 |
| Happier, fitter days. Probably on the "wrong" (ie, the Italian) side of the Matterhorn while staying in Cervinia. From the left: Grandson Ian, RR, granddaughter Bella. |
Read an essay by Christopher Hitchens, left-wing atheist, journalist and thinker, discussing Evelyn Waugh, one of Britain’s greatest novelists, though a pig of a man. Two writers I know well. The essay shone light on both and widened my education. I felt enlivened.
Extreme old age tempts many to look backwards, almost permanently. But the past is fixed and its truths are known. Whereas time that’s just around the corner may contain revelations which add to our experience. Fitting in with things we already know, widening our knowledge, giving us a clearer view. The essay did just that.I think I’ve lived a varied life; one might say journalism – my former trade – forced variety on me. I asked questions seeking answers then formed these answers into articles that were new to me. Curiosity was my stock in trade and still is, albeit less widely practised.
So what is life if we do not believe in an after-life? Physical activity may be beyond us but to disregard the future’s possibilities seems like a negation of living. A wilful rejection of our capacity to learn.
Having said that I’m about to undermine the basic premise of the above. No worries, there are always exceptions. Before starting this post I checked my inbox and found the above photo, a twenty-five-year-old moment in time. History, you might say, hence looking back. It’s a weak defence but the photo is new to me, never saw it before. But it is resurrective.
To quote Winston Churchill, "KBO" - keep buggering on. I am a mere youth of 84 but try, too, to follow that philosophy.
ReplyDeleteI have just taken my car in for yearly service and MoT. the mechanic looked up last year's MoT. The car has only done 1,600 miles in this last, dreadful year. I manage 2,500 per annum on my e-bike!
Avus: Bugger away. What I'm preaching here is avoiding the tendency towards nostaligia.
ReplyDeleteYes - "KBO" is my paraphrase of your post heading.
DeleteToneDeaf is always thought provoking and educational. I have never read Waugh, but had seen the name mentioned dozens of times. I always Evelyn was a woman - how embarrassingly naive of me. Probably not as embarrassing as it was for Time Magazine though - they published an article in 2016 including Waugh among the “100 Most Read Female Authors on Campus.”
ReplyDeleteMikeM: A further complication: Waugh's first wife (marriage later annulled; he was a profound Catholic) was also called Evelyn. But I'm surprised you were confused. The USA has always seemed to favour gender-obscure first names for women: Terri, Toni, Bobby, etc. I'm not sure you would like Waugh although I realise that's a patronising thing for me to say. First and foremost I like his prose style, concise, allusive, always avoiding "big" scenes, preferring to anticipate them and, thereafter, referring to them often via a third person. This, to me, has always seemed very non-American, not surprising since Waugh, himself, hated the USA as he proved with his novel The Loved One. Also his sense of humour (highly developed) frequently hinged on cruelty. If ever you decide to read him (and I've hardly done a great PR job here) try his initial success Decline and Fall. Utterly hilarious, unfeelingly vicious.
ReplyDeleteeven if there is an afterlife you still only get one life. and if you believe in reincarnation, that we cycle through many times, still each life is different and the only one known while living. so use the one you've got as best you can as long as you've got it.
ReplyDeleteellen abbot: Yeah, but what constitutes "as best you can"? The point I'm trying to make is keep one's exploring mind open however old one gets. Don't fall back and wallow in nostalgic visits to the past.
DeleteDecline and Fall is on order. Used/paperback.
ReplyDeleteMikeM: I hope the following anecdote adds to your experience of reading D&F. The novel played a significant part in one of my very rare successes in the field of academia.
DeleteNearing the end of her secondary-school education (much truncated by US standards) younger daughter, Occasional Speeder, failed a significant exam in English Literature. I was outraged. “Nobody fails Eng. Lit. in this family,” I shouted.
I contacted the school and found it was possible for OS to re-take the exam and I volunteered to tutor her. I who had left school aged 15! I was further outraged by the school’s attitude which could be summed up as: “Why bother? It’s only Eng. Lit.” But they allowed the re-take.
D&F was one of the set books. With iron-clad resolve, which lasted unbroken over the Christmas period, OS and I went upstairs, sat on the bed, and, in 30-minute sessions, alternatingly read D&F aloud, analysing its irony in depth. OS re-took the exam and got a B.
But I was only mildly pleased. Couldn’t get over that “Why bother?” response.
I love that photo! What a nice capture of a fun moment.
ReplyDelete