The French have an expression which I have always loved, “Esprit d’escalier” (there should probably be some accents).
For those unfamiliar, it would normally translate as “the spririt” – or perhaps better. “the inspiration, of the stairs” and it is used to refer to, for example , “the brilliant retort you should have said five minutes ago (before you were walking down the stairs)”.
As Lucky Dog, I freely admit that I unashamedly spread the esprit d’escalier in many of my tales, in fact to some extent it, is now done for me.
I recently dropped a cake, an relatively minor mishap, which, had it been anyone else, might have evoked a groan of sympathy or empathy, but for me, has now become just the latest in a mythical series of legendary disasters (there will be a movie shortly ). My participation in the story lends it an added “glamor?” on perhaps just heightens the anticipation of inevitable catastrophe.
(Yes, my wife had worked on the cake for hours, it was home made. I dropped it spectacularly carrying it down the stairs to guests in the garden, and the failed saved, left cream all over me and the stair. Happy now?)
Ocassionally life throws up events that, do not translate well into extended humorous anecdotes (or at least, pass my skill to do so), no matter how much “esprit” you salt on them. Perhaps because sometimes you don’t need to wait till you’re walking down the stairs to drop the cake, it gets thrown right in your face.
I had my eye op.
There’s a happy ending (I can see now with both eyes), which is the important point, but the road to the happy ending was not smooth, and you’d generally expect I could turn that into a typical dogs life with self deprecation and mishap, but I can’t find a way to tell this story that doesn’t wind up seeming like an accusation or assigning blame, and I have no wish to do either on an open pubic forum (however obscure).
I not a big giver of respect, especially not, if it’s expected “as due”, but I do respect our NHS staff and the service they give, and have given, particularly over these last couple of years.
So lets just go with, “Arr me Hearties! I hopes you had a good -talk like a pirate day” ,which is when I started writting. It was nearly a much more appropriate event for me than it should have been.
Next week on IaDL – It’ll be 2 weeks to the fire walk!!!
Dalmallyfest the Asylum 