My husband and I read Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty ages ago, and we think it contains the funniest line she ever wrote. A fourteen (!!) year old boy is driving the family Studebaker when one of the other boys calls out, "Let Bluet drive!" The baby is handed into the front seat and stands up between this young driver's legs, and presumably puts her hands on the wheel. Couldn't do this now, but the year was 1923. Slow cars, no seat belts, anyone could drive. The boy, Orrin is described as a "wonderful driver."
I expect this won't strike any of you as particularly funny, but we break out in gales of laughter each time one of us says it. Plus, I just love the name, Bluet.
One of the many names of the Centaurea montana is Mountain Bluet. It is also called Perennial
Cornflower and Perennial Bachelor's Button.
The little May Flowers which pop up in the fields, were called Bluets by my mother.
What a funny story, Nan! I haven't read the book but I'm inclined to now. :) It reminds me of the line in Rain Man where the Dustin Hoffman character claims that he, too, is an "excellent driver."
ReplyDeleteYou learn something every day!
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard the name 'Bluet' given to cornflower - thankyou for that, Nan.
The rest of Delta Wedding isn't all funny, and in fact I tried reading it again recently and didn't want to finish. But give it a try and see what you think. I smiled as I read the Rain Man quote. Oh, how I love that movie.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I was thinking of using the name for our next dog. :<)
It isn't given to the annual cornflower, just to the perennial one. I told you I was growing the annuals in your honor, didn't I? They went outdoors into the garden the other day and will be a blog entry when they bloom. :<)
I remember calling those little flowers "Quaker Ladies."
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love all those old names. Thanks for telling me.
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