06.04.04

Have you ever heard the word, chantepleure?

I saw a lost pet sign on a telephone pole today. Not unusual, these are the 'burbs. However, this was for a tortoise. Named Henry. There were pictures. Straight on and profile.

Think about that for a moment. I did; here's what happened.

A tortoise, affronted at the indignity of being named Henry--she suspected that they called her Hank sometimes--makes a bid for freedom. I'm seeing something like The Great Escape or Stalag-17.

Or...

Just how quickly can a tortoise get away? Are these people who can be trusted with any pet at all? How remiss must one be to lose a turtle?

Or...

Oh man, that's so sad. Some poor kid's lost their turtle. And isn't Henry kinda funny-odd-cute? Henry the Tortoise. Awwwww. Poor kid.

Oh man! Are they going around the neighbourhood?

"Henry!"

"Henry?"

"Hennnn-RI!"

Then I thought of chantepleure. It's an archaic word that means to laugh and cry at the same time. It describes that slightly guilty feeling that we get when we laugh at something which we know we shouldn't. {That we know we shouldn't? I don't know. It's late.}

That's a lovely word. It's too bad that such an eloquent word disappeared.

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