By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
Probably not surprising to some, but a song that I don’t recall ever having heard before, let alone have sung, has come into my life. Ironically the next topic starts off with a phrase frighteningly similar to the name of the song. That opening line started well before having been exposed to, and of having the honor of singing, the song. Mary Did You Know. It is likely a common Christmas carol to most, but I don’t recall ever having heard it before.
My first exposure to the song was having sung it with the “Praise” group at the Grace United Church. I don’t want to be a name dropper, but Dave Toot sang the opening line “Mary Did You Know” and the Praise Choir echoed him back. Last night I had the opportunity of playing it at the Friendship Free Library. Before jumping to that opportunity as a full topic, the phrase I had referred to was included as my Grammar Groan, or at least one of them, for this writing.
Nary – Did you know? Nary, most often used in the phrase “nary a” to mean “not a single, “is an 18th-century alteration of the adjectival phrase “ne’er a,” in which ne’er is a contraction of never.
“Nary” isn’t typically a productive suffix in modern English, but rather a colloquial word meaning “not a” or “none,” stemming from “ne’er a” (never a) and used before a noun (e.g., “nary a sound”). However, the suffix “-ary,” related to “-ary” (from Latin “-arius”), does exist, meaning “pertaining to,” found in words like culinary, binary, and ordinary, indicating connection or relation to the root word. As close as I could come to an explanation of why “Nary” is used as a suffix is; “-ary” (the suffix), Meaning: Pertaining to, connected with, or for the purpose of.
Common words with nary as a suffix are: Ordinary, Binary, Extraordinary, Urinary, Luminary, Culinary, Canary and skipping to the end of the list is one of the longest at 15 letters, Cardiopulmonary. There are lots more but now that the term is stuck in your head as well, I’ll leave “well” enough alone.
As much as I love singing, this time of year is especially joyful. When my mother would load us into the car to drive about looking at the Christmas decorations, we would sing Christmas carols the whole way. Last night I had the distinct pleasure and honor to join Rich English, an accomplished violinist, as he played Christmas Carols at the Friendship Free Library to a very appreciative cadre of Christmas lunch visitors. Their focus was more on the Christmas snacks but many of them stopped to listen, and even some, to join in with singing the carols that we were playing. His playing blended with and certainly overpowered any minor glitches in my playing.
I got my exposure and interest in playing that instrument when playing the snare drum with Tex Warner and the “Allegany Ridge Runners” at local square dance venues like the Inavale Grange Hall. I don’t recall ever playing the “Harp” at the events, but my mother had gotten one for me and I would sit outside on the steps of our house playing it. I took it with me when I went into the Navy and would sit alone on the foc’sle playing it. Eventually I got a more sophisticated multiple scale model but lost it when it fell to a lower deck when I was playing it one day outside on an upper deck. It most likely wasn’t appreciated in the Wheel House.
My family was always a “gathering family.” By that I mean we ALWAYS gathered together. At first, in my early years the family always “gathered” at my maternal grandparent’s house on a back road between Rushford and Centerville. No “Paternal” figure in my life beyond birth.
Upon moving from the farm on the Rushford-Centerville Road my grandparents, already of significant age, moved into the house my stepfather Paul Miles built on Rte. 275 going from Nile to Richburg. From then and thereafter we rotated Christmas, and all other significant Holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day between my aunt and uncle Claire and Hank Miles, Bertie Searl and our house, in Nile. At first it was in the old EUB (Evangelical United Brethren) church converted to residential habitation, and later in the Nile General Store where we took over ownership from Howard and Mildred Dieter.
Christmas was then, and still is today, although on a less familial basis, by far my favorite Holiday. I now fully celebrate the “Reason for the Season” Moreso than I do from the commercial standpoint.
I have always been a sentimental type despite what some much later interpretive evaluation testing described. Thus, thoughts of Christmas and family visits of days gone-by, still bring tears to my eyes, but fulfillment to my heart.
I’m going to wrap up this Wrambling with a reach out to someone I only heard about last night. Missy Muscato (Sorry I don’t recall her married name) stopped by to drop off a very emotionally adored Christmas gift in the form of a book compiled from her dad, LJ Muscato’s, artistry, sketching and paintings. She was accompanied by fellow member of the Family of Three, Stacey (Geyer) Woodruff.
As we chatted, Missy mentioned that my name had come up at some point and that it was stated that Dennis Strawcutter, from the state of Washington (not D.C), was an appreciative, and fond reader of my Wramblings. I sincerely hope that I got all of the names right. What I can confirm as being right was the swelling of my heart, and the tears in my eyes.
My dreams and passion were always to be a writer. Despite a short stint with the Friendship Volunteer, with Marilyn Lester as my mentor, and numerous poems, some of which have earned recognition and prizes via The Olean Times Herald and until most recently, my writings had been for my enjoyment only.
I am indebted, and grateful to Andrew Harris and the Wellsville Sun for allowing me to finally follow my dream. With all due apologies for the repeated phrase, my heart swells with gratitude and especially with my thanks for those who read my Wramblings whether they have reached out to me, or not.
Thank you all, and to all a Merry Christmas. I will leave you with a Christmas poem and an invitation to reach out to me at IM.Wiserdad@gmail.com if you have any comments, cares or concerns.
