Today is April 24 and I am official caughtup with Discover Prompts. Today’s word is “elixir.”
Life without Indiana Jones would be less worth living. There are few movies that enthralled and inspired me as much as Raiders of the Lost Ark. Absolutely brilliant. Adventure, intrigue, back-stabbing, and an ultimate fight between good and evil. Spielberg and Lucas together? Unbeatable.
Of course, the 2nd installment was not good at all – The Temple of Doom practically doomed the franchise Hey, you can’t hit the high note every time.
But back again for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade putting Harrison Ford and Sean Connery together and we’re once again in the land of brilliance.
I got a black German Shepherd when I was starting college. Her dame’s name was Duchess and her Sire’s name was Navajo. They were fierce guard dogs out in the Mojave desert in Baker, California. So on her official papers, I called her “Indian Princess,” which was convenient because I was determined to call her “Indy” no matter what.
So in the 3rd movie when Sean Connery says, “Indiana, we called the dog Indy,” I pointed at the screen and cried out “ahhh! that’s perfect! It’s the dog’s name. That’s MY dog’s name!” It was like I had a gift of prophecy, several years before the actual movie. It made my dog all the more special, verifying her connection to the great movie franchise.
What does this have to do with elixir? In my mind, the Knights of the Round Table have the old paper feel of mythology, dusty and ornate like a carven statue in the desert marking an ancient tomb.
We had a family friend who contributed salads to our multi-family picnics. She brought ambrosia, a white whipped cream concoction with pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges, coconut, and graapes and maraschino cherries, which I didn’t like and picked out.
I had learned about “ambrosia” in mythology class – the elixir of the gods. Whoever ate the ambrosia at the feasts of the gods would be granted immortality.
Somewhere in my mind, ambrosia, family picnics and the Knights of the Round Table got all mixed up, stirred up in a stiff whipped cream just like the salad, and the word “elixir” summons all of those ideas at once.
It’s a great word, reminiscent of fancy green or maroon bottles without labels but with stopper tops that old pharmaceuticals or thick syrupy liquors are stored in. The word “elixir” flows off the tongue like dribbled honey, its sound sweet and succulent.
Elixir of the gods – that sounds better than bourbon or scotch or vodka or rum or gin or tequila. “Ambrosia” has the same pattern of sound as “elixir” with the stress on the second syllable.
The closest I can come to elixir for drink is Absinthe, with its connotations of hallucinations and wormwood poisoning.
Don’t trust the old knight in the cave who offers you an elixir to cure your ailments, for he’s tricky.
Remember, choose wisely.
The Writing Prof Editorial Services 