All the World is a Stage

My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot. -Ashleigh Brilliant

I have met some interesting people in my life. Sometimes when I look back at my life, I wonder what exactly the plot could be. If someone were to do an autobiography, I have no idea exactly where the climax would be right now. Even though I am nearing the Big 5-0, I don’t quite get the sense I am in the falling action phase of my life. My hunch is that I have a lot of action yet to happen before the pivotal point of this story arrives.

Last night at the dinner, I ran into a man who I used to facilitate retreats with at the Villa Maria, a former Oblate centre. He was delighted that I had come up to greet him. I had not seen him in a number of years. Our encounter, of course, brought back many memories. The first time I went to Africa, he sent a letter of introduction to a wonderful friend of his, named Horst. Horst met my cousin Kathy and I and decided to loan us his son, Michael, as our driver and tour guide. The photo is of Kathy and Michael in the Rift Valley.

I think Michael thought Kathy and I were crazy women. His dad was fairly well off while Kathy was living in simplicity on the school grounds where she was teaching. Oddly enough, he could see that we were happy in our lives despite not having a bunch of luxuries. I suspect it took him awhile to “get” us. Hanging out with us must have been as eye opening for him as it was for us. Horst was a kind and generous host, taking us to the Karen Blixen country house for dinner, and if I remember correctly, it was him who took us to the Carnivore Restaurant. Back them, people could really order the wild meat, unlike now, where the animals are better protected. I had a little bit of trouble meshing the poverty and luxury that collided when we came together.

I have never seen Horst or Michael again but my friend told me that he and Horst had been to Kenya again this year. Horst and his wife—an African woman—now live in Ontario. I often wonder about some of the people who enter my life for what seems a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of things and yet change its course. How many people like that do you have in your life—those angels that appear to bring joy or those who stir the pot and get you to see in a new way? My heart is grateful for the memories of Horst and his family and the chapter of my life that they helped to write.

Peace,

Suzanne