”The sound of the rain needs no translation.”
Posted October 14, 2024 by katryCategories: Musings
The rain has come and gone for now. The thunder was way off but just enough of a sound for Nala to raise her head and wonder. Today will be fall warm at 65°.
I’m watching a great bad movie, King of the Zombies from 1941. It takes place on an island, has voodoo, zombies and a Dracula lookalike. It also has a sort of happy ending.
When I was a kid, my classroom on rainy days had almost a comforting feel. The lights were pendant lights hanging from the ceiling. They left shadows. The rain quieted us. It pelted the windows, long windows from the ceiling. I used to watch the rain trickle down the panes of glass. When the rain was the heaviest and the loudest, we read our literature books and answered the questions at end of each story. They were easy.
When I was young, I half believed in ghosts. I was open to possibilities. I never lingered by any graveyards just in case. Night noises had me on alert especially when the wind howled. My father’s stories of the hook man were real to me. I remember hearing a noise outside one night. I yelled out the door, “Who’s there?” It was bravado. An answer would have had me running for my life. When I was older, the graveyard near my house was a shortcut of sorts. I never worried about spirits, but I stayed on alert, sort of hedging my bests.
Henry is a barker. Even the smallest outside sound gets him started. He sometimes drives me crazy. I’ll open the front door and tell him, “Look! Nothing is there.” He’ll check up and down the street then back into the house. He does have an intruder bark which I now recognize. He saves that for Amazon or UPS trucks or someone walking a dog by my house. Once in a while, his bark is a bit ominous. Late at night, he’ll sometimes jump off the bed, stand in the hall and bark his scary, loud bark. I just stay in bed. I figure an intruder would not want to tangle with the source of that bark.
My dance card is uke heavy this week. I have practice Tuesday, my lesson on Wednesday and concerts on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
”There’s nothing as cozy as a piece of candy and a book. “
Posted October 13, 2024 by katryCategories: Music
The morning is dark and chilly. I went out for a few groceries just after nine. People were on the road. I was surprised. I’m never usually up that early so the activity was a bit mind boggling. I got a few groceries and treated myself. I bought a cinnamon donut. I treated the dogs and bought them big dog biscuits shaped like fire hydrants.
Yesterday I did chores. I deserve a commendation. Putting in the storm door just about finished me. It is so heavy I had to move it step by step up the cellar stairs then side by side to the door. Next was my step stool, a wonder. It replaced an old wooden one which put my life in jeopardy every time I used it, but it is heavy. I dragged it to the door. I took out the screen. I had to climb to the topmost rung. My life flashed before me. The storm just wouldn’t go in. Something was always in the way, one of those screw holders or the chain. I was determined, okay stubborn. Finally I did it. The crowning glory was putting my Halloween decoration on the door. It is a nun dressed in black with a skeleton face and hands. I call it Sister Helen after my aunt the nun.
When I was a kid, I always thought Columbus Day, always on October 12th, was the beginning of the holiday season. Halloween was next, and we had November 1st off, All Saints Day. We had to go to mass but that was a small price to pay for no school. I carried my bowl of candy, munched on it, watched a bit of TV and stayed around the house all day.
When I lived in Ghana, the only holiday we all had in common was Christmas. I explained Halloween to my students. They were amazed to think you got candy just by going door to door and saying trick or treat. What a marvelous holiday! I always had peppermint candy around the house, the sort which is round, striped red and white and melts in your mouth. On Halloween night I heard knocking on my door and the sort of caw caw sound Ghanaians, at least my students, made when knocking on doors when visiting. They all said, “Trick or treat.” I had taught them well. They each got a peppermint.
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