A MOVEABLE FEAST

"Never take a trip with anyone you do not love," wrote Ernest Hemingway in his Paris memoir A Moveable Feast. How wise is that! 

He also advised F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, that it's not the size of your equipment that is important, it's the angle in which it is employed. Fitzgerald's wife Zelda had told him he was small in the junk department. He asked his friend Hemingway's opinion. Hem assured him his size was normal, whatever that is.

Funny the things that grab your attention when you read. The things you remember.

Hemingway married four times. It seems he and his first wife Hadley were quite happy but he cheated on her anyway, destroying their marriage. He never lost his goodwill toward her. "I wished I had died before I ever loved anyone but her," he wrote, describing his feelings of guilt before Hadley became aware of what he'd done and was continuing to do: sleep with his next wife.

Many will say that if that first marriage was happy he wouldn't have cheated. It's one of those "popular wisdom" beliefs that isn't necessarily true even though everyone takes it for granted. Like the one about cheating spouses: "If he cheated on her, he'll cheat on you." If you believe that, you believe that people don't learn from their experiences. Do you really think a man or woman who has once hurt a spouse and their children will think another affair is worth embarking upon? A person who has "been there, done that" is more likely to avoid temptation, nipping opportunities for poor judgment in the bud. While there are those who view extramarital affairs and one-night-stands as mere recreation, most people learn as they live. They don't forget that along with following their "bliss" may come deep regret, and have learned to value discernment. They have realized (thank you, Julie, for putting this into words) that our emotions are "like the weather — they come and go" and are not always reliable factors upon which to base our actions.

Scott calls this overflowing dugout at the back of our yard a "shithole." I call it "wetland." It's teeming with bird life and frogs for three seasons of the year. There is a muskrat (family?) house across the water, and other animals come to drink.  

Scott and Bruce took their machinery out to the flax field, with high hopes. It's just across the road and south of our place.

I happened to be walking by.

There is a set of preachy people knocking at my door. Ducky Doodle barked and ran toward the porch. I began to make my way there until through the dining room window I spied the van that was here the other day, when I did the same thing upon seeing two women carrying pamphlets crossing the front yard: walk back into the office and let them think no one is home. I can't even be bothered to tell them no thanks, go away; I won't give them two seconds of my time.
I might put up a sign to deter them from continuing to come. I don't want it to be rude. What could it say? Taking suggestions if you have any.

How about "Not Taking Suggestions." 

Hee!

Reply to Comments

rea has left a new comment on your post "THE IMPORTANCE OF LITTLE THINGS": 

getting into a routine of doing things is the ticket,however I don't but in the long run it serves you better.still don't have our floors done so hope we get no visitors.what do you mean when you say I have written on you time line? 

You must be talking about Facebook. Your "timeline" is the page you get when you click on your name at the top on the right-hand side. Maybe you left a comment on something I posted, which would've appeared on my "timeline."