In Death in the Air, Poirot says,
You have a great advantage as a writer . . . . You can relieve your feelings by the expedient of the printed word. You have the power of the pen over your enemies.
This makes me wonder if Christie ever vented her anger at someone by writing them into a story and killing them or, worse yet, making them the murderer!
People may call Irene a Tropical Storm, but she’ll always be a Hurricane to me. Continue reading
In honor of Hurricane Irene’s arrival, I offer you an extra Weekly Poirot quote.
I suspect that if Poirot knew a hurricane was coming, he would lock himself up in the house and not come out until it was over. He did not like damp weather at all.
Poirot lifted first one, then the other foot from the ground with a catlike motion. “It is the dampness of the feet I fear. Would it, think you, be possible to lay the hands on a pair of galoshes?”
from Peril at End House
Sorry, Poirot, but if you need any hurricane supplies, you’re probably out of luck. I hear that batteries are scarce. No doubt most of the bread is gone. And it could be that the stores are fresh out of galoshes (it’s not like they typically stock a lot of them!).
On a side note, this is the second reference I’ve seen to galoshes recently. I think perhaps I need to buy a pair for myself. Then I will have many opportunities to say the word “galoshes.” It’s a great word, don’t you think?
Said Poirot,
[Stupidity] is the sin that is never forgiven and always punished.
from Cards on the Table
Said M. Poirot,
They fear me, Hastings; the criminals of your England they fear me! When the cat is there, the little mice, they come no more to the cheese!
from “The Veiled Lady”
How I wish that were true! We have three cats, but still the mice come hunting for the cheese.
People are often surprised to hear that I like Agatha Christie. I don’t know whether it’s because they themselves don’t like her writing or whether they think that I, language aficionada that I am, ought to have more cultivated reading tastes. But judging from their reactions, I guess her writing must be an acquired taste. Continue reading
It’s a sad state of affairs. I am sitting here feeling annoyed that I don’t have enough time to do what I really want to do, but I’m using up precious little bits of time thinking those negative thoughts! I don’t know what, exactly, I can get done with the slivers of time that are available, but certainly I can manage something better than feeling sorry for myself!
This morning’s blog bounty: 14 spam comments! Almost every comment had the “requisite” typo. Here is my favorite.
Keep these articles coming as they’ve onpeed many new doors for me.
Onpee might make a decent word. It would be distinguished from the phrase pee on by an additional layer of meaning. It would refer not to the literal sense (to urinate) but rather the figurative sense. I once heard Judge Judy say, “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.” And that’s what onpee would mean: to openly do something childish, disgusting, or vulgar and then tell a boldfaced lie about it.
You know you’re tired when you try to put the tea kettle in the microwave.
Even famous fictional detectives can’t keep their eyes open all the time. In Death in the Air, Poirot lamented,
It happened under my very nose. It is an insult, that, you agree? Hercule Poirot, to sleep while murder is committed!
At least he got to sleep. The way I look at it, there will always be work to do upon waking. That doesn’t make sleep a bad thing. Sleep is great!
I miss sleep.
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