Richer Though Poorer

by compound complex 2 Replies latest jw friends

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  compound complex

  I have become stagnant in heart, mind, body. Nothing fits nor operates as it should.
  

  I recollect, without emotion, the Heights that had, at one time, been my surrogate guardian. My impoverished family loved and cherished our land stretching outward beyond infinity, but it was I, more than all others, that took to the dreary landscape. In a most peculiar manner, the dank surroundings soothed and enveloped me in crawling mists, which were more welcome than the evaporating rays of a summer sun.
  

  I, however, am no longer that joyful lad who found delight in the weird and the grotesque. A man in the physical sense of the word but devoid of the erstwhile childlike fascination with a magical existence, I now reside in The City and am comforted with my needs fulfilled and luxuries absent during youth. The view upon which I now gaze is that of steel and stone and glass; its combination in regal, imposing edifices commands my admiring view yet scarcely my heart.
  

  It is through a clean and shining pane that I survey my kingdom as the wild child of yore vanishes from all remembrance . . .
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  Village Idiot

  Thank you compound. You just released similar memories in me.

  It is of the private school I used to go to. The whole school was housed in a refurbished apartment building with an apartment for each class. My eighth grade was in a second story apartment that had the walls between two bedrooms knocked out in order to make room for the class. The whole school was a jerry rigged conglomeration of classes with similar 'design'. Some people would have considered it tacky but it had personality. More organic than regimented architecture.

  I would enjoy quiet moments, all alone, day dreaming when the class was away for Physical Education (I never went and nobody missed me). I would listen to the girls of my class during lunch period play the guitar and sing. One song that they sang was Those Were the Days which was about a person reminiscing on her youth. When they sang that I told myself that I would someday be looking back on that moment. Of course, I am now.

  In this classroom there was a cat that used to belong to the school principle's mother (She used to live in that very apartment before it was converted to a classroom). That cat got pregnant and had kittens squirreled away in a box inside a small room where no one went. One fine day momma cat decided to bring her kittens in to our classroom. She was carrying them using her mouth to gently bite the kittens neck and walk. One by one they came and were placed in a small out of the wall closet immediately by my desk. I enjoyed the beauty of that moment more than any class lessons I ever received.

  Now I'm 3,000 miles and almost 45 years away from that memory. Blessed be the things we later appreciate.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=y3KEhWTnWvE
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  compound complex

  Now I'm 3,000 miles away and almost 45 years away from that memory. Blessed be the things we later appreciate.
  

  What a beautiful post, Village Idiot!

  I appreciate your sharing that slice of remembrance past. Likewise, I hated Pys Ed, but was not able to avoid it. We all have found ways to make life bearable through dreams of the day or those of the night. Growing up in poverty has enriched my life.

  Love the kitty tale!

  Thanks so much.

  CoCo