Mary Anne Bright

Was your Christmakwanzaaukkah festive, jolly and otherwise merry and bright? Oh goody. Love to hear it. Monsieur Moose and I have had quite a good time during it all- and, after the first of Janvier, the merriment will be over just long enough for us to catch our collective breath before Carnival season starts in New Orleans. I know, what a task it is to be the grands seigneurs of frolic. *sigh*

During the winter holiday season, M. Moose and I hosted several salons, cocktail parties and assorted soiree, one of the most festive was the Christmas Carol-ing party, It was a simple premise actually, all one had to do was to dress up as his or her favorite "Carol" to gain access to this particular bal du Cornichon. (And who doesn't like to play dress up and drink someone elses liquor?)

Some of the assorted "guests" included, Carole Lombard, Carol Burnett, Carol Smillie, (a Scottish television personality) Carole King, someone came as a Mazda Carol — a keicar automobile- Carol Merrill, Carol Channing, Carroll O'Conner, Carol II of Romania, Carol Kane, Carol Lynley, Carroll Baker, Monsieur Moose and I dressed as Lewis Carroll as Diane Carroll, -you can guess who was whom...

It is always fun to come up with new and unusual party games and so I had thought up a real corker for this one. For a while instead of keeping a journal, I collected the best lines from literature, so an entertainment, I suggested that we each in turn recite a favorite line from literature. There were a few doozies let me tell you. Going first, I thought the best line ever written was the introductory sentence from Kafka's "Metamorphosis" (Die Verwandlung):
Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.
Translated into English:
"One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug."
Certainly other people chose a quote from Shakespeare, one from "Hamlet":
"To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?"
-Or, as suggested by Carol II of Romania-
"I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins and worse remains behind."
Monsieur Moose's -aka Lewis Carroll- favorite is from Emily Bronte: Sleep brings no joy to me, Remembrance never dies; My soul is given to misery And lives in sighs. (a bit of the old Vin Triste no doubt-)

After deciding that we should take the entire party to Casa Bonita, (Carol II of Romania's place) we exited Chez Moose, drinks in hand, and all piled into horse drawn carriages. We thought it would be wise to stop at the local market for back up ammo/alcohol, but It turned into a bit of a renegade party at the Verdi Mart. (Angelina brings Maddox there, a lot) Strangely enough we still were playing the literary quote game. As I was chasing the bag-boy around with a can of aerosol cheese, I was stopped by a undetermined Carol that suggested that the last lines from Michael Ondaatje's "The English Patient" were worthy of being the best:
"And so Hana moves and her face turns and in a regret she lowers hair. Her shoulder touches the edge of a cupboard and a glass dislodges. Kirpal’s left hand swoops down and catches the dropped fork an inch from the floor and gently passes it into the fingers of his daughter, a wrinkle at the edge of his eyes behind his spectacles."

After stopping suddenly, gaining clarity during chaos, and thinking, "Yes. Genius. That is the best..." a face appeared behind me dressed as the tragic and lovely Carol Wayne suggesting Diana Vreeland's "I loathe nostalgia..." from DV, then leaning in to the conversation, with a bag of Zapps potato chips, Carol Brady said she thought Wilde's quote, "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing." from The importance of being Earnest, was a top contender and the guest dressed as Carol Browner, munching a Hubig's pie, recited a line from "Answered Prayers" by Capote- "There is at least one respect in which the rich, the truly rich, are different from....other people. They understand vegetables."
I might have agreed with any of these, until Carol Alt, a late arrival at the Carol-ing party, suggested this line uttered from "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace":
"As I turned the corner I felt muscular and compact: like corned beef."
After I blew the cocktail I was drinking through my nose and subsequently called for a "clean up on aisle 2..." we all agreed that is the best line ever written.

And off we went into the night....

Now, keep dreaming of a tasteful beige Christmas.

Merry and Bright
1 oz creme de bananes

1 oz white creme de cacao

1 oz Scotch whisky

1 oz double cream

Shake, strain into a cocktail glass, and sprinkle with grated chocolate. With corned beef on the side.