Crazy Castle Lady
So, I was up at the castle in Ankara on Saturday. It's a lovely place. I quite like going up there. I was wandering around town, and just ended up wandering up the hill towards the castle. I figured while I was there, I should go through the gates. I did, and then I walked over to part of the castle which makes up a section of the inner walls. At the base is a stone. It's a block, really. There is nothing significant about this stone, as far as I can see. Obviously it is old, and part of the castle, and was probably in a wall at one point in the structures long history. It isn't finished, it isn't refined, it isn't a fine example of anything, as far as I can see. So, I sat.
Now, there is an old lady who lives up in that castle. She can often be seen either giving out religious literature, attempting to get people to come into her house for a fee to see what a real Ottoman home is like, or setting up a small, sad display of second hand items on a TV tray to sell. She's a bit of an odd duck. Generally when I see her, she is yelling at someone about something. This time...it was me that she was yelling at. I had sat for, maybe a minute when she saw me, and started yelling. She grabbed a water container filled with water, running towards me yelling "GET UP! GET UP!" She speaks perfect English. I was caught rather by surprise, and in not the best of moods to begin with. I said "No!". Oh boy, she was screaming and yelling about this stone and how it is a historical relic and it must be preserved (well, I can't honestly say that she wasn't 100 percent right on this subject, and, realistically, it might not have been the best idea to sit there) and she kept yelling at me to get up because she wanted to pour water on the stone so I couldn't sit their anymore. She started yelling at me and asking me if I would I would do this in my country. I yelled back "I LIVE HERE! This IS my country!" And, if I was in Canada where I am originally from, yes, I probably would sit on a square rock, and it would probably be just as old as that one...say 4.2 billion years or however old the earth is...that's generally how old many rocks are. Oh sure, there are newer ones...upgraded models if you will. But, most rocks are pretty darn old. And, this one appeared to have survived a good few thousand years, and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to actually break it. It was good and solid, as rocks tend to be. Heavy. I wasn't about to obscond with it or anything. It was fairly safe as far as I was concerned.
I was mad. I was livid. I was feisty. I was not putting up with this lady. We had a good row. I told her off. She told me off. We assembled a good crowd of onlookers, and, then, a very nice gentleman stepped in, and he was very nice. I would not have moved for that lady, but this guy, yes, I would move for. And I did. But, ohhh, this lady...grrrrr. The problem is, when incidents like these happen, I have so much trouble letting go of them. They stay with me for years. They come up and they haunt me. When I'm lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, my mind will race, and things like this pop in and get me all wired up. I can imagine myself 10 years from now, whereever we happen to be, lying in bed at 2am thinking about this lady in the castle in Ankara and saying "I wish I had said...."
I wish I broke that block...just out of spite.
Now, there is an old lady who lives up in that castle. She can often be seen either giving out religious literature, attempting to get people to come into her house for a fee to see what a real Ottoman home is like, or setting up a small, sad display of second hand items on a TV tray to sell. She's a bit of an odd duck. Generally when I see her, she is yelling at someone about something. This time...it was me that she was yelling at. I had sat for, maybe a minute when she saw me, and started yelling. She grabbed a water container filled with water, running towards me yelling "GET UP! GET UP!" She speaks perfect English. I was caught rather by surprise, and in not the best of moods to begin with. I said "No!". Oh boy, she was screaming and yelling about this stone and how it is a historical relic and it must be preserved (well, I can't honestly say that she wasn't 100 percent right on this subject, and, realistically, it might not have been the best idea to sit there) and she kept yelling at me to get up because she wanted to pour water on the stone so I couldn't sit their anymore. She started yelling at me and asking me if I would I would do this in my country. I yelled back "I LIVE HERE! This IS my country!" And, if I was in Canada where I am originally from, yes, I probably would sit on a square rock, and it would probably be just as old as that one...say 4.2 billion years or however old the earth is...that's generally how old many rocks are. Oh sure, there are newer ones...upgraded models if you will. But, most rocks are pretty darn old. And, this one appeared to have survived a good few thousand years, and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to actually break it. It was good and solid, as rocks tend to be. Heavy. I wasn't about to obscond with it or anything. It was fairly safe as far as I was concerned.
I was mad. I was livid. I was feisty. I was not putting up with this lady. We had a good row. I told her off. She told me off. We assembled a good crowd of onlookers, and, then, a very nice gentleman stepped in, and he was very nice. I would not have moved for that lady, but this guy, yes, I would move for. And I did. But, ohhh, this lady...grrrrr. The problem is, when incidents like these happen, I have so much trouble letting go of them. They stay with me for years. They come up and they haunt me. When I'm lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, my mind will race, and things like this pop in and get me all wired up. I can imagine myself 10 years from now, whereever we happen to be, lying in bed at 2am thinking about this lady in the castle in Ankara and saying "I wish I had said...."
I wish I broke that block...just out of spite.