Amazing Grace
Saturday evening, upon a friend’s recommendation we dined at Villa Verone in Geneva.
The occasion for us was to celebrate fifty two years of partnership, a marriage which began in Japan. The year was 1970 and we both were 21 years old. We traveled to the city hall in our section of Tokyo to register our marriage, signing official documents in presence of the official. That seems long ago. At the time I did not self-reflect, consider the odds of success/failure. Only one thing was certain, the desire I felt to make a life with Laura. That is all. Desire — thrown up in the face of unknowable challenges, some potentially catastrophic, which the future would present.
We create do we not by the leap, stepping over the edge of what-is-known… Or better said, we are created by life, when we step to the table, to take our turn ,to throw the dice…
Our meal at Villa Verone was superlative. The atmosphere of the room, the decor, the table service was timely, and the food was delicious. And Laura’s company was as fine as was the bottle of wine we enjoyed.
We were delighted when an extended family seated in the dining room celebrated the 80th birthday of the family patriarch by hiring a bagpiper and a drummer to process into the room playing the pipes. The trilling voice of the pipes made present past generations to whom we owe an unpayable debt. The hymn Amazing Grace was played and I felt tears. It is amazing good fortune to be here, with those we love, by whom we are loved.
The banner, an abstract image on red background was created by our grand daughter who is three years old.
