an Old English term, morphing from the word pride, meaning the most important, significant position among a group of objects or personal possessions.
The Mona Lisa, for instance, has a major, pride of place, at The Louvre, in Paris.
Someone’s wedding picture might be considered one, or a diploma, trophy, or Gramma’s favorite chair.
I’ve been reading Dashiell Hammett mysteries, and along with drinking before breakfast, Dash seemed to favor the phrase that’s rather pleasing to this reader’s eye, alerting me to its melody.
Made me look around my flat to see what I could claim as my own...pride of place.
Could be my lemon painting hanging on a prominent wall to honor my late friend Jackie who always said…’when you get lemons, you make lemonade’.
Or my old neighbor Mimi’s owl, Elsa, who watches over things from the top shelf of my bookcase.
Then again, maybe it’s my bed covered with stuffed animals all named after American Presidents: George, Abe, Teddy, Ike, Harry, Jack and John Quincy, taking ménage a’ trois to new heights.
It’s interesting to apply it personally since, we all have something that we’re proud of, even if it’s kept under our hat.
Speaking of secrets, it could be the top hat I pinched, while drunk, at a party, allegedly belonging to one of the Vanderbilts.
I couldn’t help myself. Just call it history, on the rocks.
Maybe it’s time to take it from its noble box to display it in, a pride of place, if for no other reason but to honor where it might have been, like the famous Costume Ball of the Decade, Alva Vanderbilt gave in 1880.
If only hats could talk.
But back to language that’s not only inspiring, but lovely, lyrical and lights one’s imagination.
So what treasure do you have on display you’re rather smitten with.
A stuffed deer you bagged in Maine?
Bronzed booties?
A signed copy of Electric Ladyland next to your prized Gibson Flying V Electric you named Jimi?
Tell me what’s under your hat…
I’m curious.
Susannah
Mine would be a photograph of my kids with Ann Curry, who was one of the hosts of the Today Show at the time. We ventured up to the Macy’s Parade for a few Thanksgivings in a row, and for a couple years in a row, we got her to take a pic with the kids. The prominent photograph is from the first time we met her because it became a funny story that I still share to this day.
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I love that. See, I knew you’d at least one. 🙂
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Admittedly, I gave away the “rug that centered the room” (Dude Lebowski spirituality term) because it’s what I do. Whittle down until there’s less and less. Minimalism on a bender.
My “rug” was a bookcase that I got gratis. Me and a friend gave it new life after it became the centerpiece. Through marriage and divorce and all the stories it would have been able to tell on the other side.
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I believe in spare surroundings. If I acquire something, anything, I give its sister item away. Less is more…a monk’s lifestyle.
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I blame it on David Karradine, who played Kwai Chang Caine in “Kung Fu”. Move from place to place, serve a purpose and then keep moving. Spiritually, it resonated with me from the time I was a boy.
To carry nothing more than a satchel and to roam the earth. It seemed the richest kind of rich.
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I don’t know where I get my domestic brevity from. I was a shepherd in another life perhaps.
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I fantasize about having a rucksack and a platinum pair of walking shoes. The earthly possessions include a photograph and a book, which always changes after I’ve memorized it. I sing the songs I grew smart on and learn the weather the way creatures do.
The brevity is unimpeachable.
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Sounds so Twainesque. Just saw Huck and Jim by the riverbed.
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Gimme a blade of grass and a provocative and lemme strum the keyboard. Oh crap! The ruck sack just got heavier with the thought of needing to pen something every day. I guess a journal will do. But I have to remember how to write long all over again.
Jeez, this whole walking the earth thing is way more work than I thought. LOL
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Your imagination is in all its glory. Your comments read like an essay. You truly are a writer, not just a blogger. My highest compliment.
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I’m gonna drink to that. It’s ice water, but it still counts. Gracias! And salud!
Both.
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Not everyone scribes as well as you Mister. Most blogs are unmemorable. Like passing sailboats. They’re pretty just for a moment.
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If I run for President, you have to be on my staff. No doubt about it.
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I’ll be CJ Craig to your Josiah Bartlett.
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We can’t lose SB.
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I’m glad you knew who they were. I’m a HUGE West Winger.
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I do know. I wasn’t a West Winger, but my pop culture knowledge is pretty solid. And not for nothing, but Martin Sheen really thought he was President after that role.
The nerve of that guy! As if the office would let just anybody in . . . (sic).
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Toby was my favorite character.
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Short for Tobias, which is a great name. That actor, his name escapes me. But solid a character actor as they come.
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Richard Schiff
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Thank you! I was gonna google it and then I received a text and completely forgot about it. Schiff has been in a ton of movies and television series.
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I just loved him. His prickly personality and how he craved pie. Sorkin is such a great writer and so faithful to detail. He’s a hero of mine.
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What was impressive about West Wing was how the story lines were not in your face explosive but rather, they went through the every day goings on of the highest office. To make that as interesting as it was requires the kind of attention to detail that very few can achieve.
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I love how he wove history in all his scripts, like Andrew Jackson’s Big Block of Cheese Day. He was educating as well as, entertaining. Very Ken Burnsesque.
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I love Ken Burns. Talk about comprehensive punch!
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Me too. His Civil War film I credit for my love of history. Had no interest till then. I even wrote to him perplexed at my sudden passion, and he wrote back…we’re all connected as brothers and that’s why it hits such a chord. I still have it someplace.
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I can so see that, and I love that. Not just dig that, love that.
His baseball opus is the stuff I can always lean on when the current version of the game leaves me shaking my head.
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I loved that one too. The whole Jackie Robinson thing, and the Babe of course.
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Once upon a time, the game mirrored the national headlines. From segregation to integration to collective bargaining. Burns understands it oh so well.
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How cool is that … well, especially because I’ve always liked Ann Curry.
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Ann Curry’s ears must be ringin’ off the hook…:)
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LOL
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I wrote, riffed and even went to a spoken word outing in which I talked about it on stage.
Ann Curry was my wife . . well, in the story she was.
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Best kind of marriage. 😉
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I know right?
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Yeah. You get to be in control forever. Sigh
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Good thing I’m not a control freak.
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An entire wall in the stairwell is dedicated to photos of (mostly) ancestors – naturally!
In the center of my coffee table sits a porcelain vase glazed with a 360 degree painting of the desert, mountains, and brilliant blue sky, dotted with puffy clouds, of New Mexico. It reminds me of all the hours I’ve spent walking through those landscapes on just such a day. It was a birthday present from me to me.
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Oh Eilene, what a beautiful image to share. Love the idea of a brilliant blue sky and puffy clouds. ⛅️
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I love the top hat! Did you really steal it?
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I’m afraid I did. It was one of those crazy, gin soaked moments I had no say in. Sigh. I’m impressed with myself to actually admit it.
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The truth shall set you free!
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But first it will kick your ass. 🤨
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We have need artsy things. Most purchased from a local art show that attracts nationwide artists … and we have some interesting art from an aunt because she was downsizing. You gave me an idea for a future post. Thanks!
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Artsy things are cool to display. Like going to a homey museum.
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Over our gas fireplace is a new oil painting of elk grazing in a mountain valley. Our neighbors gave it to us for looking after their three dogs. They went to another state for an intense family reunion, because someone was on the verge of death. I prize the painting for several reasons. We didn’t earn it; it was a gift of love. We’ve seen elk in that valley. The artist is a daughter of the neighbors, and Bob made a frame for it that is perfect. The painting is a prized possession that we couldn’t replace. Thanks for making me think of an item that takes pride of place in our house.
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I loved this Anne. It’s such a visual. I see it clear as day. A lovely share. 😊
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You hit the nail on the head with the Flying V. The guitar slot in our front bedroom is hallowed turf. I only have five (at time of writing) but they play upon my mind, like Bilbo’s ring.
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I should have guessed. 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸 😊
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I have a recurring nightmare, where I return to find my home burning, and I’m faced with a terrible decision of who to save: wife, dogs or guitars. 😉
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Stop eating Mexican before you go to bed. That’s why you’re having firey dreams. Try cereal. 😴
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PS. I just saw Smudge in a fire hat dragging a hose.
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I know who Smudge would save, given a similar choice. It’s a gender thing.
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I understand. Man’s best friend and all that. Woof!
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Pride of place. I had our wedding picture up in a special place. Now that my house is for sale, I was urged to “de-humanize” it and remove all personal effects for home-staging. I think it’s a crock but the agents assure me that no one wants to buy a home. Really? Just the other day, a couple visited and, besides not liking my colour choices (so paint!) they said it lacked a homey feeling. Well, what in the fuck am I supposed to do now?
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Put your stuff back to show your warmth, and tell real estate girl to shut the fuck up.
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Problem is… everything is stashed away for now. Can’t win anyway. One says one thing and another says another.
All I want is a SOLD sign so I can move on and have MY joint, yanno?
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Don’t lose hope. Pray why don’y you. 🙂
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He he he… I’m not losing hope.
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Oh, and what a cool little thief you are!
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I’m blushing, but yes. sigh
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🙂
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A photograph of my Bochi and her sister holding hands, taken shortly after passing through Ellis Island. They came from Poland in their late teens, never to see their parents again. We had a special relationship.
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I’ll bet that’s special. It’s special just hearing about it. 🙂
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I believe I have them all over the house. As poor as I am about decluttering, I still have a lot of items that all have deep memories or memories forced upon them. I have a small castle, made of pressed and permanent sand, marking the runner up in a contest at Battle Creek, MI with my 2 young children. I have a painted of all the Marvel characters in one place that proudly replaced my broken clock on the center of the living room wall. And, I have a painting done by my daughter in the last year or so that hangs on the wall behind me, so I can see it often.
Scott
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Sounds like your private museum. 😊
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Ah, a dream come true, after all…
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