Friday, April 17, 2009
More tidbits of springtime notes
Emily Paine Carter | Special to So Salem
The cherub on Hanging Rock.
Emily Paine Carter is columnist So Salem. You can contact her at 981-3430 or via e-mail.
Emily Paine Carter
Recent columns from Salem, Glenvar and western Roanoke County
We're back to rummage through Auntie Em's closet for more spring "shorts." So, of angels, woe and whatever else "fits" here:
"Now would be a really good time for a fat camera-lens," I chuckled. Really, I did laugh while mini-avalanching on a Hanging Rock cliff.
Barbara Schoonover's good photo of an angel statue at Hanging Rock [SoSalem, Feb. 6] had finally inspired me to try shooting a wee cherub statue around the bend from that Rt. 419 perch. His tiny toes dangle over a rock ledge above Rt. 311 -- for years, a smile-worthy sight.
So, camera in hand, I risked life and some of my favorite limbs to scurry across 311. I pictured myself as an unfortunate star of that old car-dodger video game "Frogger" -- complete with an appropriate "splat." (Yes, I have a dark sense of humor.) "What-the-hey was she doing?" my survivors would wonder....
Some guardian angel must have escorted me safely. But the camera gods were elsewhere. So alas, Gentle Reader, all I got was a tiny image of the cherub. It might be too small for this space -- although it might work as a "Where's Waldo"-game.
Mind, I don't advocate scurrying across busy 311 (Health Tip #1). Get a lens.
And, Whoever-Bravely-Installed-These-Statues: thanks for the smiles.
Another Health Tip: Use your own pen to sign in at doctors' offices. Just think about all those germ-y mitts handling the public pen. (Yuck.)
Parents and teachers have a hard time avoiding ailin' kids, our walking Petri-dishes. If you haven't successfully dodged recent plagues, here's the thinnest sliver of a silver lining: coughing (etc.) really works those abs! Yeehah.
"Ah, The Life of the Body," sighs an eloquent, frequently besieged teacher-friend. To which I'll add: "The life-of-the-body? It's no life-of-the-party."
As for the very bright side of kids: congratulations to Salem High School's four-times-state-champs forensics team! Your skills cannot be debated, and you have "done us proud."
If your soul could use a dash of soothing, seek "Common Ground," a dulcet William & Mary choir.
The women's sweet voices recently wafted through Salem's St. Paul's Episcopal Church -- thanks to SPE-/ "CG"-member Laura Wagstaff.
Their angelic tones reminded me of "The Innocence Mission's" soft sounds. Beyond traditional tunes, you might ask "hey, wasn't that a GooGoo Dolls song?"
For CD and concert info, check the Web site www.commonground@wm.edu
