1 April: reading day, privacy, and a strange visit

Sunday, 1 April 2018

We had a day of cold rain till late afternoon.

I finished A Man Called Ove, enjoying it completely.  (And have ordered the film.)

…..

I decided to read this book again, as I had liked it a lot years ago:

I realized about one chapter in that it was not for me anymore and turned instead to a book of essays, edited by Molly Peacock (who wrote The Paper Garden) and all on a topic that is meaningful to me, “privacy in a public world”.

My favourite bits…

From an essay by Cathleen Medwick:

From an essay by F. Gonzales Crusi:

(Oh yes, I get anxious if someone comes closer than those thirty inches.  I will back up.)

From an essay by Jonathan Franzen:

I still feel that scrutiny when walking to the post office in my town.  (We do not get mail delivery, so most of us visit the post office daily.)

My favourite essay is this one on small town living:

Here, houses are often referred to by the name of a family who lived there a generation go.

All of these essays were written before Facebook gave even more opportunity to gather information and scandal.

“hot, wild, and mean…”

I could tell you stories that have gotten round the Ilwaco circuit and back to me about things I supposedly have said or done that never happened and were not even remotely true.  And I am sure the same is true of all who live in this small town.

We had a strange encounter while I was reading the privacy book.  A ring of the doorbell and opening of the front door revealed a strange creature on this Easter Sunday.  The creature wanted to visit the back garden.

The sun came out as I read the book of privacy essays.  Allan commented that it might look nice out, yet the temperature was only 43.  That made me feel better about finishing the book today.  He went grocery shopping….

a pot of gold in the deli?

…and on the way home did a brief deadheading at the Ilwaco Community Building.

Tulipa sylvestris

a greiggii tulip

in the tiered garden

In the evenings this weekend, we watched two excellent documentaries: I Am Not Your Negro on Saturday night, and on Sunday Hope and Fury: MLK, The Movement, and the Media.

Tonight, Calvin seemed ever so much better and played like mad with his pinball-type cat toy.

Tomorrow’s forecast calls for rain and 30 mph wind.  I hope so, because I started to reread What Are Old People For? at bedtime, and if I can finish it tomorrow I will, for once, have no almost-overdue books pressuring me.  I also am anxious to find the answer to that question; I cannot remember it from reading the book a decade ago.  I grew up with vigorous and interesting old people, and I very much want to become one, but I am concerned about what I will be for if the time comes that I must retire from public gardening.