Singapore Paul and Pirandello.
Paul's 1969 yearbook inscription.
A marvelous surprise yesterday! I received a communiqué from Bro. Kevin at La Salle that a former student of mine from La Salle's class of 1969, Paul M-, was giving a presentation in John C's social studies class and wanted to see me. Paul has lived for decades in Singapore, has traveled widely throughout Europe, the orient, and Africa as a rep of the Safe Water World Institute. After La Salle, Paul went on to earn degrees at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins, in studies always related to international affairs. I hadn't seen Paul in 39 years, have been retired for six years and we had communicated only via letters and e-mail. He was in the area to attend the graduation of one of his three sons from Tufts University.
I hopped over to my former place of employ, discreetly barged into the classroom where Paul was addressing a group of students. He recognized me instantly. We met after his talk, and Brother Kevin led us both around on a guided tour of the school, like Virgil with two Dantes, from the lower circle of Pegasus to the upper reaches of the new science building. Although I had taught there for 37 years, I was forced to wear a "visitor" tag. The place has undergone so many amazing changes in recent years and is now not only a Catholic high school but a technological-wonder complex that resembles a college campus. I showed Paul the lovely weeping-beech tree that was planted as a memorial to math teacher Carolee McNamara who had died from ALS last August.
Finally Paul and I had lunch together at the Old Canteen and discussed the past, his travels, things I used to teach in the Italian class I had him in during my first two years at the place. Paul possesses an encyclopedic command of sundry topics and issues, and people of his uncommon brilliance sometimes intimidate me, but not Paul, who is an easy-going, kind, friendly man and a consummate gentleman. Among his impressive encounters: advising the king of Bhutan on national policy, delivering a gift to a diminutive hunched-over woman in Calcutta from someone in Somalia. The woman turned out to be Mother Teresa.
When Paul graduated from LaSalle 39 years ago, I asked him to autograph my yearbook, as I customarily would with all my students. He penned over his mustache-ified photo a memorized quote from Luigi Pirandello's play Six Characters in Search of an Author, which we had read in class in the original Italian. Yesterday Paul remembered that quote and, after all these years, recited it verbatim!
"Crediamo d'intenderci ma non c'intendiamo mai. C'è tutto qui il male! Nelle parole!"
"We think we understand each other, but we never understand each other. This is where the whole problem lies! In our words!"
Oh, and I have been invited to Singapore where there is a guest room in Paul's apartment I can stay in. I am very tempted to go sometime. I've never been to Singapore. I'd like to drink a Singapore sling at the Raffles Hotel cocktail lounge.