(Looks at calender, HOW many weeks of this "word
of the week" exercise remains in 2014??? Oh, 38 more weeks to go.... ok
then. It's just some words are more fun to talk about than others! But I do admire my fellow Whores for all the many and varied ways they each spin every word differently.) This week,
for the word "decrepit", I went all stream of consciousness and will
share with you the first few images that came to mind...
I have to say my first thought when I saw the word was an
old sagging barn, turned gray by the harsh elements. There used to be lots of
those up Upstate New York, where I grew up. In the South they'd usually have
"See Rock City" painted on the roof, but not in NY. I've actually
been to Rock City, which is in Tennessee and features rock formations,
beautiful gardens and breathtaking views. You can see seven states from one
panoramic viewpoint...
The next thing that came to mind was the character of
Sir Peter
Weyland in the movie "Prometheus." I think he would
definitely qualify as "decrepit" by anyone's standard. Rich and
obssessed, but decrepit. No amount of money can make you youthful after a
certain point, apparently. The actor, Guy Pearce, is not however decrepit and
looks pretty darn good when he's not playing a thousand year old guy (or
however ancient Weyland was supposed to be).
The third thing that came to my mind was the science fiction
novel "Old Man's War," by John Scalzi. Here are the first three
sentences from the book blurb on Amazon:
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he
visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.
I really enjoyed that novel, I must tell
you...John Perry isn't "decrepit" for long after he joins the
army...don't want to give spoilers...
Decrepit makes me think of rocking chairs for some reason.
Actually I received my bentwood rocking chair, which I no longer have, when my
first daughter was born, because I had it firmly in my head I needed a rocking
chair to sit with my baby. Apparently it had escaped my notice how much time
one spends walking a fussy child, or driving them around so they’ll sleep or…but
we did have lots of good times rocking peacefully, as it turns out. And with my
second daughter, and my grandson as well. The rocker got decrepit and worn out,
not me!
I think that’s the way it should be….
And since the word decrepit does conjure up visions of old
age, I’ll finish with a quote that I love:
“When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There
is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age.”
Victor Hugo
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