Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 09:05:35 -0700
Subject: The moon's a harsh mistress



The evidential existential heartnsoul origin of all religions east and
west, captured here in a few lucid lines by the brilliant samuel:

 Jim was laid up for four days and nights. Then the swelling was all gone
and he was around again. I made up my mind I wouldn't ever take a-holt of a
snake-skin again with my hands, now that I see what had come of it. Jim
said he reckoned I would believe him next time. And he said that handling a
snake-skin was such awful bad luck that maybe we hadn't got to the end of
it yet. He said he druther see the new moon over his left shoulder as much
as a thousand times than take up a snake-skin in his hand. Well, I was
getting to feel that way myself, though I've always reckoned that looking
at the new moon over your left shoulder is one of the carelessest and
foolishest things a body can do. Old Hank Bunker done it once, and bragged
about it; and in less than two years he got drunk and fell off of the
shot-tower, and spread himself out so that he was just a kind of a layer,
as you may say; and they slid him edgeways between two barn doors for a
coffin, and buried him so, so they say, but I didn't see it. Pap told me.
But anyway it all come of looking at the moon that way, like a fool.

--

-k





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