When he was in elementary school, Brian took great pride in his ability to spell words correctly. He got 100% on every spelling test. His teachers were all impressed.
One day, though, he finally missed a word. Horrors! (Sadly, no one remembers which particular word it allegedly was.) Brian got his paper back and stared at it for a couple of minutes. He walked to the teacher's desk (Mrs. Thomas, 4th grade, nearing retirement). "I didn't miss this word."
"I'm sorry, Brian, but you did."
"No, I spelled it right."
Pause. "No, see, look. Here it is in the dictionary. The dictionary spells it this way."
Immediately: "Then the dictionary's wrong."
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यह कहानी सच नहीं है (ye kahaani sach nahin hai/this story isn't true ). My dad loved to tell it about me, and to imply that it reveals my आत्मा (aatma/essence or soul). I'm afraid that's not so; it's just an amusing fiction to say so.
My issue with this canonical telling is that it makes me sound like a little asshole. "I simply know better." Why? Just 'cause it's me, apparently.
No no no. Sticking to my guns I can see; unsupported arrogance, not so much.
Last spring, Paul Auster published a postmodern masterpiece titled 4 3 2 1. I reviewed it for Sequart and, just recently, got my book club to read it (all 800+ pages)! Now here is an infinitely better way to tell "my" story.
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[Young Archie Ferguson hears how the Rosenbergs were "fried" for their espionage, then repeats the word in his own kid-newspaper story on the subject.]
There was some disagreement over the use of the word *fried*, which his grandmother thought was an excessively vulgar way to talk about a tragic event, but Ferguson insisted there was no choice, the language couldn’t be changed because that was how Francie had presented the matter to him, and he found it a good word precisely because it was so vivid and disgusting. Anyway, it was his letter, wasn’t it, and he could write anything he wanted to. Once again, his grandmother shook her head. You never back down, do you, Archie? To which her grandson answered: Why should I back down when I’m right?
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Why indeed?
This is ज़िद्द (ziddh) we're talking about, "stubbornness" or "persistence." Persistence is a good quality--a power. May we all hold firm to our ज़िद्द when we're in the right!
One day, though, he finally missed a word. Horrors! (Sadly, no one remembers which particular word it allegedly was.) Brian got his paper back and stared at it for a couple of minutes. He walked to the teacher's desk (Mrs. Thomas, 4th grade, nearing retirement). "I didn't miss this word."
"I'm sorry, Brian, but you did."
"No, I spelled it right."
Pause. "No, see, look. Here it is in the dictionary. The dictionary spells it this way."
Immediately: "Then the dictionary's wrong."
**************************************************************************
यह कहानी सच नहीं है (ye kahaani sach nahin hai/this story isn't true ). My dad loved to tell it about me, and to imply that it reveals my आत्मा (aatma/essence or soul). I'm afraid that's not so; it's just an amusing fiction to say so.
My issue with this canonical telling is that it makes me sound like a little asshole. "I simply know better." Why? Just 'cause it's me, apparently.
No no no. Sticking to my guns I can see; unsupported arrogance, not so much.
Last spring, Paul Auster published a postmodern masterpiece titled 4 3 2 1. I reviewed it for Sequart and, just recently, got my book club to read it (all 800+ pages)! Now here is an infinitely better way to tell "my" story.
**************************************************************************
[Young Archie Ferguson hears how the Rosenbergs were "fried" for their espionage, then repeats the word in his own kid-newspaper story on the subject.]
There was some disagreement over the use of the word *fried*, which his grandmother thought was an excessively vulgar way to talk about a tragic event, but Ferguson insisted there was no choice, the language couldn’t be changed because that was how Francie had presented the matter to him, and he found it a good word precisely because it was so vivid and disgusting. Anyway, it was his letter, wasn’t it, and he could write anything he wanted to. Once again, his grandmother shook her head. You never back down, do you, Archie? To which her grandson answered: Why should I back down when I’m right?
**************************************************************************
Why indeed?
This is ज़िद्द (ziddh) we're talking about, "stubbornness" or "persistence." Persistence is a good quality--a power. May we all hold firm to our ज़िद्द when we're in the right!
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