Friday

31 March 2017

— the palest sky-blue-pink behind the dark silhouettes of the trees

Good Morning All,

The male wood doves are getting more and more frisky by the day. Now, they are elaborately bowing in front of the female, their beaks touching the ground, raising their back ends and spreading their tail feathers into a wide fan. This seems to me the ornithological equivalent of your average male human saying, “Say, babe, wanna see me flex my abs and then do a double back flip off the porch railing into the rose bushes?”

The female wood doves, for their part, either pay no apparent attention whatsoever to the males, or else regard them as though they have lost the last of their marbles. That also seems similar to female human behavior. 

I have only one more full day with my kids. I’m not sure yet what we shall be doing this afternoon, but my guess is we shall venture again into Copenhagen. Holly’s friend Ryan, who is a physicist, would like to stop by at the Niels Bohr Institute. That seems a good idea to me. 

After that, we might climb the Round Tower, a seven story brick edifice with an inner spiral ramp wide enough and high enough for our builder King, Christian IV (ruled from 1588 to 1648), to ride up to the top in one of his chariots. He was fat as a house and did not do stairs very well.

Since the Danes years ago passed a law against humongous skyscrapers, or—indeed--any building over eight stories, the view from the top of the Round Tower is panoramic and spectacular.

Some twenty-five years ago now, when my folks were here, they in their seventies, my dad decided he wanted to do the tower. My mom declined the challenge and was less than enthusiastic about her husband of half century making the ascent. I can still recall with such fondness, just before she went off with Britta to do some shopping, giving him a kiss and reminding him to take his time. I was witness to such impossibly deep love and concern in her ancient blue eyes.

And now, not much later, here am I, looking forward to the same ascent, but reminding myself to tell the kids to go on ahead while I take my time.

Go Well and Stay Well,

Bhekaron