The past is prologue. A “prologue” is the ‘lines introducing a discourse or play’. The past introduces us with its lines of some explanation as to why we are here and act as we now do. I can’t remember who made this comment or observation, but it came to me as I was working on a project of a present day history. I am creating a report, or history if you like, of how the Church I attend, Lutheran Church of the Cross, arrived in 2005 in the condition it is. I am looking back only 15 years to 1990 when it celebrated its 25th anniversary, or birthday. It is an interesting pursuit.
I have read and enjoyed history most of my adult life. I particularly enjoy history via a biography. It always seems more real and believable by looking at the events of an age through the eyes of a participant. Of course, you are looking through the eyes of the author, who sometimes has his or her own personal viewpoint, but nevertheless it is a view. The idea of a personalized biography originated with “Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson”. At least as far as I know in the English language. Prior to that a biography was mostly a chronological listing of the events in the subject’s life. Boswell altered that by recording conversations and comments by Sam Johnson, which has led for his being considered by some, even a greater figure in English literature and language than Shakespeare. It surprised me to learn that a favorite English author of mine, P.D. James, is a leader in the Johnson Society of London in England. They annually honor him at the Westminster Abbey, the cemetery of the great poets and writers of England.
They lay a wreath upon his grave and say a prayer he created. In doings so, P.D. James spoke on one of the occasions as follows, “ I lay this wreath on behalf of the Johnson Society of London to honour a great Englishman and this country’s greatest man of letters (emphasis added). Samuel Johnson, moralist, essayist, lexicographer, critic, poet, genius of both written and spoken word. We honour him both a as a writer and as a man, remembering his generosity and humanity and the courage with which his great heart endured poverty, frustration, neglect and private pain. With all lovers of the English language, which he celebrated and glorified, we rejoice in the legacy of literature which is his lasting memorial. It is fitting that he should be buried here in the London he loved and among the greatest of our land; fitting too that, on the anniversary of his death, I should end these few words by speaking in his memory the prayer which he himself wrote and offered up before writing: ‘Almighty God, the giver of all good things, without whose help all labour is ineffectual, and with whose grace all wisdom is folly: grant, I beseech thee, that in this undertaking thy Holy Spirit may not be withheld from me, but that I may promote thy glory, and the salvation of myself and others: grant this O Lord, for the sake of thy son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
This quote is from P.D. James’ “fragment of a biography” which she entitled “Time to Be in Earnest”. Those words are a quote from Sam Johnson who had said, “At seventy-seven it is time to be in earnest” She, P.D. is a woman. The P. in her name stands for “Phyllis”. Her novels are detective fiction and her main character is a retired Scotland Yard inspector and a poet. In the book entitled “Time to be in Earnest” she wrote of events in her 77th year of life, from her 77th birthday to her 78th. She doesn’t’ call it a ‘diary’ or a ‘memoir’, today’s most popular kind of history writing. I tried at one time to keep a journal, or diary. It was tough to do. I was therefore delighted to read her comments about such. She noted it takes a good bit of egotism to decide what to include or not include in such journals. This is so even when you know it is not being written in the expectation of others reading it. But the question still arises as to what is “important enough” to place it herein. She writes, “Every day is lived in the present, but also vicariously in the past and one can write a novel of 100,000 words covering one hour of human life. But it seems egotistical to spend the last hour of every day contemplating the minutiae of unrecoverable moments. I say my prayers and am grateful for the comfort of bed” (P.D.James,“Time to be in Earnest” p.74) I tried for two or three years to keep up the journal but slowly found the making the decision what was worth recording more and more difficult till I quit. It is the same in some respects with the suggestions given to me by good friends that I should write a bio or memoir since it is the “in” thing these days. I really can’t bring myself to do it so it will be left undone.
I suppose my surprise at Samuel Johnson being considered the greatest man in English literature by P.D. James was in some ways caused by my memory of how much Johnson castigated the American colonies for their ungratefulness, forgetting or overlooking George the third and Parliaments acts of tyranny towards them.
Memoir writing is the “in” thing these days. It sounds better to call it a ‘memoir’ than an autobiography. I suppose it’s the aura created by the word being in French. It reminds me of fact that we might enjoy and eat escargots but heavens to be! Don’t call them what they are, snails. So people write memoirs and not autobiographies since that word sounds so staid and unhip! It is a growing phenomenon. Recently an essayist wrote of some 28 memoirs being published within the next two years. Some of the titles and works had to do with “How to” write your own. “A host of enablers has arisen, urging everyone who has not written a memoir to do so as soon as possible.” I saw an ad for one such which had this quote, “Memoirs are out modern fairy tales…”
The past may be prologue but life is lived in the present moment. When you begin to look back and you see how the past has shaped the way you are today, the words of Sam Johnson, and the title of P.D. James’ book, make the present very pertinent. It is the “time” to be in earnest particularly if you are near or at that age of 77. You have only “some” time left to do those things your past has hopefully taught you are important. So what has the past taught me? I believe that of all the “things” in life the most important thing is not a thing but a spirit. It is love. Love of others and less love of yourself. Love of wife, children, friends and all those you meet and act with, when and wherever. You learn too that saying it doesn’t make it happen, it takes work in carrying out this lesson of the past.
We ended March and entered April with having the opportunity to express that love with some grandchildren. We visited Disney World with Ron & Mary and their three boys, Alex & Aidan, twins at age 8, and their brother Owen at age 5(?). We met them late Wednesday afternoon by the hotel pool. Thursday and Friday were spent at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We left of Saturday morning after a good bye breakfast. It was a joy watching the boys with their enthusiasms and interests. They ranged as far as wanting to see “Bill Nye the Science Guy” to getting a ride on the “Fast Track”. On Friday at Epcot while the boys were on a ride. I took Owen for a ride in his stroller. In the course of the tour we came across a small pond fenced off from the sidewalk. The fence was composed of merely two poles and stretched across them were three wooden bars. Owen was fascinated with the stones cluttered around the base of the fence and onwards into the water. He asked to stop and visit. He soon was digging out stones and tossing them in the pond. He loved watching the splash. He spent about 30 minutes in this wonderland for children tossing stones into a pond. It was a good example of a child’s love of the simple things. We had visitors. There was a bird that thought the splash meant food…but soon found out otherwise. There was a small turtle with even a smaller one on his back running about between the larger rocks in the pond. Later in the day Owen asked me to take him back to the “stones”. I couldn’t do so since I couldn’t now remember where that pond was. The incident reminded me of watching children on Christmas morning surrounded by decorations, music, gifts, and wrappings being more attentive to the package and the wrappings, than to its contents.
April 2005 will be remembered in history as the month in which Pope John Paul II died. It will probably also be remembered for the death of Terry Schiavo and the election of a new Pope. We will here at LCC remember it as the month we extended a call for an assistant pastor. All of which are historic events and prologues as to what now is.
Until next time, Pax tecum!