Renting rooms to students at the local university in a small village is the name of the game I am forced to play to stay afloat in this economy. I wince as every new student comes to stay in a home I have spent years and a fortune restoring only to have them try to bang nails into the perfectly plastered and painted walls; take baths that leave most of the water on the floor and generally regard the place on a par with a dorm room.
So I slid into summer like a snail forcing himself across a hot driveway. Then came the surprise: Joseph from Ghana and Daniel from South Korea. My Jack Russell Terrier took to them immediately and I was not far behind. For the first time I have enjoyed having boarders (no doubt because they are men and not the neurotic young women I usually get during the school year).
Joseph and Daniel have also been surprised to find that I am a funky elder who knows a heck of a lot and that includes enough about computers to do mine in occasionally. I proof read papers for Joseph and verbally spar with him as we argue both sides of an issue. He gives me homework: “Read up on this by evening. I want to talk.” He never does talk. I talk; he says “but ma’am.” And Daniel? I have made just one emergency trip to the grocery store for him when he suddenly realized at midnight he was desperate for a snack. Ah, the silliness of it all but I am convinced that living in extreme silliness is what we all need as a palliative for the doom and gloom of the last year.
And then along came the World Cup. I watch a computer screen; not sports. I write; I don’t cheer. And what the hell is “that drone” sound coming from their TVs during the games? Soon, my schedule and sleep time and eating patterns all changed. Maintaining an international soccer schedule is very difficult for an aging ADD victim.
Daniel of course follows South Korea; Joseph Ghana and the US; and I…I have been infected. I have not only developed the ability to watch soccer and endure the sound of the vuvuzuelas, I have become conditioned to the floor boards above creaking as grown men jump up and down in celebration of big wins for their teams. There go all of those new ceilings I ordered up during the rehab years.
Today Ghana trounced the US. South Korea lost its bid to go further as well. Daniel has learned that Americans are truly crazy – we can be happy for opposition teams as well as our own. It was immaterial to me if the US or Ghana won today because Joseph’s excitement was very virulent. I have been ruining my knees jumping up and down myself.
To hell with the house or its walls and ceilings, I’ve fallen into the whole mood of the summer and the global joy in the World Cup. Time to forget the near misses we’ve had with war and economic collapse. The US has been leveled both on the playing field and on the world stage and yet, most of us have never felt more apart of things. Even if you don’t love or watch soccer, you know someone who has been transformed by it this summer. We have enjoyed the games and we have, as of today, been gracious losers. As a nation we may no longer be a contender for super power status but this is the year when our sportsmanship out shone our politics and we joined the world at large in the love of a game.
My house will be OK. It’s still standing and so am I. Bring on a little Elton John:
blackwatertown
June 26, 2010
It sounds like you are having fun – new experiences and fresh air all round.
I laughed at the bit where you wrote: “He never does talk. I talk. He says, ‘But ma’am…’”
Hard luck on the footie, but now Ghana are through, I hope they get by Uruguay too.
samhenry
June 26, 2010
Roo – You must have popped in when I was recasting the last paragraphs! Things could not be more dire financially in this household but this is the happiest summer in ages. We are not living out of each others pockets – I have a life and so do they but when we ships pass in the night it’s just so much laughing and silliness. I’m so glad you noticed! I have this rustic retreat at the back of my small barn. It’s very much like a cabin in the Adirondack Mountains in my state complete with fire and fridge. Can I even get in there? No! Joseph and Daniel are encamped! Daniel didn’t go for it at first – Koreans don’t do rustic. So all corners of my world have been invaded and it’s wonderful. It’s so self-confirming to know that my youthful spirit is recognized and appreciated. We are what we live. PS – Fall brings 2 divas of dullness, alas.