Just wondering. Why is a crab cake a crab cake? Why isn't it a crab patty? They look more like a patty than a cake. Cakes are for dessert. Crabs ain't. This, of course, brings up the patty-cake, patty-cake baker's man thing, but I don't want to confuse you further. Had some very good crab shaped like a burger at B and L's last night. Also asparagus which is a funny name for a vegetable. Sounds more like a Roman name to me. You know, Constantine Asparagus, second century Roman Emperor decreed on his death bed that the stiff, long stemmed plant he was stabbed with, be boiled to mushiness and henceforth be called asparagus in his honor.
Regarding Special K's comment in the last blog referencing "When writer's quit drinking" I can only say I have no idea what that is all about. I'm not a quitter. I did like the list of why the literary heavies drink, like writing is lonely business and alcohol consoles, but I realized as I read the list that none of the points applied to me. It did become very clear that I do not drink nearly enough and if I want to be in the Hemingway, Fitzgerald, King class, I need to get with the program forthwith. But "seriously folks", as Bob Hope is probably still saying long after he not only quit drinking, but breathing as well, I have never found alcohol to give me more than a germ of an idea. I remember thinking a swell veldt was a funny phrase during an intoxicating moment, okay, whole night, but the story that followed bearing that title was written with a clear head. Truth is, I can't do it any other way. This may explain why I'm not in the Hemingway, Fitzgerald or even King class. In fact, their having alcohol and that other small thing, uh, what's it called, talent, pretty much sums up the difference. Though I lack booze in abundance and talent aplenty, I do have morning coffee and a monkymind. They, for the most part, suffice.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
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1 comment:
I thought the same thing when I read that. Well things, when I thought about you, the biggest writer in the family.
One, the list of why writers drink would pretty well apply to anybody (writers aren't special in their loneliness, their need for a relaxed mind, etc etc). Two, you, in particular, write in the early hours when your mind is clear and the only thing in your system is coffee.
Frankly, I think the great alcoholic writers write despite their drink, and I think their drinking was more about their personalities than their talent. Just my two cents.
How's the fence?
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