Lost Words

Hello and welcome to a post-Thanksgiving, post-Black Friday, presently put-on-your-fat-pants kind of Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is November 26th.

My absolute, most favorite writing to do is journaling. It's been my writing mainstay my entire life. Poems come and go. Articles hopscotch. Books are like mountains. But journaling is the river that snakes through all my moods, phases, and milestones of life's journey.

This year I made a New Year's resolution to journal at least one day more than I had in 2021. I was well on my way to achieving that goal when I lost my journal by putting it in a "special spot" - which is basically the same as losing it because I never remember where the special spot is.

The last time I saw my journal was in late August. I was packing for my Red Shoes Writing Retreat in Fosston, Minnesota. I distinctly (at least I think) remember deciding I would not bring my journal with me. I wouldn't have time to write in it (oh the irony, not writing at a writing retreat). I'd neglected to write in my journal for far too many trips prior, so I would save myself the trouble of empty promises and worries of losing it. Yes, keeping it at home safe and sound was the safest and soundest route.

I also clearly remember thinking that I should put my journal away before I left for Fosston. Over the summer, I had fallen into the habit of leaving it lying around the house. Summer brain had me assuming my children would have no interest in reading mom's journal. However, leaving my journal haphazardly on the kitchen counter while I would be gone for four days did not seem wise. What if someone read it? Even though no one had read it all summer, and I had no reason to think they would start now, the niggly worm of doubt wiggled into my brain. I surmised the risk wouldn't be worth it.

Now, right here, you're probably thinking, "Go put that journal in its proper spot." And your council would be wise and true. And the thought occurred to me as well. But this thought was quickly chased away by a much whinier thought: "My office is all the way downstairs. That's so far." (Actually, it's only 6 steps, one landing then 7 steps, just around the corner, then five more paces.)

No, instead of heeding the sage in my conscience, I bent to the impetuous teen voice that suggested I simply hide my journal in a "special spot" upstairs which was so much closer than my office. A real time saver, too! - according to that youthful influencer.

And, folks, I'm so sure that I remember pushing back a stack of books and slipping my journal behind them, all the while chanting like a gleeful Rumpelstiltskin, "Remember the spot! Remember the spot!" while my internal savant shook his head, trying to drip some more foreboding into my brain chemistry so I would veer from this inevitably bad course.

Alas, I felt the foreboding in quantities too small to conquer the optimism that gushed. This time, I assured myself, I would not fail.

It's been three months and I still cannot find that journal.

I've been holding out hope that it will turn up because Murphy's Law has steadfastly shown this to be the case. Like the time I lost my driver's license. I knew it was somewhere; I just had to find it. Well, a person can only go so long without having a driver's license before the law catches up with her. So I eventually relinquished hope and got a new driver's license. Guess what happened not even one day later? Yep.

Two driver's licenses are quite handy. I have one in my phone case and one in my purse. Now I never have to worry about forgetting my license.

Journals are not like this.

Journals are chronological. They are not interchangeable even if they do serve the same function. If Murphy's Law prevails, I will find the old one as soon as I crack open a new journal and enter my most recent stardate. Which I plan to do. 

But I'm on vacation. And even though I brought the new one to write in, I'm not sure I will get to it.

On This Day

Historic Highlights (credits)

2003 - Concorde retired from service

Concorde retired from service after 27 years of flight

1983 - Brink’s Mat gold heist

The £ 26 million robbery took place in a Brink Mat warehouse at Heathrow Airport in London. The stolen gold, diamonds and cash has never been recovered.

1966 - World’s first tidal power station opens in France

The Rance Tidal Power Station on the Rance River in Brittany, France was inaugurated by French president Charles de Gaulle. Today, it is one of the largest tidal power stations in the world.

1965 - France launches Astérix

The launch of the satellite from Hammaguir, Algeria made France the 6th country in the world after the US, the USSR, the UK, Canada, and Italy to have an artificial satellite in orbit. The satellite is named after the Asterix the popular comic character created by French writer René Goscinny.

1942 - Casablanca premiers

The classic movie starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart won 3 Oscars – Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. The film, which is set during the Second World War, follows the life of Rick Blaine, a former freedom fighter and a club owner in Casablanca, Morocco, who has to choose between his love for a woman, Ilsa Lund, and saving her husband from the Nazis.

Happy Birthday to You!🎶 

1972 - Arjun Rampal, Indian actor

1939 - Tina Turner, American singer, dancer, actress

1922 - Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist

1876 - Ibn Saud, Saudi Arabian king

1827 - Ellen G. White, American author, co-founder of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Remembering You

1952 - Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer, explorer

1943 - Edward O'Hare, American pilot, Medal of Honor recipient

1883 - Sojourner Truth, American activist

1855 - Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet

1504 - Isabella I of Castile

Put things in their proper place and make it a great Saturday!

Kim