Libélula

Time slows down if only for a moment 
Enough time to laugh at a joke
Or enjoy a gentle breeze
To stop and smell the leaves
Or the flowers for that matter
The sound of the flowing stream is the appropriate background as the world drifts away

Words help us relate experiences
Hemingway's words relate to me
Yet his experiences seem so far away

There at his desk I sat
The night was upon us but
The sun also rises 

La Perla, Room 217, Pamplona, Spain

The running of the bulls
The trampling of hooves and feet
Feel their breath against your legs
Run faster but slow down
Take it in
Understand what you're doing while you're doing it
Moments are meant to be experienced, not captured 

Food helps make more sense of life
Good food makes the good life make more sense


Gastronomic Tour of the Basque Country
How is this real?
How did I find myself here?

The land of milk and honey

Literally. 


What did Hemingway see?

Pamplona at night 
Arena full of people
Courageous bull
Noble matador

Spain is not so much a country as it is a collection
A collection of people
Languages
Customs
Families
Voices
Sights 
Sounds

The food represents the people 
The people represent their language
Their language represents their history of trials, tribulations, change and unity
That which unites them is that which separates them

Buenos días
Bon dia
Egunon 
Good morning

Language barriers separate 
Laughing unites 

Food transcends language 
Food brings people together 
Communication takes care of itself

There we are around the table
Recipe:
English is spoken but really American is understood
Spanish comes in and out
Catalan is brought in simply because it can
Italian with a touch of Sicilian is added
And finally a Basque phrase is heard
Eskarrik asko 
Let it sit for a couple hours
Enjoy what follows 

The recipe for tortilla de patatas is not as important as the conversations that hover around it
Pintxos give our mouths something to do as our ears take in so much more
Vino tinto helps wash down the champiñones and brings up more attempts at Spanish

Conversation has no room for perfection
As perfection has no room for laughing
And to laugh is to converse 
So laugh and let live

Life comes back into focus
I see myself continuing to learn just as I hear myself continuing to listen
Failed attempts means more practice
More practice means more understanding

Often times we aim too low and hit rather than aim to high and miss

Another bite of bacalao leaves me swimming

My brain has no time to tell my stomach it's full
There's too many other distractions

The future is elusive
One day it sits still
The next day it ventures off
No one can be sure where it goes
One can only be sure where it's been

Here today 
Gone tomorrow
The world we dream of 
The world we make up
The world we forget when we live in the world we remember 

Good food 
Better company
Memories made
Stories told
The life we live
The friends we make 
The laughs we share

All worthwhile if only for a moment 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When the Ideal Becomes the Real (The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Image
The man had it all. Yet it wasn't enough. The house, the car, the clothes, the parties, staff, status, stories, and, of course, "business gonnegtions" (p. 70). What's worse, he had the future — his future — all planned out, right across the way, almost within reach. The green light was the light at the end of his tunnel. The only thing missing? Daisy.  So Gatsby schemes and schmoozes until he can finally be reunited with her — under the appearance of fate — just like he planned. Just like he had planned everything: his business dealings, parties, everything. He made the Ideal into the Real. He forced it to happen —all  by accident.  But when the Ideal becomes the Real, it ceases to be the Ideal. And the Real is less than Ideal.  What ensured?  Reality destroyed the Ideal. Actuality shattered the Fantasy.  Who's fantasy?  Gatsby's, of course, but also Daisy's. Gatsby's fantasy was Daisy. Daisy's fantasy was money, status, entertainment, self —thin...
Read more

A Guide to Law School

Image
  A Guide to Law School   Cole F. Watson Introductory thoughts: My cousin, James, recently graduated from University. As Benjamin Braddock will quickly attest, people’s immediate question—not words of encouragement or praise—is, “What do you plan to do next?” Sometimes these people mean well and do not deserve the criticism found herein. After all, graduating college is a huge life accomplishment; so huge, that the word “huge”—whether it’s HUGE or huge rather than “meaningful and/or significant”—starts to look more like hug-e the more it’s used to describe something as monumental as graduating from college. With that in mind, one’s graduation from college ought not be overlooked simply because other horizons exist. Horizons are no doubt “huge,” but so is the opportunity to live, exist, enjoy, hunt, fish, climb, challenge, fight, kick, punch, spit, laugh and then fart, fart and then laugh, cook, eat, and beyond all praise God for the life lived thus far.  So James, this...
Read more

Thankfulness

It´s official I´ve started playing Christmas music. Pentatonix Vince Guaraldi Trio Rat Pack Soon I´ll break out the Country Christmas albums but my heart can only take so much at one time. Words are hard to find as I feel I have nothing to say. Life has become the same ol, same ol I walk around Barcelona likes it's home to me because to me, it is home. This weekend I was in Madrid but nothing seemed odd about that. Of course I found myself in a major European city because...because... Because this life has become all too normal to me. Words still escape me I miss home I miss my families and the feelings of warmth that only home can provide I desire to be with my family this week for more reasons than one and for one reason in particular  Yet here is where I find myself Here home has provided me with new feelings of love which I greatly admire but I´ve recognized as temporary since I got here.  What then is left to say when the temporal...
Read more