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Post by d o harris on May 19, 2006 16:28:02 GMT -6
My desk already overflows with "useless trivia" I am tracking. The meaning of "person" must be left to another day. Some of the things mentioned in the Tribune I did not include were that Mrs. Noonan was of Mexican descent, and was familiar with every river town from the Missouri to the Rio Grande. These two items can lead to 10,000 words of speculation, and a lifetime of investigating "useless trivia". Dark skin, dark hair?-Indian, perhaps?-a woman, or woman wannabee, who knows all the river towns? Is that suggestive?
Wouldn't you love to be able to fill in the spatial gaps at Stonehenge? Surprisingly often, it is the "useless trivia" that leads to the filling of historical gaps. And the investigation of "useless trivia" sometimes opens big doors a little crack.
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Post by elisabeth on May 19, 2006 23:49:12 GMT -6
Oh, I so agree. The "useless trivia" can be crucial.
Mrs. Custer mentions the Mexican aspect; and says -- lucky for her that she didn't have to worry about being PC! -- that because Mrs. Noonan was Mexican, nobody drew any conclusions from a certain hairiness about her chin and upper lip. She also says that Mrs. N. had been a mulepacker before she became a laundress. That was presumably in her male incarnation, so how Mrs. C. would know that is a mystery ... Yes, "familiar with every river town" does carry, um, implications, doesn't it! It opens up the possibility that the river towns were a little like the docks of Rotterdam or wherever, seething with transvestites plying for trade. If so, it's an aspect of the West that nobody's looked at, as far as I know. Could be fascinating.
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Post by d o harris on May 20, 2006 9:55:34 GMT -6
goodness, Elisabeth, how is it that a proper English lady knows of the docks of Rotterdam, and what may occur there? My knowledge of such derives from the fact that in my youth I spent many years as a seaman, and when on shore leave had to pass--pass, mind you-- through such areas in an attempt to enjoy aspects of the local culture, such as museums, churches, and partaking of of local cuisine, such as a gelatinous soup made of rice and monkey brains. On the other hand, from having read Jane Austen very closely, I suspect even proper young ladies know more than they are likely to admit. (And to those with prurient interests, I will not tell you what pages or passages to seek out, but will offer this as a training ground. Read, or re-read Hamlet. And look before or beyond the point where Hamlet stabs Polonius through the arras.)
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Post by elisabeth on May 20, 2006 10:59:45 GMT -6
Ophelia's mad scene? Oh my goodness, yes, what a giveaway that is. And Jane's far from the only spinster lady who knew far more than was proper. Our Libbie herself, demure daughter of a judge though she might be, was muttering darkly about her rival Fanny Fifield before she and Custer were engaged -- saying that Custer, "like others, takes all she gives which I sometimes think is everything" ...
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