A visit
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My elderly neighbor, Harry, just came over. He's 90 or so, and doens't walk
so well, but heard I was housebound and walked over to give me a CD called
Shakespeare--the Greatest Hits. I didn't know who was at the door until
Harry himself came into my office. I sat in the wheelchair and he stood in
the doorway, or leaned on my bookshelf, while he was here.
First, about the CD:
Three songs in a row on the CD were It Was a Lover and his Lass, Edi Beo, and
Greensleeves. I told him the first we sing in my wednesday night music group
which is starting up again next Wednesday, the second I just learned
yesterday is on Holly's new fiddle CD (performed by me and her teacher,
switching parts, me on recorder), and the third I just wrote about this
morning, with the words of "What Child is This."
He said I didn't have to bring it back, that he has all those songs in other
arrangements, and it's a big monotonous as it is on this, but he thought I
might want to have it. I did.
Then we talked about Lord of the Rings. He doesn't have a DVD player or I
would have loaned him mine. He was disappointed in the movie and told me
exactly why and which scenes. Mostly he didn't like the meeting between
Gandalf and Sauramun. And he was right.
I told him to try again.
He talked about Christianity, of a nice Japanese Jehovah's Witness who comes
by sometimes, about the Dead Sea Scrolls, which he said he used to buy and
read in every new translation.
We talked about Seven Years in Tibet, which I'm reading. He told me about
having been in China before the Communist takeover. He even said "God
damned" although he covered his mouth and apologized. We talked about
Tibetan culture and Buddhism.
I kept one of his descriptions in me word for word. I was afraid I would
only remember the rubber. . .marble part, but look how much I could quote!:
"After lights up I went up on one of the gundecks for a smoke. It was one
of those Pacific calms. The ship was riding like a rubber-tired dolly on a
marble floor, and the moon came up (and he showed with his hands so big on
the horizon) golden, and made a path on the water right to and up onto the
ship. And I thought that was my yellow brick road to Oz, but I couldn't walk
on it."
I asked if he had been to Okinawa. He hadn't, but he said he was on ship
during part of the Okinawan hurricane, and told me some good stories of how
it was on stairs (ladders), how it was in the bunks.
Harry talks slowly, and always gets onto opera (which he did, and talked
about Verdi's politics for a while, and Italy's history, which I kinda zoned
out on), but I'm impressed with what he knows and his way with words.
I thought in light of recent discussions, some of you would find parts of
this interesting.
Sandra
so well, but heard I was housebound and walked over to give me a CD called
Shakespeare--the Greatest Hits. I didn't know who was at the door until
Harry himself came into my office. I sat in the wheelchair and he stood in
the doorway, or leaned on my bookshelf, while he was here.
First, about the CD:
Three songs in a row on the CD were It Was a Lover and his Lass, Edi Beo, and
Greensleeves. I told him the first we sing in my wednesday night music group
which is starting up again next Wednesday, the second I just learned
yesterday is on Holly's new fiddle CD (performed by me and her teacher,
switching parts, me on recorder), and the third I just wrote about this
morning, with the words of "What Child is This."
He said I didn't have to bring it back, that he has all those songs in other
arrangements, and it's a big monotonous as it is on this, but he thought I
might want to have it. I did.
Then we talked about Lord of the Rings. He doesn't have a DVD player or I
would have loaned him mine. He was disappointed in the movie and told me
exactly why and which scenes. Mostly he didn't like the meeting between
Gandalf and Sauramun. And he was right.
I told him to try again.
He talked about Christianity, of a nice Japanese Jehovah's Witness who comes
by sometimes, about the Dead Sea Scrolls, which he said he used to buy and
read in every new translation.
We talked about Seven Years in Tibet, which I'm reading. He told me about
having been in China before the Communist takeover. He even said "God
damned" although he covered his mouth and apologized. We talked about
Tibetan culture and Buddhism.
I kept one of his descriptions in me word for word. I was afraid I would
only remember the rubber. . .marble part, but look how much I could quote!:
"After lights up I went up on one of the gundecks for a smoke. It was one
of those Pacific calms. The ship was riding like a rubber-tired dolly on a
marble floor, and the moon came up (and he showed with his hands so big on
the horizon) golden, and made a path on the water right to and up onto the
ship. And I thought that was my yellow brick road to Oz, but I couldn't walk
on it."
I asked if he had been to Okinawa. He hadn't, but he said he was on ship
during part of the Okinawan hurricane, and told me some good stories of how
it was on stairs (ladders), how it was in the bunks.
Harry talks slowly, and always gets onto opera (which he did, and talked
about Verdi's politics for a while, and Italy's history, which I kinda zoned
out on), but I'm impressed with what he knows and his way with words.
I thought in light of recent discussions, some of you would find parts of
this interesting.
Sandra
Tia Leschke
> I thought in light of recent discussions, some of you would find parts ofYes. Thanks.
> this interesting.
Tia