Happy New Years and Silicon
At midnight this morning, Lynne was at work, Michael was in the basement doing whatever he was doing, Alicia was at a party, and I was on the back deck waiting for fireworks. There were some, but the louder noise was party horns. I was fascinated to look into my neighbor's window, though...
My nextdoor neighbor owns a silicon mine in the hills west of here. Given what he brings out of the ground, there is a great market for what he provides, and he has done very well financially. He is the hardest-working man I think I've ever seen; when he's "relaxing at home" he's in constant motion, gardening, cutting the grass, taking care of his dogs, and I don't know what else. He keeps his father's dark green 1959 Chevrolet pickup truck in his garage, perfectly restored. He has little pieces of cardboard under each of the four tires. He has built a really beautiful house, with extremely carefully tended lawns and gardens. He also owns several other lots in our neighborhood and down the hill from our neighborhood.
How does a man like that party in the new year? As I stood out on the deck, he was perfectly framed in his window, almost perfectly motionless. I though he was asleep, in fact, until, he moved his head a certain way. He brought in 2006 in a completely still way - no toasts, no confetti.
Of course, I was more or less doing the same thing. I was fascinated about him, though, as I have thought about him quite a bit in the four years we've lived here. Through hard work, he has succeeded in his ambitions, and he is, perceptably, a very simple man. When I've encountered people like that - disciplined, successful, ambitious, fulfilled - I've been obsessed by the question of whether they are happy.
And when are we happier than New Year's?
So, really, now, should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
My nextdoor neighbor owns a silicon mine in the hills west of here. Given what he brings out of the ground, there is a great market for what he provides, and he has done very well financially. He is the hardest-working man I think I've ever seen; when he's "relaxing at home" he's in constant motion, gardening, cutting the grass, taking care of his dogs, and I don't know what else. He keeps his father's dark green 1959 Chevrolet pickup truck in his garage, perfectly restored. He has little pieces of cardboard under each of the four tires. He has built a really beautiful house, with extremely carefully tended lawns and gardens. He also owns several other lots in our neighborhood and down the hill from our neighborhood.
How does a man like that party in the new year? As I stood out on the deck, he was perfectly framed in his window, almost perfectly motionless. I though he was asleep, in fact, until, he moved his head a certain way. He brought in 2006 in a completely still way - no toasts, no confetti.
Of course, I was more or less doing the same thing. I was fascinated about him, though, as I have thought about him quite a bit in the four years we've lived here. Through hard work, he has succeeded in his ambitions, and he is, perceptably, a very simple man. When I've encountered people like that - disciplined, successful, ambitious, fulfilled - I've been obsessed by the question of whether they are happy.
And when are we happier than New Year's?
So, really, now, should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
posted by John Bernat @ 10:56 AM
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