Monday, September 19, 2005

I

Professor Emeritus Edward Bennett found that he had inadvertently taken one of those short naps that herald the onset of old age. He was startled awake by his wife’s cell phone, the one with the “Ride of the Valkyries” ring. After a time it fell mercifully silent. Bennett sat with his fingertips pressed together in the darkening study, musing on Gwen’s renaissance. In late middle age she had become the hare, while he calcified sleepily in his library.
He checked his watch, an ancient Timex. She would be wrapping up her PFLAG meeting in Endersburg right about now. His lips tightened as he shut down the involuntary thought of his son that always rose up in him, the looming destination of every PFLAG train of thought. Who would have thought that a little instruction on the clarinet would have started his boy down the pansy-strewn garden path? “Nobody,” he told himself, shaking his head. “There was no way you could have known.”

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15 Comments:

Blogger the many Bs said...

So learning the clarinet sent this young man down the "pansy-strewn garden path". I like it. That's good.

Thanks for the education on PFLAG. I didn't know about that either.

11:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks, SP. The "garden path" idea is, of course, Bennett's, not mine.

4:37 AM  
Blogger the many Bs said...

of course

1:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did his son turn out to be a cry baby or sissy? Or maybe gay? I don't get it.

4:48 PM  
Blogger Tom & Icy said...

Master Tom is getting calcified, but the rest of us aren't active hares either.

4:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did Mrs. W get the idea for the Pansi Files while playing the violin?

5:01 PM  
Blogger Doug The Una said...

Hahaha. How could clarinet lessons not lead there?

Harmonica's a man's instrument.

My verifier is abfaj which can't be a coincidence.

9:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dog Face Girl: Gay.

Dusty: Pansi's name comes from Pansy Parkinson, Malfoy's Slytherin girlfriend in HARRY POTTER, although our Pansi has a differently annoying personality. I think I will save the story of how Pansy became Pansi for an addition of "Aks PANSI!!!!"

Doug: I think I knew a straight male clarinet player--once. You may have Pansified me with abfaj--corruption of "absolutely fabulous"?

10:20 PM  
Blogger the many Bs said...

Maybe I'm just out of it, but I've known lots of clarinet players who weren't gay. Flutists too.... oh well, maybe not so many of them.... er uh... but you really have to watch out for the oboe players

11:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

SP: Not to mention organists.

5:43 AM  
Blogger Cooper said...

It's all that licking on those reeds.

Nevermind, that should make them un- gay.


ha ha I'm start ing this late so forgive me. I was going to read it backward but I just can't.

11:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good. I did think of posting it backward. There's more on reed-licking later.

1:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now I'm in the mood to lick an ice cream cone and then go play with an instrument. ;) However, first I shall continue reading until the ice cream "arrives."

3:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Loving the dispute about gay musicians. As a gay flutist, I'll have to say most of the male flutists I know are straight. And if they're gay, they're GAY! Lol, I find there's more gay cellists out of all musicians.

2:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We know different flutists. Thanks for reading.

9:20 PM  

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