Sunday, May 21, 2006

The Lobster Claw Connection


Lobster claw connection. (Macro shot)
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"One must always maintain one's connection to the past and yet ceaselessly pull away from it. To remain in touch with the past requires a love of memory. To remain in touch with the past requires a constant imaginative effort." ~ Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962), French scientist, philosopher, literary theorist.
The lobster claw connection keeps a gold necklace secure. I had a lot of ideas for this MacroDay topic; electric plugs, camera connections, a rusty screw and tin hinge, spark plug cap, the little computer symbol telling me I'm connected to the internet; all well and good, but I chose the lobster claw. Let's just say "it's a girl thing."

As for the background? The Word Museum by Jeffrey Kacirk or "The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten." It is filled with delightful words no longer in use but common in the past. Words such as "feff" (a bad smell), "unky" (lonesome) and "mimp" (to make believe). I even found a word I once used in a high school English paper. In a moment of compositional inspiration I wrote with a flourish: "Thomas Hardy's heroine endure overwhelming hardships, yet they continue to strive against them knowing that somehow, somewhere, somewhen; their perseverance will be rewarded." My teacher took exception with that word and left a sarcastic little note beside it. Guess what, Mr. Kessler? Somewhen is a real word and it means exactly what I thought it did! HA!

So this is my interpretation of the MacroDay topic "connection", my connection with the past. An old piece of jewelry and forgotten words. (end of post)

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