Who amongst us has not been touched by E.B. White? I would still find it enjoyable to curl up and read Charlotte's Web, or Stuart Little once again, having read these childhood favorites how many times? White's Elements of Style was my bible in high school; I poured over it looking for answers as to why my English teacher kept awarding me Ds for my papers. (When I met with him out of frustration to inquire as to how I could improve my writing, that &$%^* arrogantly declared that my writing would improve when I became more mature. 😠 But, I digress!)
For those of you perhaps more erudite than me, you probably read White's writings in the New Yorker or Harper's Magazine.
I recently stumbled on this piece about Corgis, attributed to E.B. White. This made me laugh, as there is so much truth to be found in his reflections on the nature of Corgis. If you own, or have owned, or know someone who owns, or has owned Corgis, you will smile as well!
In the event the writing is too small, here is the text:
Being the owner of Corgis, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor. Every sentence is a riot. Some day, if I ever get a chance, I shall write a book, or warning., on the character and temperament of the Corgi and why he can't be trained and shouldn't be. I would rather train a striped zebra to balance an Indian club than induce a Corgi to heed my slightest command. When I address Fred I never have to raise either my voice or my hopes. He even disobeys me when I instruct him in something he wants to do.
E.B. WHITE
I began my day as before, getting outside before 7:15 AM. I did nothing huge, just some small yard/building tasks to tidy things up. We had a delta of sand crossing one area of the driveway from a heavy rainfall last week. I moved the sand back to its area of origin. A few weeds that had found a toehold in crevices of the driveway were sprayed with Spruce weed killer, a possibly safer alternative to other available sprays. I moved some items from the garage to the RV garage and storage area, and took clean linens and towels back to the RV, ready for our next trip.
The Mister brought two bucket loads of mulch over to the front garden.....
Which I spread as best I could. I have a soaker hose under the mulch. The plants may be able to hold onto the moisture a bit better now.
After lunch, leftover Shepards pie, and a brief nap (so tired, again...not sure if it is the heat and activity, or something going on) both the Mister and I ran to the local fabric shop to pick up something to make a quick quilted blanket for a friend undergoing dialysis. His wife was saying how cold he gets, as they keep the temperatures low to stem the growth of bacteria. Hopefully I can get this knocked out in a few days and get it on its way.
We stoped at ALDI and Publix. The ALDI 'surprise product of the day' was a set of 4 large ice cubes. Seriously?? Have you ever?
Maybe this is the thing of the future.
Remember the reactions when bottled water was first marketed?
But seriously, I will not spend $2.49 for 4 ice cubes,
no matter how clear and slow melting they are!
I guess I will pass on the cubes. We have a ice maker that makes small cubes the softer small kind and I love it!
ReplyDeleteFrozen ice cubes, liquid water, crumbly cookies... what next?? Hahaha.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple asshole teachers, and you know what, I'm still pissed at 'em. LOL
I found it very difficult to be nice to my English teacher when I went to one of my HS reunions. He still seemed like an egotistical bum.
DeleteI am mystified! Please tell me that no one is actually buying those ice cubes. My third grade teacher read both Charlotte's Web and Alice in Wonderland to us. She was such a horrible teacher and person in general I have not been able to read either book again, even to my children who might have enjoyed them. The books make me remember the utter oppression I felt being in her classroom. But I might try to find the article on corgis. Thanks for letting me know it exists.
ReplyDeleteOh no.....I was a third grade teacher. I hope none of my students came away feeling so badly! Amazing what damage a teacher can do! I don't think that EB White actually wrote an article about Corgis...just that comment.
DeleteThere must be something about the stubby legged dogs. Corgis sound a lot like Bassets.
ReplyDeleteMy bff had Bassets...I loved their howl. Another friend of mine used to feed her Bassets using loaf pans so their ears would fall on either side, and not get dog food all over the ends of them! In my experience the Basset's attitude might be similar, but their energy levels are on either end of the spectrum!
DeleteI think you wear yourself out in doing that garden work first thing in the morning and, of course, that's when it's coolest unless you wait til nearly sundown.
ReplyDeleteThe Corgi article was a hoot and I have to agree with Sandra that they are similar to Bassets. We still miss our beloved Basset, Daisy.
Hugs!
I didn't do garden work this morning, and I was tired again by 10 - sigh!
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