Tonight, as the full snow moon rises in the evening sky, take a moment to mark the 200th birthday of one of our most influential authors, Charles Dickens. In addition to leaving us with the infamous Scrooge and his ‘bah, humbug!’, his writing echos in our expression to this day with a myriad of figures of speech that stand the test of time, ‘not to put too fine a point upon it’.
My everyday nod to Dickens brings me a extra smile today, as I approach the far-too-grand entry to my little bungalow with it’s oversize door knocker. One of a set of two and transplanted from some much more appropriate address, this old flea market find stares me down every day… did I see a flash of Jacob Marley’s forceful presence in it’s gnarly gothic eye? Well, maybe just once on that stormy Christmas eve…
Thanks, Charles.
There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story….
Only Dickens could tell that tale, and grip us from that first line… always a favorite of mine.