* I'VE BEEN BLESSED BY THE BEST: People have given me "Scotch blessings" through the years - many of them anonymously over the phone.
And I'm constantly told to see the disasters I create as "blessings in disguise."But for St. Patrick's Day, I received my first "Celtic blessing." It's from the "Celtic Devotional," compiled by Caitlin Mathews:
I mantle myself in the
covering of creatures:
stillness of owl,
perception of eagle,
humility of wren,
speed of horse,
strength of bear,
courtesy of deer,
repose of serpent,
silence of mouse,
courage of salmon.
Nine creatures about me
to clothe and protect me,
on the ways that I walk.
Admit it. Blarney stone or no Blarney stone, the Irish can turn a phrase.
* MY MAN: While on the subject of poetic blessings and such, let me pitch a new book at you: "C.S. Lewis: Readings for Meditation and Reflection" (Walter Hooper, editor; HarperSanFrancisco; $12 paper).
I know. I always haul out my pom-poms for "Jack" Lewis. And those who know that can dismiss this item as "Mr. Cheerleader hypes his latest Lewis-iana purchase."
But tell the truth. For anyone with a religious bent, it's tough to cast a jaundiced eye at lines like:
We are mirrors whose brightness, if we are bright, is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us.
* SWEET SOUNDS: Finally, while rummaging through all the books I receive as book editor, deciding what to keep, what to set on fire, I began thinking about the old debate over the most beautiful words in the English language.
A college professor told me the sweetest sound was not "Amazing Grace" but "cellar door." I didn't believe him until Neil Young put those words in a song. Someone else said "diarrhea" had a beautiful ring to it.
But I have to agree with Mark Twain. When asked what the most beautiful words in the English language were, he didn't miss a beat.
"Not guilty," he said.