November 13: Simple Little Air, Saint Odo, Musician and Poet

...Scrooge's niece played well upon the harp; and played among other tunes a simple little air (a mere nothing:  you might learn to whistle it in two minutes), which had been familiar to the child who fetched Scrooge from the boarding school, as he had been reminded by the Ghost of Christmas Past...

Music is all through A Christmas Carol, from the boy who sings at Scrooge's office door at the beginning of the book to the church bells ringing on Christmas morning at the end.  In the passage above, Scrooge's niece plays a song upon the harp at Scrooge's nephew Fred's Christmas party.  Considering the title of the novel, it's no surprise that music pervades its pages.

Today's saint of the week is named Odo, and his feast day is November 18.  I chose Odo for a few reasons.  First, he studied music in Paris and wrote hymns.  Second, he wrote an epic poem on the Redemption.  And third, his name reminds me of the character Otho from the movie Beetlejuice.  Odo also happens to be the patron saint of rain, and, considering that snow is the norm this time of year in the U. P., I thought I'd put in a little plug for a form of precipitation I don't have to shovel or pay somebody to plow.

I appreciate saints who are painters or poets or musicians.  They remind me of the importance of the arts in the Christian tradition.  Stained glass windows.  Cathedrals.  Hymns and carols.  Psalms.  Artists have always held a place of honor in the Church.  Saint Odo was one of those artists.

I always worry that my writing won't make a difference in anyone's life.  It certainly won't feed anyone.  It won't clothe anyone or put a roof over anyone's head.  This post will probably be read by two or three people, if I'm lucky.  I'm not Charles Dickens.  I'm not Saint Odo.

Marty is a wannabe.  A wannabe poet.  A wannabe artist.  A wannabe musician.  A wannabe saint.



Niether of these guys is Saint Odo