Something of a milestone today – Spencer turns 20 today. And I am having a bit of trouble wrapping myself around that one. Not that I still see him as a little boy or anything like that; no, it’s just the idea that 20 years have passed so quickly. I can still remember when he was a squalling little pink worm that screamed all the time and drove us nuts; now he’s a responsible adult, a medic in the army, and seriously thinking of becoming a helicopter pilot. And what happened to the 20 years in between, I can’t say I really know. I have trouble accounting for it all. It’s not that I have memory lapses; rather, it just went too quickly, and when I add up the memories it doesn’t seem like it equals twenty years. And I guess the thing it tells me more than anything else is that I have missed so much, let so much slip past me while I was busy with “important” things, and now my children are growing up, and I wasn’t there for it. What is the sound of one old man regretting his decisions? C’est la vie!
On a totally unrelated note, I have discovered THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG IN THE WORLD. It is “La Chanson des Vieux Amants,” (The Song of the Old Lovers) by written by Jaques Brel and performed by Alison Moyet on her CD Voice. This is one of those songs which – being sung in French – I have absolutely no idea what she is saying, but I love – LOVE, mind you – the way she says it. I hadn’t heard of Brel before, but it turns out that I have heard his music and have always loved it. One of his biggest hits was “Ne Mes Quitte Pas” (Don’t Leave Me) which was re-written in English by Rod McKuen as the popular song “If You Go Away,” which has been one of my favorite songs since I was very young. So anyway, look for the Moyet CD; it’s outstanding. She also does wonderful versions of “The Windmills of You Mind,” Elvis Costello’s “Almost Blue,” and “Alfie.”
And on a tangentially related note, I finally finished watching all of the Three Colors films – Bleu, Blanc & Rouge. Of the three, I liked Rouge the best. The other two were both very well made and interesting stories. Bleu was, obviously, a sad story about loss, Blanc was – ironically – a black comedy about revenge, but Rouge surprised me. I was expecting a movie about flaming passions and that sort of thing; what I found, however, was a very, very sweet movie about loneliness and love and how – sadly – deep, abiding, love can occur between two very different people who are worlds apart in age, in social standing, in education, etc. The bond that forms between the two main characters – a young fashion model and an old, retired judge, both of whom are desperately lonely – is gentle and touching, and it’s developed on screen with great respect and compassion. The only American film I’ve seen that comes close to this is Lost in Translation.
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