1. "Sounds  (August 4, 1892)"
Posted by Edisto on Aug-4th-02 at 12:48 PM

"Whoosh!" a rustle of pigeon wings?
Could feathers make the noise I hear
That breaks the leaden, August calm?
No, this is something else, I fear.

"Whoosh" and then "thunk," and now again!
Again!  Again!  Again!  Again!
Unceasing, urgent comes the sound.
The quick, hard drops of summer rain?

There's quiet then, and life resumes.
Hoofbeats, a carriage rattling by,
The hum of commerce in the town,
The peal of bells, the hawker's cry.

And in that house - that certain house
A cry goes up that echoes down
The years - a century and ten -
And still I'm haunted by that sound.

                       Copyright 2002 by Annette Weeks Baker
                       All rights reserved

"a cry goes up that echoes down" . . . . my favorite line. Thanks Edisto. Lovely.

We need to think of a way to honor this day without making a celebration out of it. You can't say "Happy Lizzie Day" today, that would be inappropriate. Yet this is the day that started it all. How can we say something to mark the occasion, in a phrase I mean like happy birthday, without sounding gouche? Or make light of the horror that was wreaked upon two people?

What a wonderful poem.  Thanks, Edisto. 

Well, it's macabre, but I have my pals at the SCARLET STREET site wishing odd ol' Bob a "Happy Lizzie Day."  I was on the sofa this morning watching OLIVER! on TCM when I glanced at the clock and saw that it was just after eleven.  So, I lowered my head to the sofa arm again and thought about that morning 110 years ago today.

Another lovely, incisive poem, dear Annette, and doubly welcome on this auspicious, notorious occasion.  Greetings of the day to all you Bordenians! 

A perfect tribute, Edisto.

What a wonderful poem, Edisto!  You are indeed talented!!!

Seriously!  What could we possibly call today that wouldn't be too macabre or gauche, yet, still have an element of fun about it???  For some reason the drawings of Edward Gorey come to mind, I don't know why? 

Wow!  Good idea, but a very tall order.  Maybe we could all put on our thinking caps and try to come up with some possibles.

Well, it can't have the word "happy" in the phrase. Or "good" or "party" or "celebrate".

Maybe the word "anniversary" or "murder"? I'm just allowing my thoughts to flow here. How about something memorializing? What does one say on Memorial Day?

How about "Borden sympathy day"?

(Message last edited Aug-4th-02  10:13 PM.)

Thank you SO MUCH for the great poem, Edisto.

I was wracking my brains last week and nothing fell out.
THEN, I thought of YOU!
Believe it or not!
And was looking forward to finding a marvelous poem from you.

How about:
Best Regards To You On Borden Memorial Day

Bordentide?

Borden Ballyhoo Day?

Tragedy Time?

Foul Play 4th?

I don't know, anyone have any ideas? 

I doubt that anyone outside the room heard anything from the moving hatchet. That sound would be more of a "chlunk" sound, I think. No, I never killed a horse, cow, pig, or sheep by hitting it with a hatchet. And this is not a subject for polite conversation at dinner.

"Say, cousin Willy, what kind of sound does it make?"

You could experiment at home with a big ham or piece of meat. Do it in private, so any witnesses would not call 911 for help.

I think - in order to keep our dignity and not be known as a bunch of nuts - that we need to keep the victims in mind.  If we use Lizzie in a greeting, it makes us sound like a fan club.  (There really were Lizzie fan clubs and Emma ones, too.) 
"Borden" has to be in the greeting.
Bordentide made me laugh!  (I'm sorry if you were serious, Susan.)
Borden Day.
Borden Memorial Day.
The Borden Anniversary.
"To commemorate..."
"Regards ..."
"Best Wishes ..."
I liked Kat's "Greetings..."
"Axe me what day this is..." (no - I'm kidding)

I like "Borden Day".  It's a little less formal than the others I listed.  Can't say 'happy', tho, you're right.  That's as good as I can do right now.  "Borden Day".  It covers all of them. 

No, Augusta, no harm done, its all in fun.  Its just no one else really took a stab at it yet, so, I dove right in! 

hardihar har!

I think Borden Day is good.  But "borden day to  you" or "good borden day" or "happy borden day" are all wrong.

it still needs a an adjective before Borden Day.  This may not be possible to solve, considering we are talking about death.

"How about:
Best Regards To You On Borden Memorial Day"--I was going to put "Best Regards On Borden Day", after thinking about it on my walk that night.
Then I decided I liked Stef's word "Memorial".  The "Best Regards" popped out after Bob's post of "Greetings"
It seemed like a melding of the two..
Best Regards On Borden Day (as Augusta put it)...is good....

No one else took a stab at it?  Shouldn't that be "took a whack at it"?

You're right, Edisto!    But, I guess it was a really bad whack at that!  So, what did everybody do on our new holiday?  I went to a barbecue, so much fun, but, I did have a moment of silence for our Borden clan.  Then raised my Schmirnoff Ice and toasted them, wherever they are!