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red datura : an early spring blossom at Grabov Rat |
Sometimes I feel like a pale reflection living in the world they passed down... For ten days, after I’ve arrived this spring to Grabov Rat, the weather was miserable: cold, rainy, windy. And yet, when I met someone of local people on the island (there are no tourists at times like this!), after some formal greetings, the conversation forced upon me was on politics, local and global. With one exception: when I met šjor Ivo (‘šjor’ is a common Dalmatian title for an older person; the natives address me as ‘šjor’ also), and I’ve met him uphill of Grabov Rat while he was shepherding his goats, his question was: "Do you see how honeybees are desperately flying around, looking for flowers?" Now, šjor Ivo is 89 years old (or young, considering his physical appearance and activity). He still himself maintains his five acres vineyard (over three miles from his house, accessible by foot and his mule only), he still shepherds his sheep and goats. Just yesterday Croatia One radio broadcasted the news that the sight (visual sense) of an old woman in south Russia, age 111 and blind for many years, was restored. And her first words after the successful surgery, after she was able to see the world around her anew, were: "I would like to buy a cow, now when I can take care of my animals again". I envy the people like šjor Ivo and that old woman. Not for their age but for their spirit. |
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2007-04-15 |
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