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Grand Member
Member Since Aug 2013
Posts: 856
4 hugs
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Nov 14, 2023 at 01:11 PM
I'm getting more into the spirit of loafing by the day. For example, on my way to complete an errand I'll add 45 minutes so I can drop into a library, find a chair, and read. 35-45 minutes is a decent chunk.
The book of the moment is Body and Soul by Frank Conroy. This is the about the 3rd book I've read of his this year. Great writer and he was on the faculty of the Iowa Writers Workshop for years. I think he edited a thick volume of stories by Workshop grads which i've long since let slip away for others to enjoy.
So I thought I'd see which quotes the crowd at goodreads have pulled from B&S. Only 11. But this is a gem and gives me my motto for dealing with customer services and other frustrations.
“I’m angry. I just don’t give in to it.” He sipped his tea and then put it down. “Stuff happens all the time. What’d you call it? Outrageous. Outrageous stuff make you so mad you can just burn yourself up with it. You got to decide if the mad runs you, or you run the mad.”
What's the name for that rhetorical turn? It's the same as Kennedy's "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Ah, that's a clue …
“Ask not …” is a famous line from John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address. It's a prime example of chiasmus, a rhetorical device associated with the Greek letter X. Chiasmus is a figure of speech that involves reversal and repetition.
Or: Antithesis Clauses set in opposition to each other, ordinarily to distinguish between choices or concepts. "Ask not …" Like repetition, a certain rhythm is set up that builds a strong emotional effect.
Strong start to my day of running the mad.
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