Susan Tacent
  • Home
  • Events/Workshops
  • News/Publications
  • Project
  • Reading
  • Contact

Sounds to Hear

3/23/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
I debated with myself about sharing this November entry from my fifth grade notebook of what the teacher called Expressional Writing because it seemed so revealing. Then I decided the picture it gives of the way the writing exercise worked, and of the world I was living in, were worth sharing. Plus, I think they're kind of funny. The photo is another one I took on that crazy journey along Route 95. We were heading south then, and used the bathroom at the Chili's in the picture, wearing disposable gloves and trying not to breathe too much indoor air. I held the door for someone on my way out and we both wordlessly acknowledged how strange the world had become. Anyway, here's the results of that long-ago writing exercise, where I assume the teacher played sounds from a recording or maybe even a portable record player.

Sounds to Hear             Expressional Writing

The first sound sounded like something tinkling and jingling.
It sounded like something for Jingle Bells or the Night
Before Christmas, or Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

The second sound sounded like a rubbing sound.
It reminds me of a shopping cart at the supermarket.

The third sound sounded like a rough sound. It reminds me of a bird.
The fourth sound reminds me of a clicking sound.
It reminds me of my grandfather clicking his teeth.
It was loud. It sounded like a father
spanking someone. 
It sounded like a car when it doesn't work.
It sounded like a car backfiring.
It sounded like someone who is nervous and is
tapping his foot.
It sounded like my mother scraping the
plates from dinner.
It sounded like my sister kicking over the
garbage.

Notes: The entry was dated November so I guess holiday songs were in the air; we're Jewish and this was Brooklyn so most everyone we knew was also Jewish, and yet... Our grandfather loved shoving his dentures out with his tongue, where they balanced precariously on his lip; this was also how they convinced my sister and me to go to the dentist. Spanking was a thing; but mostly I remember it as other people's (Jewish) mothers trying to smack the bottoms of their sons. Cars definitely backfired. They also needed to be warmed up in the morning during cold weather. People would go out and start the car, leave it running, and then come back to go to work. Good times. I didn't know I was aware of nervous foot-tapping. We never had a dishwasher. And if anyone kicked over the garbage (in the kitchen or outside where the metal cans were stored in the 'bin'?) I'd have thought it would have been me. Could be a case of blaming my sister for something I did and wouldn't be the first. Isn't that what siblings are for? In Brooklyn at least?
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

bbe