- A cloud-like tree in the abandoned Shoney's (Bob's Big Boy) parking lot near my house. I used to love their strawberry pie.- Listening to an interview on NPR with singer Bruce Cockburn, who is reportedly wearing a shirt with the slogan, "I'm only wearing black until they make something darker." :) I laugh because I get a lot of flack for wearing black so often. I like it because of its versatility with other colors and its elegance.
- Finishing the book, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery. This was just an amazing book, and I loved that it embraced the notion of looking for beautiful things within your day. Two of the characters stop to listen to the distant sound of a someone playing the piano: "(we) let the sun warm our faces while we listened to the music drifting down from above." One of the characters concludes "maybe that's what life is about: there's a lot of despair, but also the odd moment of beauty, where time is no longer the same. It's as if those strains of music created a sort of interlude in time, something suspended, an elsewhere that had come to us, an always within never."
My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan and everyone affected by the tsunami devastation. Louvregirl has this link to a blogger in Japan who gives a first-hand account.
18 comments:
Used to be quite a few of those Big Bob's here in Connecticut, but they closed them all.
Last one I ate at was in Indiana in '08.
The only lasting memory I have of that place, besides giving a few customers a chuckle when I spilt my soda on myself, was a group of farmers meeting for Sunday breakfast.
For a city guy like myself, it was very strange hearing a detailed conversation about farming and fishing.
G -
I hadn't eaten at one of their restaurants in years, until my sister and her husband and I were converging from opposite directions on I-85 in middle Georgia. It was the week before my dad's passing and I was leaving to go back to Atlanta for the night so that I could go to work in the morning and my sister was arriving from Virginia for the duration. While her husband drove, she looked up restaurants in Forsyth, Georgia on her smartphone and found a Shoney's right off the interstate. We met there around 10pm and had a late dinner. We had the strawberry pie for dessert. :)
That tree is stunning!
Sounds like a lovely book. Looking for the beauty in the ordinary - it's a truly good thing.
The situation in Japan breaks my heart.
I wear black a great deal too, with another colour. But my base colour is often black because, as you say, so many colours go well with it.
But I never look elegant. :D
Hi it is my first time visiting your blog and I really enjoyed it. As I looked at the beautiful tree in your post, I thought she must be somewhere close. Our trees are all in bloom along our street and it is like living in a wonderland.
that tree is beautiful... looking forward to heading to Coastal NC in a few weeks as we won't see trees like that until the second week of May
Talon -
It's a book I would have never found on my own - my book club read it. I really loved it.
Joe -
It breaks my heart, too. I don't really know how to help except for donated what I can. I sent a small donation to Doctors Without Borders today.
I'll bet you are elegant in your own way. :)
Ginny -
Welcome. I live in the Atlanta area, in DeKalb County. I hope you come back!
Sage -
That area should be beautiful then.
Lynn -- I laughed about wearing black. It is also one of my favorite colors to wear and I get teased about it, too.
I loved the quote from "The Elegance of the Hedgehog." I often think we have to respect the yin and yang of life; one helps us understand the other.
Beautiful "threes" both in words and pictures...and I also appreciate the fourth, which is sending healing thoughts and assistance to those who experienced the earthquake and tsunami.
Thank you Lynn. I'm following her comments; life is definitely not back to normal in Tokyo. If I read her blog correctly, she was in the USA and went to Japan for work for a period of time (what timing.)
I really like the quote that you shared and I often find myself caught in such a place :)
Have a GREAT day Lynn!!
I love wearing black pants and skirts, but only in winter here in TX, because of how hot it gets. Well, let's say -- when it's less than 78 degrees you'll see me in black. :) I am a "summer" and look best with black away from my face.
Amazing tree cloud!! Wow, so many beautiful things in life indeed. I'm so glad the sun's peeking out finally today so I can take my camera for an outdoor shoot later, someplace with flowers blooming.
And now, I bid thee a lovely day and go off "wondrin' where the lions are." :)
xoxo
I want a t-shirt like that!
Oh, what a gorgeous photo, Lynn! I was in Atlanta this past week for work, and the Bradford pears were a sight for winter-sore eyes, for sure.
I so enjoyed that book, and I love the quote you selected to illustrate your experience of it. One of my favorite scenes was when she's a bit lost dealing with the Japanese toilet. After reading the novel, I asked my husband, the cinema buff, to show me some Ozu -- and I totally fell in love with his vision and art.
Of course, thinking about Japanese culture right now is a rather emotional exercise. I'm not sure if I want to read an eyewitness account of such horrors. It's heartbreaking enough to witness from the outside. :(
Shoney's! Wow, that brings me back. We used to go there when I visited my aunt in Mississippi during the summers when I was little.
awesome post.
a good book is a good friend.
Most of the Big Boy restaurants here have closed. I liked them. :-(
Big boys gone
A tree stands by
A tear in my eye
For no strawberry pie
What can I say
No one color for three
But you really like black
In shirts mostly
“an always within never”
Rolled through my brain
Like a hay wagon with no wheels
Or a downpour with no rain
Pretty tree- You're lucky to have those while we're still frozen here. I used to wear black often too, but now I've lightened up my colors. Sounds like a good book. I live for those little suspended moments.
Thanks for the Janpanese blogger link! Can't pray enough for those folks-
Sara -
Thank you for all your comments - and I admire Malaymui in Japan for her faith and grace in handling the situation around her. The blog world really does make the world seem closer.
lg -
Thank you for the link - and she does take such wonderful photos. I've added her blog to my blogroll.
It's why I write my blog - those moments.
Jannie -
I imagine you look wonderful in summer colors. Have fun with that camera and finding those lions!
xo
Mama Zen -
I found it on the internet - that singer said someone gave it to him because he wears so much black.
Meredith -
Yes - those pear trees have such gorgeous blossoms.
I'll have to look up some Ozu - I hadn't done that yet. I would imagine you would love that book, too. That toilet scene was priceless.
Riot Kitty -
Yes - Shoneys seems to be all over. :)
Jingle -
I think so, too - I plan to keep this one so I can read it again.
FB -
I used to like their breakfast bar - there was one in the mountains that we used to go to.
Ellis -
“an always within never”
Rolled through my brain
Like a hay wagon with no wheels
Or a downpour with no rain
Those four lines are keepers! Thank you for my poem.
Snaggle -
I agree - it's heartbreaking. I'm glad you went to her blog.
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