SPRING BREAK Journal: Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Yesterday I enjoyed, as I often have during this vacation, both excellent music and splendid reading. In the morning, after an early workout and breakfast, I spent a few hours uploading some Debussy songs to my iPod, including lyrics in French and English. They are lovely melodies to the words of poems by French writers like Baudelaire, and I look forward to listening to them many times in the future – and following the lyrics as I listen. In fact, I did some listening later in the morning, and it was rewarding to hear the somewhat “modern” music – beautifully sung by Dawn Upshaw – and simultaneously read the imagistic and often mysterious lines of the poems. Later on, after a delicious lunch of tuna and broccoli, I sat quietly in the big, comfortable chair in my living room and read (and listened to) a few chapters in Jane Eyre. The woman on the audio recording has a strong British voice, which helps bring out the forceful personality of the heroine. I am quite surprised, actually, at how rebellious and free-thinking young Jane is. I had forgotten that from earlier readings. I am beginning to understand, again, why this book, with its brave and inspiring protagonist, has been such an important influence on so many people’s lives. Still later in the day, I read Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians – a poetic and visionary statement of Christian faith – and a scattering of poems. It was a pleasant way to spend an indolent afternoon – quietly and carefully reading words that were written with quietness and care. The hours passed as smoothly as the sentences.