This morning, I was lying in bed and being quiet while my husband enjoyed his Saturday sleep. I have this weekend wake-up ritual in which I turn on my side, face my bookshelves, and read the titles of all my books. Sounds strange...I know. But today, I happened to notice the vintage music box which sits atop three horizontal books:
Canterbury Tales,
Selected Poems of Byron, Keats & Shelley, and
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. The books have a beautiful forest-green and gold binding and are part of
The Programmed Series; however, this morning's item of curiosity is the melodic figurine.
The music box was given to me as a Christmas gift when I was a newspaper editor more than twenty years ago. I think I might have even received it right after I decided to leave the paper and stay home with my three small children. I do know that my most favorite cousin and dearest friend, Sandy, gave me the music box; and I have cherished it ever since.
One of the most endearing aspects of the vintage collectible (besides the fact that woman is typing, she is Victorian, and she has a vase of flowers on her desk) is the bewitching melody the music box plays. I have never been able to identify the song. So...here I go. I get out of bed and head to my own desk. I begin an online search for the music box and see if I can find out the name of the mysterious melody. Only one match appeared on Google. I find a single picture of my music box on WorthPoint.com ~ an online resource for researching and valuing antiques, art and collectibles. According to the site, the vintage music box plays "Yesterday Once More" ~ a hit by the Carpenters from the '70's. Oh, I am beginning to love this little treasure even more!
The description states that music box works, but sounds wobbly. Oh my gosh! Wobbly is exactly the way the music sounds! The thesaurus offers suggested synonyms for wobbly ~ precarious, frail, halting, and diaphanous. Diaphanous is defined by Webster's dictionary as gauzy or gossamer ~ a film of cobwebs floating in air in calm, clear weather. I just love it when such perfect words appear that so distinctly describe something that seems beyond words.
Next, I have to hear the song "Yesterday Once More" to solve the music box mystery once and for all. After I listen to and recognize the familiar song, I am sure beyond all doubt that the mystery of the anonymous strain remains unsolved. Even though the Carpenters' hit is a swell seventies' song, it is not the music box song. The recurring refrain is still a haunting secret, at least to me.
The figurine is described as a pretty blonde woman who may be a teacher or librarian, seated at her desk typing. She is wearing glasses and a long Victorian dress. I imagine that she is a writer who has just purchased her first typewriter. The look on her face is one of sublime contentment. She listens to the clicking sound of each key as the first page of her literary work materializes before her eyes.
I love the delicacy of her hands and the confidence of her posture. I may never be able to name that tune, but I can positively identify a writer when I see one.
Dianne ; )
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