Lexicomania at the Table

ABOVE: My first vocab list for Helena (age 10) made at her mother Eva’s request. I’m on pins and needles to show it. Each time I expose Helena to my fetish for coloring the enclosed spaces of letters, I detect a glimmer of interest — a practiced eye surveying a negligible specimen of decoration — followed by a look of scorn mixed with pity.

Food is much discussed in this household. Eva is a consummate cook and Eduard an exacting trencherman much attached to his culinary traditions. Their travels in Italy, Egypt, Turkey and Morocco have influenced the pantry. Terminology from a smorgasbord of languages arises over the dining table. The prevailing gist is: “What is this [foodstuff] in [language]?”

(c) 2018 JMN.

About JMN

I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.
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