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| Magnolia grandiflora 25 June 2021 |
Of late I have been a melancholic man critical to the few that happen to call me or visit. Yesterday after my younger daughter Hilary came for dinner I drove her to Burnaby. I did not say much during the trip as she delivered a well-deserved sermon on how I must count my blessings and move on.
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| 25 June 2021 |
This morning I placed my Filipino Timex wrist watch on my right wrist. Because I am right handed this feels uncomfortable. In the past when I had been unkind to Rosemary I did this trick to remind me to be nice to her. Now the trick will serve me well to keep Hilary’s sermon in mind.
Two days ago I scanned Rosa ‘James Mason’ and Magnolia grandiflora in this blog. Today I noticed that the magnolia in a vase in my dining room had turned yellow but it retained that lovely scent that is my favourite of all scents.
With the hot weather there are all kinds of young women on the street walking with extra short shorts and even though I am about to be 79 I still notice them and make head-turns.
I loved my Rosemary until the end because she was like this magnolia, always beautiful and providing company and conversation that those young ones could not. Not to mention that few had legs to rival Rosemary’s. They, the young ones are in a distant past. My 52 years with Rosemary will always be with me in a real and active present.To me, especially with my roses when they are past their glorious perfection, I see in them a beauty that perhaps in our present world that admires pristine beauty and brand newness cannot comprehend.
In that positive bent after Hilary’s sermon, I am that magnolia. I can still provide a modicum of usefulness. I am useful even if it can be narrowed down to my being able to scan this magnificent Magnolia grandiflora past its prime.
