"Tilting at Windmills," "Rocinante," and No, I Haven't Read the Book

       Connie noted that when authors are asked what great books they haven't yet read they name things like Don Quixote.  I said, "I haven't read that either, but I kind of feel as though I have.  You know, 'tilting at windmills,' everyone knows that, and it comes from Don Quixote...I'm pretty certain."  Connie looked skeptical.

       Out came my iPhone, in went the phrase, and back came the confirmation.  Quixote spies windmills on his travels and sees them as whirling-armed "giants" whom he intends "to do battle with" and "slay."  "Tilting" has reference to jousting.

       The word "quixotic" means "foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals: marked by...romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action."

       The pet name for my Dodge Neon companion on my 3500 mile "West Coast" trip was "Rocinante," Quixote's horse.