
Glad Dave's back. I bet he's tired.
Glad Dave is home safe and sound.
That is unusual language that I have never heard of before. I see that she wrote many books and won many awards so I guess she did know what she was doing...
nope, never heard any of those words or expressions.
whoever is in charge of that building needs to pick up the trash at the very least.
I'm back to comment that I'm afraid my first comment is out of context, but I'll leave it anyway...
I am glad Dave is back safe and sound. I remember that we used to take our students on an overnight trip to Washington DC. By the time I got home, I was exhausted beyond words.
There are two copies of 'What time of night is it?' on ebay. (FYI). I hope you can get a copy of it there.
You know, I haven't thought about Mary Stolz for years. She was a very prolific author wasn't she? At our book club meeting, we talked about how controversial Judy Blume was...and now, her books seem so tame! As a librarian, do you have a way to find out whether Mary Stolz's books were ever considered controversial?
I once mowed our yard in Ohio while it was snowing (I was hoping to beat the snow, but lost the race). I say that to say: wait until it's warmer. That was VERY MISERABLE. Also, I should probably mow OUR grass today but I'm not.
Seeing your lovely green grass is encouraging as my grass is covered with a light white snow/slush cover. It looks nothing like Spring. Olga loves her garden tours and she's got some good space. MS has introduced a few new words to me too. Her vernacular is unusual and I love it. Dave must be happy to be home again. Hopefully he is following the doctor's rules and lifting nothing heavier than a teacup. Love it and the message is clear.
Good heavens, your garden looks immaculate compared to that "spot" in the first photo. It needs some serious work.
I love the "half-full tea kettle" comment. That is perfectly British. I also like your description of "cinematic comfort food". That must be why I watch certain movies or shows over and over again. I love the comfort of knowing the characters and what is going to happen.
You've introduced me to some new words in your description of that flying fish book. Makes me wonder if the author was trying to throw in some words that the reader would need to look up.
Greece, at least in Athens, has a rampant feral cat problem. They are everywhere. My girls brought it to my attention that calling cats using the psss psss sound is universal throughout different languages. I couldn't disagree.
I expect the cat didn't speak Moroccan. If you'd tried hey, mate, innit? he might have looked at you.
I know all those words but don't use them in conversation, or I'd probably be explaining all the time. It's what comes of a misspent youth studying Latin and Greek.
Your grass looks healthy and perfectly fine. Mine needs another mow-'tis the time of year that grass loves. Cool/warm, sun, rain=optimum growth. That vocabulary would distract me from the flow of the book. I've never heard that phone expression either.
Nope, know none of those words, and have never heard of a phone ringing over. That's a pretty weird construct. Your grass looks really good.
Your garden looks great! Strong, wild and free, just how we like 'em.
I had to search for Olga in the garden! Those are very strange words for anyone in 1997 to use and no way a child, even a child of the south, would use the word honey and darling to call a brother. That rings very false. But like you said - great cover! I really the colors.
After a long dry spell, I finally posted on my blog again. Thanks for the motivation!
I came across the word "fantod" in not one, but TWO books in recent years! (The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers and Serena by Ron Rash) It's definitely not a word I can imagine teens (or even adults) using in the 1970s. I've never heard that "phone running over" expression, either. I like the book cover.
The writer obviously had an audience in mind and looks like he may have been successful. I wonder what today's kids would think.
Your garden looks so lush and green! That book cover is lovely, though some of the words you mention in the story are ones I've never heard of, so if I flipped though this first I probably wouldn't have bought it. I'm glad you enjoyed it though.
It's taken me till now to catch your crouching tiger reference! Bit slow here.
Yael: Who is your father? Would I know his books? I had no idea you were related to an author!
YP: Not just urinating but DRUNKENLY urinating, I'm betting.
Mitchell: You did your research! I'm betting some of this is quirky New England usage.
Bob: Exactly! Give me a NUMBER, not some strange comparison!
Ms Moon: Maybe that's it -- she was trying to improve everyone's vocabulary. I'm not sure that's the best objective for an author, but whatever.
Ellen D: I DID enjoy the book, so I can see why she was successful as an author, despite the unrealistic wording!
Ellen: I know! It wouldn't take much effort to make the place a little more presentable.
Yael (again): No, it was very much in context, I think!
Michael: I've never done an overnight trip with students and I don't intend to start anytime soon!
Debby: Thanks for checking into that! I see used copies on Amazon as well. I believe I will order one (depending on the shipping!). We use Common Sense Media to evaluate materials for controversy but I doubt they'd have anything on books as old as Stolz's. I do remember Blume's "Forever" being VERY controversial when I was a teenager. (Of course I read it! In fact I think I got it from the school library!)
Bug: Ugh! Mowing during a snowstorm (or even flurries) WOULD be miserable.
Susan: Spring will come! Take heart!
Sharon: I wonder too. She intended for one of the characters to have a precocious vocabulary, but this seems like a stretch!
Ed: It IS a sound that cats (usually) respond to! When I was in Bucharest about ten years ago they had a huge problem with feral dogs. But they were catching and neutering them so I wonder if it's better now.
Boud: Ha! Or maybe just "Oi!"
Margaret: It distracted me enough that I actually stuck sticky notes on a few of the pages to remember these passages! But I followed the plot anyway.
Allison: It really doesn't look THAT good when you see it close up, but give it a couple more weeks.
Linda Sue: Yes! I am all for letting gardens do their thing, within reason!
Wilma: Olga likes to sneak around the perimeter of the garden, but of course she's crashing through bushes so it's not really "sneaking."
Kelly: I swear I have never heard "fantod." That is such an odd word.
Red: It's hard for me to imagine today's kids having the patience to read this book.
River: I don't mind words I don't know, so that wouldn't have put me off the book -- but I do take note of them, especially if their usage seems forced!
Boud: I should have said "crouching cat," shouldn't I? :)
That cat is in full hunt position. I wonder what it sees on the other side-- clearly, he's not taking his eyes off of it. I do love an orange cat!
Glad Dave made it home. That book is odd. Unless they set up the characters to be overly literate, it just seems a bit pretentious and unreal. But the cover is fabulous and if the story is good, enjoy! (I hadn't heard of fanton or helot either but I like the idea of the phone running over!)
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