And I’ve tramped Britain, and I’ve tramped Gaul

[sovay]

rushthatspeaks got me a T-shirt for the Legio VI Victrix. It is centurion-red and bears the correct emblem of a bull.

There are reasons I love the people I love.

My family's seder is tomorrow night, but the sun has set; it's Pesach. Chag sameach, all.

Comments

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

May your table be full of oranges!

Nine

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Is this a typical Jewish blessing? Whether or not it is, it's lovely.

[sovay]

Is this a typical Jewish blessing?

It's a reference to a poem by Marge Piercy: "Tapuz: An Orange." It's one of the slightly melancholy cases where I am actively in support of the sentiment, but I don't very much like the poem. Oh, well. If you can find it online, I am very fond of her poem "The thief."

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I don't turn up "The Thief" in a quick search, but I'll keep my eyes and ears open for it.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

I didn't know the poem, but I like the sentiment. I hope there are pomegranates on your seder table.

Nine

[sovay]

I didn't know the poem, but I like the sentiment.

Where did you get it from, then? Has it become a blessing?

I hope there are pomegranates on your seder table.

Hah. Thank you. You, too.

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

We also do the orange on the seder plate. I knew Sylvia Heschel when I was in college, who was Susannah Heschel's mother and was apparently quite a pianist, but I never heard her play, because we were never in the same place as a piano. I never met Susannah, but the orange story made the rounds in Conservative Jewish circles, particularly the egalitarian ones, and it's a permanent part of our plate.

This year we also added a tomato in honor of a local religious leader who used to be a regular seder guest who helped get tomato growers to give their pickers fairer wages and went toe to toe with Taco Bell about the prices paid for tomatoes and the associated labor.

[sovay]

I never met Susannah, but the orange story made the rounds in Conservative Jewish circles, particularly the egalitarian ones, and it's a permanent part of our plate.

I don't remember where I first heard it. I must have been at Brandeis, because prior to that our seder plate was probably a fairly standard Ashkenazi half-agnostic, working off three different kinds of Haggadah and the abbreviated version my grandfather had written for me and my brother in 1993.

This year we also added a tomato in honor of a local religious leader who used to be a regular seder guest who helped get tomato growers to give their pickers fairer wages and went toe to toe with Taco Bell about the prices paid for tomatoes and the associated labor.

I like that!

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

V' l'... [blast, what's the feminine form?]

Uh, et cum spiritu tuo?

[sovay]

Uh, et cum spiritu tuo?

Heh. Thank you.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I like what nineweaving wished you. But my fruit icon choices are peaches and strawberries. So...

May dread, dismay and death all pass you by
And all misfortune from your footsteps fly
And into your cupped hands, let peaches fall
And on your table, strawberries for one and all

[sovay]

And into your cupped hands, let peaches fall
And on your table, strawberries for one and all

Hah. Thank you.

What would you like in return?

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

What would you like in return?

A surprise

[sovay]

A surprise

All right; here.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Now blessings of woodwind fall upon you!

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Be most well!

[sovay]

Be most well!

You, too! All of a sudden, everyone needs it . . .

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

It is centurion-red and bears the correct emblem of a bull.

Excellent.

A most blessed holiday to you and yours.

[sovay]

A most blessed holiday to you and yours.

Thank you.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Chag sameach. And BTW, I am totally not embarrassed to be seen with you.;)

[sovay]

Chag sameach.

Thank you!

And BTW, I am totally not embarrassed to be seen with you.

It's a natural extension from band T-shirts! (". . . murals, postcards, neckties, samplers, stained-glass windows . . .") The only possibly better choice would have been the IX Hispana.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

I figured the Victrix because of Puck of Pook's Hill.

[sovay]

I figured the Victrix because of Puck of Pook's Hill.

I am not complaining.

[rosefox]

And I’ve tramped Britain, and I’ve tramped Gaul

I can only hear this as a line from the Anti-Nowhere League's "So What?" (most memorably covered by Metallica).

Good yontif!

[sovay]

I can only hear this as a line from the Anti-Nowhere League's "So What?" (most memorably covered by Metallica).

I'm afraid it's from Kipling's "Rimini." If it helps, Roman soldiers probably did swear a lot.

Good yontif!

You, too!

[rosefox]

I was thinking that Roman soldiers would probably have really appreciated Metallica, actually.

[sovay]

I was thinking that Roman soldiers would probably have really appreciated Metallica, actually.

I think you're right.

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

And they sounded oddly cheerful about it, too.

Happy whatever!

[sovay]

Happy whatever!

Thank you! Likewise.

[chomiji]

Chag Pesach Sameach!

(Where did she get that T shirt? I am envious!)

[sovay]

Chag Pesach Sameach!

Thank you!

(Where did she get that T shirt? I am envious!)

I have no idea. Somewhere in Rome, I believe.

[chomiji]

Well, I had to ask!

:-)

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

All over Rome they sell T-shirts of all of the Legions which at some point used Rome as home base. I guess they might be available online?

[chomiji]

Well, yes, good point - I found some online. There's no telling whether they're the same ones, but them's the breaks. :-)

[strange-selkie.livejournal.com]

...And here I am all out of bronze eagles on sticks, so you could go out in what I assume is a very cool shirt properly accessorized.

[sovay]

...And here I am all out of bronze eagles on sticks, so you could go out in what I assume is a very cool shirt properly accessorized.

It's all right. We'll go up past the Wall.

[strange-selkie.livejournal.com]

We'll wave to Rosemary Sutcliffe on the way!