February 15
"...blockheads, the envious, ignoramuses and skaters upon the surface of life"
1965
Rehearsal Tonight! I hated it! C didn't get to sing, and neither did S. T kicked off her shoe and hit the ceiling. There's a big scrape in the hall acoustical tile now - about 5 feet from the dent I put in a month ago. V was absent today! Baw! I HATE THE TALENT SHOW!
1978
Reading Balzac’s “Cousin Bette”. The plot is as simple and seductive as a fairy tale. It’s the characters that are complicated, in a beautiful way. Would I react the same way to a novel set in present-day New York? Are the characters timeless or of their time? I can’t tell.
Here’s my favorite quote, on great artists:
“They become incomprehensible to the majority, which, as we know, is composed of blockheads, the envious, ignoramuses and skaters upon the surface of life”
That’s what I don’t want : to skate on the surface of life. But isn’t that safer than breaking through?
Comment 2024
I remember putting the book down when I read that line, and feeling it in my body.
1983
Up one day, then down, then up again. I feel fairly contented with things today. Got goodly amount done. Classes were cancelled AGAIN, knocking my schedule off. Kiddo is well again, after a miserable cold. She’s been very perky, energetic, and cheerful. Within the last few weeks she’s learned to “kiss”. Actually, it’s more of a lick on the cheek, but it’s still nice. How nice it is to have her around. Even if she is a big responsibility. I’m a big girl, myself, and I can handle it.
1997
Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like doing the armchair explorer exercise. I don’t need to. I know I would be heading to Scandinavia in midsummer and then following the sun northward to the time and place where it never sets, just moves around in the sky. Yowser. And back to Lund, and the Auf Chapman, and the convent we stayed. What a beautiful place.
And maybe Hungary. But why? Today is a half day, just to get some admissions stuff done. I need to do this, or I won’t have my precious mornings of exercise and rest.
1998
My five favorite movies:
Philadelphia Story
Pride and Prejudice (Olivier!!)
What Up Doc?
The Commitments
Fantasia
Comment 2023
Another slice of my life that feels like each layer was written by different people. Fifteen year old Jo was annoyed. Annoyed with herself for agreeing to accompany two classmates on the piano for the talent show. Annoyed with V for being absent from rehearsal. The dents in the ceiling bring a smile, though. For several years after I graduated, I would visit the school to check if they were still there.
Forty-seven year old Jo was talking back to Sarah Ban Breathnach, who wanted her to to journal in response to a particular prompt. The thing about prompts is sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. When they don’t, you should feel free to ignore them. I was also still savoring our 1995 family trip to Sweden. We went just a few months before Jim’s workplace went bankrupt, to see the Women’s World Cup. Even with a package deal from a fan group, and staying in hostels most of the time, it was a splurge to take all four of us to Europe. But it still stands out as a magical experience. After Jim lost his job, my mom asked if we regretted spending so much on the trip. No, Mom, not a bit. Look at those happy faces! And it was so much fun we did it again twenty years later in Canada.
And look at me in 1997, being all organized and intentional about planning my work, exercise, and leisure. So proud of you. Love, me.
2008
The first three weeks of the semester have been hectic, but manageable. The flu has hit campus and people are dropping like flies. I need to hang in there and stay well!!! I have submitted both my sabbatical plan and my book proposal, along with two conference proposals and a research travel proposal, all within the last two months.
I feel like it’s time to step back, reassess and figure out how not to be overwhelmed or derailed from now on. Here’s the thing - - - my schemes are too complicated.
Comment 2024
Ya think?