Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

You are retired,

As if you were a feasted one, and not

The hostess of the meeting: pray you, bid

These unknown friends to’s welcome; for it is

A way to make us better friends, more known.

 -Shepherd

 The Winter’s Tale           Act IV, Scene iii, Line 65

 

This is the shepherd, Perdita’s adopted father, talking to Perdita. There are a bunch of people that have shown up at their cottage and the shepherd is telling his daughter to get moving and be a good hostess, and make them welcome. He starts this section by talking about his wife, and what she would do when she was alive.

 

        Fie, daughter! When my old wife lived, upon

        This day she was both pantler, butler, cook;

        Both dame and servant; welcomed all; served all;

        Would sing her song and dance her turn; now here,

        At upper end o’the table, now i’the middle;

        On his shoulder, and his; her face o’fire

        With labour, and the thing she took to quench it,

        She would to each one sip. You are retired….

I’m not sure exactly what strikes my fancy so, but I like that little passage about what his wife used to do: apparently pretty much everything. And she certainly seemed like a happy hostess.

It seems to me that being a good hostess, or host, is a real talent. I suppose it can be nature, nurture, or a combination, but some people have it and some people don’t. I’ll put myself in the don’t category.

How about MaryAlice Scott? I wonder if she's a good hostess. I really don't know anything about her, other than the fact that she's the oldest with shortest hair, and that's not a lot to go on. So I guess we'll never know if she's a good hostess or not. Oh well. If you're out there MaryAlice you can let us know.