“I am about the extent of a tenth of a gnat’s eyebrow better.”
Written on July 3, 2010 at 8:43 am, by Lain
– Joel Chandler Harris’s last words on this day in 1908, answering the question “How are you this morning, father?”
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Amber Suitt
Program Director
Lain Shakespeare
Executive Director
3 Comments to “I am about the extent of a tenth of a gnat’s eyebrow better.”
Who recorded this, Lain?!
On his deathbed he also said, “Humor is an excellent thing to live by, and all things being equal, an excellent thing to die by.”
I wanted to let you know that visiting the website has been a happy rediscovery of memories of a wonderful day spent at the Wren’s Nest 22 years ago this month. Living in Lawrenceville at the time, I was looking for something interesting to do with a crop of nieces and a nephew who were visitig us. I had heard that there was a tremendous storyteller at the Wren’s Nest, and a good tour of the home under restoration. As you know, to call it “under restoration” in 1988 was a bit of a stretch. The meanest degree of preservation was more accurate.
That morning, I told the kids we were going to visit the house of the man who wrote the Uncle Remus stories. Br’er Rabbit was a familiar character, which I took as a good sign for the success of the day. When we arrived, I will admit that we were a bit leary, and I second-guessed the wisdom of bringing 5 kids, who were from 15 months to 8 years old, to a place that by outward appearances was abandoned. We knocked at the front door, and were greeted by a girl, maybe 16-years-old, who turned out to be one of the most competent and entertaining guides I have ever heard. My oldest daughter, barely 4 at the time, still remembers being told about the children having to unravel a knotted string to given them time to calm their tempers.
Then, Akbar showed up. I recognized his name from the Center for Puppetry Arts, and in seconds he had the kids entranced, even my 15-month-old. It says much about his talent that I know the story was “How the Terrapin Was Taught to Fly.”
This whole trip down memory lane was prompted by looking for a picture of my nephew, which I found and scanned. I have the .jpeg of my bunch on the front steps of the Wren’s Nest, which I would be happy to share. It was a good day that I had not thought about in many years. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to open the website to see that Akbar Imhotep is still telling stories, that the Wren’s Nest is so beautifully restored, and moreover, that it has active programs to build upon its legacy.