Ramshackle

If you had to illustrate the word “ramshackle” in a picture dictionary you could do worse than to show a photo of this assemblage of worm-eaten wood formerly known as a cabin, or maybe it was never anything more than a shack to begin with. Located on a speck of an island sheltered in the mouth of the Piscatagua River on the New Hampshire seacoast, you can see it from the road leading out of Portsmouth into New Castle, a town totally comprised of islands. The town has changed dramatically in the past few years, with the restoring of the old Wentworth-by-the-Sea hotel and the boom in posh new houses and condos. But it’s as scenic as ever, and when I visit my parents we often take a detour through New Castle on the way to or back from Portsmouth.

We’ve been driving by this shack for as long as I can remember. My grandfather used to point to it and call it his retirement home, though I doubt that, at over six feet, he could have ever stood up in it, even when he was stooped and gray himself. He’s long gone, but the shack, our imaginary inheritance, still… well, I hesitate to say it still stands. It lists seaward, its roof – I hear it pronounced in that gentle-dog “ruf” my Scottish-Canadian grandfather used – blown off in a strong wind, shelter now I imagine only to nesting seabirds. Whoever thought to build a hut or shelter out there anyway, just a stone’s throw from the habitable, bridge-linked islands? Was it a fishing shed? Whatever it once was, it’s slowly devolving now, at this stage heading from collapsed shanty towards bundle of marooned driftwood. One day there'll be nothing recognizable to claim as our own, even in jest.

4:23:48 PM      trackback [] 

A dog's life

10:30:54 AM      trackback [] 

Finding the lost key to the kingdom of childhood?

My horoscope for this week:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): [Note: In the spirit of the epic yet mysterious turning point you're at, Virgo, I'm providing you with an extravagant yet cryptic oracle. Read it with the nonlinear side of your brain.] Your escape from the false Home is imminent. Are you ready to change about 10 percent of your mind about who you really are and 20 percent of your mind about where you truly belong? Regard it as a lucky sign if the prospect of fresh freedom rouses an ancient fear. It means you're close to finding the lost key to the kingdom of childhood, which is also the key to the secret garden of adulthood.

This is really strange. No matter what I do, the word Home in the above passage wants to link to this post (in this sentence, I wrote home lowercase, in quotes, but as you see it changes it to a linked word Home). I copied this directly from the Village Voice horoscope page, but Radio Userland put in the link. I went back in and tried editing it, and it still puts in the link. This is so weird. It must be a Radio Userland thing, maybe because I'm quoting the title of an earlier post?

10:02:16 AM      trackback []