Whan that Aprill…

Chaucer’s first 20 lines of Canterbury Tales tells us that:

It’s spring. See all of the natural hallmarks of the coming spring. People like to travel religiously right now, to distant shores and shrines. In England, they travel to Canterbury. I’m in Southwerk at the Tabard Inn.

Plot wise, that’s all those opening lines convey, but it means so much more to me as I recite those lines when I’m stressed or lonely or getting blood drawn or climbing 48 ft onto a metal grid.

Whan that Aprill reminds me of ~~my favorite~~ one of my favorite professors, of my friends and the days we got to spend with people who cared about the same things and loved the subjects we studied, of the days when I would pedal to class with a full bowl of cereal, barely sitting down as said professor strode in. I was a hot mess then and I was happy, and these lines remind me that now I can be happy in a different way. And that’s okay.

Black Shoes

While we’re on the subject, I realized that my generational habit of keeping things you might need has a convex side. The other side of the coin collection. (Seriously, was I the only person told to collect state quarters as a child?)

I also keep things that I never want to use. Do you have a box of tangled unknown cables that you carry from apartment to apartment? Or maybe snow boots 1.5 sizes too big? Do you also keep things so you don’t have to buy new ones, in case you ever need it?

I’ve always heard people say, the second you give that away, you’ll need it. As a recovering southerner, I’ve developed a lot of superstitions based on the sayings I’ve heard my whole life. As soon as you get rid of something, you’ll need it. You’re just tempting fate here, mate.

That’s why I keep a pair a black pinchy flats. I don’t like flats or wearing black, even at work as a stage technician. I especially don’t like dress shoes, if you don’t buy ‘em, you have an excuse not to dress up. But I bought them as a sacrifice, to show that I was making an effort.

I bought them to wear to attend two funerals in two days, and I hate them. But I keep them. Not even in my storage unit. In my closet with all my bright colored sneakers and expensive boots. Because the second I get rid of my funeral shoes, I might need them again.

Sonny, that sign is a sign!

Back in the second covid year, I worked at a little book store for no good reason. It was half an hour away and paid $7.25, so it cost almost as much to drive there as I earned, going in for 2 hours a day.

But that is not the point. To get there during that half hour, I had to drive through downtown, which is a pain in itself. But on the way back, you cross under a bridge.

At some point I finally took notice that someone(s) had placed a row of signs along the bridge with the words “UNMASK NC” over a picture of the Statue of Liberty. Real creative, yall.

Anyways, not long after, someone(s) meticulously cut the “UN” out of “UNMASK” leaving just “MASK NC.”

This turned into a fun game for someone(s) because the original sign-bearers then replaced the cut signs with fresh new UNMASKs.

The maskers did not appreciate this reverse card in Covid UNO. Snip, snip and off goes the “UN” leaving a cut out corner and we’re back to “MASK NC.”

At least I was enjoying this chain of events. I hope someone appreciates me appreciating all this.

Finally, someone(s) started thinking and threw down a skip card. This unknown third party left us bridge passer-unders with a simple directive, merely telling us to “ASK NC.”

Yes, please, ask us what?

It’s the little things, yall.

Present Musings

Getting Crusty

Never in my entire life, from being adopted and brought here to NC through now, have I not owned at least one loaf of bread. That bland, unfilling staple. Yet every week or so I walk right past the $1.29 brown bundles and search through the $3.29s for the longest lasting. And why? So to extend the amount of time that I have to give my dog the squishy pieces?

The question of nature versus nurture ever knocks, especially when you can’t understand the latter for constantly obsessing over the former that is a guaranteed unknown.

Then, there is the question of “other people do this too, right?” I mean, for other folks it might be eggs or coffee or creamer for coffee. I just happen to gravitate towards that one universal symbol that transcends boundaries of time, except for those who are gluten free or don’t fixate on inherited habits and find my current admission utterly ridiculous.

From Les Mis to The Hunger Games to Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography and to other stories that I don’t really like that much anymore, bread represents our control over our own particular hunger. It is ours to consume and to freeze for later and to burn and to warm our bellies.

(Oh, and Aladdin. Almost forgot that one. I like the live action better.)

Do I carry this trait the same way you have to put half a paper towel in a pitcher before it goes under the sink, or like how breakfast sausage is the best seasoning for scrambled eggs? Or is it the fear of not having, ever starving off the descending line of savings, that drives me to secure my pantry each week? Middle America, is this your gift to me?

No, instead, I know this familiar feeling. It is your grandmother’s voice in your head saying, “That’s a nice box. You might need a good cardboard box soon.”

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My time at Disney

Due to copyrights and privacy concerns, I have very few examples of my work from Disney to share. However, here is one of the few instances where I received my own work.

Silver Gelatin Print Samples

Film photography is an exquisite art form that requires patience and attention to detail. The result is an intricately crafted black-and-white film print, developed by hand. Sarah learned this skill at Meredith College. She finds great joy in being able to create a piece of art from exposure, to development, to printing and mounting. She treasures it as another form of storytelling and hopes that you will find her pictures below to be the slightest bit intriguing.

Enchantment065 — Enchantment ©Sarah Kiser 2018

Do (Not) Touch — Do Not Touch ©Sarah Kiser 2018

Sarah’s DSLR photo experience

Sarah initially fostered her love for photojournalism at the North Carolina Scholastic Media Institute, a one-week summer intensive for high school journalists. Since then, she has learned black and white dark room photography at Meredith College and mastered the DSLR through cosplay portraits, creating professional head shots, and working at Rockfish Camp and Retreat Center as the Summer Media Director. She is proficient in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator to edit, prepare, and utilize her photography. From exposure to printing, Sarah can create a final product that both tells a story and is aesthetically pleasing.