2.13.2013

Ashes, Ashes We All Fall Down

Good Ash Wednesday Morning.


 Doan know if y'all Mardi  Gras-ed last night or not, some of y' all
may indeed feel like ashes...


 


 but anyhoo, it bears thinkin' about, no matter if ya' sing the nursery rhyme or go all high brow an' read T.S. Eliot's famous poem, Ash Wednesday or hie thee to church an get yore haid smudged wif' ashes made from burning the palms of last year's Palm Sunday palms.*

(Yore teeth is grittin'? Yep, I agree: task and grace are nouns and  should never be verbed nor should Fat Tuesday)

Flannery O' Connor, that soul of Southern Woman wit, said ours is a generation of "wingless chickens" by which she compared us to them hapless birds that can no longer jump, the better to fatten them fer the slaughter ( fer Fat Tuesday?)  



Wingless chickens lose their sense of up or down, and so has we, say Flannery.  Auntybelle ain't got no quarrel wif' Flannery on that.

 
All this by way of invitin' y'all to come visit Ether Capacious every Friday in Lent fer a looky-see into some famous an' infamous thoughts on man an' his  yearnin' fer infinity. ( or, why some confuse down wif' up)




* from the archives, an Ash Wednesday post or two

** from the archives comments on Ash Wednesday, which will helpo explain Karl's comments to the unitiatiated:

 
'Ya don't know... but I lived in Bay St. Louis for 4 yrs...was re-directed that way when gaming opened, and they fetched me from Reno for managerial experience.

I was raised a Christian, but Southern Baptists as dear as they are to me...(and we had Catholics in TX too...even more in Reno) never celebrated their beliefs like the Cajun Catholics did. We never had no umbrellas, or Jumbalaya, or Dirty Rice, or Napkins flying in the breeze on a dance... Naw...

Naw'Orleans taught me a thing or two about life. Mardi Gras is a thing to experience. But it's more than a parade, it's more than a tit or two flying. It's the whole concept...and a quite logical one at that.

Party your ass off for three weeks, then give a few weeks to the Lord for Lint. Seems like a small gift back for what the Lord has done for us all.

I remember the ashes. I remember the sentiment. I remember "getting it". I miss it all. I am sorry that somehow most of what I loved in that area is blown away by Miss Katrina.

Happy Mardi Gras to you Miss Aunty Belle... I have quite a collection of fancy beads (never showed a tit one to get 'em)... I live in Reno and get taunted and teased a bit each year when I wear them like I did today on Fat Tuesday. I have even raised a few eyebrows by bringing in a King Cake and having someone just be in bewilderment that I would endanger their health by placing a gold baby in a piece of not-so normal food.

I miss the Deep South... Wave a napkin and twirl an umbrella for me girlfriend. Try to be good for Lint... Damn...weeks are a long time :) "

14 comments:

Aunty Belle said...

Since I'se been sorta AWOL on the blog, reckon that to post would now be a LENTEN discipline??

Pray in' y'all is all blessed today.

darkfoam said...

I'm glad you are not disappearing for 40 days as in the past.
I spent last night at a pto meeting..

Karl said...

Good evening Aunty Belle,

My firewall doesn't seem to like your pictures. (I can't see them) Somehow I doubt, they are of you and Foam, flashing for beads. And if they are let me know, I'll disabled my firewall.

Now, I'm looking forward to Friday's.

darkfoam said...

Actually, I'm not seeing any visuals either. I'm really clueless sometimes. It took me a loooooong second to catch on to flashing for beads.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Aunty Belle said...

Grrrr! Wrote the post on apple pad thingy and it doan show the photos???

Foamy, things be upside down : this Lent the discipline of writin' may be the corralling of the will I need.

Karl, heh....I had a grandmother who was a Krewe Queen at Mardi Gras. Granny inherited her headress, an boxes of beads. Yore truly is no match fer such women. But...Foamy jes' may be!!!

fishy said...

LOL @ Karl wondering if Aunty was out "flashin' for beads" Somehow that seems in contrast to all I have been reading about chaste batiste gowns.

Back in grammar school, the first year I was old enough to participate in the Lenten disciplines, I was advised I could choose to do more of a thing or less of a thing. I'm betting your "doing more" is going to be a good thing for us all. With or without beads :-)

Buzz Kill said...

I'm with Karl. I want to see the bead pictures. Happy Lent!

darkfoam said...

Belle,
Did you use a blogging app such as blogster when using the iPad? I found that in order to post photos or visuals I have to use it. And no, I'm certainly not Krewe queen material.

Karl said...

Frankly, I feel Buzz Kill and I should be allowed to judge.

Aunty Belle said...

Fishy,
Once upon a time, long long ago, Auntybelle may hap had a few silky abreviations of nightwear...or so Uncle claims.

BuzzK,
It jes' ain't right to frighten the chillen wif' such imagery.

Foamy,

I has that. Blogger app, but I must be Doin' somethin' wrong. An' doan fib to us'uns, we's seen yore painting/ photo self portrait-- bead worthy!!

Karl,
heh, see comment at Fishy and BuzzK. Believe me, I is showing mercy to the bloggerverse. Would serve y'all naugthy boys right iffin' I posted pics of ...
Well, who? I doan even know who fellas today think is bead worthy. An'the existential question is, does the face above the beads count, or jes bead props?
LOL!!



fishy said...

ROFLOL "bead props"

chickory said...

I missed ash wednesday thanks to a traffic jam on peachtree. there are no left turn lights and the back up was way back for miles. the other lanes were blocked too so the option of going past and turning to make a right turn was pointless. by the time i got to the cathedral lot it was of course full and cars were parked all down the side street....by now it was 7:25.. I made the block and came up looked to my left saw a possibility and contemplated a uturn into the fake space...only to have a classic impatient total AH from Atlanta to run up my rear end and lay on his horn. a lady trying to get into her church and delaying him for 3 seconds would not be tolerated. I gave up after that - my attitude was wrong by then anyway. marinating in piss and vinegar is no way to start the Lenten season. Have a productive Lent, Auntie. I didnt celebrate mardi gras at all this year, but i did make gumbo on fat tuesday. xo

Aunty Belle said...

Fishy,
It sounded a tad better than "racks".

Chickory,
€£¥#%#%#^{*¥¥}€£\{}!!!!!!!!!!

I share yore pain. I tried to offer it up fer a dear priest friend who had his knee replacement the day before.



All y'all, come to Ether Capacious fer a cogitation on infinity.