"... And the dreadful wail of the Banshee could be heard throughout the
halls and rooms of the house, and all those whose ears were touched by the mournful
sound cringed in terror ..."
Beaders Beware! The Beading Banshee may soon visit your home!
There is nothing you can do to keep her away! No special incantations or magic
rituals will force her to abandon her duty! No matter what measures you may
take, the Banshee will still find you and fill your heart and mind with the
terrifying sound of her otherworldy keen of disaster.
You have all felt her presence before, although she has never been seen. She
has been known to manifest herself in an audible wail, which spontaneously erupts
from the throats of terrified beaders, but will more often be felt as a tightness
in the chest and throat, or a sudden depression that falls like a heavy weight
upon your shoulders.
Unlike the Banshee of Irish legends, the Beading Banshee does not manifest
herself before a disaster. Would that we had such a warning and could
take precautions! No, she will not give us such a boon. Instead, she makes it
impossible to forestall the impending doom. Her appearance coincides exactly
with that heart-rending instant when a beader realizes with horror that her
precious tray of beads is tumbling uncontrollably to the floor.
The Banshee shares with you the sudden irrefutable knowledge that the next
several hours (or days) will be spent salvaging beads from the carpet or floor,
and that even more time will be lost as you sort out the beads that are now
an unplanned melding of different colors, shades and textures.
Yes, the Beading Banshee really does exist, and I have heard her wail more
than once!
Unfortunately, no matter how carefully you store your beads, or how many steps
you take to avert disaster, there will still come that fateful day when you
leave your bead tray just a hair too close to the edge of the table, or the
family pet comes bounding playfully into the room to greet you, or a relative
trips over an imaginary bump in the carpet, and once again the dreaded wail
of the Banshee will be heard echoing through the halls of your home.
(copyright
©
1997, Mary J. Winters-Meyer)
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