“We do not need a special day or time to express our love to our mothers, but sometimes we need a reminder of how to love them.”
Something strange happened within the last month. I’ve encountered three major Euorpean countries…FROM 400 years ago. The first encounter was in England during the Elizabethan period. It occurred while listening to the audio book, “Shakespeare“, written and narrated by Bill Bryson. We have all heard the name of this playwright, who was born in 1566 and died in 1616. According to Mr. Bryson, there are thousands of books and dissertations written about Shakespeare’s life and his work, but very little is actually known about him, since many of his works were lost and there are not many records available, other than his well-known plays. As some of you may know, Shakespeare was not only a great playwright, but he also wrote poems and love sonnets.
After my encounter with England, I ended up in Spain, in about the same period of time. Miguel de Cervantes was born in 1547 and died the same year as Shakespeare, in 1616. He finished writing Don Quixote de la Mancha in 1606. I am still listening to the audio book, which describes events and adventures of Hidalgo, a country gentleman, who after reading too many chivalrous romances, loses his mind and imagines himself as a knight-errant. A knight-errant’s job is to fight for justice in the name of the lady of his heart and whom he names “Dulcinea of El Toboso”. I wrote about this book in a previous newsletter. If you missed the synopsis, you can find it here.
My third encounter was to Italy. My wife, Elfa, subscribes to seasonal tickets to the Great Performance series at Davies Symphony Hall. It is a delightful experience every time we go to the concerts. Often it is a surprise, since we are introduced to musicians and performers whom we have not heard before. Our most recent performance was Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo: The Birth of Opera”, performed by English baroque soloists with the Monteverdi Choir, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. Claudio Monteverdi was born in 1567 (three years after Shakespeare) and died in 1643.
P.S.
When I finished writing this story, I was not surprised to realize that there is another “coincidence” this week, which encompasses spring, love, and flowers—Mother’s Day. Since Spring flowers are everywhere, it was difficult to decide which ones to share with you. I decided to choose a few I recently “picked up” on a morning walk in my neighborhood. Enjoy and share it with the Mothers in your life.
Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!
