Friday, August 15, I tasted life. It was a vast morsel. I visited American Celebration on Parade in Quicksburg, Virginia.
Hmm…you might be thinking, “what the hell is he talking about?”
Well, first, I opened this post by paraphrasing a quote from Emily Dickinson’s May 1866 letter to Mrs. J. G. Holland, and second, I mentioned “American Celebration on Parade,” a most unusual tourist attraction near Shenandoah Caverns in Virginia.
I’ll start with info about American Celebration on Parade:
“American Celebration on Parade is one of America’s most unique attractions. This 44,000 square foot building is home to 15 parade floats that graced the streets in parades, such as Inaugural Parades, Tournament of Roses Parades, Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parades, and many more.”
Hmm…you might be thinking, “what the hell is he talking about?”
Well, first, I opened this post by paraphrasing a quote from Emily Dickinson’s May 1866 letter to Mrs. J. G. Holland, and second, I mentioned “American Celebration on Parade,” a most unusual tourist attraction near Shenandoah Caverns in Virginia.
I’ll start with info about American Celebration on Parade:
“American Celebration on Parade is one of America’s most unique attractions. This 44,000 square foot building is home to 15 parade floats that graced the streets in parades, such as Inaugural Parades, Tournament of Roses Parades, Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parades, and many more.”
Now to the quote I paraphrased at the start of this post: In her letter to Mrs. Holland in May 1866, Dickinson said this:
“Friday I tasted life. It was a vast morsel. A circus passed the house - still I feel the red in my mind though the drums are out.”
How cool is that? Dickinson watched a circus parade pass in front of her home. Johnson’s notes on this letter state, “A circus was in town on the third.”
I tried to find out what circus might have been in Amherst of May 1866 and found this:
“To find the specific circus that was in Amherst, Massachusetts, on May 3, 1866, it would be necessary to consult digitized local newspaper records for that exact date. However, historical sources indicate that the most likely candidate was the P.T. Barnum and Van Amburgh circus, as P.T. Barnum was known for traveling through New England during that period.”
If interested, the link below is to the full letter, and it includes these gems:
“After you went, a low wind warbled through the house like a spacious bird, making it high but lonely.”
“Shame is so intrinsic in a strong affection we must all experience Adam's reticence. I suppose the street that the lover travels is thenceforth divine, incapable of turnpike aims.”
“The lawn is full of south and the odors tangle, and I hear today for the first the river in the tree.”
And then my favorite:
"’House’ is being ‘cleaned.’ I prefer pestilence. That is more classic and less fell.”
I have to admit, I didn’t know the meaning of “fell” in usage like this, so I looked it up: “of terrible evil or ferocity; deadly.” But what a quote is that! LOL!
The complete letter is HERE.
“Friday I tasted life. It was a vast morsel. A circus passed the house - still I feel the red in my mind though the drums are out.”
How cool is that? Dickinson watched a circus parade pass in front of her home. Johnson’s notes on this letter state, “A circus was in town on the third.”
I tried to find out what circus might have been in Amherst of May 1866 and found this:
“To find the specific circus that was in Amherst, Massachusetts, on May 3, 1866, it would be necessary to consult digitized local newspaper records for that exact date. However, historical sources indicate that the most likely candidate was the P.T. Barnum and Van Amburgh circus, as P.T. Barnum was known for traveling through New England during that period.”
If interested, the link below is to the full letter, and it includes these gems:
“After you went, a low wind warbled through the house like a spacious bird, making it high but lonely.”
“Shame is so intrinsic in a strong affection we must all experience Adam's reticence. I suppose the street that the lover travels is thenceforth divine, incapable of turnpike aims.”
“The lawn is full of south and the odors tangle, and I hear today for the first the river in the tree.”
And then my favorite:
"’House’ is being ‘cleaned.’ I prefer pestilence. That is more classic and less fell.”
I have to admit, I didn’t know the meaning of “fell” in usage like this, so I looked it up: “of terrible evil or ferocity; deadly.” But what a quote is that! LOL!
The complete letter is HERE.
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