Until a few days ago, I never had noticed how closely I resemble the young man in "The Kiss," the statue by Auguste Rodin, shown on the left. It is almost as though I modeled for him. Remarkably, the same is true with the statue of Hiawatha and Minnehaha, which stands in a park in Minneapolis. The model who posed as Hiawatha could be me. See the resemblance?Imagine yourself one of the artist's models ....
I look like him. Do you look like her? How long will that kiss last -- a thousand years? Longer? Think about it, anyway. Spring is hiding just around the corner ....
It is time for a break in writing, but not in thinking ....
This marks No. 70 in a row for me. My goal had been 30 days in a row, and it seems silly now, but it still also seems a good way to stomp down winter.
I will be taking the rest of the week off in terms of writing. I will, however, be doing what I originally came here doing -- floating on the sea of blogs and reading and, maybe, writing comments.
Those who regularly favor me with a comment still will be receiving them regularly. Those who never leave a comment, why in the world are you here? The purpose of this place is communication, isn't it? Talk to me, or ignore me. Just don't stand there smiling at me.
Communication is the most difficult task between any two human beings, I think. Especially in the form of the written word. No eye contact. No speech inflection. How does an individual know how another will interpret his or her comment? Whatever. (Is whatever really a feminine-style notation? If so, I will stop using it.)
Whatever the hell? How is that for being masculine? (Note the puffed up chest and the strut in the walk.)
Anyway, I need a few days to think about this and to wander a while. I need some time to evaluate what I have been doing (what have I been doing?) and to see what direction to take this blog for the next 70 days. I am questioning my original intent, in a way. There might be a few idiots wandering the earth who think they can be 20 forever. But, how does a person maintain equilibrium between experience and maturity with a sense of youthful curiosity and excitement? Man or woman? I am not certain it is possible.
My own "thing" is not only to find a lover, but to find a companion, each to feed the ego of the other. It is not idle wandering I want, but two people each with some manner of goal or accomplishment they search for, each who can assist (and are willing to assist) the other in finding or achieving the missing piece of their lives. With winter over and my head clear, I want to consider more if such a partnership is even possible.
I hope some will think about this and leave comments for me. I will be back by the weekend if not before and, in between, will be visiting anyone who writes regularly.
I should have been born a wild-eyed Southern boy. Life would have been so much simpler.
I almost forgot. Take another look at the statues at the top of the page. If you resemble the young lady, leave me a note. This is open to any young lady, not just to those named Helen. I know which statue I prefer, which do you?
Music Note: Listening to Steppenwolf ....
Specifically, "Move Over" ....
Some lines from: "Ride With Me:"
How ya gonna make it baby?
That's the question to be asked
Life goes on around you
In so many different ways
I know my share of history
How hard it is to be free
From wearing masks that turn to skin
Hiding what you could have been?
And I, I, I'm so confused
Which way, which way to choose?
Ride with me baby
'Til the end of the day.
33 comments:
“…how does a person maintain equilibrium between experience and maturity…” – You are not certain it is possible because you haven’t tried.
On the other hand, if you have tried and OTHERS saw nothing but an idiot in you, don’t get discouraged!!… your equilibrium is within you. Theirs - it's a different story!
P.S. Too many points in this post to comment on, I’ll be back, Philosopher, never doubt!
The first statue for sure..
Too many qstns Fram and not enough answers..
Sent you an email on the snowgoose account. Consider that a rambling of a misplaced mind. In other words, IGNORE. Hopefully you`ll be back soon.
Your last for a while:( I guess I am one of those that stands there and smiles at you....at least some of the time. I do read faithfully tho, and when moved to comment, I do.
While I have always enjoyed long lingering kisses, I like the statue on the right of Hiawatha. Perhaps because of the strength of the man (remember I have seen you at work out). That is an energy he is giving to his woman. And she in return is giving to him her softness. There is a warmth that you feel with your eyes when you look at their love.
Daily I attempt to maintain my childlike innocence. Spring is a perfect time for that, because Spring is the time of birth, of children, of newness. There have been times it has been downright difficult. The world is not an easy place for young souls.
This is a perfect post, Fram. You said everything so well. I totally get it :) I like both statues but I think I like "The Kiss" better. The couple look more connected to me, hanging on for dear life. The other is nice but the girl is looking away, more like she's hurt or maybe sad. I believe that kiss will last forever in the first :)
Written communication can be, I think, more real for the simple fact that you can't see the other person's reaction to what you say so you just say exactly what you feel. Now, being an excellent writer like you does make it easier to express your thoughts, but without all the physical aspects it is hard to know for sure about somebody. Haven't you ever met someone and instantly liked them but didn't know why? Just something about them. Or, maybe you meet someone in person and you don't like the way they smell...LOL...so you turn away from a perfectly nice person.
I hope your wandering brings you great happiness :) You deserve it!
Your question, "how does a person maintain equilibrium between experience and maturity with a sense of youthful curiosity and excitement? Man or woman?" I believe it is absolutely possible. With age comes the wisdom to appreciate absolutely and completely joy and excitement. I mean, doesn't life beat us up enough that when we find something that makes us feel good, free, happy, complete, that we know to grab on to it and go for the ride, if even for a short while. We never know how long our life will last. I think so. In youth we always believe that there is better around the corner and we don't worry about consequences, and I believe as young people we don't always appreciate the freedom that we have. I've met 40-year-olds that act and look 60, and 60 year-olds that act and look about 30-40. Staying healthy and active both mentally and physically keeps us young and excited. Finally, your last paragraph about your own thing of what you are looking for couldn't be more perfect. I think if one could find exactly what you describe they would be the luckiest person in the world! True love and friendship completes us. It does not diminish us.
I love what you've written.
This may be yet a record for a comment longer than the actual post...LOL :)
Happy, Happy Wandering :)
So, if Helen of Troy had the face that launched a thousand ships, is a milliHelen enough to launch just one? Man, was she ever a whiner in the Iliad.
I will miss your daily updates. It's so fascinating to have a daily window into someone else's head. Hopefully I will be too distracted by writing an entry on my own blog for every day in April to suffer too horribly.
"Communication is the most difficult task between any two human beings, I think."
Yes, I know what you mean.
Enjoy your break Fram. Come back when you're ready - not too long I hope please. I will miss you.
PS - the first statue for me, too.
…yet, I was restraining myself in saying what I said about Sylvia… To me it’s a pure nonsense. One has to be either in deep despair or drunk, or trying to be original….
I am trying to be original by not agreeing with the rest!!! (not always though!)
Re: Estas Tonne. Please listen – you will love it. Plus, you didn’t pay your tribute to Becaud, God bless his delicate soul…
I bet you a dollar, Fram, that your grandfather drove, at least once(!!), the T-34, if he was a true tankist!!! I bet he was!!!
Thinking of your grandfather and the WWII, recalled one of my favorite movie, the Stalag 17 – the scene in women’s part of the camp by the bathhouse??? And the Animal!!!! Ohh that was brilliant!
P.S. Just for the record, how long it took you to download the video!?!?!??!
You wrote almost as much as I did, Natalie, over the course of your three comments.
I am trying to be mature and youthful at the same time, which I have never tried before. I am either deadly serious and professional or a reckless fool with a smile on my face. I am just now attempting to learn how to blend the two. We will see if it works.
Yes, me, too, in regard to Sylvia. Mental illness is one thing and being a fool is another. I will give her benefit of a doubt and believe she was ill.
They exchanged everything for fun and games, and had a great time. My grandfather said the Soviets were the only people crazier than he was, but that was in time of war and those boys had more than their share of it. I, too, have seen the inside of a couple of T-34s, but no Russians were involved in my experiences.
Piper, I could tell from the beginning that you liked kissing. Me, too.
I am glad you came to say hello and goodbye (temporarily). Travel safely, and good health to your father. I hope you will be able to post from India.
Boni, I agree with you completely about your interpretation of the statues. Regarding Hiawatha and Minnehaha, her personal apprehension is there, but along with it is confidence in him. His concern for her is very much present.
I feel like I need to do a bit of research about the history of this statue and the story of Hiawatha itself. These people did walk the earth at one time -- in legend, in myth and in reality. Love was present then and now.
'Communication is the most difficult task between any two human beings, I think. Especially in the form of the written word. No eye contact. No speech inflection.'
How very true, never mind emoticons or smileys, we still are not TALKING to each other. I depend on your subjective mind, on your mood on your previous 24 hours, you also depend on mine.
Compromise, there's a fine word. As you rightly mentioned at the beginning of your post, if you don't like what is being written, bugger off, pardon my French. That was brought back to mind because the other day when you posted about guns I had just read about the tragedy (again!) in the US of a gunman coming into an elderly people's home and opening fire left, right and centre. And then I read your response to my post and I pondered over putting the link of the news on your blog, and then... ahhh, whatevs! (Is that feminine or masculine? Who cares?).
I like your blog because it is manly but with a heavy dose of femininity underpinning it, maybe it is a conscious act, maybe it is not. Whatever the case might be, I look forward to your future posts after your sabbatical.
Many thanks.
Greetings from London.
And, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly ....
I need to write another entire commentary to respond to your remarks. Just to tease, maybe Hiawatha and Minnehaha were already done kissing for the afternoon. Just a thought. But, then again, I suppose that would not have been a thousand-year kiss.
Regarding miscommunication, I think (if not actually worry) constantly about mis-communication in written words. All a person can do is be truthful and forthright, and hope for the best.
About liking and disliking certain people, I began writing a post about that just a few days ago, but ended up pushing it off and away. There have been a few on either side of that particular coin in my life, and I cannot recall any instance of where that initial feeling was wrong in those particular cases. It seems to me sort of like love at first sight. I think it works more often than not. Souls sometimes know what brains do not. How do the physically blind fall in love?
As for the blending for maturity and youthfulness, I will refer you back to my comment to Natalie. Look at it, please.
I am almost certain my Helen of Troy exists, but not to sound too ready for the shrink's couch, maybe she arrived before I did or she will arrive after I have left. Life is more faith in the end than knowledge and, possibly, that is why those with religion usually are more content than those without.
"True love and friendship complete us. It does not diminish us." I wish I would have said that, Kelly.
Chocobo, you had better be writing or I will come looking for you.
I want to know how your classes are going, if your ambitions to become an actress are progressing, whether you are going up north this summer or not, what is bothering you and what is going right for you, and anything else you care to mention
Yeh, Helen was a whiner. Maybe that is the secret of her appeal.
Another girl who likes to kiss, hah? Sounds good to me.
Katy, I would rather read you than write me. Without reservation, I will say you are the best writer I have encountered in blogland.
Never fear about my absence, however, I am among those who love to give my opinion and could not handle being gone very long. It already feels "strange." I am having fun visiting others, though, and reading more.
Who cares? We both do, CiL, no doubt, which is why we both write.
We both are students, with formed beliefs and opinions, you an aristocrat of intellect and thought, me a wolf of myth and history, but both willing to listen and to learn. Too bad there are not more of us.
The nursing home gunman is one reason I want more legitimate people carrying firearms. The system is imperfect, but who can say how it would have been had I or someone like me been working at that nursing home when the gunman arrived? Lives might well have been saved.
Masculine and feminine? I believe in both and acknowledge both and think she is more important than me. I am blatantly trying to attract the female, but not willing to give up my strengths to beg for attention like so many men do with their whipped "passionate interests." I believe the mother-earth was before the father-being, but until it is finally resolved, I want my strong right arm with a 1911 in my hand, and hope to find a she who knows how to produce fangs when necessary as well as the purr of contentment.
Your presence is always a genuine treat .... thank you, CiL, for being you at this point in time ....
“…deadly serious and professional or a reckless fool with a smile on my face…” – you said it yourself!! Here’s your equilibrium, where one extreme neutralizes another!!!
On a serious note, how does it feel after the consecutive posting ritual IS broken?.... I have a feeling you are currently restraining yourself, it’s like quitting smoking!! Or no??
Hi there, Na-tal-le ....
Call me the man on a tightrope.
Your thought is correct about writing here. I wanted to start writing several times last night, but kept myself from doing it by visiting others.
I went from smoking three packs-plus a day to zero in the blink of an eye, cold turkey, 11 years ago. It is so long ago I cannot remember how it felt, but I had no problem whatsoever. My mouth would water when I thought of certain cigars, just as it does when I think of certain foods, or certain liquors, or certain .... never mind .... but that no longer is the case. Mind over matter. I'm not sure I can compare the two.
I finally watched/heard your nostalgia.
ah-ahaaahhhhh…
You see, Magdalena and I noticed a handsome guitar player and you – a beautiful dancer!!! To you, I should have mentioned the beautiful dancer first and not the musician!! Anyway, I thought you would like her! Unfortunately, her name is Maia, I think, for sure not Elena.
P.S. 3 packs a day!!! A chain-smoker?? And cold turkey?? - That was hard... Today your habit would cost you over $30 per day, never mind certain foods, or certain liquors, or certain....
Tell me about it!!!
When Fram’s mouth is watery, speed of light or sound, or, or … is ….irrelevant!!
P.S. Maybe you should go to Russia instead, not Greece?
Natalie, I think you are a dangerous woman and a more clever person than am I.
On cigarettes, two to three packs of Salem regular kings and up to a pack of Camel straights was my daily contribution to the success of the tobacco industry. My eyes used to cross if I went more than an hour without a smoke but, when I made up my mind to quit, I had absolutely no reaction to the absence of cigarettes. Inexplicable, I think, other than in the sense of the potential strength of one's own will power.
I had an email from the Oracle at Delphi telling me I am fated for Greece this year, but I would love to visit Russia. Some day, hopefully. I especially would love to tour a Kalashnikova factory.
Dangerous!!! I am as dangerous as you are harmless! Clever? – Yes, I am clever; if I was less clever, I would be working in one of Brooklyn’s authentic foods store and not writing poetry in foreign language!
Re: Oracle at Delphi. Shake her up a couple of times (the way Alexander the Great did!), or take her for a canoe ride, that would ventilate her brain a little! she will tell you the truth you desire to hear!!!
Re: Kalashnikov’s factory – I know it is in the city called Tula (not far from Moscow), there is a wonderful museum of Russian weaponry produced for the past 300 years…
P.S. It is getting too crowded, to write comments under this post – do you have another (blogger) record in mind?
"Souls sometimes know what brains do not." So true. You are right about that. I like your questions and answers :)
Natalie of the Rus ....
I am on the trail of Odysseus right now, not Alexander. It has been in the center of my mind for too long, and I have too many pokers in the fire, including a couple of deposits. Russia will have to wait for me, at least until after Greece and a visit to the south of France.
No, no other blogger record in mind.
Kelly, aka L.A. Woman ....
I do believe I must start searching my own soul for directions my own brain cannot seem to pin down. In any case, I think it is now or never time for the two of them (soul and brain) to quit arguing and to come to an agreement on which road to follow -- or, maybe, take to the river.
How's that? I'm practicing being obscure. Don't ask me why. (I know, but I don't want to say.)
Hi :-) I see a piece of interesting conversation here, nice :-) So warm hugs from Poland to everyone! :-) Have a good evenig, I guess, we are in the middle of a day... Bye, bye :-)
Oh no, you have early morning now. I can never remember this! :-(
'you an aristocrat of intellect and thought'
That definitely brought a smile to my face just now. I don't think I have been acknowledged in tha manner since my John 'Vicomte de Valmont' Malkovich phase circa 92-94. And there were many... I shall leave you to complete the blanks.
I will be back, that's for sure.
Greetings from London.
Now I know where you've got this knack from. Just re-read your profile "Bachelor of Arts with a double major in English (= literature"..didn't spot that previously.
Hi there, Magdalena.
You really should sit down for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, depending on what time of day or night you arrive.
Thank you. You are very welcome any time of the day or the night.
My vision, is clear, CiL. I can see you very well.
I'm only sorry I arrived at the party so late and missed your Malkovich era. Perhaps it will come out for a return performance but, if not, I am sure there will be equally interesting phases to observe in the future.
Yes, that's it, Dapo. A constant state of confusion.
Am I riding in the back seat with Hunter Thompson or with Jack Kerouac; am I James, with my vodka martini in a casino or am I pursuing beautiful Brett in Pamplona, with my wineskin in hand; am I the detective pursuing the Jackal or am I the Jackal, the assassin, himself; am I wandering the streets of Dublin in the wake of the young artist or being shanghaied in San Francisco by Wolf Larsen?
I think I'll stop there. This could make for a fun post someday.
I feel like I have come late to the party and am picking at the leave behinds on the table...
However, my dear Fram, you intrigue me and I am now on a quest to better understand you. Being a vocal sort, inclined to voice my opinion when asked, I immediately seized upon the opportunity to leave a comment as you requested.
Which statue?
It is a difficult choice as they both are statues worthy of admiration. A passionate kiss for all eternity or a lover who carries you away ever so gently, nurturing and protecting... What I like about the Hiawatha and Minnehaha statue is that he is looking at her with such loving and concerned eyes.
...
Over wide and rushing rivers
In his arms he bore the maiden;
Light he thought her as a feather,
As the plume upon his head-gear;
Cleared the tangled pathway for her,
Bent aside the swaying branches,
Made at night a lodge of branches,
And a bed with boughs of hemlock,
And a fire before the doorway
With the dry cones of the pine-tree.
...
My choice would be for the man who would look at me with such loving eyes and pick me up and carry me when the going was tough.
So I would choose the statue on the right.
There is nothing wrong with passion, but there is more to it than kisses.
If I could risk saying more, I admire the frankness with which you have shared your quest with your bloggist friends.
"My own "thing" is not only to find a lover, but to find a companion, each to feed the ego of the other. It is not idle wandering I want, but two people each with some manner of goal or accomplishment they search for, each who can assist (and are willing to assist) the other in finding or achieving the missing piece of their lives."
To me, this is the pot at the end of the rainbow for us single folks, not that I think it isn't the for either you or I, just that you might not find it if you set out to travel to the rainbow end. Just the same as you, there is nothing I would cherish more than a like minded soul to continue life's journey with. I hope we both find that pot around the corner... It is a difficult undertaking to look for rainbow ends.
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