sinew

\SIN-yoo\

noun

1: tendon; especially : one dressed for use as a cord or thread
2 a: solid resilient strength : power b : the chief supporting force : mainstay — usually used in plural

I took SINEWS for granted until one of mine got sliced in half during a mixed cocktail of haunted hayrides, knife-play, and generally being seventeen. I now have a great story and a bump underneath the skin above the middle knuckle on my right hand. As I move my fingers, so moves the bump, sliding smoothly over my bones like mildly sedated gerbil under a bed sheet. Sometimes I make people feel the bump—it's eerily intimate.

I'm curious about the second specification in definition one: "especially : one dressed for use as a cord or thread." What is dressed for use? A tendon? How do you dress a tendon? Does that mean to designate a new role for a tendon as a cord? In this case, my tendons begin to feel like a puppeteer's strings, and then, of course, I think of Being John Malkovich. Truly lovely.

I cannot help but adore John Cusack, even in a film like BJM, in which his character is rather detestable. I especially love him in High Fidelity, another unlikable character he renders as charming and irresistible. I would totally get back together with him, too, I think, watching the film and (very) momentarily regretting all the second chances I never offered. I also love his sister Joan, whose mannerisms, I've been told on more than one occasion, resemble mine. This last idea is rather irrelevant, it simply adds to my adoration of this sibling duo.

I want to make some connection suggesting John Cusack is the SINEW among young actors of the eighties, but that feels like kind of a stretch.

Or is it...?

I think I should just accept that I drastically digressed and move on. I mean, not move on with this blog, but move on with my day. I've said enough. Let me know if you ever want to feel a grotesque bump.