Vox Meditantis

3 responses to “Visibility Good”

1. 

   Steven S. Wallace

   04/08/2026

   I love how this woman speaks. Every thing is clipped. Her quote favorite is short. The inspector knows to leave her alone.

   It is Hemingway like how the words you write and sentences she says sound. She is a no nonsense woman.

   She likes being by herself, like that woman on that show about Alaska, but she’s not constantly blathering to herself! Come to think of it, the woman in Alaska is kind of annoying. Very un-Hemingway like. This one speaks words that are necessary.

   Great post.

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   1. 

      Bob Lynn

      04/08/2026

      Steven, you’re the first through the gate here, so – thank you. Genuinely. There’s something about hitting publish and then sitting in the silence after, wondering if anyone’ll pull up a chair. You’ve pulled up a chair.

      And I’ll take the Hemingway comparison, though I’ll confess I was thinking less iceberg theory and more “she hasn’t got time to waste your afternoon.” She’s not being literary when she’s clipped. She’s got a gate to check at twenty to. The economy’s practical before it’s aesthetic, if that makes sense. Though I suppose with the best writing, you can’t entirely separate the two.

      The inspector point made me grin, actually. You’re right – he knows to leave her alone. I think he’s slightly frightened of her. Not in a dramatic way. In the way you’re slightly frightened of someone who makes you a cup of tea and doesn’t ask whether you’re managing, because you know if you said the wrong thing she’d just look at you and pour anyway.

      And the Alaska woman in Life Below Zero – yes. God, yes. The constant narration of one’s own solitude. “Well, I think the moose is feeling a little existential today.” Meanwhile this one looks at the heather and says, “The moor doesn’t need your opinion of it,” and that’s the whole philosophy, done, moving on. You’ve put your finger on something there. The Alaska woman performs her aloneness for you. This one simply is alone, and the words she does let out have been earned, somehow. Necessary words. I like that phrase. I might steal it for a future piece if you don’t mind.

      Glad it worked for you. Come back any time. Kettle’ll be on.

      Bob

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      1. 

         Steven S. Wallace

         04/08/2026

         Hey … mi casa su casa… “steal” away …. Don’t cost nothing— SSW

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