Mr. Riley and Me

I visited the home of one of my favorite poets when I was a child, James Whitcomb Riley.  Read poems to your kids, everyone!

LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE

by: James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)

INSCRIBED WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION

 

To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;
The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

 

ITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,

An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,

An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,

An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;

An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,

We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun

A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,

An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--

An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,

His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,

An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!

An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,

An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;

But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,

An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;

An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,

She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!

An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,

They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,

An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

 

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,

An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!

An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,

An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--

You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,

An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,

An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,

Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch

Out!

"Little Orphant Annie" is reprinted from Complete Works. James Whitcomb Riley. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1916.

1,500 miles

In the past two weeks I have lived in the blue room at Grandma Norma's... an underground apartment... 3 basements... and a hotel.  I have been hosted by 5 wonderful friends and relatives.  I kept blankets and a pillow in my car, along with 8 books (brought and acquired along the way), a medicine supply, two suitcases, and too many pairs of shoes.  I've listened to two audiobooks, NPR, podcasts, and Regina Spektor, Florence and the Machine, and hours of other great music.  I ate at fabulous wedding feasts, and granola bars while on the go.  I drove approximately 1,500 miles just getting to each destination. 

And for what reason?

Because I love and am loved.  I have friends to are lovely enough to let me stay at their houses, invite me to weddings, and feed my soul with conversation.
And now I'm ready to slow down.
Someday I'll have a place where I can invite people to come; until then I journey on.

weddings.food.friends.

I wrote this 9 days ago: The month of May was lovely.  I'm in the US now, but I'm spending the day on the couch to try to recover from a little chest cold.  My head feels like someone slugged it with a bat and I sound like a smoker.  Not the greatest thing before I'm supposed to drive 9 hours to be in a wedding.  Pray for fast recovery!  It's a good thing to be at Grandma Norma's when feeling like this.

The following day I drove to Indiana and listened to the audiobook of Blink.   I wish I could say that I read minds now, but all I really learned is that I'm very selfish and don't focus on other people enough.  It wasn't a bad drive and I ended up meeting the wedding party in Indianapolis for Mongolian bbq.  We went back up to Taylor that night and worked on wedding stuffs the next few days.

 

The wedding essentials: manicure, pedicure, hair trim, flower arrangements for the church, bachelorette party, lingerie.
Even funner: thunderstorm warnings, 8 girls living in an near empty apartment, an extra-large wedding party, firemen groomsmen, candy table, The Marriage of Jon and Alana!

Saturday night took me to the Harrisons of Indianapolis, a dear family who took me in last spring while I was student-teaching.  They make the best food.  And tea.  And conversation. Several firsts: playing Settlers of Catan, watching Doctor Who, mud tea.  They were also very patient with me as I went through second week culture shock ("The roads are so big here!  Where are all the trees?  In Moscow we have prettier buildings.  In Moscow it's harder to get around.  In Moscow everyone speaks Russian." and other nonsense).  I always leave a little of my heart there and hope to return soon.

The next stop was Chicago to the lovely, talented RB living in a house full of girls.  These three days I've been living in the "hostage room" in the basement behind the washing machine.  It has been so nice to finally get to sleep in and spend a day catching up on all the internet-ish things I've been avoiding for the last week.  Tuesday, I spent the day with Babson while RB was at work.  We breakfasted at an amazing little cafe, saw her apartment, went to the mall and bought shoes and underwear, and drove around, reminiscing and speculating about the future.  Too many tasty conversation bits to go into detail.

It's impossible to remember everything we say, but maybe God made us forgetful so we could savor discoveries over and over again.

RB and I have enjoyed many delicious moments on this visit: frozen yogurt, chili and cornbread with a house full of people, mimosas on the back swing.  (I love food.)  We watched Amanda Seyfried's gorgeous hair in two movies; the former was a laughable and ridiculous dvd, the latter was pure girl entertainment in a cinema. 

Unfortunately through it all, I've been in poor health (voiceless, coughing, allergic to Indiana).  I'd like to say I'm on the mend, but I really have no basis for that judgment. I cough through the night, so I apologize for any germs I may be trailing behind. 

I'm heading Out West again today into the big unknown.  I am so blessed.

The end? Nah...

As I become repatriated into the expatriate community, I am faced with a serious dilemma. Am I still indiana.amy? I've thought about starting a new blog, but I do have an older blog about adventures in Mother Russia that I could revitalize... I haven't touched it since July 22, 2007.

But I cannot. I could say that my soul has been infused with corn and fields from my time spent in the land of Up and that I could never escape my destiny to be indiana.amy, but really it's just too much of a hassle to change sites.

The irony of my life is that I hate long-distance, internet-only relationships and it now seems the only way I have to keep in contact with my friends is to glue myself to a computer. This is probably why letter writing has become my latest obsession, and I would be truly grateful if I did receive a few back. Still, it is inevitable that in order to preserve friendships (and until I make some real live friends here) time online must be spent. I am thus setting up ground rules for myself, such as:

- Any time I sign into facebook, I must write real messages on at least 2 people's walls. Picture comments do not count.
- Any days where online time exceeds 2 hours, I must blog (if only to prove that my mind has been working)
- No unpremeditated TV (not that I have access to much, being located where I am)
- Avoid wikipedia at all costs

I'm also confessing an increasingly noticeable obsession for reading other people's blogs, particularly those from places I want to go (I'm talking to you, Afghanistan).

And, I'm just saying that several friends have not updated their blogs in a while, not naming names (everyone listed to the right!!!)... ;-)

Recently.

I feel bad about blogging when I have so many people to write, but here's the recent news. I'm in Upland now! Rebecca and I are teaching jr high today. I got here last night and we watched a movie and ate cheesecake. We also made the most amazing thai curry chicken wraps. Last week my mom was here and that was pretty awesome. We went to Brown County State park and got lost. I've started wrapping up Russian, with some exams and the talent show on Friday. I was in a skit about bugs and it was awesome. I've been experiencing the college experience I never had going to a small Christian school. It has it's ups and downs. It's almost time to leave for church, so I should find some breakfast. I'm so happy to be going to MAC this morning. I love it there. I can't really explain it. It's a home for me. I think I had a bad dream last night or something, because I feel so 'blah' now. I'm not sure what's up. Probably all the changes of packing up yet once again and being back in Upland. I tend to miss people more here, I've noticed from the five or so trips I've made back up here this summer.

It's a Waterdeep sort of morning:

I woke up from a strange rain And it was dreaming outside I rolled over for the telephone

I thought I’d call someone Tell them I dreamed I had died
But I know that I was all alone

I just get lonely sometimes
I want someone to take away my grief
I just get lonely sometimes
I want to wake up in the morning with someone
Lying next to me who I can turn to for relief
I just get lonely sometimes
But I know I just need You

I probably slept in a bed of bitterness
That’s why I woke up this way
That’s probably why I’m in this lonesome hole

I probably got to needing everything
And needing it today
That’s probably why I play this lonely role

But I know I know I know I just need You