red datura : an early
spring blossom at Grabov Rat |
|
Sometimes I feel like a pale
reflection
living in the world they
passed down...
For
ten days, after I’ve arrived this spring to Grabov Rat, the
weather was miserable: cold, rainy, windy. And yet, when I met
someone of local people on the island (there are no tourists at times
like this!), after some formal greetings, the conversation
forced upon me was on politics, local and global. With one
exception: when I met šjor Ivo (‘šjor’ is a common Dalmatian
title for an older person; the natives address me as
‘šjor’ also), and I’ve met him uphill of Grabov Rat while he
was shepherding his goats, his question was:
"Do
you see how honeybees are desperately flying around, looking for
flowers?"
Now, šjor Ivo is 89 years old (or young, considering his physical
appearance and activity). He still himself maintains his five
acres vineyard (over three miles from his house, accessible by
foot and his mule only), he still shepherds his sheep and goats.
Just
yesterday Croatia One radio broadcasted the news that the sight
(visual sense) of an old woman in south Russia, age 111 and blind for many years,
was restored. And her first words after the successful surgery,
after she was able to see the world around her anew, were:
"I
would like to buy a cow, now when I can take care of my animals
again".
I
envy the people like šjor Ivo and that old woman.
Not
for their age but for their spirit. |