Live Free or Die

It’s a beautiful,

Sunday morning,

sort of hot,

not blindingly,

thank you,

Goddess:-)

I’ve been reading a book,

that was laying around,

the bookstore,

a Canadian classic,

of sorts,

the kind I might,

have read in college,

Swamp Angel,

by Ethel Wilson.

Buried In Print,

wrote about it last year,

she loved it,

and she was right,

she has good taste.

Had I read this book,

in college,

I probably,

wouldn’t have,

appreciated,

the sparseness,

the exactitude,

of the prose,

the language,

or the seemingly,

simple plot.

I’m only a third,

of the way through,

and,

I know,

it will be one,

of my top books,

of the year.

It’s about being true,

to yourself,

quietly,

without shouting,

from roof tops,

very reserved,

very Canadian,

in an old-fashioned way,

when being Canadian,

at least in our literature,

meant,

yearning for freedom,

not flashily,

just going about our,

business-ly.

Reminds me of,

the New Hampshire,

motto,

Live Free Or Die,

no chains but,

reponsibility.

I wonder if any of this making sense,

to any of you.

I don’t think Canadians,

or anybody else,

for that matter,

were great then,

and,

are crap now,

I just think,

the worls is very different,

and,

with all our means of,

communication,

our supposed freedoms,

are we really ‘free-er’ ?

I don’t know.

First let me state,

I didn’t live through,

the fifties,

so what do I know,

but,

it seems a time,

where a person,

could go off,

if well planned,

and,

executed,

and,

live their own life.

There were many,

societal,

religious,

and,

other,

constraints,

but,

there was the possibility,

of starting over.

Oddly enough,

today,

you can go anywhere in the world,

so much easier,

but,

the paper,

and,

cookie trail,

is easy to follow,

so dissapearing or,

starting over,

involves either,

lots of money,

to change your identity,

or a life of,

clandentistiny.

Does living in a world of instant messaging,

instant everything,

and,

it’s not my faultism,

mean it is harder,

to live by,

the New Hampshire motto,

or even,

To Thine Own Self Be True?

Not sure,

but,

the first third of Ethel Wilson’s,

book,

has got me thinking,

about that.

I’ll let you know my over all,

impression,

once I finish,

the last two thirds.

🙂

Have a great Sunday,

I’m off to a family BBQ,

to chill and eat,

and,

enjoy the joy,

and,

exuberance,

of my family.

Later girls,

BB

 

Author: Bookish Butch

I am a bookish butch in my mid early fifties. I live in Montréal and always have. I used to run a small used bookstore. Reading keeps me sane. My latest jiggie is photography, book project in the works, living the dream

2 thoughts on “Live Free or Die”

  1. Oh my, I absolutely love this book. I missed this post of yours (stating the obvious, as months later I’m writing this, spurned on by its appearance on your 2012 log) but I’m so glad that you found it worthwhile.
    “It’s about being true,
    to yourself,
    quietly…”
    Agreed. I never tire of reading the opening bit, after the food comes out of the oven and that whole bit. Such promise. If you find another of hers hanging around the bookstore, I’ll be curious what you think of that one too!

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