|
pasternakski -> RE: Happy Birthday RevRick (8/7/2008 9:07:26 AM)
|
Happy returns on your birthday, Rev.
I've got a story for you that you may appreciate. My retirement haven used to be a monastery. The residence has been updated and maintained, but the rest of the buildings and grounds need restoration and care. As a condition of my buying and living in the property, I agreed with the government to undertake the restoration and to serve as sort of a curator of the premises.
So, a lot of my time is devoted to that work. Now, the buildings are mostly stone, and I spend a lot of time working with plaster, mortar, rock, and all that good masonry stuff. I wear a long smock when doing the dirty work to protect my clothes, and I tie it snugly around my waist with a length of rope to keep the loose cloth from getting in my way.
I must confess to not paying a lot of attention to my appearance in recent times, what with no social agenda to pursue, so I have let my hair grow and now sport a full beard. I have grown thin in recent years, weighing not much over 80 kilos these days, so I am a little gaunt, I suppose. When working on the exterior of the site buildings, I get a lot of rock and mortar dust all over me (hence the smock), and I must be some odd looking creature, to be sure.
Last week, a group of tourists (Australian, I think) came trekking through (my place is pretty isolated from the mainstream, you see, and has that look of historical and religious importance to it). One of them, a young man of about 20, asked me very politely if it would be all right if his group looked over the grounds, and if they could take some pictures.
I said, "Certainly," and tried to reflect the hospitality of the good people in the area where I now live, offering to show them around and give them some idea of the history of the place, as I understood it.
Rev, the kid stood there in a certain amount of awe and started calling me "Holy Father."
I quickly disabused him of that notion, trying not to be too amused by the idea of such a thing as me being regarded as holy, and, for some reason, among the other things running through my head, I thought of the photo of yourself you posted on the "who are we" thread. I'm glad I have an opportunity to pass this little bit of related fun along to you.
|
|
|
|
