First, here's a link to my April
href="http://www.joannemerriam.com/journal/ampersand/">Ampersand entry,
because it's only been up on the index page for a couple of hours.
On
the way to the cafeteria just now, I was having spring and summer songs swirling
in my head -- mostly the old Broadway ones like "It's a Grand Night for Singing",
"It Might as Well be Spring", and "June is Bustin' Out All Over", which I feel
entitled to despite being a bit early, considering we'll have highs in the 90s all
week. Of course, I didn't actually sing any of these, not even out there in the
courtyard where it wouldn't bother anyone working, oh dear me no, because that
wouldn't be behaving normally just like everyone else, and we couldn't have that.
Why, what if everyone were to act as if they enjoyed being outside on a beautiful
day? We might have harmony in the streets!
If I can't sing, not only
is it not my revolution, it's not my idea of how to enjoy life. And so I'm
subversive: I whistle. People don't look at me quite as strangely for that, though
they do have a tendency to say, "Boy, you must be in a good mood!" even if what
I'm whistling is suicide blues or Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D
Minor.
But then people do have a tendency to all make the same
comments in the same situation. Lately at work, I've been going through the
archives to make sure everything's in place, which is easiest to do by working out
in the hall by the files, with a chair and a small table. I have been wondering if
whether it would be rude to make a small sign saying, "No, they're not just out of
space; no, this isn't my new office; yes, I do have a regular cube," since the
great majority of passersby make some comment along those lines.
In
second and third place for all-time least favorite comment are "There she is!"
(said by someone who hasn't been looking for you) and "And how are we today?". The
winner by a long shot, though, is "Smile!" That one always leaves me wanting to
snarl, "It's my face and I'll do whatever the hell I want with it!" But of course,
all I really do is to grin weakly and hope they go away soon.
Hmm.
Dichroic must be grumpy today.