With my customary procrastination, I was trying to finish a library book on my last night in Texas. I read this passage:
“How can it be described? How can any of it be described? The trip and the story of the trip are two different things. The narrator is the one who has stayed home, but then, afterward, presses her mouth upon the traveler’s mouth, in order to make the mouth work, to make the mouth say, say, say. One cannot go to a place and speak of it; one cannot both see and say, not really. One can go, and upon returning make a lot of hand motions and indications with the arms. The mouth itself, working at the speed of light, at the eye’s instructions, is necessarily struck still; so fast, so much to report, it hangs open and dumb as a gutted bell. All that unsayable life! That’s where the narrator comes in. The narrator comes with her kisses and mimicry and tidying up. The narrator comes and makes a slow, fake song of the mouth’s eager devastation.”
-Lorrie Moore, Birds of America
It's heartbreaking, but true, I think, that for the next two years, to you all back home, we will be primarily the narrators. What we can share is what we can share, and though it isn't everything, it must be enough.
I don't know how this will work, posting from my phone here at the airport in the last few minutes before we board our flight, but here's a song we wanted to share on the blog. We've been listening to it a lot lately, usually shedding tears, and believing as deeply as we can that it's true:
If this link doesn't work, search YouTube for "All Will Be Well" by the Gabe Dixon Band.
"All will be well, you can ask me how, but only time will tell."
-Pete
“How can it be described? How can any of it be described? The trip and the story of the trip are two different things. The narrator is the one who has stayed home, but then, afterward, presses her mouth upon the traveler’s mouth, in order to make the mouth work, to make the mouth say, say, say. One cannot go to a place and speak of it; one cannot both see and say, not really. One can go, and upon returning make a lot of hand motions and indications with the arms. The mouth itself, working at the speed of light, at the eye’s instructions, is necessarily struck still; so fast, so much to report, it hangs open and dumb as a gutted bell. All that unsayable life! That’s where the narrator comes in. The narrator comes with her kisses and mimicry and tidying up. The narrator comes and makes a slow, fake song of the mouth’s eager devastation.”
-Lorrie Moore, Birds of America
It's heartbreaking, but true, I think, that for the next two years, to you all back home, we will be primarily the narrators. What we can share is what we can share, and though it isn't everything, it must be enough.
I don't know how this will work, posting from my phone here at the airport in the last few minutes before we board our flight, but here's a song we wanted to share on the blog. We've been listening to it a lot lately, usually shedding tears, and believing as deeply as we can that it's true:
If this link doesn't work, search YouTube for "All Will Be Well" by the Gabe Dixon Band.
"All will be well, you can ask me how, but only time will tell."
-Pete
I have no doubt that it's all going to be well for you guys, but thanks for introducing me to a new band! :) Hope your flight went well.
ReplyDeleteHow is this for a sign- Ryan has purchased a lot of new music in the last few weeks, and yesterday we were having a lazy Sunday morning of pancakes and new music on the ipod speakers. I was going through blogs on my phone and re-reading this post when my ears perked up and I realized that we had been listening to the Gabe Dixon Band all morning. Not only that, but "All Will Be Well" was playing just as I got to this post. I'm taking this as a little wink from God and hope you guys are doing very well in your first full week in your new country!
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