Too Pretty; Didn’t Read
On Walden & Lifelong Friendship
We started our friendship as stubborn & opinionated teens vigorously debating each other as we swung on the front porch swing of Carrie’s house. We started out not agreeing on much outside of a few shared friends and the pleasure of grabbing a fresh soda to sip.
When Carrie first read Walden her enthusiasm poured out in our porch debates. I was a fan of Emerson’s “On Self-Reliance.” I had in fact gotten in trouble for painting a quote from the essay on the back of my bedroom door. Carrie rattled on about Thoreau’s narrative details, I listened as I drew on my Marlboro Reds. The porch swing carried us through so many passionate discussions of ideas. Never before had I so respected someone I disagreed with so often.
Beyond that Carrie became a friend who was always up for an adventure. And now we are going on a different kind of adventure, each on our own, but in parallel. When Carrie sent me her Walden demo I was instantly mesmerized by it. I started playing each day and humming it around the house, shared it with a select few people, so proud of my friend.
I had the pleasure of becoming what I so dubbed, her album doula. The joy of hearing all the exciting preparations and the honor of quelling anxieties. I knew of Carrie’s long standing and deep relationship with Walden. I thoroughly agree that “All good things are wild & free,” and I was happy to have a front row seat to her adventure!
Our talks got me started on my parallel adventure, making my art available to the public, and back to my first creative love, writing essays.
Way back on my 18th birthday, Carrie gave me what remains to this day the favorite gift I’ve ever received. Her copy of Walden, tied with a ribbon, a red dried rose through the bow. I was surprised by the gift, since I knew how much the book meant to her and in love with the aesthetic. The book wrapped as it was followed me through many moves, always displayed as a decorative item on a shelf. I still have the book today, and I still haven’t read it! So glad I now have the ‘Carrie’s notes’ song version to fill me in on all the details that have faded from those front porch memories, because my print copy was too pretty; didn’t read.
You can follow my dear friend Carrie on Substack Carrie Wright, Instagram @CarrieWright, and find her music at carriewrightmusic.com, on Spotify, and carriewright.bandcamp.com
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