Beau Soleil Blues: Saturday, September 14th
Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work,
pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without
morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics
without principle. -Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Pertinacious:
1. Holding resolutely to a purpose, belief, or opinion.
2. Stubbornly unyielding.
[From Latin pertinac- pertinax, per- (thoroughly) + tenax (tenacious),
from tenere (to hold).]
"A man is pertinacious when he defends his folly and trusts too greatly in his own wit."
Geoffrey Chaucer; Canterbury Tales: Explicit Secunda Pars Penitentie; 1387-1400 (Translation: Walter W. Skeat).
Hi Non-Uptight Donna Maria and Heraldo!
Thanks for wonderful, wonderful pictures of wedding! What a terrific
affair, it seems. Please pass along our best wishes and congratulations
to Non-Uptight Stacee and Sean. Very, very happy and pleased for them
and their very demanding, over-protective parents as well, of course!
Have been very busy last few days with Jamie here, since this past
Wednesday. Time to head into Pèzenas to enjoy the wonderful Saturday market, so
must away. Jamie has also arranged to rent a bike for next four days so
after the market I'll drive back home and then ride to Pèzenas to
collect him and show him the way to Neffiès. Fondestos and Cheers to one
and all, Patrizzio!
Wonderful time in Cinque Terre and now Florence
Up at 7:10 am to put away last night's dinner dishes while zapping my mug of water for my Instanto. Another gogeous morning so quite looking forward to returning to the market in Pézeanas. Sir James as up at 8:00 am, just as he said he would be. After we'd both showered we ate a light breakfast as I knew I wanted have more of the Thai food I'd eaten there a week earlier. Sent a few messages, did a load of laundry and then we were out the door by 10:15 am. Had to work a bit at finding a spot in the Parking Gratuit but when I saw that other cars had simply pulled along the hedges which line the lanes to the various sections of the surface lot, I did the same.
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| Pézenas Market! |
Made straight for Yannick's butcher shop where I put in an order for more kidney. He was happy to see us and we even met his wife, a lovely woman, who was helping out with Saturday market rush. We thanked them both and said we'd return later to collect our parcel. On to the market, stopping to say hello to the wine-maker from Terres en Couleurs, Patrick Goma. His wife, Nathalie, and two children, Anaïs and Vianney, were there so we had the pleasure of meeting the whole family. Next to see Alain as I wanted to buy a case of wine, (6 Gravas and 6 L'Q), and once we'd arranged that we did the rounds of the market, taking in all the sights and sounds and smells of this lively gathering. When we were at the "food" end of the market, I put in an order for some of my favourite Thai edibles, including a Spring Roll this time to munch on while the Nem Porc and Nem Poulet rolls, fresh from the deep-fryer cooled off enough to keep from burning my mouth.
Once we'd done the rounds we headed to the Tourisme to find out about showings for Mloiere and then we scheduled when I'd return to meet Jamie at Plantee Velso. He accompanued me back to Yannick's and after I collecrted the kidney we said goodbye. He was going to have a bite to eat adn visit the museum, etc. I drove home, put away the groceries and hung up the laundry I'd put on before leaving to dry on patio.
Set off around 3:30 pm. Stats for today's ride, Part I:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/375594823#.UjSrOFgNtSE.email
Stats for today's ride, Part II:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/375594801#.UjSsTHhs89Y.email
Sir James did very well and we were back home by just after 7:00 pm. I had a quick shower and then a bath for him and then dinner: overlefts, saladin, with a 2010 Domaine Bois de Rose, AOC Faugères, €6.50/$8.94, 13.5%, dark, inky, concentrated fruit. After relaxing in the living room, to chat about the day's events, (the market, the bike ride, etc.), and to let our meal digest, I did the washing up while Hunt and Peckster bumbled his way across the Internet, opening tabs, closing tabs, following links, generally speaking, because he simply didn't know what he was doing. I was quite surprised, (Why, I don't know, thinking about it.), to realize just how computer illiterate he is. He lacks even the most basic typing skills and it is quite painful to watch him attempt to write a message, let alone send it.
Served dessert, more Super U's pistachio ice-cream, and tried to make sense of Jamie's digital illiteracy. He doesn't own a computer and uses his local library for his messaging needs. This is fine, as far as it goes, but what this means is that he uses the technology infrequently. His work schedule, the difficulty of visiting the library, regularly, his general disorganized state, (always hurrying, always rushing around, always late), translates into the cold hard fact that he always means to spend more time improving his skills but never manages to do so. While he wants to learn how to use the computer more efficiently, to date, he has not committed or disciplined himself to do so. I can just imagine the library staff charged with helping users trying to guide him through the very basics of Net and window navigation. I have been more than happy to show him how to open new tabs and cut and paste, per esempio, but this literally is rocket science for poor Jamie!
He is not a dolt, far from it, but his brain is wired for music not electrons, and use thereof, via the keyboard. Funnily enough, since he uses a mobile he is quite adept at texting, for example, and I've tried to compare certain functions which he performs on his phone to those which he can make use of for email. I'm happy to say that there is a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel but the journey ahead is a long, long one. Both Cora Lee and I have urged him to buy a cheap, second-hand computer. This way he could begin to use the technology on an on-going, regular basis, and achieve a basic level of competency. Of course he agrees but such a purchase will only take place as soon as he has time to find time and money to do so because he is so busy that until this concert is over and this work assignment has been completed and the dog has been walked, (when he's home at 10:00 pm after doing market research at Windsor Castle, with three train changes, having left Chesham at 11:00 am, and is dead tired and hungry and could you just make make me a cup of tea, Pet), because Patricia's feet are too sore to allow her to take Mandy outside and he's stopped saying "I was just going to do the dishes" or "I'll clean up the clutter in the spare bedroom on the weekend", and actually does something, nothing will ever, ever change.
Not for me to say how he should live his life but how he does manage/mismanage it, at present, guarantees that he will be shackled by his inability to adapt to the extent that such adaptation would certainly improve his relationship with others. But two examples: He is scheduled to go on tour with the Back Choir, this coming April, to China, (The fact that he has been chosen to be included indicates that his voice is a valued one.), and the billeting arrangements, who will share a room with whom, etc., are conducted via email. Since he reads his email infrequently, (When he does, I've come to see, he spends more time following extraneous links or Googling former friends and acquaintances, probably because clicking the mouse is infinitely easier than typing one painful letter at a time, than he does dealing with the time critical issues at hand.), he risks being paired with an individual he may not wish to be with, although, truth be told, I think the reverse is more likely the case. From what I understand quite a few choir members don't really want to have to deal with Jamie and his ways, especially in close quarters.
Shortly after he arrived he showed me a letter sent to him, via Judith, his sister, from one of his Dad's former colleagues. Since it included the sender's email address he wanted to send a message explaining his delay in replying. (Letter had gone to Judith's address and for some reason she held onto it for almost a month before passing it along!) A few days ago he decided it was time to compose the message, (Why do it right away when you can dash it off at the last minute?), as so he sat down and proceeded to type set the missive while I did the dishes. Half and hour later I asked him how he was managing and was shocked, literally shocked, to see that the had written but three or four short sentences.
In the end, I sat down and wrote the letter, asking him what he wanted to say and reworking his thoughts into a coherent message. I was glad to help him, don't misunderstand me, Dear Reader, but he will never improve, move beyond his halting ways if he doesn't persevere, let himself help himself by letting go of his fear of making a mistake, whether grammatical or otherwise, and just getting on with things.
He was worried about the fact that I ended the message with "Cheers" and wondered if it wouldn't be better to say, "Yours Sincerely" since recipient was an older Englishman and more traditional/formal in his ways. Jamie simply couldn't see that his reply wasn't a quasi-business letter. Furthermore, he was probably not only fussed about his delay in responding but also worried about making a positive impression, violating stereotypical British reserve, stiffness, etc. Good grief, just send the fucking message and let the chips fall where they may! Unfortunately, indecision and uncertainty permeate much of behaviour, (Should I take my jacket? Should I take your sunglasses? (I had given him a pair as he had neglected to bring his own.) Do I put the recycling in the recyling bin downstairs?
For some reason he complicates ordinary, common sense actions. Whether this is a learned coping behaviour which allows him to sidestep unpleasant tasks, (doing dishes, putting things away after using them), or not I don't know but he does fit the stereotype of the absent-minded professor, academic concerns aside. Add to this an almost complete abdication/rationalization of personal responsibility for the misfortunes, many trivial but others quite significant, which inundate his life, ("I was late for my teaching assignment because there was a traffic jam on the M5. I was going to reply to your email but the library was closed when I go there. I meant to bring some wine but I forgot the bottle at home." What this translates to is, more or less, " I meant well but due to force of circumstance, events beyond my control, I'm blameless." And on and on and on.), and he simply cannot even begin to see himslef as many others see him.
Not Jamie bashing, Dear Reader, but an attempt to try and understand this dear friend of 46 years. Sad to say but I am one of the few friends, such as I am, that he has and one of the few people he actually knows that he can talk to about his life. I feel that he is, in spite of his marriage and his love of music, a lonely person and his manic desire to connect stems from this loneliness, at least in part. He is certainly gregarious but in a some ways this is almost counter-productive to establishing deeper relationships. He must know hundreds or even thousands of individuals from his travels, from work and from musical endeavours and spends inordinate amounts of time revisiting these encounters, ad nauseum, instead of directing his energy towards developing enduring, sustaining friendships when such possibilities present themselves. At least that is my psycho-babble fraught analysis. But enough! Time to worry about my own life and the myriad inconsistencies it shows to the world.
Patrick,
Interested in volunteering at our annual fundraising gala, "Literati"? This year it's on Monday evening Oct 21, at the Italian-Canadian Cultural Centre. We need greeters, wine pourers, silent auction assistants and more. Shifts are now posted, let us know how you can help!
Kathryn
Went to a fundraiser and came home with this!! Thanks to my mother in law to be :))
Served dessert, more Super U's pistachio ice-cream, and tried to make sense of Jamie's digital illiteracy. He doesn't own a computer and uses his local library for his messaging needs. This is fine, as far as it goes, but what this means is that he uses the technology infrequently. His work schedule, the difficulty of visiting the library, regularly, his general disorganized state, (always hurrying, always rushing around, always late), translates into the cold hard fact that he always means to spend more time improving his skills but never manages to do so. While he wants to learn how to use the computer more efficiently, to date, he has not committed or disciplined himself to do so. I can just imagine the library staff charged with helping users trying to guide him through the very basics of Net and window navigation. I have been more than happy to show him how to open new tabs and cut and paste, per esempio, but this literally is rocket science for poor Jamie!
Patrick James Dunn I thought that you were tying the matrimonial knot in Mexico, not at the top of the Eiffel Tower! Was this from Chloë's Trivia Night? If so which team won?
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