Emily's Death Day

Dickinson Open House

Yesterday was the 123rd anniversary of the death of Emily Dickinson. Every year on the weekend closest to her death anniversary her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts marks the occasion with an open house at the Dickinson homestead and a poetry walk covering important locations in the poet's life. I didn't take the walk but I stopped by for a few minutes to check it out.



The front lawn of the house (above) is all torn up because a lot of trees and shrubs that did not exist in Emily's time were removed recently as part of an ongoing attempt to restore the house to how it looked when Dickinson lived there.

Here are the circumstances surrounding Dickinson's decline and death, according to the Wikipedia:

That summer she had seen "a great darkness coming" and fainted while baking in the kitchen. She remained unconscious late into the night and weeks of ill health followed. On November 30, 1885, her feebleness and other symptoms were so worrying that her brother Austin Dickinson canceled a trip to Boston. She was confined to her bed for a few months, but managed to send a final burst of letters in the spring. On May 15, 1886, after several days of worsening symptoms, Emily Dickinson died at the age of 55. Austin wrote in his diary that "the day was awful ... she ceased to breathe that terrible breathing just before the [afternoon] whistle sounded for six." Dickinson was buried, laid in a white coffin with vanilla-scented heliotrope, a Lady's Slipper orchid and a "knot of blue field violets" placed about it. The funeral service, held in the Homestead's library, was simple and short.

A considerable number of local history buffs and literary fans made the scene.



Inside quite a variety of Emily Dickinson products were for sale.



Dig this poster which I feel captures some of the passion of the fiery redhead.



The most popular place for people to hang out was Miss Emily's garden.



Here I am on her back porch.



Nostalgic Sighting

Afterwards we stopped in across the street at this odd little curio shop called The Claw Foot Tub.



Inside I saw this antique stove of a type I haven't seen since my grandmother died.



It was in mint condition.

Today's Video

Here's Jim O'Neill of Northampton's Iron Horse with David Byrne:



It's a shame about David and how weird he got.



A couple from Alabama and a couple from the Northeast were seated side by side on an airplane. The girl from Alabama, being naturally friendly and all, asked the couple, "So where y'all from?"

The Northeast girl replied, "From a place where they know better than to use a preposition at the end of a sentence."

The girl from Alabama sat quietly for a few moments and then replied:

"So where y'all from, bitch?"

Life is good in Montana!

My family and I just returned from our yearly ski trip to Big Sky, Montana where we enjoyed five days of skiing, two days of driving and one day of junkin’! Big Sky Country is alive and well! In my opinion, there is nothing more beautiful then the mountains of Montana. Yes, God did good!

It’s an eleven hour hike from our home in Carrington, ND to the base of Lone Mountain at Big Sky Ski Resort. The drive is particularly beautiful from Bozeman to the resort. We ended up staying overnight in Bozeman the first day. I simply cannot say enough good things about this town! It's nestled in a valley with snow covered mountains completely surrounding it…who wouldn’t love to wake up to that scene every morning? This is definately a retirement option for us! Aside from the to-die-for scenery, there are neat downtown shops, (Main Street is awesome) excellent restaurants and of course, antique, thrift and home interior stores aplenty.

Hubby and I took one day off from skiing to drive back down the curvy mountain to enjoy the day in Bozeman. And with cool street names like Bear Canyon Road, Jack Rabbit Lane and Trail Creek Road, you know you’re in for an adventure. My main objective though was visiting some of my favorite antique stores I’d found over the years in previous visits. First stop was the Antique Market and adjoining Montana Country Antiques. From the highway a person is drawn in simply by the desirable objects and cool looking stuff on the wide porch! Man, if only we’d have pulled a trailer…

The Antique Market has eye catching merchandise and so many things I wanted to buy, but with so LITTLE room in our vehicle, the big stuff was left behind...(sob, sob)...

I had an enjoyable visit with the owner, Jackie, of Montana Country Antiques after I quickly eyed a “must buy” immediately after walking in the store! (I’ll post the transformation at a later date). This place is cozy and welcoming with wonderfully displayed vignettes of antiques and old finds. One entire table showcased old scales so attractively, I was drooling all over the place - it was embarrassing!
Next stop: Little Bear Antiques and Interiors. This used to be strictly an antique store, but not any more. This home interior store hosts rich textures and colors of furniture and accessories that would be perfect in any home or mountain cabin. Here’s an armoire with an interesting paint technique which I hope to be able to copy!
The last stop of the day (and we were running out of time!) was the Antique Barn. This place is very large and there’s no way you could see everything in a mere hour (I tried really hard though!). There is stuff galore! Outside the building are cool old bathtubs, chippy doors and other awesome junk – or junque, as their sign displays.

A friendly, junk loving girl named Missy rang up my purchases (oh yes, I found a few things here), and of course I told her about our Junk Fest. I have a sneaking suspicion Missy will soon be heading up a Junk Fest, Montana style!

Golden Books Encyclopedias

A blast from my past.

This morning I had to go see my psychiatrist in downtown Northampton. This is the poster in his waiting room.



When I got out I headed towards the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting affectionately known as The Looney Nooner. On my way I spotted something in the window of Essentials (next to CVS) that really surprised me - Golden Book Encyclopedias of Natural History!



I remember that when I was a boy they used to give them out at supermarkets, but I don't remember specifically what market my parents got them at. Here's what Wikipedia.org has to say about this classic children's education series:

The Golden Book Encyclopedia is a set of children's encyclopedias published by Western Printing and Lithographing Company under the name Golden Press. Advertised as circulars in newspapers, the encyclopedias were sent out in weekly or bi-weekly installments. Supermarket chains, such as Acme Markets, used these encyclopedias as a promotional hook to lure shoppers.

The front page of every volume describes the books as, "Fact-filled Volumes Dramatically Illustrated with More Than 6,000 Pictures. The Only Encyclopedia for Young Grade-school children. Accurate and Authoritative. Entertainingly written and illustrated to make learning an adventure." Subjects included in the Golden Book Encyclopedia series were related to nature and science, history, geography, literature, and the arts.

The first edition of the encyclopedia was published in a joint venture between Simon and Schuster and Western Printing and Lithographing Company in 1946. The author of the edition was Dorothy A. Bennett and the illustrator was Cornelius De Witt. A 16-volume hardcover encyclopedia set was published in 1959 and in 1969, and was written by Bertha Morris Parker, formerly of the Laboratory Schools at the University of Chicago and research associate at the Chicago Natural History Museum.

The books in the window were obvious originals, not copies, so I went inside Essentials and asked the clerk about them. She said the owner (who was not present) had got them in an auction and thought they would be good to display for back to school sales as well as a treat for baby boomers.

My favorite edition was the one below with a lizard on the cover called a Gila Monster. The Wikipedia has this to say about the Gila Monster.



The Gila monster (pronounced /ˈhiːlə/, HEE-la), Heloderma suspectum, is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. A heavy, slow moving lizard, up to 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) long, the Gila monster is the only venomous lizard native to the United States, and one of only two known species of venomous lizard in North America, the other being its close relative the Beaded Lizard (H. horridum). Though the Gila monster is venomous, its sluggish nature means that it represents little threat to humans. However, it has earned a fearsome reputation, and is often killed by hikers and homeowners, despite the fact that it is protected by state law in Arizona and Nevada.

I don't know why I was so into the Gila Monster. I guess as a kid I was just plain into monsters in general. Some people will tell you that in some ways I grew up to become one.

Scrawled outside the Looney Nooner were these words of wisdom.