Strong Truths, Well Lived
When I was in my last semester at College, I lived off campus which was a rarity for students. My school is penned in on various sides by neighborhoods that have stood for 60 years or more. There are also ordinances that preclude students from turning said houses in to dens of iniquity. Age and ownership restrictions are the primary means. As I was abroad for my previous semester I wasn't involved in housing selection so I rented a room in a house purchased by a recent grad. She seemed nice enough and I couldn't possibly be any closer to the school. It was literally one house away from campus.
Through one of those fluke scheduling things I moved in before I met our other housemate, Matt. He was always at work when I was at class and vice versa. I finally met him after about 4 days. We were sitting on the porch enjoying a beer and the warm weather. I went into the kitchen for another round and I heard a rich baritone voice that I didn't recognize. As I returned to the porch, I saw a very tall white-haired priest. His face beamed with a smile and his eyes twinkled behind large tortise shelled glasses. Matt introduced me to Father Ridley. He had a keenly sharp mind and wonderful sense of humor. He became a semi-frequent visitor and, I daresay, a friend. Many nights we would go to Father's house and sit on the patio and have a cigar and drink. He favored vodka. Mine was either a beer or if that wasn't available, whiskey. Matt always joined "Father Hap" for a vodka.
He also liked to play raquetball. I was never much of a player but Matt was quite good and Fr. Hap always creamed him. I've never seen a man in his 60's move so fast. He could play the corners expertly which usually allowed him to compensate for Matt's superior conditioning by forcing him to run the court endlessly.
Matt and I were lucky enough to be invited to Fr. Ridley's inauguration. He stopped by one afternoon when some of Matt's friends from LeMoyne were over and invited the lot of us to the festivities that afternoon and evening. We had been up most of the night drinking, talking and listening to music. We were very hungover when he arrived and he was very amused that we were getting up early in our condition to see him sworn in. We got dressed and made our way to the ceremony which was both a Mass and a swearing in. Afterwards we were walking home and saw our new President on the footpath that lead to his house (and ours). He was talking to one of his colleagues and saw us coming and he raised his hands, palms out.
"No, no no no no no." while smiling. We all laughed. He asked us to join him for lunch and said he'd be along in a minute. I didn't know that there was a luncheon I thought he meant it would be just us. We headed towards his house and headed around back towards the kitchen as always. As Matt started to open the door, I looked back and saw about 50 people had followed us. They heard Fr. Hap tell us to go to "lunch" and they assumed they would follow us. The sight of our most distinguished Alumni attempting to enter through the back door was enough to make me laugh out loud. Some of them saw the humor, some did not. The latter group went around to the front door. The former joined us in the kitchen and spread into the dining room. We had a few drinks and some finger food. In short order, it was time to head down to the Lady Baltimore for a cruise.
We made our way down to the harbor and onto a tall ship which was our ride for the evening. We were quite a sight to the well-heeled alumni and friends that were invited. When we made it to the dock, Vicky, the President's assistant was there with the registrar for the trip. We were asked for our invitations and explained that we didn't have one. Vicky noted dryly that "Father seems to have invited a few extra people." With that we were on board. We munched and drank and generally kept to ourselves. We were students and quite out of our element. We sailed under the Harbor bridge in the twilight and stood at the bow pointing out various landmarks. We were telling dirty jokes when I noticed someone standing close out of the corner of my eye. Father laughed and might have blushed. I couldn't in the twilight. He looked like he needed a break from being President-elect for a minute and found refuge in our presence. We were the group that didn't expect his time or his ear. He chatted with us for a few minutes and then he was pulled away to say a few words. We sailed out past the bridge and the rusting skeletons along the mouth of the river that have stood as idle sentries for decades. Some were shipwrights, sugar refineries, canneries and abandon Naval stations. I had a moment of clarity then. We had all been standing and staring silently for a few minutes in the last light of that autumn day.
"It's all changing." I said in a sotto voice to no one in particular. I looked at Matt and he looked back, saying nothing but in silent agreement. I could feel the familiar slipping away from me.
The trip back was more subdued. More quiet. Something happened in that moment that we all understood but remained unsaid. Probably because it would have been impossible to explain.
Back at the quay, we lost each other in the crowd. I gave up and headed back home in a cab, alone. I sat in silence as the driver blasted up the JFX.
Matt and I spend many other nights with Father Hap sitting on his patio having a drink, a cigar and a good conversation. I think he relished our company partly because we were so much his opposite. He was old, we were young. He was a man of great responsibility, we had none. He was chaste and we were trying our level best to avoid chastity. He laughed at our stories and misadventures. I suspect he also enjoyed our ability to distract him from the weight of the day.
"No one's death comes to pass without making some impression, and those close to the deceased inherit part of the liberated soul and become richer in their humanness.
Author: Hermann Broch"
When I was in my last semester at College, I lived off campus which was a rarity for students. My school is penned in on various sides by neighborhoods that have stood for 60 years or more. There are also ordinances that preclude students from turning said houses in to dens of iniquity. Age and ownership restrictions are the primary means. As I was abroad for my previous semester I wasn't involved in housing selection so I rented a room in a house purchased by a recent grad. She seemed nice enough and I couldn't possibly be any closer to the school. It was literally one house away from campus.
Through one of those fluke scheduling things I moved in before I met our other housemate, Matt. He was always at work when I was at class and vice versa. I finally met him after about 4 days. We were sitting on the porch enjoying a beer and the warm weather. I went into the kitchen for another round and I heard a rich baritone voice that I didn't recognize. As I returned to the porch, I saw a very tall white-haired priest. His face beamed with a smile and his eyes twinkled behind large tortise shelled glasses. Matt introduced me to Father Ridley. He had a keenly sharp mind and wonderful sense of humor. He became a semi-frequent visitor and, I daresay, a friend. Many nights we would go to Father's house and sit on the patio and have a cigar and drink. He favored vodka. Mine was either a beer or if that wasn't available, whiskey. Matt always joined "Father Hap" for a vodka.
He also liked to play raquetball. I was never much of a player but Matt was quite good and Fr. Hap always creamed him. I've never seen a man in his 60's move so fast. He could play the corners expertly which usually allowed him to compensate for Matt's superior conditioning by forcing him to run the court endlessly.
Matt and I were lucky enough to be invited to Fr. Ridley's inauguration. He stopped by one afternoon when some of Matt's friends from LeMoyne were over and invited the lot of us to the festivities that afternoon and evening. We had been up most of the night drinking, talking and listening to music. We were very hungover when he arrived and he was very amused that we were getting up early in our condition to see him sworn in. We got dressed and made our way to the ceremony which was both a Mass and a swearing in. Afterwards we were walking home and saw our new President on the footpath that lead to his house (and ours). He was talking to one of his colleagues and saw us coming and he raised his hands, palms out.
"No, no no no no no." while smiling. We all laughed. He asked us to join him for lunch and said he'd be along in a minute. I didn't know that there was a luncheon I thought he meant it would be just us. We headed towards his house and headed around back towards the kitchen as always. As Matt started to open the door, I looked back and saw about 50 people had followed us. They heard Fr. Hap tell us to go to "lunch" and they assumed they would follow us. The sight of our most distinguished Alumni attempting to enter through the back door was enough to make me laugh out loud. Some of them saw the humor, some did not. The latter group went around to the front door. The former joined us in the kitchen and spread into the dining room. We had a few drinks and some finger food. In short order, it was time to head down to the Lady Baltimore for a cruise.
We made our way down to the harbor and onto a tall ship which was our ride for the evening. We were quite a sight to the well-heeled alumni and friends that were invited. When we made it to the dock, Vicky, the President's assistant was there with the registrar for the trip. We were asked for our invitations and explained that we didn't have one. Vicky noted dryly that "Father seems to have invited a few extra people." With that we were on board. We munched and drank and generally kept to ourselves. We were students and quite out of our element. We sailed under the Harbor bridge in the twilight and stood at the bow pointing out various landmarks. We were telling dirty jokes when I noticed someone standing close out of the corner of my eye. Father laughed and might have blushed. I couldn't in the twilight. He looked like he needed a break from being President-elect for a minute and found refuge in our presence. We were the group that didn't expect his time or his ear. He chatted with us for a few minutes and then he was pulled away to say a few words. We sailed out past the bridge and the rusting skeletons along the mouth of the river that have stood as idle sentries for decades. Some were shipwrights, sugar refineries, canneries and abandon Naval stations. I had a moment of clarity then. We had all been standing and staring silently for a few minutes in the last light of that autumn day.
"It's all changing." I said in a sotto voice to no one in particular. I looked at Matt and he looked back, saying nothing but in silent agreement. I could feel the familiar slipping away from me.
The trip back was more subdued. More quiet. Something happened in that moment that we all understood but remained unsaid. Probably because it would have been impossible to explain.
Back at the quay, we lost each other in the crowd. I gave up and headed back home in a cab, alone. I sat in silence as the driver blasted up the JFX.
Matt and I spend many other nights with Father Hap sitting on his patio having a drink, a cigar and a good conversation. I think he relished our company partly because we were so much his opposite. He was old, we were young. He was a man of great responsibility, we had none. He was chaste and we were trying our level best to avoid chastity. He laughed at our stories and misadventures. I suspect he also enjoyed our ability to distract him from the weight of the day.
"No one's death comes to pass without making some impression, and those close to the deceased inherit part of the liberated soul and become richer in their humanness.
Author: Hermann Broch"
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