Godot

Many years ago the pianist and I went to the Belfry Theater in Lotus City to see Waiting for Godot! I was mystified by the play, thought it completely opaque, and blamed myself for not being "with it"! What is it about that play that has stuck with me over the years? At 76, am I able to see through the opacity that bedeviled me when I was 35? Maybe! Why Beckett wrote it in French, and whether at 76, he understood more than he did when he wrote it in his 40's, I do not know. I do know that the play has been dissected over and over again. For me I stick with "res ipsa loquitor". Otherwise it contaminates! What Samuel Beckett thought, and what his interpreters thought, is interesting,but what it says to you is the crunch point. We went to Olympic City last weekend to spend time with four old friends who were an integral part of our wedding party in 1957. We have all grown old together and walked similar, but dissimilar pathways! Together we have a total of 157 years of marriage. The play no longer seems absurdist. At forty I was impatient and certain that I would amount to something! It seemed terribly important! Amounting to something was clearly defined! In my case it was defined by others. Rabbit ears! Waiting was agony. Waiting is still somewhat agonizing but expected now. Living with uncertainty is easier. Amounting to something is no longer as important. Godot will appear when he does. It is certain, that he will when you least expect it. If he doesn't appear, then the faithless were right, but that also doesn't seem important. Being part of the woodwork and watching that march of humanity is a blessing in itself since the woodwork no longer has to perform if it chooses not to. Both cream and shit float to the surface!