When she discovered me, I was known simply as Lion #30. Now I am a literary lion, working with a published writer, ready to roar to protect people in need, like the persons represented by the faces on my pedestal. There are 21 of them, so I have convinced Bonnie to work with me to produce 21 roars: Roar #1 will appear soon on this blog, as soon as I decide where to start in the myriad problems confronting the world today. Wish me luck, fellow lions, and please feel free to suggest subjects for my roars.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Soon, my roaring begins
Once upon a time in the land of Lyon, I was an unknown lion waiting for an artist. Taken in by Alain Pouillet, a French painter (see an example of his art HERE), I was transformed into the beautiful creature you see in the photo above. Inside my hide, I was still Roary the lion who wanted to roar about the injustice I see in the world. While protecting the people in agony below me, I felt helpless to do more, but I was nevertheless required to stand tall as people admired the artist's work on the canvas of my fur. It was months, nay years, before Bonnie stumbled upon my photo and felt we should become partners in a writing project. I would be able to ROAR like a lion!
When she discovered me, I was known simply as Lion #30. Now I am a literary lion, working with a published writer, ready to roar to protect people in need, like the persons represented by the faces on my pedestal. There are 21 of them, so I have convinced Bonnie to work with me to produce 21 roars: Roar #1 will appear soon on this blog, as soon as I decide where to start in the myriad problems confronting the world today. Wish me luck, fellow lions, and please feel free to suggest subjects for my roars.
When she discovered me, I was known simply as Lion #30. Now I am a literary lion, working with a published writer, ready to roar to protect people in need, like the persons represented by the faces on my pedestal. There are 21 of them, so I have convinced Bonnie to work with me to produce 21 roars: Roar #1 will appear soon on this blog, as soon as I decide where to start in the myriad problems confronting the world today. Wish me luck, fellow lions, and please feel free to suggest subjects for my roars.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Pardon the construction work
This has been a rush job, which is coming along handily, but I really have moved in before the construction workers quite finished my den.
I'll show you the interior another time, when Sophia and I get settled in here. I have moved all my posts and comments from my first blog into this one, and you may read them below. There is no need to keep the other one bookmarked because I won't be using it any longer, once I move the stuff on the sidebar to this new den.
I'll show you the interior another time, when Sophia and I get settled in here. I have moved all my posts and comments from my first blog into this one, and you may read them below. There is no need to keep the other one bookmarked because I won't be using it any longer, once I move the stuff on the sidebar to this new den.
THE ... literary lion has a new den
I've moved, again. The first blog was built off Bonnie's many blogs, and I wanted one of my own. Both look the same, with one very important word added to my title:
THE ... Literary Lion of Lyon
Here, you will be able to read my profile, see my family photo album on the sidebar, read my elegant writing, see what I'm up to ... as I try to educate my human to the fullest of her ability.
Roary ^..^
moving in, moving on
Here, you will be able to read my profile, see my family photo album on the sidebar, read my elegant writing, see what I'm up to ... as I try to educate my human to the fullest of her ability.
moving in, moving on
Oh, these humans...
Bonnie sat down at her computer this morning as we had agreed, while I did my best to inspire her. I can see already that it will take a lot of work on my part to move her to a good place for writing. As it is, she jumps right in to the actual typing, putting words on paper like there's no tomorrow. Now I must teach her to meditate before setting down the words. She needs to think herself into the scene before she tries to write about it. Human are so slow to understand, though she isn't TRYING to be obtuse. Do you want to see what she managed to write? She posted it on my (our?) Lion #30 spot over at Seamus's place, so I can copy-and-paste it here:How Roary got his name:
I named him Roary because of his deep, magnificent roar. Hey, he's proud of that roar! The name seemed appropriate when I studied the 'screaming' faces below his feet and felt the power of his roar. Take a look at those faces around the lion's feet. They each resemble the person in the famous painting The Scream by Munch. What do you think? Does Roary need to roar for those 21 faces? Do they need his strength?
I looked up Roary's name online and now I'm wondering if I misspelled it. Under a different spelling (RUAIDHRÍ, pronounced ROR-ee), I found it means "red king" from Irish ruadh "red" combined with rí "king." This was the name of the last high king of Ireland, reigning in the 12th century. Roary is a king, so that fits, since lions are known to be kings. Red? Sometimes his fur looks slightly reddish, in the right light, but maybe there's another meaning. Red of tooth and nail, perhaps? Or tooth and claw, killing to survive on the African savannah.
I'll probably let her go on thinking she named me. The other lions and I have all told our human writing partners our names, telepathically, of course. Humans, though, are less developed than most of the animals and don't hear anything, most of the time. Most likely the reason is that they have failed to open the third eye and have thus far been unable to use their inner ears. Bonnie heard my powerful message to her as "ROR-ee," which was enough. I don't care how she spells it and have adopted her spelling for convenience.
I was chatting with Dewey this morning: "Let me think of a word to describe Bonnie ... hmmm ... you humans look so naked to me, not having any fur, you know. When you want a fur coat, you kill an animal and take theirs. Not nice, not nice at all. Or else you drape cloth all over yourselves, making it quite evident to the whole animal kingdom that you want to hide your bodies. Let's see, unlike lions, Bonnie is not elegant. Neither does she walk softly and gracefully, as we lions do. I'll have to give this some thought and get back to you."
Dewey had challenged my idea that Bonnie was pretty good, though I wouldn't call a 67-year-old woman pretty. Now I'm stuck. I have looked through my thesaurus to no avail. I need help, so I'm calling on my lion friends to tell me how they would describe THEIR humans. What words would you use?
--------------------------------------------------
2 comments (from my original blog):
On June 18, 2007, Endelyn said...
Well, one of the first things that my owner did was go away for a week! Now that she's back she seems... well... a little NOISY. I can see that I too will have to teach her that silence can be golden and inspirational.
On June 18, 2007, Roary said...
Well, what can you expect? They got rather uppity when they came down from the trees and started going about on their two hind paws.
Working agreement
Bonnie tells me she has made the BIG announcement, not that it is any surprise to my friends in the pride. They already know Sophia is my mate and that she is expecting our first cub (or cubs). I have posted a photo of her on what amounts to my desk, by putting Sophia at the top of my blog. Maybe when she arrives, I'll move the photo down. Or maybe I'll put it in this post. Or maybe (wise move for a lion), I'll ask the lioness herself what she prefers. Ah, yes! Ah, yes.
We have work to do, Bonnie and I. Today is Father's Day, she tells me. Since I am not yet a father ... or am I? ... no, not yet ... Since I am not yet a father, I have time to make plans for the coming week.
After dinner last night, Bonnie and I came up with what may be a workable schedule for us. I get the idea she is used to writing as the spirit moves her, but Bonnie is already learning I'm a muse of a different stripe. She has agreed to regular, daily time together at the computer, with her hands on the keyboard, working. I may give her Sundays off; she says that's a tradition, though we lions know that when we get lazy and sit around the savannah, we don't eat. Maybe it's a human thing. At any rate, our real work begins in the morning.
Now pardon me, please, while I get back to my reading.
--------------------------------------------------
2 comments (from my original blog):
On June 17, 2007, colleen said...
Every lions going to want their own blog now...and a girlfriend!
On June 17, 2007, Roary said...
Maybe we shameless lions will take over the blogosphere! In the sense of becoming the most trusted commentators, of course. I'm sure Elliot would be an excellent blogger, if he's interested. Not all of us want the extra work, of course.
Roary ^..^
We have work to do, Bonnie and I. Today is Father's Day, she tells me. Since I am not yet a father ... or am I? ... no, not yet ... Since I am not yet a father, I have time to make plans for the coming week.
After dinner last night, Bonnie and I came up with what may be a workable schedule for us. I get the idea she is used to writing as the spirit moves her, but Bonnie is already learning I'm a muse of a different stripe. She has agreed to regular, daily time together at the computer, with her hands on the keyboard, working. I may give her Sundays off; she says that's a tradition, though we lions know that when we get lazy and sit around the savannah, we don't eat. Maybe it's a human thing. At any rate, our real work begins in the morning.Now pardon me, please, while I get back to my reading.
--------------------------------------------------
2 comments (from my original blog):
On June 17, 2007, colleen said...
Every lions going to want their own blog now...and a girlfriend!
On June 17, 2007, Roary said...
Maybe we shameless lions will take over the blogosphere! In the sense of becoming the most trusted commentators, of course. I'm sure Elliot would be an excellent blogger, if he's interested. Not all of us want the extra work, of course.
Roary ^..^
What's in a name?
Since she looked up mine, I suppose I should look up the derivation of Bonnie's name before she comes to dinner this evening. Hmmm, Bonnie, B-o-n ... that's good! (Small inside joke for those of us with a smattering of French ... bon means "good" as in bon bons.) Oh, here it is: Bonnie means "pretty" from the Scottish word bonnie, which was itself derived from Middle French bon "good." Told ya' so!Pretty and good. Pretty good, which doesn't quite mean what either word means. Bonnie's pretty good, though. Speakers of the English language don't usually call a 67-year-old woman "pretty," though maybe "good" would fit her, when she isn't mistrusting her writing partner.
I wonder if she's heard of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Now, the poor fellow in that book REALLY had a problem with his name. Thank goodness I'm not named Gogol!
Time to go fire up the grill.
--------------------------------------------------
4 comments (from my original blog):
On June 16, 2007 Dewey said...
Roary! Many people would consider a 67 year old human pretty!
On June 17, 2007, Shameless said...
Roary,
Are you going to say Bonnie Apetit before dinner? I am enjoying reading what you have to say ... very very nice.
On June 18, 2007, Roary said...
Good one, Seamus! I'll have to remember that for next time.
Dewey, I've heard "beautiful" attributed to elderly humans, but "pretty" sounds rather child-like, to me. We might say "what a pretty picture!" to a child or "what a pretty dress you are wearing!" Let me think of a word to describe Bonnie ... hmmm ... you humans look so naked to me, not having any fur, you know. When you want a fur coat, you kill an animal and take theirs. Not nice, you know. Or else you drape cloth all over yourselves, making it quite evident to the whole animal kingdom that you want to hide your bodies. Let's see, unlike lions, Bonnie is not elegant. Neither does she walk softly and gracefully, as we lions do. I'll have to give this some thought and get back to you.
Roary ^..^
On June 18, 2007, Bonnie Jacobs said...
Yes, Roary, I read The Namesake and posted a review of it on my Bonnie's Books blog. Click on the title of the book in your post, which will take you to my review.
Grilled salmon, anyone?
Somebody give that woman a good stiff drink to relax her!
No, no, I'm sorry, Bonnie, I should be talking directly to you. We really need to sit down and have a long talk, especially after you posted "Red of tooth and nail" on your blog.
How could you possibly say, "Red of tooth and nail (umm, claw) would fit the life of a lion on the plains of Africa, killing to survive. That gives me shivers. But surely Roary wouldn't turn on me, would he?"
You should know by now what I'm like. You should feel at ease around me and realize there's no WAY I would ever turn on you like that. The most I would ever do is ROAR at you. Haven't you heard the saying "his roar is worst than his bite"? Natter, natter, grumble, fret, you GET the idea, don't you? Yes, it means the same thing as bark and bite, for Pete's sake!
I don't plan to eat you. Haven't you seen what I eat? Of course, you have! So you should know I am a connoisseur of fine food and drink. Would you join me for grilled salmon this evening? I have a fantastic recipe for salmon fillet using bourbon whiskey, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, a little ginger, and black pepper. Whaddaya think?
--------------------------------------------------
5 comments (from my original blog):
On June 16, 2007, Vesper said...
Hey Roary,
I think it's great! I simply love grilled salmon. (Not to mention the bourbon... :-) ) Thank you for stopping by and for inviting me at your place. I'm sort of missing the African plains.
You and your mistress, Bonnie, are always welcome to visit me and Vesper.
All the best from Alexander
On June 16, 2007, LJCohen said...
Yum! Sounds fabulous, Roary. When's supper?
I haven't figured out what Lucidus loves to eat. Probably juicy words. :)
Thanks for the invite and for dropping in to visit us at the Blue Muse Ranch.
Best,
Lisa and Lucidus
On June 16, 2007, Dewey said...
Mmm, that salmon sounds good. But I think my husband is in the kitchen making a spinach salad right now, so no salmon for me tonight.
On June 17, 2007, Tirso said...
hi roary,
that looks delicious!
i would love to dine with you...is it all gone?
~Tirso
On June 17, 2007, Roary said...
Friends, all of you, the lovely photo shows what I served Bonnie for dinner last night. Indeed, it is all gone. However, you are welcome to drop by next weekend and we'll party. How's that? Invite the others. Let's get the whole pride together. Maybe Sophia will arrive before the party. Bring a dish, if you like, and I'll provide a thing or two myself. Please mention this on the writing circle blog, in case I forget it when I mosey over there later.
Roary ^..^
No, no, I'm sorry, Bonnie, I should be talking directly to you. We really need to sit down and have a long talk, especially after you posted "Red of tooth and nail" on your blog.
How could you possibly say, "Red of tooth and nail (umm, claw) would fit the life of a lion on the plains of Africa, killing to survive. That gives me shivers. But surely Roary wouldn't turn on me, would he?"
You should know by now what I'm like. You should feel at ease around me and realize there's no WAY I would ever turn on you like that. The most I would ever do is ROAR at you. Haven't you heard the saying "his roar is worst than his bite"? Natter, natter, grumble, fret, you GET the idea, don't you? Yes, it means the same thing as bark and bite, for Pete's sake!
I don't plan to eat you. Haven't you seen what I eat? Of course, you have! So you should know I am a connoisseur of fine food and drink. Would you join me for grilled salmon this evening? I have a fantastic recipe for salmon fillet using bourbon whiskey, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, a little ginger, and black pepper. Whaddaya think?
--------------------------------------------------
5 comments (from my original blog):
On June 16, 2007, Vesper said...
Hey Roary,
I think it's great! I simply love grilled salmon. (Not to mention the bourbon... :-) ) Thank you for stopping by and for inviting me at your place. I'm sort of missing the African plains.
You and your mistress, Bonnie, are always welcome to visit me and Vesper.
All the best from Alexander
On June 16, 2007, LJCohen said...
Yum! Sounds fabulous, Roary. When's supper?
I haven't figured out what Lucidus loves to eat. Probably juicy words. :)
Thanks for the invite and for dropping in to visit us at the Blue Muse Ranch.
Best,
Lisa and Lucidus
On June 16, 2007, Dewey said...
Mmm, that salmon sounds good. But I think my husband is in the kitchen making a spinach salad right now, so no salmon for me tonight.
On June 17, 2007, Tirso said...
hi roary,
that looks delicious!
i would love to dine with you...is it all gone?
~Tirso
On June 17, 2007, Roary said...
Friends, all of you, the lovely photo shows what I served Bonnie for dinner last night. Indeed, it is all gone. However, you are welcome to drop by next weekend and we'll party. How's that? Invite the others. Let's get the whole pride together. Maybe Sophia will arrive before the party. Bring a dish, if you like, and I'll provide a thing or two myself. Please mention this on the writing circle blog, in case I forget it when I mosey over there later.
Roary ^..^
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
