Refuse To Laugh?

The exhibit had been publicized for months.  Now on this winter afternoon, its galleries were jammed with visitors eager to see this once in a lifetime collection of masterpieces.  There were the regulars, the ones who visit the same day each week to commune with those paintings they consider old friends.  There were the groups of school children, pushing and pointing their way through the lines, their surprising lack of commentary a happy result of black eyed threats from their teachers.  There were the art students standing back with their sketchpads. The stiletto shod ladies lost in deep admiration, their sleekly coiffed heads cocked to one side.

For so many people pressed so closely together, the room was remarkably quiet, the great works obviously doing what they always do best, bestowing wonder and awe on those who looked upon them.   I wandered around at the back of the crowd until I finally came to the The Scream, the very famous work by Edvard Munch.  A moving depiction of searing anxiety, it is the artist’s portrait of a fearful world, shown through the silent scream of one man.  An image both raw and disturbing.  

 Standing right in front of the canvas was a man holding hands with his son, who looked to be about seven.  Both of them clad in khaki shorts, they stood there silently sipping Cokes through a straw, immobile and staring at the painting before them.  Suddenly the father slapped his forehead and said in a thunderous whisper, “Home Alone!  That’s what this reminds me of!  I knew I’d get it!”.  The son nodded enthusiastically in recognition of the reference and they both moved away with satisfied grins on their faces, leaving me with the unfortunately indelible image of the precocious child actor, Macauley Culkin, with his hands on either side of his face, from a movie poster once ubiquitous and one I would rather forget.  

And it was one of those laughs that arrive without warning, unbidden and usually occurring in a most unwanted locale.  I clamped my gloved hand over my mouth in an attempt to contain it and hurriedly slipped from the room.  Leaning against a wall in the corridor I laughed till my eyes watered and my side ached. 

 I still chuckle, even now, at that memory. 

 Let’s face it - life is so often just funny.

However, in the Sunday edition of The Guardian newspaper, I now read that the peals of laughter I had on that day may have instead been discordant bells ringing out the end of my youthful appearance.  For, in an interview with anti-aging guru, Dr. Neetu Nirdosh, I learn not only that aging is a “disease” in her opinion, but my hopelessly chronic habit of laughing is giving me wrinkles.  To quote Dr. Nirdosh’s assessment of her interviewer’s face...”You laugh a lot, and that’s why you are getting wrinkles.  All repetitive movements give you wrinkles.  You have to change the way you move your face, otherwise you will age faster”. 

Really now, isn’t laughter the only appropriate response to such a statement? 

Refuse to laugh?

I’d much prefer the wrinkles, thanks.

Painting above entitled:  Touch and Go, To Laugh or No

By Sophie Anderson

From The Tree To The Garden

At the edge of the forest, behind my childhood home, there was an old sweetgum tree that was perfectly made for climbing.   On each and every summer day, I could be found there, about three limbs up, balanced comfortably with a book on my knee, my dog resting on the lawn down below, dozing, with her head on her paws and her brown ears twitching at the occasional fly.  It was second nature to me then, but I realize looking back that it was really no small feat to scale such a tree with a hardback copy of Jane Eyre in my arms.  I can still remember how it felt to be hidden away in a secret world of green leaves, unseen by anyone but my dog, lost deep inside the world of a book.

Just the merest thought of summer conjures up so many different images to us all. Strawberry ice cream and lazy days by the sea,  baseball, bare feet and surfboards -watermelon, beach music, and lemonade.  But for me, summertime will always mean books.  When school closed for the year, we would head to the big downtown library to fill our arms with books for the hot summer months.  How well I remember ascending the stairs of that imposing old structure.  It loomed up before me with its stone facade glowing silver in the sweltering heat, set apart from all the other buildings in the city by a dignified bearing that declared it to be a southern temple of thought and ideas, a bethel that sheltered a holy treasure of books.  No longer bound to the required reading of the school year, I was now free to follow my curiosity down every mysterious aisle of that library, pulling out books I had never heard of, books with covers that captured my imagination in colourful nets of faraway places and landscapes unknown.

Some of these books I can no longer remember, but some left such an impression I have no doubt they became part of my soul.  Such is the way with art.  The English art critic, John Ruskin, once said “Books are divided into two classes, the books of the hour and the books of all time.”  That was true when I was little, and I know it remains so now.  I have read a lot of books so far this year, some I barely remember, but some have remained - I am thinking about them still.

I no longer do my summer reading in the treetops, preferring the garden instead.  But I still regard this time of the year as a special time for reading. I wait impatiently for those recommended lists of summer books, hungry for tempting new titles, knowing each one is a possible passport to lands ripe for visiting in summer, searching as I did when I was little, for that one special book that will carry me away on a holiday of the mind.

For those like me who love lists of summer reading suggestions, here are five of mine, along with an enticing quote from each one.  The last book on the list is one I’ve just finished, and one I know will be with me for a long, long time.

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1.  “Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones."

from Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

2.  "The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spell-bound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea."

from The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame.

3.  “It would presently be his task to take the bandage from this young woman's eyes, and bid her look forth on the world. But how many generations of the women who had gone to her making had descended bandaged to the family vault? He shivered a little, remembering some of the new ideas in his scientific books, and the much-cited instance of the Kentucky cave-fish, which had ceased to develop eyes because they had no use for them. What if, when he had bidden May Welland to open hers, they could only look out blankly at blankness?"

from The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton

4.  "I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice. Not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God. I am a christian because of Owen Meany. "

from A Prayer For Owen Meany, by John Irving

5.  “When our mother, a nun of the Diocesan Carmelite Order of Madras, unexpectedly went into labor that September morning, the big rain in Ethiopia had ended, its rattle on the corrugated tin roofs of Missing ceasing abruptly like a chatterbox cut off in midsentence.”

from Cutting For Stone, by Abraham Verghese

Flowers In Our Hair

With a nod of apology to my gentlemen readers, I have to say that being a girl in the month of June is such a delightful thing.  Our bubble baths are scented with jasmine now -  we paint our toenails pink.  We can smell like Lily of the Valley all the day long if we wish and sometimes, just sometimes,

we wear flowers in our hair. 

Which dress to wear, whether high heels or flats, hair worn up or down - all these feminine decisions seem lighter than air during the sparkling month of June.  

And, whilst I may be well past the age required to properly appreciate the charms of Justin Bieber, I can still get a girly thrill over the discovery of the perfect grey eyeshadow or that one divine lotion that smells like the sea.  

So, I thought I would share with you a top ten of my favourite beauty tips for the summer months.  And I would love to hear some of your own. 

(Sorry all you fellows out there, I’ll be back to more inclusive posts later!)  

Here goes:

1.  Vincent Longo Gel Stain - A fabulous alternative to the heavier look of lipstick, this lipstain lasts all day and looks like you just happened to wake up with the ruby red lips of Snow White.  I often put it on as a base for a darker lip.  It comes in several lovely shades, and is perfect for the summer months.

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2.  C. O. Bigelow’s Lemon Hand Wash - I keep this by my kitchen sink all summer.  It smells like freshly sliced lemons and makes my hands extra soft.  Love, love it! 

So reasonably priced, too.

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3.  Mario Badescu Facial Spray - After a long walk with Edward in the morning humidity, I head straight for this!  Unbeliveably refreshing, this facial spray is full of wonderful ingredients like aloe, herbs and rosewater.  I simply close my eyes and spray!  Instantly cool, instantly fresh, and good for your skin to boot.

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4.  Rahua Shampoo - Those of us with long hair know that not all shampoos are equal.   I am always looking for something better.  I like to alternate shampoos every few months or so  - Philip B and Terax are favourites - but I recently started using Rahua Shampoo and I adore it. Organic, with a subtle fragrance, it seems to really nourish my hair and it will be my summer shampoo.

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5.  Benefit Eye Gel - This stuff is great.  Just a teensy little dab under your eyes in the morning and you are instantly depuffed!  It feels wonderful - cool and tingly - and is full of good things like chamomile and raspberry extract.  And whilst it may not give me the eyes of a twelve year old, I can certainly tell the difference.  I keep mine in the refrigerator for a bit of extra coolness.  It feels marvelous.

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6.  L’Aromarine Bubble Bath - I suppose I would buy from this company for their beautiful glass jars alone, so it is a bonus that the fragrances of L’Aromarine products are so delicious.  Of course, long after the bubble bath is gone, the lovely decorated jars remain.  They have a fabulous ocean scent - my favourite.

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7.  Neutrogena Sun Block - Yes, I am serious about sun protection and wear sun block every day of my life.  This is a great one by Neutrogena.  With an SPF of 110, it also has a built-in moisturizer.  Every day, every single day.

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8.  Fresh Fruit and Vegetables - They are everywhere now... no excuses for crummy diets!

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9.  Sleep - Studies continue to say we do not get nearly enough.  

Why do we feel guilty about sleeping longer? 

We need it!

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10.  And of course.... sometimes, just sometimes, partiularly in June, 

Flowers in my hair.  

And remember....


"Lipstick is not just for looking glamorous;it can be used to signal for help on windows and other surfaces." 
 Nancy Drew