Wednesday, July 9, 2008

A Cinderella Story (Not Quite)

Today I felt like looking nice, so I wore a pretty blue dress, and wore my hair down. I took the time to do makeup and jewelry, and even wore cute shoes. My kindergartners all exclaimed about my appearance this morning (how bad do I normally look?!). As I was leaving this evening, Tracy, my favorite little girl from my most advanced class, told me that I looked like a princess.

Feeling very feminine, I attempted to walk home like a lady, but when it came time to cross the road, self-preservation took over. I ran for my life across the road, managing to lose one of my shoes in the process. Like something out of a very familiar fairy tale, a man came running after me to bring me my shoe. There were just a few little problems with my "Prince Charming": he was an adorable old Korean man, at least eighty years old, and toothless (as far as I could see). I wonder if Cinderella struck out the first time, and just omitted it from the manuscript to make things more romantic...

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"Passage—immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins! Away, O soul! hoist instantly the anchor!
Cut the hawsers—haul out—shake out every sail!
Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough?
Have we not grovell’d here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?
Have we not darken’d and dazed ourselves with books long enough?

Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go, And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

O my brave soul!
O farther, farther sail!
O daring joy, but safe! Are they not all the seas of God?
O farther, farther, farther sail!"

~Walt Whitman, "Passage to India"