Flower power and other oddities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An unexpected, yet very welcome flower came my way from Write 21

A daisy.

For this, my first blogging award, thank you Justin. You described me as a thinking writer (I thought all writers were thinkers). But if you mean considered, measured and contemplative, then I accept and thank you again.

Note that the daisy depicted has nine petals. (The petal count for daisies worldwide is an average of 42. The ones in my garden range from 14 to 20.) So is this nine-petalled daisy symbolic? Well, numerology tells me that the number nine, being the last simple number is the number of finalisation or completion. Does this award mean that I have arrived at a completion? A point of achievement? Perhaps.

But why put such symbolic and mythological load onto a simple, unsuspecting flower? Because it is symbolic. The name ‘daisy’ came from Anglo Saxon words ‘daes eage’ meaning ‘day’s eye’. So named because daisies open at dawn, just at the time, when the day is about to begin. I take that to indicate newness or freshness. I like that.

But I would certainly like to know where this Daisy Award started. Can anyone please tell me?

I am told that the rules connected to this Daisy Award are:

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Tell your readers seven unusual things about yourself.
• Nominate some worthy bloggers.

I have thanked Justin, so here goes with the seven unusual things about me:

1. I am one of only 3.5% of the world population with an A- (A negative) blood group. Not as rare as the AB- but still in the minor leagues. I recently became a blood donor and soon realised that the extra attention I received from the nursing staff was more to do with my quite rare blood group, than the fact that I was giving blood. Not all blood group types can mix and the compatibility tables showing which donor type with its red and white cells and attached or unattached antigens and which blood sample matches which recipient type, could look like material for a TV soap opera. Happily my blood can be used on A+, A-, AB+ and AB- recipients – some 40% of people. So I am glad if I can help.
2. As a wine lover, nay enthusiast, I tend to annoy some food people by selecting food that accompanies wine rather than the other way round. For example, if I select a nice fruity, spicy, full-bodied shiraz, I will look for a Cajun steak or something with a pepper sauce. Isn’t this looking at life the right way round? I think so.
3. When I write and wish to make a point, I often use three adjectives or three verbs. I don’t know why three, but for me it amplifies, enhances and encapsulates what I am trying to stress. Three is of course the first odd number which also fits nicely into this list of my own oddities. (And remember 3 x 3 = 9. The daisy petals again.)
4. I like Joshua Cooper Ramo and in particularly his book “The age of the unthinkable” which has inspired me more than any other book for a long time. It really appeals to my enthusiasm for approaching life in unconventional ways. The book is billed as a New York Times bestseller, but I have searched and found very little comment or development since its publication in 2009. If I am one in a minority here, that makes me a little unusual. But I may have missed something, so please somebody prove me wrong
5. I am told by my three adult children that I am unusual in that I have encouraged them all not to follow just one profession or one employment. The result is that one daughter is an English graduate and a freelance journalist, film maker and copywriter; second daughter is an arts graduate who now earns a living as a freelance interior designer; my son is a drama graduate who plays jazz saxophone for a living, in between copywriting, teaching and flying aeroplanes. If that makes them individuals, then I am a proud father, if slightly unusual.
6. I like Mondays. No blue Mondays for me, I rather like the start of a new work week.
7. My jazz musician son tells me that my taste in music is unusual. He probably (son like) thinks that as one from the baby boomer generation, I should be constantly reminiscing about the wonders of popular music of the 60s and 70s and then have graduated into being an orchestral concert buff. Well, I do that to a small degree. But I am generally not given to nostalgia. And who can not marvel at the enduring brilliance of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Wagner? But back to my current music preferences, I have been assisted by my son’s active knowledge of jazz and now quite readily seek out the likes of Michael Brecker, Wayne Shorter, Roy Hargrove, Brian Blade, Renee Rosnes and the SF Jazz Collective. Is that unusual?

I now nominate the following bloggers for the Daisy Award:

Moon under water

Moment matters

I read encyclopedias for fun