Sunday, April 6, 2025
We went to see the one man show Under the Lintel at the Phipps Friday night. I had to divert the potd to Sophia and George, but I want to mention it now. The show was about a Dutch librarian whose library received an overdue book that had been checked out 200+ years ago. On the trail of the borrower/descendants of the borrower in order to send them a fine, he finds himself traveling the world chasing the Wandering Jew.
The very old story (13th century) says that a man who was standing in his doorway (under the lintel) as convicted criminals carrying their crosses passed him. One fell to the ground exhausted directly in front of him. His fear of the Roman soldiers motivated him to tell the man to move on, instead of showing him compassion. The man was then cursed to wander the Earth until the second coming and he became the Wandering Jew.
The librarian was solving the mystery of the overdue book little by little, discovering bizarre clues that made no sense in time, until he figured out who he was looking for. He found many instances of his appearances, but did not find the man. The story goes that the Jew cannot rest and wanders forever, cursed.
It seems that most stories of the immortal are those of suffering. Eventually everything becomes meaningless. It could be said that the death is what makes life worth living. How could we appreciate something if it was incontrovertible? This got serious, didn’t it? I was just thinking about the show – I had a LOT of thoughts that you don’t have to hear – after talking to my sister, Nancy, today. She has been dog sitting while my brother, wife, daughter, and son-in-law are in FL. Stan, the Greyhound, had recently been diagnosed with bone cancer and he was not doing well this week. He really seemed to be hurting yesterday. My sister-in-law Karen flew home today to take him to the vet. Nancy and I were so sad for Stan and for Karen. Losing a pet is losing a family member. Nancy and I talked about the fact that this is life – losing our loved ones – and we shouldn’t be afraid or try not to have the emotions that come with that. Our sad times allow us to have our happy times.