by Kimberley Thompson, Tastemaker in Residence

Covid 19 has forced many of us to find new topics to discuss via Zoom, WhatsApp and iPhone. (Well, only if we wanted to have some human contact and not go absolutely howler monkey and semi-feral in our lock downs!) Some of the covered topics were fluff, others were serious, and some just nonsensical! And given my mood, hair shampoo, who was the greatest in the Rat Pack, brand of laundry detergent, and which is better, Cara Cara or Honeybelles? Everything could be stretched, dissected, thoughtfully prodded or just "rip the band aid off," in these conversations.

The calls have become an assist in my life as to time of day, day of week, and what season is this again? (Well, not quite that last one...this mornings temps certainly could not be mistaken for any other time of year in Minnesota. Really? Negative 2?) I know if it’s before 7am, it is my brother. My sister knows if she gets a call between 8 and 8:30, it is me driving to work and checking in with her regarding Mom. My long conversations with friends are Thursday and Saturday nights. (Since I am off the next day; we can have a long natter without me feeling stressed about getting things "ready" for work the next day.)

The subject of hobbies came up as I was talking to a client about some of the pros and cons about being more or less isolated these days. When she asked me about my hobbies, I realized something.

I do not have the normal "hobbies." No, I do not collect fingernail clippings, Victorian pictures of dead children (it is a thing...and I kind of get it), or found objects to collect and make in a sculpture at some point in the next 20 years. (But after looking at my garage, one might argue that last point.)

One of my favorite things to do involves (and I am certain I will not shock my close friends here) books. Yes. Real bound books with pages to turn with fingers, pages with book marks placed to know where to start again, and pages to live, learn and linger through the words.

Words. Single or multiple. Words that dance over the page like ee cummings poem [In Just-]

"it’s
spring
and

the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee"

Other words march in cadence like Wilfred Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth:"

"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons …"

Words:

Paint.
Evoke.
Remind.
Expand.
Feed.
Nurture.
Provoke.
Clarity.
Confuse.
Confront.
Lie.
Sooth.
Caress.
Slap.
Shock.
Enlighten.
Titillate.
Stimulate.
Delight.
Laugh.

And so much more....words have power.

So, getting back to what may or may not be my original topic; hobbies. Specifically books. Books with words. (Just an end run around the snark!)

In my house I have numerous old family books: one of my favorites is the 1914 printing of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. (I also own the 1948 and 1955 printings.)

The book's spine is weary and is supported by inexpertly applied cloth tape, the fly leaf is missing, and as you riffle the pages, you can see it has been inked. Not a valuable book. And yet, the foundation of one of my favorite ways to spend and hour or two. For my hobby is reading the Bartlett's from cover to cover. And again. And again.

The 1914 Bartlett's actually functions as a small window in to my family history.

Flipping it open, I can see the faint thin pencil lines laid down by my Grandma Ruth. She underlined Biblical quotes about living the Christian life, the power of prayer, and Greek quotations about life and sacrifice. She pondered over passages about family and country. Gems about children and their wonderful potential had little asterisks next to them.

Straight furrows of faded blue ink laid from my Mother's Sheaffer pen and ruler underscore positivity quotes by Norman Vincent Peale and Biblical passages about discipline. She used red ink on passages and prose that addressed a more "fire and brimstone" attitude regarding Christianity, with emphasis on wayward Christians. Quotations regarding relationships skewed more towards "rules" and less towards tenderness.

Shocking neon yellow, hot pink and cool teal highlighters are my own additions to the Bartlett's. I pick out what amuses me at the time, or what makes me stop and think regarding LIFE or my life (note: there is a difference between the universal and the personal). I adore Shakespeare's ability to paint a scene or change the meaning by word placement or cadence. I grieve over the loss of original meaning, I rejoice when I can tell a word has joined the lexicon of the times.

I see who my Grandmother was, what moved her and what was in her prayers. Her priorities were clear, but yet, like her faint pencil lines, more subtle in her daily life.

My Mom's world as it was, no longer exists given her dementia. Yet, I can read the words that meant so much to her that she reverently underlined them. I can sense her insecurities that I only saw later in her nature. Discipline was her way to control a world that frightened her, education a tool to stand your ground.

Reading books that the modern world has forgotten due to many perceptions. Not revelant. No suspense or storyline. Fogeyish. Easily accessible via electronics.

Just one of my hobbies.

Kimberley's Hobbies