In her heart, she was glad to see her grandson taking pleasure in playing with such simple things as spools of thread.
1236.106.11
Customs
Certain words fail, or barely succeed, or manage with difficulty to complement and transmit their meanings. The word grièvement, for example. Because it means “grievous,” it ought to impose a degree of severity. But it’s similarity to the word brièvement or “briefly” meaning of short duration, and hence implying lesser significance, makes grièvement a deceptive word. A similar argument might be made regarding the homophonic similarity between grief and brief in English. The same is true for the introductory phrase “à l’instar de.” The distinguished formula of the phrase, which so resembles the titles of nobility — le duc d’Anville — might lead us to expect what follows to be an equally distinguished subject, someone unique and set apart from the crowd. But the opposite is true. “À l’instar de” means very simply “like,” “just as,” “following suit.” For example, in a sentence beginning “à l’instar des autres institutions financières, la Banque Cennes Noirs choisit de…” we might expect that the bank in question is breaking ranks, adopting some new and different, perhaps even decent or generous policy. However, contrary to the distinct tone of the phrase, the sentence is actually stating: “Like the other financial institutions, the Brown Penny Bank has chosen to . . .” The Brown Penny Bank is simply following suit. What a waste! With the subtlety of a decoy, “à l’instar de” embellishes those who actually lack originality, who fail to distinguish themselves. In fact, one might conclude that such deceptive terms are employed precisely with the intention of benefiting from their ambiguous coefficient.
1237.20.12
Languages
Terry also made a mean potato pancake, although not necessarily the best in the lofts, because the competition around this particular dish was fierce. Zed was no slouch, and neither was Pomme, but Antoinette outdid them all. Everyone added his or her personal touch, or special ingredient, in hopes of winning the Mardi Gras prize.
“De salty onions is wot makes all de difference.”
Étienne inhaled the dark herbs swimming in brine that Antoinette had placed before him before closing the jar.
“You has to add just de right amount, not too much.”
. . .
“Not too much onion, neidder. Can’t be too big. An’ you has to cut ’er into wee, wee, tin pieces. You can’t be seein’ bits of onion in de pancake.”
. . .
“Now den, we needs an egg. Will you go an fetch me an egg?”
Étienne rose quickly. The idea of fetching something from a stranger’s refrigerator gave him an odd feeling.
1238.23.7
Potatoes
Collectors are really treasure hunters, and each object in a collection is worth its weight in gold.
1239.128.9
Fervours
“Is it me yer askin’ den? On account of I couldn’t tell who you was lookin’ at . . .”
(Suppressed laughter)
“Well, to be honest, I’s afraid of opening me veins, slicing me wrists.”
(Holy shite!)
“Interesting. Could be a fear of knives.”
“Tell de troot, ’twas more of a problem afore dan ’tis now.”
1240.137.7
Fears
“Well, I suppose ’twould be harder to slit yer wrists wid a Bic razor. . . “
(Laughter)
“Class, class . . . Please.”
Balls are all you need plus a b. In one of Terry’s notebooks.
1241.90.11
Letters
Étienne placed the shoebox in front of Chico, and lifted the top off. Chico’s eyes opened wide.
“Holy Jesus, Joseph, and Mary! Wer djya get dat?”
Étienne was bursting with pride.
“Granny Després gave dem to me.”
Slowly Chico handled the wooden spools, removing a few from the box to better appreciate the whole. Étienne informed him:
“Only der’s no yellow.”
1242.113.8
Collections
big bear eats cod fish
little bear eats tongue and cheek
seal swims nonchalant
charts studies and statistics
1243.75.7
Tankas
“You means to say dat radder dan writin’ “õverpayér,” we’d be writin’ “verpayer” an’ puttin’ a star over de o?”
“De star’d be our accent, like? Now der’s a proper smart idea!”
“Well, one of our accents, anyhow . . .”
“Only ’tisn’t easy drawin’ a star, is it? Ask me, ’twould take too terrible long to be writin’.”
“An’ wot would de udder accents be? Dey’d have to be matchin’ up somehow, der’s gotta be a logic to it . . .”
1244.88.8
Freedom
“Well, how many’re we gonna need, den?”
“Are dey fer real?”
“Raise anudder sail, girl, we’re flyin’ high!”
Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.
1245.121.2
Things to Want
In a room that had become a holdall over the years, Chico’s grandmother had been obliged to shuffle and rummage through a number of old boxes before finding what she was looking for.
“Might be in ’ere . . .”
Chico approached, unfolded the cardboard flaps, and discovered several wooden spools just like Étienne’s. They were scattered among bits of cloth, zippers still in their wrappings and ultra-thin paper dress patterns spilling out of their envelopes.
“Hoorray! De yellow!”
“Yellow’s wot you was after? Go on an’ take it. I won’t be missin’ it. Can’t recall de last time I opened dis ’ere box.”
“All o’ dem?”
“You wants dem all, does ya? Go on den. I’s glad to be rid of dem.”
Granny was happy to please Chico. She watched him searching down to the bottom of the box.
“Wot’re ya tinkin’ to do wid all dat, I wonder?”
Chico shrugged.
“I’s showin’ dem to Étienne. Ee’s got some as well.”
The grandmother thought that was as good a reason as any.
“Can you see anyting else in der ya might be wantin’?”
Chico examined the contents of the box, picked up a zipper, dropped it.
1246.105.6
Reserves/Reservations
“Only de tread? ’Ere den, does ya want a bag to put ’em in?”
Chico accepted the old brown paper bag his granny was offering. The spools went ploc ploc ploc as they fell in and knocked against each other.
Spoiled rotten, really? In his novel Grey Souls, Philippe Claudel writes “rotten spoiled.” A kind of opposites.
1247.64.9
Opposites
Terry found the list Myriam had sent him extremely interesting.
“Title is ‘Critical Experiences of Preschool-Age-Children,’ wot pretty well says it all right der.”
Carmen agreed.
“Like, dey like it when you give dem a signal when to start an’ when to stop doin’ sometin’. Like one-two-tree-go! or sometin’ like dat.”
Carmen thought that went without saying.
Terry was looking through the photocopy as he spoke:
“Dis is right smart. Gives you ideas wot to do wid dem when yer at yer wit’s end an’ you gotta take care o’ dem all de same.”
Carmen wasn’t sure that, at such times, she’d have the energy to drag out the list.
“Dey like to measure time an’ follow der rhythms . . .”
.
. .
“An’ dat’s why dey like us to be tellin’ dem de same story again an’ again. Dey like to think about wot’s comin’ up, dey like to remember, to go over de different bits in der ’eads.”
“Dat makes proper sense.”
But suddenly Terry was taken aback:
“Luh! Says ’ere dat between two an’ five years old, der reaction time’s up to ten seconds. So, if you ask a question, it can take up to ten seconds fer dem to answer.”
Terry put the copy down.
“Ten seconds, is a long time.”
“Seems to me, Étienne don’t need as long as all dat.”
Terry counted ten seconds in his head.
“Well, ’tis good to know. Fer Marianne, anyway.”
“Yes, fer Marianne, fer sure!”
1248.93.5
Time
The cachalot or sperm whale is a mammal of the cetacean order that inhabits the oceans. The genus is currently listed as vulnerable. Its distinctive shape — a very large, block-shaped head, which can be one-third of the animal’s length, and a lower jaw, which is very narrow and underslung — is evocative of the whale species as a whole. Adult males measure up to 20.5 metres long and weigh up to 56 tonnes. Females measure from 11 to 15 metres long and weigh between 15 and 20 tonnes. A cachalot can consume up to one ton of squid, octopus, fish, seal, and shark per day. The Internet is a fantastic tool for preliminary research.
1249.111.12
Tools
“Are ya sure you wants to be workin’ on dis project? If you do, you’ve got to tink o’ sometin’. You keep on sayin’ ’tisn’t possible, and can’t be done.”
. . .
“Could be dis just isn’t yer ting . . .”
“To tell ya de troot’, I only joined up fer de money. An’ even den, I had to twist me own arm.”
“I don’t tink it’ll work. Yer not really convinced.”
. . .
. . .
. . .
“Why don’t ya take de weekend to tink it over.”
. . .
1250.119.6
Music
wee girl jumps and laughs
sticky cheeks honeyed cushions
old black fly stretches
drawn to a ripe apple core
winter strains to be no more
1251.75.8
Tankas
www.galaxidion.com
MICHELET (Jules) Handbook of Modern History.
Paris, L. Hachette, 1850. 8vo, contemporary half shagreen, rubbed spine, ll, ii, 307 p., foxing. Work “recommended for the instruction of modern history in schools,” divided into three periods: I. 1453-1517. II. 1517-1648. III. 1648-1789.
This book is offered by the Librairie Hatchuel.
Euro 35.00| Order
1252.84.12
History
Vladivostok =
ruler of the East
Vladikavkaz
Ordjonikidze (1932–1944)
(1954–1990)
Dzaoudjikaou (1944–1954)
North Ossetia-Alania
1253.67.9
Terry’s Notebooks
Étienne and Chico are playing with their mini-cars.
“Lucifer cut de tulips in front of de doctor’s house to decorate Julie’s cabin.”
1254.117.6
Death
Lucifer was seven years old and a real devil. For the most part, those who knew him liked him in spite of everything, because his mischief was mostly motivated by good intentions.
“Dey’ll trow ’im to de dogs, now.”
“Are dey Julie’s dogs?”
“Naw, Julie don’t have no dogs.”
1255.129.4
Fantasies
“Are dey mean dogs?”
“Der no dogs. You doesn’t need dogs to be trown to dem.”
“Awh.”
Rumour is certainly related to fantasy, but it can also be related to tactics.
1256.31.12
Questions with Answers
“Wot I mean is, ’ow long does a person look at de cover of a book, usually? Not all dat long.”
Bit by bit, the thread of yellow is lost.
1257.118.11
Concerning Yellow
Without wishing to upset him, Catherine believed it was important to ask Chico a few question about his past, if only just to let him know that she was aware of what he’d gone through.
“You say that Shawn sometimes ran away . . . Did he stay away for long?”
Chico thought a bit before replying.
“At night, when I’s gettin’ into bed, I’s prayin’ fer ’im to come back.”
. . .
. . .
“Was it your granny who showed you how to pray?”
Chico answered her questions readily.
“She taught me de ‘Hail Mary.’”
Catherine allowed several seconds to pass, before continuing:
“Were you missing your mum as well?”
Chico shrugged:
“Granny showed me a picture of ’er once. Den after, she’s puttin’ it back in de top drawer.”
Catherine guessed what Chico meant:
“You’d have liked to keep it, eh?”
Chico shrugged. Catherine concluded that it had not been easy for him to understand everything that had happened in that house.
“One night, ee shows up in a car. ’Twas near dark. I’s playin’ marbles in de yard. Ee’d bought me a bike, a two wheeler, brand new an’ all.”
Catherine was grateful for this moment of happiness to fall back on.
“You must’ve been mighty pleased!”
Chico nodded.
1258.103.3
Disappearances
“You knows it! She were all blue an’ shiny!”
. . .
“Only ee didn’t stay long dat time neider.”
the child can’t stay still
Dad, look! A flying dessert!
cloud — flash flare — cherry
1259.55.10
Haikus
“I took a chance. Bought youse a coffee widout knowin’ if you’d be comin’ back or not.”
. . .
“’Tweren’t nuttin’ to it.”
“Well, tanks just de same.”
. . .
“I tawt: only tell me wot you wants me to be doin’ an’ I’ll go right ahead an’ do it.”
“G’wan, yer pullin me leg.”
. . .
“Alright den. Pick up yer guitar an’ give me an A.”
. . .
“Now an A flat . . .”
. . .
“An A minor . . .”
. . .
“An A flat minor. . .”
. . .
“An A 7 . . .”
. . .
“A flat 7 . . .”
. . .
“A flat diminished . . .”
“. . . which is the same thing as a G sharp diminished, or a D, B, or F diminished.”
“An A diminished . . .”
“. . . Same thing as an F sharp diminished, an E or G diminished, or a plain C diminished.”
“The A flat augmented . . .”
“. . . Or the G sharp augmented, or an E or C augmented.”
“An A augmented . . .”
“. . . There again, same thing as a D flat augmented, C sharp augmented, or a plain F augmented.”
“A 9 . . .”
. . .
“A flat 9 . . .”
. . .
“A major 7 . . .”
. . .
“A flat major 7 . . .”
. . .
“A minor 7 . . .”
. . .
“A flat minor 7 . . . “
. . .
“A 7 with a diminished fifth . . .”
. . .
“A 7 with an augmented fifth . . . ”
. . .
“A 7 diminished to 5 . . .”
. . .
“A flat 7 diminished to 5 . . .”
. . .
“A 6 . . .”
. . .
“A flat 6 . . .”
. . .
“A minor 6 . . .”
. . .
“A flat minor 6 . . .”
. . .
“OK, good enough! That’s perfect!”
. . .
. . .
“Wot, you don’t want de suspended ones?”
1260.119.7
Music
In New Brunswick, the officials of Baker Brook are asking for the name of their village to be transformed into French. If the government agrees to their request, the village will be called Baker-Brook, with a hyphen, instead of Baker Brook, without one.
1261.79.2
Oddities
“Put yer foot on it, den haul away wid yer hands.”
Étienne did as his father instructed and the cardboard peeled off as though by magic.
“Alright, Dad! Wot do I do now?”
Wearing the carpenter’s apron complete with tools that Granny and Granddad Thibodeau had made for him, Étienne was happy to be part of today’s household renovations.
“Does ya see de saw someplace around der?”
“Yes, Dad. Do you want it?”
“Can’t hide nuttin’ from you boy . . .”
Étienne walked across the pieces of boards scattered on the floor to fetch the saw and bring it to Terry, who was stretched out on his back deep inside the closet.
“Now den, sit down where ya are an’ point dat flashlight into de corner where I’s sawing.”
Terry could have managed on his own, but he wanted to give his son a chance to use his Christmas present.
“At de same time, can you push on dis ’ere board wid yer feet?”
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