"de sole et vento", aesop's fables. detail from illustration by francis barlow, 1666.
wid•der•shins |ˌwɪdəʃɪnz| (also with•er•shins)
adverb chiefly Scottish
in a direction contrary to the sun's course, considered as unlucky; counterclockwise.
ORIGIN early 16th cent.: from Middle Low German weddersins, from Middle High German widersinnes, from wider ‘against’ + sin ‘direction’ ; the second element was associated with Scots sin [sun.]
A wind...
howled in from the south or north this morning - up or down, I am undecided. Buffeting the kitchen window in sudden sheets of rain which drained away in minutes. I could hear it whistling through the cracks left open to allow in some air even as the kettle sputtered and boiled. A witchy sound; blowing hot and cold.
All day long the skies have been bruised and pewter. Autumn is just around the corner.
I have been on the caffeine again of late. Yesterday was all but dry.
Still. I imbibed a little cider. Just enough to whet the whistle. It did not do it for me, though, and I left the bottle pretty much alone and opted instead for tap water. It was alright. Toxic though it may have been, I miss the dull metallic tang which comes solely from a domestic supply routed through archaic plumbing; its slow percolation through countless submerged yards of unfit lead.
I pottered aimlessly around our flat and eventually poured a bath. All the while I listened to that wind.
It reminded me, not unkindly, that there is doubtless worse to come.
What is wrong with architects round here ? They all start out with misguided preconceptions, prejudices or inherited vices. Shutters would be nice.
Yesterday morning I rose early and strode out to deliver some thank you letters to the mailbox down the street. As close as I dare get to doing the same in person. Today I slept in until 10 or so. It seemed like the safe thing to do. I lay for a while and listened to Rosa move things around. Put breakfast cereal in china bowls for the kids. No hangover behind my eyes. No twitching in the body's extremeties.
Actually, I have not gotten drunk for quite some time. Well. Not in the habitual sense. Maybe I am losing it.
Don't speak too soon kid, the wind warned me: there is a gale brewing.
▼ DONOVAN: CATCH THE WIND [ECHO & STRINGS] from "Catch The Wind b/w Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do ?" 45 (PYE) 1965 (UK)
▼ BOB DYLAN: IDIOT WIND from "Blood On The Tracks" LP (Columbia) 1975 (US)
