Generosity comes to life. Again.
It’s always amazing to me how inanimate objects are capable of brimming with life, and can sometimes contain a moment intact, a moment that might otherwise have been filed away or forgotten. With the added value of sentiment.
Getting out some favorite dishes for the holidays – and we do know how I love dishes! – made me recall the summer opera festival called Les Chorégies d’Orange in 2002, and the open air performances of a ‘Die Zauberflöte’ beautifully conducted by Christopher Hogwood in the former Roman amphitheater. Planning for the long summer stay in the south of France, I proceeded well in advance to rent a car, and had secured a house outside of town with a swimming pool. But I also rented a one room apartment across the street from the famous “Théàtre antique” in the old city, in order to have a place to rest during rehearsals and a convenient place to warm up in privacy. With my experience with summer festivals such as Verona, Sienna, Pompei, Halle/Saale and Aix-en-Provence, Jerusalem, or even the old Santa Fe Opera theater, I knew by now that such a space would be valuable.
That little rental in the old town happened to have a large, dark cabinet in the corner, which contained some things the owner kept in storage, notably a stack of old plates on a lower shelf. After close inspection, I thought I’d better find out if he knew their value. They came from his grandmother, also having originated from that region near Avignon in the Vaucluse. Some showed minor wear, some were perfect. The backs show only numbers from a series. After carefully bringing up the subject a few times with the landlord, I let him know I’d be interested in buying part of the set.
Well, to my disbelief, since he had no use for them, he saw no problem in giving me four of them! We got them spread out on the floor, brushed away the dust and went through them carefully, and of course I chose four of the best ones. So that’s how I got my hands on them, and believe me they are well appreciated, and well-used – and not only on Thanksgiving! Gratitude is just part of my constitution.