"The Lyre"Chapter 5
"The L
yre"Kevin
and Lindsey had not gone on a next star date in two weeks. Kevin was
confused and not sure what he should do with either her or Ann, since
they
were both being petty and ridiculous, and he could not imagine how ugly
it would get if Ann found out about the evenings that he and Lindsey
had been sharing. Besides, it was time for the play-offs and he needed
to be focused. Football allowed him to concentrate on something
completely different and bought him time away from both of the girls.
On a Thursday morning, in mid-November, Kevin found a note in his locker when he went to put away his books before lunch. A funny little pattern of dots was drawn on the piece of paper and in Lindsey’s handwriting it said, I found you a new constellation. Kevin was surprised that Lindsey didn’t just tell him that she wanted to go out and look at the stars but he was pleasantly surprised.
The note went on to say that she understood that he was busy and now more than ever he needed to be focused and she was not going to try and interfere with that, but that she had found a constellation that she thought that he would appreciate and enjoy.
The constellation that Lindsey had picked out for Kevin was Orpheus’s Lyre. Hermes had made the lyre out of a tortoise shell after noticing the beautiful noises that could be made from the object. He then gave the lyre as a gift to Apollo in order to appease his anger after he attempted to steal his cattle.
Apollo passed the Lyre on to Orpheus, who was one of the most talented and accomplished musicians of the time. His music could charm anyone and anything, and had been known to captivate even wild beasts. He was known for the beautiful music that was made from his lyre from the gods.
Orpheus was married to Euridyce, but unfortunately he lost her to an early death. He tried to win her back from the god of the underworld but failed in all of his attempts. Shortly after his wife’s death Orpheus himself was killed. There are two different theories as to why he was killed but both say that he was attacked by a mob and did not survive.
The angry mob that killed him then took his lyre and threw it into a river. However, so that Orpheus and his music could forever be remembered Juno sent a vulture to pull the lyre out of the water and he set it in the stars for all to see.
Kevin’s note from Lindsey ended as follows:
Everyone is remembered for something and a legacy is always left behind. Orpheus was remembered for his lyre, Cassiopeia by her vanity, Elvis for his music, and Bill Clinton for his affair. I do not want to be remembered as the new girl who came in and messed everything up, who changed everything from how it had always been, I don’t want to play with West Duncan’s legacy. You should be remembered for your athletic ability and your dedication to your family, to Ann, and to West Duncan High; not as the hometown hero who gave it all away at the end. I love spending time with you but I understand that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am going to try and be the bigger person and step away now. You need your time and your space. I will always have you in my heart though.
Kevin didn’t know what to think. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He wanted them both to understand how hard a time it was for him. That he was confused and tired, that he wanted to focus on football for a while. He couldn’t wait to talk to her. But wait, had this put Lindsey on top? What about Ann, did she understand him this well? What happened to his plan of not thinking about it? How did she always know what to say?
"The Lyre." Artist Unknown. Found at the St. Cloud State University website (2003):
web source: http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/clicks.lyr.html
"The Story, The Lyre of Orpheus." Prof. Arnold V.Lesikar, Dept. of Physics, Astronomy, and Engineering Science. Found at the St. Cloud State University website(2003).
web source:http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/clicks/lyr.html
(Paraphrased for use in the story. It is told in third person perspective by the narrator.)
"The Messier Catalog, M74" Photographer Uknown.
Found at The Students For The Exploration and Development of Space website(2002):
web source: http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m074.html
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On a Thursday morning, in mid-November, Kevin found a note in his locker when he went to put away his books before lunch. A funny little pattern of dots was drawn on the piece of paper and in Lindsey’s handwriting it said, I found you a new constellation. Kevin was surprised that Lindsey didn’t just tell him that she wanted to go out and look at the stars but he was pleasantly surprised.
The note went on to say that she understood that he was busy and now more than ever he needed to be focused and she was not going to try and interfere with that, but that she had found a constellation that she thought that he would appreciate and enjoy.
The constellation that Lindsey had picked out for Kevin was Orpheus’s Lyre. Hermes had made the lyre out of a tortoise shell after noticing the beautiful noises that could be made from the object. He then gave the lyre as a gift to Apollo in order to appease his anger after he attempted to steal his cattle.
Apollo passed the Lyre on to Orpheus, who was one of the most talented and accomplished musicians of the time. His music could charm anyone and anything, and had been known to captivate even wild beasts. He was known for the beautiful music that was made from his lyre from the gods.
Orpheus was married to Euridyce, but unfortunately he lost her to an early death. He tried to win her back from the god of the underworld but failed in all of his attempts. Shortly after his wife’s death Orpheus himself was killed. There are two different theories as to why he was killed but both say that he was attacked by a mob and did not survive.
The angry mob that killed him then took his lyre and threw it into a river. However, so that Orpheus and his music could forever be remembered Juno sent a vulture to pull the lyre out of the water and he set it in the stars for all to see.
Kevin’s note from Lindsey ended as follows:
Everyone is remembered for something and a legacy is always left behind. Orpheus was remembered for his lyre, Cassiopeia by her vanity, Elvis for his music, and Bill Clinton for his affair. I do not want to be remembered as the new girl who came in and messed everything up, who changed everything from how it had always been, I don’t want to play with West Duncan’s legacy. You should be remembered for your athletic ability and your dedication to your family, to Ann, and to West Duncan High; not as the hometown hero who gave it all away at the end. I love spending time with you but I understand that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am going to try and be the bigger person and step away now. You need your time and your space. I will always have you in my heart though.
Kevin didn’t know what to think. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He wanted them both to understand how hard a time it was for him. That he was confused and tired, that he wanted to focus on football for a while. He couldn’t wait to talk to her. But wait, had this put Lindsey on top? What about Ann, did she understand him this well? What happened to his plan of not thinking about it? How did she always know what to say?
"The Lyre." Artist Unknown. Found at the St. Cloud State University website (2003):
web source: http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/clicks.lyr.html
"The Story, The Lyre of Orpheus." Prof. Arnold V.Lesikar, Dept. of Physics, Astronomy, and Engineering Science. Found at the St. Cloud State University website(2003).
web source:http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/clicks/lyr.html
(Paraphrased for use in the story. It is told in third person perspective by the narrator.)
"The Messier Catalog, M74" Photographer Uknown.
Found at The Students For The Exploration and Development of Space website(2002):
web source: http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m074.html
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Becky Matson
Mythology 3043
Mythology 3043