Old Man

"He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fisherman, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought."

It's writing like that that always solidifies Hemingway as my favorite writer. Seriously love this dude. And it isn't like I'm always hanging on every word he puts down; A Farewell to Arms was a real drag for me, for a while. It's the feeling I get along the way, especially when finished, that makes him so irreplaceable. And to think those first few were written in the 1920's, in his 20's, will forever astonish me. I read one work of his about every six months. This is my attempt at making him last. I read him slow and patiently and cherish every word. Because one day I'll have read everything, and why would I look forward to that?