The sun came out today and there was no rain. If it truly holds I will be mowing the lawn tomorrow. The fireweed bush blossomed today and so to did the first dandelions appear. Red and yellow. The cherry tree shows more and more pink and there were hummingbirds there this afternoon, which was rather dazzling.
This morning I took Jan to the doctor and then we went and bought sandwiches and took Dot to the beach for low tide where we watched sandpipers feeding along the sand and the barnacle covered rocks. We ate our sandwiches and then let Dot run up and down the beach chasing the gulls and sand pipers. The birds were never in any real danger. They flew like one bird ten feet above her head cutting back and forth flashing silver then black as they turn. Dot barked and earn and they lead her into the water where she ran deeper and deeper until she stopped all together and came back. Still she is not a swimmer.
Yesterday I made a stupid mistake of saying Raymond Chandler created Sam Spade, when in fact EVERYONE knows it was Dashill Hammett. I remembered last night as I was going to sleep. So in recompense, I read from The Maltese Falcon today and spoke a little about the changes in power dynamics and sexual tension between the classic crime stories of the thirties and some modern crime stories. How modern crime stories focus a great deal on female empowerment.
I mention too about watching a terrific series on Netflix called The Bodyguard in which the sexual dynamics is 180 from the old stories. The main character is dogged and may be the classic “fallen angel” but all of the women he interacts with have more power than he does, the evil doers come out of the shadows and strike like snakes… the entire story is really about the tension the hero has with the powerful women in his life. It is very interesting. The Bodyguard. Not the old Kevin Costner movie. It’s brand new.
Dot chasing birds.
Yesterday there were none and now there are.
Dandelions rise
one morning like sleepy kids
blinking at the sun.
jhs
Here is my recording made late this afternoon of me reading the first chapter of Dashill Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.
