Thursday, June 08, 2006

The Alphabet Meme ~ J


When Naomi, http://sitteninthehills64.blogspot.com , tapped me to do the alphabet meme, she gave me a choice of the letter A or the letter J. Since my name begins with J, I looked in the dictionary to see what words I might use. To my amazement, there were more than I thought possible. The letter J has figured heavily in my life. Had you asked me out of the blue, I would have been hard pressed to name words beginning with J that had meaning for me, but here are a few:

Judith: my name, a book of the Old Testament Apocrypha that tells the story of Judith, slayer of Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar. Also a book in the Douay Bible. A cousin of mine who could not pronounce Judith, called me "Judas" when we were small. I didn't realize the significance of that at the time, and now, I don't know whether I should be amused or aggravated by it......LOL . Books which list the meaning of names say that Judith means Blessed. I am. I have been blessed by so many people in so many different ways in my life. Perhaps I am aptly named after all.

Joy: the Hebrew meaning of my daughter's name. We didn't know that until after we named her. I had worked for a doctor whose wife had that name and when I was pregnant with my third child, he said I should name her that if it was a girl. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. After the baby came and we sent out birth announcements, one Jewish friend wrote back that the name we had chosen meant Joy in Hebrew. This child is the most aptly named of any in existence. She has never been anything but a joy to us.


Just: the first word in the title of my blog. It is a quality I always hope to lay claim to -- justice -- the principle of rectitude and just dealing of men with each other, is the way my dictionary describes it. There is one usage of this word which bugs me, and that is when people call on the phone and say "It's just me". If you don't think any better of yourself than that - don't call me at all. And if you do it because you want to appear humble - don't. I'm not buying it!

Jazz: the music form to which I automatically listen when given a choice. To me, jazz is like modern or impressionistic art. When I am listening to jazz, I ofter see colors and patterns, sort of the way that the Disney movie "Fantasia" illustrates the music in the film. If you haven't seen Fantasia, watch it and see how they show the rhythms inherent in the music. It is fascinating to me.

Jade: this tough, compact green gemstone has always drawn me with its subtle colors, both dark and light. Jade has been used for centuries for jewelry and statuary. Before mr. kenju gave me a diamond ring (on our 17th anniversary) I work a circlet of jade on my left hand along side my wedding ring.

James: the name of someone very close to my heart. He was born in January and went to school under Jesuit priests, and we are both dedicated to Jesus. I also have a grandson named James.

Jigsaw: I have loved jigsaw puzzles since I was a child, and I once completed one that had 2500 pieces and covered almost my whole dining room table. Trouble was, it took so long to solve it that my table was covered with the pieces over both Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the future, I need a place to do puzzles that will not lay long-term claim to the table where we eat during family gatherings! I have one waiting in the wings, so to speak, an aerial photograph of the government buildings and monuments in Washington, DC. I look forward to starting that one, and if I am lucky enough to finish it, I will post a pic here.

Jet: something I absolutely love to board and fly off into the wild blue yonder. My first flight was at age 18 (I think), when I "ran away from home". I went to NYC, and gawked at the skyscrapers, stood on the top of the Empire State building and cried for my momma, spent so much money on taxi fare that I was afraid to buy anything to eat for 2 days. I was rescued on the 3rd day and sent home in ignominious fashion. Since that time, I have been fortunate to have flown to many different places. If money were no object, you could always find me on a plane to somewhere new and exciting.

Jacobean: a style of decoration prevailing in England in the early 17th century. I used to do a lot of crewel embroidery, in patterns called the Jacobean style. I had to quit when eye strain demanded it, but I have always been drawn to the patterns of stylized flowers and foliages known as Jacobean.

Jack O' Lantern: My birthday falls on October 30th, which in my home town, was always "trick or treat" night. Hence, jack o' lanterns and other Halloween decor always figured heavily in my birthday celebrations. Quite often, a large papier mache one would be the place I gathered my treats and stored them for the short time they lasted.

I won't tap anyone else to do the meme, but if you do one, please let me know!











19 comments:

Rachel said...

Interesting post with the J letters! I liked your ran away from home one!! Glad you got back home okay from that big city!

srp said...

We aren't running away but off again for a weekend trip to Roanoke. It is another anniversary, this time a church. Actually, it is the 50th anniversary of the church my dad started when I was three. I may even see my childhood best friend Mary. Back Sunday night.

utenzi said...

Michele sent me across the Triangle to see you, Judy.

I love Jade also. One of the downsides of being male is that we don't wear jewelry much. I'd love to have jade against my skin all the time. Furs are nice too!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Michele sent me to you tonight Judy...and I emjoyed readig your list once again! I meant to ask you if you enjoyed any of your time in NYC that first runaway time?

Jamie Dawn said...

J is also for Jamie Dawn, your blog buddy. :)

It's great to be able to blog again. I've been pretty much shut out for two days. Blogger wouldn't let me visit others or read my own comments. I must have done something to annoy it. Since it's working for me now, I guess I must have somehow gotten back into Blogger's good favor.

I enjoyed your list of J words.

Eddie said...

Speaking of names,
eddy is a whirpool or a whirlwind, which sometimes seems appropriate.
Eddie

Aginoth said...

Will add this to my list of Mems I must do...

Michele sent me

Star said...

I would have thought J would be a tough letter to do this meme, but as always you did a great job. (I tried to come up with a "J" word instead of "great job" but it's too early in the morning) THis time I am here by way of Michele.

Pat said...

I bet you enjoyed doing that Judy - I enjoyed reading it.

Lisa said...

Great "J" list, Judy! I love jigsaw puzzles, too. In fact I'm an addict! And the harder the puzzle and the smaller the puzzle pieces, the better!! Michele sent me today!

Prego said...

Looks like you lucked out with the 'J', though I might have gone with jujube before Jacobean. :)


Thanks for the visit yesterday.
p

Anonymous said...

Yep. I'd say you are quite aptly named. And you share that name with my mother, by the way.

goldenlucyd said...

Great meme Judy. I've never done one but this looks like fun. I've been having a problem with blogger and/or my computer the last couple of days. I'm glad I can post and leave comments again!

Anonymous said...

Great list and fun to know a little more about you! Now, I have something to go on to create those 5 interview questions...*heehee*
Have a great weekend! Tis gorgeous here!

bornfool said...

I did the alphabet meme today, too. Great minds think alike.

Kristi said...

Very cool meme idea. I know some people hate memes, but I love them because it gives me a chance to learn more about the people whose blogs I read. I may do this one!

poopie said...

Great list!

Panthergirl said...

This was such a fun list!! We are huge jigsaw puzzle fans here. My dining room table is never used for dining, but there's always a puzzle on it.

When Lucas was tiny (and I mean tiny...like two years old) he would do jigsaw puzzles on the REVERSE SIDE. No picture, just shapes.

Here by way of michele again, but I always love coming. I just pick a different post each time!

wendela said...

Great list, Judy! I never would have thought of Jacobean. Now, why was "trick or treat" on the 30th in your hometown and not the 31st? I am with you on jazz- love it! And as for jigsaws, isn't there a big mat or something you can work them on and it rolls up to get it out of the way? Have heard others talk of that- one of these days I will take the time to do one again. I haven't in years. :)