Something old, something new...

 “…very little indeed is necessary

for living a happy life…”

– Marcus Aurelius

Prologue…

The Baltimore visit had been planned for early December but got delayed. My niece, Mariah was about to have a baby – her second. It was due in early February, so I headed east. There would be less distraction by coming before the birth. Baby Robertson number two would require a lot of attention, as would helping this ‘unexpected arrival’ for Coen, Baby Robertson number one, understand. I know because the appearance of my younger sister Nancy into our home was a surprise to me. Mum was gone for a few days and the next thing I knew there was another creature taking attention away from me. Where the heck did she come from so suddenly!!

Mariah is a second-year resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Dan, her husband, an orthopedic surgeon. That meant, after arriving Wednesday evening, I would have most of the day Thursday and Friday to myself while they worked. I had plans for Thursday morning and knew there would be plenty to do the rest of the time.

There were a couple of events that took place during the trip making parts of it transcendent. Transcendence, is one of the great illusive things in life. I sense it when finding myself in situations where I feel time stops.  Most frequently it comes from resonance with another person. Resonance is the undercurrent for this short piece.

Thursday:

I didn’t hear the doorbell ring. Maybe it was because I didn’t have my hearing aids in or maybe because I was on the bottom floor and it rang upstairs. Probably a little of both. I’d been waiting for him to come, so when Shirese the nanny started down the stairs, I was pretty sure someone had arrived.

I opened the door, and there he stood, solid frame glasses, a brownish coat buttoned to the top and a stocking cap to keep his head and ears warm. Off came the cap and on came the familiar, ‘you will never know what I am thinking’ impish smile. In spite of the short snow white hair atop his aged, but wisdom etched face, that look had not changed since junior high school.  Yep, it was my old friend Ron. He had taken the time to drive in from Philadelphia to hang out for a little while. We hugged, chatted for a few minutes and then headed to the Southside Diner for a late breakfast and a ‘breaking of the fast’ from the last time we had seen one another other.

If I were to try to describe what it is that I find appealing about this man, it would not be easy. I could more fully portray his looks, his background as an attorney, and give the ‘book report’ of events where we interacted as youngsters and a few times as adults.  I could suggest he has a unique mind and intellect. I could say he is a student of words, a quick wit, and a man of insight – you know, the ‘what is’ of life. That might provide a small window, but it is the resonance I feel with him that is not so easily described…for resonance is an elusive mistress. She appears in our peripheral vision, defying you to look directly at and depict her in detail…she does not permit coherent explanation. Like the people she connects together and the friendships she encourages, you know when she is present but must accept her refusal to allow clear description.

One of the more interesting people I know, we chatted quietly for two or three easy hours, before we walked back to his car and he headed home. I watched him drive away and smiled with a warm gratitude as his taillights disappeared in the distance. I had been elevated – you know, a little transcendence.

Back at the house, Sherise had just put Coen down for a nap. I was drinking mint flavored green tea and writing when she came into the kitchen. She was substituting for the regular nanny. This was her business, being available in emergency fill in situations. This thirty-eight-year-old African American woman, with sparkling liquid brown eyes, sat down across the table. After the brief, ‘how long have you been doing this’ and a couple of other questions, we slipped into an easy conversation that, as I have come to love with people I do not know, took on a life of its own. Yep, we were in early stage resonance. As with Ron, but for completely different reasons, the conversation was smooth and relaxed…the ‘flavor’ comfortably unique.

A lot could be said about the hour or so we found ourselves in the warm soup of conversation, but the details are not so important. What is important is that we were engaged. Sometimes serious, others joyful and places in between. The free-flowing exchange between us stilled the hands of time, and for those moments we shared, we were free from the world. Her ‘watchful ear’ ended our visit when she heard Coen stirring from his afternoon nap.

Shirese and I were energized, edified, with the notable sense of satisfaction that comes when one knows time has been well spent. As the day ended and she was leaving, we acknowledged how many unpredictable things had to have happened for the two of us to have found each other. We chuckled about that, hugged, and she was out the door, in all probability I’ll never see her again.

As I thought about these events, I became more certain that one of the steps to enlightenment is active edifying engagement with other human beings. These events have been a hallmark of my adult life, but seem to happen more and more frequently. Perhaps this is because I have learned to become a better listener to the universe around me, or possibly because God knows how they please me. Maybe He delights in reminding me that left to my own devices, this chess game with its millions of variables could never happen without the hand of the Chess master.

I fully acknowledge the joy these events bring and that I am gratefully unworthy.

ted