For Sure
Page 44
“Looks like it.”
“How is it den dat, in school, difficult was always de proper word?”
1044.63.1
Terry and Zed
Fourth possible title: Point du tout (with the double meaning of a “Point in the Whole” and “Nothing at All”). The tout or “the whole” refers to a plenitude, and every fragment is a point, a moment in time or a position within that whole. Un point du tout (A Point in the Whole) would no doubt be clearer, but the addition of the article un would obscure the current and lovely use particularly in Acadian Nova Scotia of point instead of pas, to express the negative. For example: “ce n’était point beau (’twasn’t one bad bit nice).” The point is also a needle prick and a punctuation mark, a period. As is evident from the above, such a title would not have pleased the translator.
1045.47.10
Yielding
“‘De human race is once an’ fer all an’ inherently doomed to suffering and ruin’. But dat’s not de one I’s lookin’ fer.”
Zed was in no hurry, and prepared to wait for Terry to find the passage that had struck him.
“I should’ve written it down.”
. . .
“I could swear ’twas somewhere’s ’round ’ere.”
Zed leaned over to read the name of the author, saw Schopenhauer, and quickly decided not to try to pronounce it.
“Awh, ’ere she is! ‘It is bad today, an’ it will be worse tomorrow; an’ so on till the worst of all.’”
1046.63.2
Terry and Zed
Zed agreed that it would be difficult to imagine a bleaker outlook on life. Terry was completely bowled over.
“An’ to tink how many artists ’ave taken ’im as der inspiration!”
Try as I might, I can’t seem to find other titles to add to La Bibliothèque idéale.
1047.95.11
Additions to La Bibliothèque idéale
Terry was still shaking his head when he dropped the Schopenhauer book gently down on the low table.
“Fer dis fellow, de words a happy life was a contradiction in terms. Ee said dat life ‘ad it’s own idea of wot she wants an’ where she wants to go, and she uses us just as she pleases to get der, an’ when she’s done wid us, she tosses us aside, more or less.”
Zed’s eyebrows arched for a long moment. When they finally descended, he simply said:
“You read a whole lot dese days, don’t ya?”
1048.63.3
Terry and Zed
Further evidence that Freudian slips often obey the rule of colour: the life of a (décor/heros) lasts seven years. The words décor and heros are exactly identical in colour.
1049.132.4
Malapropism
“You knows me. I’s never gonna be a success wid dem high-dollar qualities.”
1050.15.2
Overheard Monologues
Cocteau says that beauty is always accidental, in the sense that it collides violently with our habits. He compares it to a car accident in its tendency to transfix, to be much discussed and little understood. Reread the above.
1051.78.11
Accidents
Étienne could not believe it:
“Not like dat, Mum!”
Carmen knew this was going to take a bit of explaining:
“’Tisn’t your usual kind of mirror, see.”
Étienne realized the seriousness of the affair when his mother knelt down to place the mirror in the back of Marianne’s closet with its reflecting surface facing the wall.
“Dis ’ere’s a feng shui mirror. It’s fer blocking de waves comin’ out from behind de toilet.”
?
“Der not good waves, an’ der comin’ straight at Marianne’s head.”
??
“De backwards mirror’ll send dem back de udder way.”
???
Satisfied with her installation, Carmen crept backwards on all fours out of the closet, then straightened up, took Étienne by the hand, and led him into the bathroom to show him how the drain pipe behind the toilet bowl was aimed directly at Marianne’s bed.
“But Mum, der’s a wall!”
“A wall’s not enough. De waves can go troo walls. Only a mirror can stop dem.”
Étienne only knew about one kind of wave.
“Does I got waves, Mum?”
“No, yer room’s alright. It really only needs a plant, only I ’aven’t found de right sort yet.”
“Plants give off waves as well?”
“Fer sure! All kinds o’ waves. De one we’re gonna put in yer room gives off waves of good luck.”
“I already got good luck.”
“Do you now?”
“Well sure! On account of me rabbit’s foot!”
“Dat’s de troot. Only, a person can’t have too much good luck, now can ya.”
“Awh.”
1052.123.1
Carmen and Étienne
In Life’s Little Difficulties, Pomme imagined a hockey team called the Moncton Accidents, to commemorate the accidents particular to that city, for example, oversized trucks getting stuck under the Main Street viaduct. The team would be sponsored by an insurance company. The idea came to him during a spontaneous party that had erupted at the Zablonskis’.
1053.54.11
Forgotten/Recalled
The author as presented on the title page:
M. MICHELET,
Membre de l’Institut,
professeur d’histoire au Collège de France,
chef de la section historique aux Archives nationales
And as one would expect, the work carries the seal of approval of the University Council and is prescribed for courses in modern history in all colleges and public schools:
OUVRAGE ADOPTÉ
Par le Conseil de l’Université,
ET PRESCRIT POUR L’ENSEIGNEMENT
DE L’HISTOIRE MODERNE DANS LES COLLÈGES
ET DANS TOUS LES ÉTABLISSEMENTS
D’INSTRUCTION PUBLIQUE.
~~~
Family name, team’s name, Christian name, tribal name, nom de terre (name of land), religious name, nom de guerre, the war without a name. Pen name, artists’ name, street name, brand name, what in the name of God?, ship’s name, what’s in a name? name of the father, name of a tool, name of a tool, not to know the names of tools.
1055.99.11
Names
For several days, Étienne had been practising heads or tails.
“Yer gettin’ der. You catch it a whole lot more often dan you did in de beginnin’.”
Terry had encouraged his son to persist by generously replacing the coins that rolled out of reach during the exercise.
“Dey’re not always flippin’.”
“Ya have to give ’er a bigger push wid yer tumb, watch.”
Terry showed Étienne how to put more into the thumb’s movement and a little less in the arm’s. But he missed the coin coming down, and it rolled away behind the TV.
“See dat, even I don’t always get it.”
1056.129.2
Fantasies
“If I keeps on wid practisin’, could be I’ll get better’n you, eh, Dad?”
“Could be. You best keep on practisin’.”
Another irritant: a dozen that ends up being 10. Oranges, for example.
1057.89.10
Irritants
“I didn’t know you was sellin’ used books ’ere . . .”
As she said this, the woman lay an old copy of Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler on the counter.
“From time to time, folks bring in der boxes o’ books dey don’t want. I keep dose I figure might sell an’ send de rest
to Dorchester.”
“I’s right happy to find dis one ’ere, aldoh ’twould be a fine book fer de prisoners . . .”
Terry had a feeling he knew this woman, but he couldn’t quite place her.
“I already got it in English, but dis ’ere’s de first one I seen in French. After yer Bible an Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book, dis ’ere book’s bin reprinted more often dan any udder.”
“Is dat right!”
Terry picked up the book, examined it more closely. His customer added:
“Awh yes, ’tis de fisherman’s classic, written sometin’ like 350 years ago.”
At that moment, Terry’s gaze fell on a date close to that long ago.
“Says ’ere 1653. Well, dat’s old fer real.”
The customer opened her handbag and handed him her credit card.
“Seems to me I seen you some place before.”
Terry wondered if it might not be the credit card that had prompted him to switch from the familiar tu to the more formal vous.
“Me as well, feels like I seen you somewheres. Does you play golf?”
The question made Terry smile:
“Naw, der’s no time fer golf wid two little kids.”
“On account of I used to golf a whole lot. Dese days I prefers de fishin’.”
“Ha! Well, dat’s gotta be de first time I meets somebody dat gave up golf. Wot’re you fishin’ den, trout?”
Again, he found himself switching back and forth between tu and vous. . .
“Yup, mostly de trout. Doh I did fish a bit o’ salmon a couple o’ times last year. I liked dat fine. You gotta have a bit o’ time on yer hands, doh.”
“An’ why’s dat?”
The woman replied while Terry completed the sale.
“Yer trout bites on account of ee’s ’ungry, see. Salmon, well, dey doesn’t eat flies.”
“So den, yer fly fishin’?”
“Dat’s de way I learned. Dry fly fishin’. On account of der’s wet flies as well, dat goes under de water.”
“Awh! An’ ’ere’s me tinkin’ dat all flies was floatin’ on de surface. Just goes to show ’ow much I knows about it.”
“I didn’t know much meself, when I started.”
1058.47.7
Yielding
Plastic: containers with sealable lids (assorted and non-matching). Jars with screw-on tops. Freezer bags. Utensils, glasses, and disposable straws. Hangers too soft to hold up anything. Dried-up ball-point and felt pens. Greenhouse planting pots, plastic vases. Toothpaste and hair-gel tubes, deodorant applicators, pillboxes. Disposable razors. Repairable toys (irreparable, A.-M. Sirois).
1059.42.4
Sorting
Wrapped in his favourite blanket and curled up alongside his mother, Étienne looked at the pages of the magazine Carmen was leafing through.
“Why’re dey laughin’?”
Étienne was referring to an ad depicting a couple in their thirties who looked like they were having a fantastic time preparing vegetables in a sparkling kitchen.
“Must be on account of dey love to prepare supper togedder.”
. . .
“Or could be one o’ de two said sometin’ funny.”
Étienne sniffled, and studied the photograph more closely.
“Me eyes is itchin’.”
Carmen put her hand on her son’s forehead to check for fever.
“I’ll be givin’ you some more o’ dat syrup afore long, an’ den I’ll rub yer troat wid Vicks.”
Étienne knew that meant he was destined for a nap.
“Can I be lyin’ down on de sofa, den? I like sleepin’ in de livingroom.”
“Alright, if you promise to try to sleep fer real.”
Étienne nodded; he didn’t have the strength to promise out loud. He returned to the photo:
“I tink dey’s laughin’ on account of dey’s happy.”
1060.123.2
Carmen and Étienne
Happy? It was the first time Carmen had heard Étienne say that word. She laughed and hugged her son closer.
“Yer happy, too, aren’t ya Mum?”
PERFICTION: n. — 2005; the illusion of perfection. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but you’ve allowed yourself to be duped by a sublime perfiction.” (Daigle)
1061.120.11
Fictionary
When he was sick, Carmen found her son especially endearing.
“I know how come I’s got dis cold, Mum.”
“Is dat right?”
“It’s on account of you didn’t put dat good-luck plant in me room yet.”
This surprised Carmen, who’d forgotten all about the plant.
“You tink?”
“Awh yeah.”
1062.123.3
Carmen and Étienne
A golfer must never ever cross the path of a shot his or her partner is preparing to take. During a round, golfers are always careful not to negatively affect the others’ shots. On the green, a kind of sacred space takes shape between the ball and the hole, a space which partners are careful never to enter, even though thousands of feet have already stomped all over this unpredictable and shifting zone, and will stomp all over it again in the future. Superstition or good manners? Whichever, the point is to spare the other’s nerves.
1063.60.7
Superstitions
From the middle down to the bottom of the page:
HUITIÈME ÉDITION.
~~~
P A R I S
LIBRAIRIE CLASSIQUE ET ÉLÉMENTAIRE
DE L . HACHETTE,
LIBRAIRIE DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DE FRANCE,
Rue Pierre-Sarrazin, 12 .
~~~
1850
1064.84.6
History
In theory, each fragment refers directly to other fragments within distinct series. This cross referencing lends a multi-dimensional aspect to the structure. Thus, each fragment is touched by and in turn bumps up against at least two others (for a total of four contacts), which creates an incalculable (by me, anyway) number of permutations. Because of this, it becomes virtually possible to read the book in any order. In other words, a reader can read the book his or her way. But these possible excursions based on the fragments are not formally identified here. Rather, they are intended to suggest a possibility that a digital version of the book would actualize.
1065.68.10
Projects
“Funny how tings change. When I’s little an’ I’d see an airplane cross de sky above, I tawt ’ow much fun ’twould be to pilot a plane.”
1066.15.9
Unidentified Monologues
. . .
“Nowadays, I sees de same ting, an’ I says to meself, awh, anudder Chinese fellow puttin’ in ’is hours.”
A poor dozen, compared to those that add up to 13, as in the illustrious baker’s dozen.
1067.105.1
Reserves/Reservations
Terry and Étienne were waiting for a doctor in the small examining room of the emergency department of the hospital.
“Da_, me t_oat hur_.”
“I knows it. De doctor’s on de way. Ee’s not far, I can hear ’im.”
. . .
“Why don’t you lie down on de bed ’ere?”
Seated on the floor and bent over double, Étienne did not seem to want to budge.
“Madame Léger? I’m Dr. Tremblay. I work with Dr. Cormier. What’s the problem? What brings you here today?”
Terry could have covered both ears, he still would have heard Dr. Tremblay’s questions clearly.
“Do you feel the blood pulsing in your head?”
. . .
“Squ
eeze my hand.”
Terry could hear Madame Léger answering the questions, but he couldn’t make out what she was saying.
“Can you squeeze my hand?”
. . .
“Squeeze my hand . . .”
“Squẽeze! Squẽeze yer fingers!”
The husband’s voice — or that’s whom Terry figured he was — carried as well and as far as the doctor’s.
“Can I see your teeth?”
“Open yer mout’! Open yer mout’!”
. . .
“Can you push with your feet?”
“Yer toes! Pick up yer toes!”
. . .
“Your eyes . . .”
“Yer eyes! Open up yer eyes! Open dem!”
. . .
“Look straight ahead.”
“Over der! Over der!”
The longer the examination went on, the more Terry was drawn in.”
“Open it! Leave yer eye open!”
. . .
“Don’t be movin’ yer eye about! Yer eye! Don’t move it about!”
Étienne raised his head to look at his father. Terry tried to encourage him:
“Won’t be long now, ee’s right next door . . .”
Étienne lowered his head.
“Can you feel this?”
“Does ya feels it when ee pricks ya? Does ya feel ’im prickin’ der?”
Terry wondered why the constant repetitions were necessary.
“We’re going to have to take a few tests, Madame Léger, to see what’s going on in your head . . . to explain this headache.”
Having made his decision, the doctor did not linger in the cubicle.
1068.87.6
The Body
“’Ow ’bout yer glasses, does ya want dem? Does ya want to put on yer glasses?”
Étienne sniffled and swallowed painfully.
At the ninth hole, the father and son paused to share a can of sardines.
1069.128.5
Fervours
“Madame Haché? I’m Dr. Tremblay. I work with Dr. Cormier. What’s the problem here today?”