A great Sunday night silence exists. The vast emptiness makes me fear January 2007 will never arrive. I am a “Sopranos” addict.
Why is it so easy to root for Tony and family? For me the real attraction is the crafted word, the Soprano-isms,expressions that come close to the bull?s-eye but miss, words sincerely expressed, nearly right for the occasion, but not quite. No cigar, but somehow we get it and connect.
Tony?s father, Johnny, argues with his demanding wife, Livia, calling upon Coleridge?s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” He laments that she is nothing but an albacore around his neck. I like the imagery of a rather large tuna instead of a rather large seabird. Albacore, albatross ? close enough! I get it, and I love these guys!
True empathy for expressions that come close carries over into daily life. Recently a friend announced that she is trolling for yet another husband. She observed that men available to her were dragging so much luggage along with them. Luggage, baggage ? close enough! I got it!
An Ocean City resident refers to the “sand dooms” protecting our narrow sliver of beach from being swallowed up by the ocean. It?s logical. Without the dune, our beach would face doom. Without a canteen of water, you?d be doomed crossing the Sahara dunes. Doom, dune ? I like it, close enough!
I can trace my appreciation for the beauty of the nearly right word to my days in the mayor?s office. Honoring citizens who achieved some success or milestone with a Mayor?s Citation was one pleasant function of the work. The document impresses. It?s finished off with the shining gold foiled Baltimore City seal, behind which peek ribbons in black and yellow city colors.
One time, an enterprising school principal asked seniors to pledge not to drink alcohol or engage in bad behavior on prom night. For those who signed the pledge and successfully negotiated the perils of prom night, they would receive the added reward of a Mayor?s Citation congratulating them on good citizenship.
The mayor?s staff worked hard to prepare 300 individual documents to read, “Prom Night, a joyful tradition of music and dance, which is all the more exciting andmemorable without alcohol. Thank you for respecting yourself, your peers and your community on Prom Night.”
As I carried these works of art to Mayor William Schaefer for signature, the mind-boggling mistake in the typed text leapt off the page.
On all 300 citations, “From” replaced “Prom.”
With faked calm, I asked our young typist, “What is From Night?” She shrugged, “I don?t know, boss. You write. I type.” Then she added, “Your ?P? looked like an ?F? to me.” That cut this penmanship princess, winner of a still-displayed fourth-grade trophy topped with a golden pen positioned in a graceful golden hand.
She protested as I handed the black felt-tipped pen to her and asked her to close off the “F”s. “Don?t make me fix them!” she pleaded. “The kids will know what we?re trying to say! From, prom ? close enough!”
She did learn from her mistake though, proving it a short time later.
Sculptor Lisa Kaslow contacted the curator for City Hall, Jeanne Davis, to suggest creating a portrait bust of Mayor Schaefer.
Kaslow submitted handwritten discussion notes about the style and size of the bust for typing. When we received a copy of the typed and distributed report, we also received a gentle rebuke from our young typist.
“I could not type the notes as they were because we do not use slang here in the Mayor?s Office,” she explained. “We are dignified and always use correct English. The proper word is not ?bust.? It is ?breast.? So attached is the report where I have changed every slang word mentioning Mayor Schaefer?s ?bust? to Mayor Schaefer?s ?breast.? His breast will be moderately impressionistic but not heroic. His breast will be displayed prominently.”
Bust, breast ? we all got it! Close enough! Tony Soprano would understand.
Stephanie Esworthy was director of Media and Public Relations and the Baltimore City Film Commission for former Mayors William Donald Schaefer and the late Clarence “Du” Burns and served as head of Baltimore City?s Bureau of Music in every city administration since Mayor Theodore R. McKeldin. Her personal experiences in local politics started in the early 1950s as the daughter of state?s attorney and chief judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Anselm Sodaro, now deceased. She may be reached at [email protected].
