Handwritten Love Story

She hated leaving her son at the school gate. It had always been so hard to let him go during his first year in primary school, but she had hoped for it to become more and more easy. Unfortunately he was the dearest thing in her life so she couldn‘t help but suffer as soon as they were separated.

Now you might think it strange to call the circumstance that a mother deeply loves her child unfortunate. Actually in this case the disagreeable fact was that Peggy‘s son was the only object of her strong feelings. Of course she had a loving family who would do anything for her. But on her parent‘s side, there was love to be divided up into equal parts between five grandchildren, four children, two sons-in-law and three cats.

So every day she took a walk from Paul‘s school gate to her favourite Notting Hill café and sat down with a cup of tea and a long book. In this manner, Peggy would sit many hours devouring books and enjoying the only activity which enabled her to forget the absence of her son.

One grey Wednesday afternoon, after she had been particularly absorbed by Jane Austen‘s „Emma“, there was a small note on her table.

„Beautiful.“

This was the only contents.

Immediately she began to look around her. Was there anybody looking at her? Some suspicious looking stranger? However there were mainly ordinary middle-aged adults around chatting about every day stuff. The only remarkable person was an old lady sitting in the corner at the window and smiling. As this smiling seemed to be of a general sort, not directed at anything or anyone in particular, Peggy decided that this person was simply a little strange and had nothing to do with the beautiful handwriting saying „Beautiful.“

A few weeks later she had completely forgotten about the note. There had been far more important things like driving Paul to school, leaving him at the gate and missing him intensely during the walk to the café. And today it was extremely difficult to let go the thoughts about her son and his upcoming class trip. So after not being able to relax with the help of Virginia Woolf‘s „Orlando“, she went outside for a cigarette. When she came back and opened the novel again, there was the second one.

The second note had been written on the back of a fully stamped loyalty card saying „Beautiful eyes.“ As the loyalty card was from exactly the café she was sitting in, she decided to ask the shopkeeper. Through the usual noise of people rushing in and out as well as clattering dishes, she could only make out: „Dunno, many people have ,em... Sorry, dear! You want your free coffee now?“.

No, she didn‘t. She wanted to know who was impudent enough to write these messages to her. She wanted to know who was obviously stalking her. She wanted to know who was apparently thinking her eyes extremely beautiful and she wanted to know who was able to write in such a very beautiful way.

The old lady was smiling again. But wait, this time she was smiling at her, directly looking into peggy‘s eyes.

„Excuse me...?“ She went over to the table in the corner.

„Do you...“ She was intimidated by the situation. After clearing her throat:

„Excuse me, do you maybe know left this note for me?“ She didn‘t dare showing its contents and only waved the yellow card in the air. But the lady looked as if she already knew. Her answer also had a connotation of knowledge of the whole world:

„My dear, sometimes life has its ways.“

There wouldn‘t be a further reply, you could see it in the smile. So Peggy left the café without paying for her tea. This time she did not forget about the message. Of course the person who wrote these letters - well, actually they are not really letters, Peggy - was behaving impossibly. I mea, it is usually only freaks who behave in such a manner. But at the same time there was something in his handwriting. It had to be a male person, she could somehow feel the presence. She could practically feel how a strong male hand had been writing these two words in a gentle manner...

„Peggy, stop it!“ she said by herself. „Since when are you such a bloody romantic?“ So she tried to stop being bloody romantic and cared about her son instead.

But this time, there was nothing to do about it. Her thoughts circling around the mysterious note‘s author she could not concentrate on any book and even forgot missing Paul immediately after leaving the school gate. Therefore she could be found sitting nervously in the café and spying around suspiciously. She tried to imagine what the person could look like. What do men look like when they write anonymous little notes to single women in public areas? Pondering like this, she suddenly realised that nobody would come and give her another anonymous note as long as she was attentively scanning the room. So she decided to leave for the toilet and strongly hoped to find a new message when she came back. Nothing. Why was she so extremely disappointed? She could not be in love with a stranger, could she?

Well, anyway there was nothing to do about it now as she had to pick up Paul within thirty minutes. She was just about to leave the place when she saw the old lady smiling at her. Slowly retracing her steps back in, she went over to the window an.

„My dear,“ the old lady said, „you know life has its ways. Why don‘t you just take the way over to the animal shelter?“

The animal shelter. There was a smart Irish-looking guy at the counter, writing something into a book. The batch on his jacket said „McGreggor“. As soon as he looked up in order to inquire about her reason for coming, she saw it: The same handwriting...

A few weeks later you could still find Peggy visiting her favourite café. But these days she came in the afternoon and brought Paul with her. They were regularly meeting Preston McGreggor there and drinking tea with a charming old lady who took a genuine interest in the young couples happiness.

Now there was not only her son to miss and care about. Peggy found additional love next-doors with the help of a lady who was an expert on imitating handwritings as well as recognising people who were made for each other.

THE BEATLES - I‘M ONLY SLEEPING

The song „I‘m only sleeping“ has been written by John Lennon and performed by The Beatles. Although the song has already been recorded in 1966, there is still a lot of meaning to be found which can be applied to our society today.

John Lennon describes different situations in which he is sleeping. These include not only the typical sleeping-scenario in bed, but also daydreaming and simply relaxing. Strikingly, he has to justify himself, as other people seem to think him lazy. But actually he is the one who is cleverer than the others. He is the one who already knows that „there is no need“ of „Running everywhere at such a speed“. He is the one who already found out the following:

A day is not spoilt when you haven‘t done enough work, but a day is spoilt as soon as you only hurry on and don‘t take your time for resting.

The singer addresses the listener in direct speech several times with the appeal not to disturb him. This can be interpreted as the wish not to communicate with the outside world anymore. But at the same time he is „keeping an eye on the world going by“, which shows that there is still a connection. I personally think there is even more than a connection: While directly addressing the others, the wish is expressed to make them listen. And included in this I see the possibility of changing people‘s mind. There is still hope about calming down the world.

Although the original appeal of this song is some forty years old, its meaning can easily be adapted to today. And maybe it is even more important now that our world is developing faster and faster. Everybody should listen to this appeal: Slow it down and take life a little easier!

Brief assessment on diamante poems

Marriage

I quite like this poem.

I like it because every single word defines a part of my very personal (and very positive) view on marriage. It creates a story beginning from the very start of a relationship when feelings are very strong and everything is (mostly) quite romantic and happy. It goes on with this positive description but turns more to the long-lasting relationships and couples that want to share their lives. The end finally focuses on the perfect happy end. This might be a little too romantic (which leads us back to the beginning!) and not everybody will think it realistic or even possible. But:

Do not most of us dream of wonderful, endless unity...?

Children

Finding the right words for this poem took me longer. In the end I did not even have enough present participles. Maybe it is due to this that I ended up creating a symmetrical structure with children and parents opposing each other. And although I was not satisfied in the beginning, I do now think that this mirrors quite well how children are seen in society - teachers and educators constantly try to capture the children's perspective whereas there is of course always the parent's view on the child as well.

The result of my thoughts is a poem pointing out the difficulties of our children's education: They are our future and therefore very important. So we are sometimes very harsh with them, trying to educate them properly. But at the same time they are so very cute and have their own personal needs. Obviously children and parents are both demanding - but in very different ways.

I really like the symmetrical structure of the poem and its double-sided perspective. But I am not at all satisfied with the negative ending which makes parents into anxious and arrogating creatures. I personally think the love of a mother or father towards his or her child should be the most important thing. But maybe I could not write two extremely positive and maybe even a little unrealistic poems within one hour...

Theatre review on „Doubt – A Parable“ at Theater an der Marschnerstraße Hamburg on the 3rd of November 2010

It is remarkable how wrong your expectations of a theatre night can be. Before actually seeing “Doubt – A Parable” on stage, you might well think that you are going to experience a serious and maybe even tragic play. Talking about The Hamburg Players’ Version of John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Price winning work this proved to be a misleading expectation.

In preparation for the evening, theatregoers usually take their time and gather information about what they are going to see. This includes, of course, summaries, comments on the play, maybe a biography of the playwright and sometimes also production reviews, which was clearly not possible for this staging, as it was the premiere. In the case of “Doubt”, this gathering of information will most certainly educe ideas like child molestation, racism, secular and religious, old school and modern, suspicion, belief and, last but not least, doubt. If not all of them, at least some of these themes might sound familiar to you as the “Doubt”-theatregoer. And they draw a dark picture of a dangerous and hilly landscape in which mysterious characters make their way.

Now sitting in a comfortable chair at “Theater an der Marschnerstraße” in Hamburg, you will be amazed from the first second that this play is actually a funny one. Even the friendly lady annoucing technical things adds to an atmosphere of relaxed entertainment. And it is not only the text that creates humour during the following two hours of the performance. It is due to the three main actors that the audience can feel safely wrapped in sensitive jokes and cautious fun making. First and foremost Lexi von Hoffmann and Ellen Bergman as Sisters Aloysius and James present a brilliant duo of gestures, facial expressions and glances. The way they frame their characters tends to be a little exaggerated, but they stop overdoing them right before they would start seeming disproportionate. It is exhilarating how Ellen Bergman portrays her extremely naive and good-hearted nun compared to an excessively down-to-earth Lexi von Hoffmann.

But besides this entertaining interpretation of the two nuns which first catches your eye, there is of course still the serious side of the play with Mrs. Muller maybe being the most grave character. Eve Harris presents a thoroughly tough and even tragic figure. She is the mother who decides that there are things one has to accept in favour of a successful career. Apart from the words written by Shanley, there is also a deadsure gaze in her eye showing that life is sometimes hard and sacrifices have to be made. Although it is not an obvious topic in the play, the actress is able to show a glimpse of the kind of life a woman like Mrs. Muller must have led in the Bronx in 1964. Which makes it easier for the audience to understand the kind of behaviour that results in the philosophy: “Sometimes things are black and white.”

This philosophy is also innate in the production. The symbolic colours black and white occur repeatedly during the play, most prominently in the nun’s robes, Sister Aloysius being old-fashioned and a little uptight wearing black and the young, open-minded and completely innocent Sister James in white. Of course this symbolism does not only relate to Mrs. Muller’s world outlook. Also the presentation of the female characters is a little black and white. Both portray extreme sides in various regards. We can see modern and old-fashioned, young and old, positive- and negative-thinking as well as good-heartedness and strictness next to each other. This can be seen as a little one-sided indeed, but considering the aim to point out difficulties between the generations, the races and even between different church officials, it seems more to be aimed at a straightforward presentation of characters than a result of a one-sided interpretation of the text. There is only one thing that does not quite seem to fit into this. Sister Aloysius sarting to cry at the very end of the play leaves the impression of an unsure and maybe even broken character. Considering her behaviour throughout the rest of the play it gives an impression of unsteady interpretation.

Having said so much about the female characters so far, there should be a few sentences about Harald Djürken’s Father Flynn as well. He is as brilliant and entertaining at acting as his female colleagues. At the same time his character is ambiguous and changes during the course of the play. He is supposed to be nice and vice in one as well as to behave differently depending on who is listening.

Therefore it has to be pointed out again that all the actors have a share in this successfull production in equal parts. It is fun watching them on stage and two hours pass by unnoticed while the interpretation leaves an impression on our minds making us want to speak about it afterwards.

My Diamante Poems

Marriage

romantic, happy

wanting, trusting, planning

two persons share their lives

living, uniting, sharing

wonderful, endless

unity

Children

wild, cute

demanding, playing, learning

they are our future

demanding, planning educating

responsible, afraid

parents