Bowling Trophies

Just kidding about the bowling, though I did enjoy it when I was in High School. For five bucks you could bowl unlimited games between midnight and five AM. I played in a league for a year, because I wanted the shirt; bowled a 617 set, with a 239 high score. But I just found a picture of the trophy I won at the Mopping World Championships. It was, or still is, a beautiful thing. I sold it to finance the publication (pay for the mono-typing) of a book of strange Gaelic Tales that had never been translated. Excellent project, beautiful book, letterpress, of course, with four-color block print illustrations. The trophy was specially designed and constructed. A bronzed Fantail Loop mounted on what almost looks like a candle-stand. Oval chevron-inlaid top tilting above a baluster and urn-form support on three down-swept line-inlaid legs ending in spade feet A handsome thing. I gave all my Public Speaking and Debate trophies to my High School. Had all the medals, the gold and silver ones, mounted as charms on a bracelet my Mom wore for many years. Wrack and opinion. I don't keep photographs. Nothing left but memory. I'm almost done reading about the history of furniture, burning out on it. Anything can interest me for a while, even nothing. And now I can describe the base for the mopping trophy. In a book on chairs, today, here's the description: Outstanding Federal Mahogany Lolling Chair (a lolling chair, fuck me, I have one of those, but it doesn't look the same) having a serpentine crest, molded arms and arm supports and molded tapered legs joined by "H" stretchers. All Original. Massachusetts, circa 1790. They had fresh mussels at Kroger, so I bought a few things and devised a method to cook them in a small crock pot. This was tricky, but you know how necessity spawns invention. I cooked down some celery and onions in butter and white wine, with the setting on high, added the mussels. Took too long to open and they were a little tough, but I did this without a stove, and I'd made a lovely fairly hot Thai dipping sauce. Blue Mussels may be my favorite shellfish, followed closely by razor clams, and then, oysters, but this is a preference list from a guy who eats everything. Snails are good, large beetles without their legs, ant eggs are a lot like caviar. Pregnant women take note, high in folic acid . Fine set of six Federal carved mahogany side chairs, each having a molded shield back containing vertical slats connected with carved drapery, rosettes and a central urn, all over an over-upholstered seat, all on tapered legs ending in spade feet. Now that I understand the language, I could go on forever.