RIP Mary

The great dragon, Pough, lived in a cave along the margins of the water where the autumn air would curl around his wings and blow against his gigantic tail.

He would wait by the sea for Jacques who came to visit Pough bearing little treasures and different kinds of sparkling things. And together they would sail the Seven Seas.

The wonder of these two would precede them wherever they went. Great kings and queens welcomed them. Pirates lowered their weapons. And the memory of them would linger long after they left.

But a day came when little Jacques stopped visiting Pough. For although dragons live forever, Jacques was growing older and lost his love of little things and sparkling treasures and even sailing the Seven Seas.

Great tears rolled down the scales of the dragon. He held his head up to the sky as the mist swirled about him, and he let out one last lonely cry, and he turned away from the sea and sadly slipped into his cave.

Rest in peace, Mary.

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Our Short Chat

He said he only had time for a short chat. He needed me to help him figure something out — a computer question. He gave me the assignment, and then he gave a quick survey of his goings on.

He talked about his readings in Political Science. How he had been thinking about what I said about "reading the classics" and how he was really liking Plato.

He talked about stocking supplies for the food co-op and how he found his suitcase (with wheels) to be the perfect machine for hauling containers from the supply building to the co-op kitchen.

He talked about his finances and about his Spanish composition and his first test and how he thought the test went well.

He talked about his seminar class and how the readings had started out dry but were getting more interesting. And started to tell a story about a kid who was asking a lot of off-topic questions and how the professor ...

"Ben?"

"Ben, are you there?"

Ten minutes later he called back.

"What was I saying when the phone when dead?" he asked.

I told him, and he groaned.

"Oh man, I just kept talking and talking."

So he resumed his story, talking about his Environmental Science group project. And he talked about his TAs. And about homework. And about what they do in Spanish class and in the Spanish lab class ...

"Oh," he gasped. "You know what? I need to go to my Spanish lab class now!"

And that was the end of our short chat.

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