October 5, 2007
-
After i climbed a tree…
i met Emanuel. actually, we have been cultivating a relationship
for over a year now. Emanuel spends all day every day in a small round
white hut. He opens the gate when someone comes down the lane at the
big white house and closes it behind them. To the big white house
owner, he is like a garage door opener. Last year i wanted to see the
big white house. every morning i open my door and yawn at the sun and
see it from the porch. they say that Ted Kennedy stayed there when he
visited Brasil. it is quite a place. old Brasilian style with a little
chapel just to the right. nice place to take pictures. So i walked down
there and asked to see it. just close enough to snap a couple shots.
nope. had to talk to the big boss guy. mean big boss guy. i got the
general idea that he is like one of those feudal lords from the middle
ages. one of the bad ones.
Last semester i went jogging at 5:30
every morning. this semester i roll over and push snooze. but back
then, i would pass Emanuel every morning, riding his bike down to his
little hut with slits that could barely be called windows. We nodded
hellos or saluted. i walked passed today (at a more reasonable hour)
and figured i should talk to this guy. he has to be lonely. and enough
with the waving without conversing. i might as well find out his name.
Emanuel can’t hear every well out his left ear, and basically all his
family has died on him. and yes, he really does sit there, 6-6, opening
the gate and closing the gate. No, he is not much of a reader. i don’t
think there is any electricity to his little hut, so music is out. i
didn’t ask about bathroom situations…there are so many people
around that i just can’t…even really get my mind around what it would
be like to be them. i told him that at least he has lots of time to
think about things. he laughed. i suggested that maybe he take up art?
i don’t know. i would like to cheer him up. but i cannot even really
think of anything…i got the idea that he didn’t read much because he
didn’t know how to very well. and that he was pretty old now to start
up anything like art…so maybe…i will just pass by another day and
talk about the weather. keep him company. make him some snickerdoodles.
