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Hey, I like that idea of making them her creaking hands rather than mine. But I'm going to sleep, and maybe even give it a few days to percolate. I considered bathrobed, but I didn't like the sound of it. Too bubble bath. Or something.

Yeah, I know what you mean about the bubble bathiness of it. Might something like this work?

"the worn, bathrobed widow" ?

Still clunky with bathrobed.

"the worn, bathrobe widow"?

I wanted to try to make either her or her robe or both be "worn."

"the flannel robed widow"?


Okay, I need sleep, too.


~ Lizzy

Hey Manna

What the heck is that ghost story all about? People don't tell ghost stories in winter, that's for summertime when you have a warm place to sit.

Mhmm. Good point, Jack.

Manna ~ Back to the widow in the bathrobe. The image I got when I read "bathrobe widow" was an old woman, who was so saddened by the death of her husband that she never even bothered to get dressed anymore, hence she became known as the bathrobe widow. This made the boy's taking her dollar all the more remarkable and indicative of his age and naivete.


~ Lizzy

I really like this poem. I don't think I've ever used the word "sprite" before, but
something about the youthfulness of the young man brings the word to mind.
I got the meaning of "bathrobe widow's" very wrong on first reading -- I thought
she was an heir to a bathrobe business. "Bathrobed" would have been clearer.

Does the "d" sound at the end of it create a problem for you, Steven? It doesn't for me and it clarifies it very well... except for the bubble bath issue .


~ Lizzy

lizzytysh wrote:The image I got when I read "bathrobe widow" was an old woman, who was so saddened by the death of her husband that she never even bothered to get dressed anymore, hence she became known as the bathrobe widow. This made the boy's taking her dollar all the more remarkable and indicative of his age and naivete.

or she could have been known as the bathrobe widow because she always seemed to be convieniently coming out of the bath when the young men came around. This made the boy's taking her dollar all the more remarkable and indicative of his age and naivete, because she was really offering more than a dollar.

Maybe the ghost story had something to do with the fear the boy had of the ghost of the former husband which kept him away from getting too close to the widow.

Lizzy,

The sound doesn't create a problem, but, maybe an expansion of the "bubble bath
issue" brings it out of clarity. Thoughts of "The Graduate" kind of scenarios, and
others, come to mind.

Hi Jack ~

I never did answer your first posting about raking leaves and shoveling snow... that'll teach me. Life would say that you're right... depending on the young boy's age, at least somewhat. Just can't figure out why this interpretation and the one about fall and winter never occurred to me.


~ Lizzy

Hi Steven ~

Ah, yes... but were those thoughts there with you prior to Jack's posting? Okay, Manna... was this widow, or was she not, on the make ?


~ Lizzy

Lizzy,

I was typing as he was posting, so Jack and I had some concurrent thinking on this.

lizzytysh wrote: about raking leaves and shoveling snow...
Just can't figure out why this interpretation and the one about fall and winter never occurred to me.

In Florida you don't get to shovel much snow and so there is something about the action that might escape your notice.

When you push snow you are placing the full weight of your body into it. It is a slow deliberate action that invloves all of you. The universe dissolves and all there is left is the pushing and you want the push to go on forever until all it out of the way. But you can only push so far and must back away to push again. Raking leaves on the other hand is done mainly with the arms and you really don't want to put all that you are into the pull else you land on your ass. You don't want to pull away too far, after all winter is coming and it will be soon time to push again.

This thread is giving me some really good belly laughs.

I called it bubble bath because of the sound. I think I could better describe it as bumpy
.

Hi Jack ~

This thread is giving me some really good belly laughs.

I'll bet it is. You've managed to remain thematically consistent.

You're right; it's been awhile. I'm from Michigan, however, so have raked plenty of leaves and shoveled tons of snow in my life and your description of the actions is quite on target, in fact. I know that bit of disappointment when I've no choice but to tilt the shovel to the side or lift it, lest it be too heavy, before I start again. You're going to have to work a little harder to make that last sentence be anything other that what it is; a straightforward description of shoveling snow.


~ Lizzy

Now you have me confused, Manna. I thought you meant as though she had just emerged from a bubble bath and slipped on her robe before going outside. By bumpy, do you mean her figure beneath the robe? Or what?


~ Lizzy