When we first meet St. George of Merry England, he is simply called the Red Cross Knight, because he carries a shield with a red cross on it. The shield has been used by many other knights to win great battles, but he himself has never been tried in battle and does not even know his own name. The Fairy Queen has sent him to kill a dragon that is ravaging the land of Princess Una, his traveling companion. Una’s face is veiled and she wears a black cloak. She had been on a journey to find a champion. She has been on a long journey and has faced many dangers. Notice that at the beginning of the adventure, the Red Cross Knight knows neither his name nor where he was born. If the journey is also metaphorical, his will be to discover his identity on the way. Una, on the other hand, does know who she is. Yet she has to some extent renounced her identity as princess, disguised herself with a cloak and veil, and left the safety of home to find a champion. The king and queen can...
Outside my window... our darkened backyard, which is full of trucks and dirt, the setting for the boys' imaginations. I am thinking... about the writing process--why am I sometimes so prolific and sometimes so dry. Today I'm very tired, and so you're getting a prompted post. Oh, well. I am thankful... for my wild, sweet, chaotic, loving family. I am creating... this post, but I have a couple of poems swirling around, waiting for the right words to come into being. I am reading... well, about to start reading, a book about the history of American religion. It's going to be a wild ride, I suspect. I am hoping... for a bit of calm this week. I feel that we've been tearing around like crazy people lately. I am looking forward to... next week, when my delightful mother in law comes to stay with us for a couple of weeks. She's wonderful with the boys, and we always have ...
Tonight Lev and Vuk had a loud disagreement over who got to lie down on the floor with baby Vanya. They were both sent to time-out, for fear of the baby's safety. When Lev returned from his upstairs sojourn, he started complaining that he had been lying next to Vanya first and the time-out was SO unfair.. So I said to him, with apologies to Plato and Socrates, "When it comes to baby Vanya, it's better to suffer an injustice than for the baby to get hurt." Surprisingly, he accepted and agreed with me. And they said a Great Books education wasn't practical. Another time I'll tell you how I used Euclid to make a beret.
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