Wednesday, January 27, 2010

In a flash, I realized how stupid I had been.

When you are young you do incredibly stupid things from time to time. Incredibly stupid seen with the benefit of hindsight, that is.

When I was roaming in Vancouver at the age of 15, my mind was filled with all these strange ideas.

I was originally drawn to Canada by the "Anne series" written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Consequently, I was on the look out for anything related to Anne, no matter how faint and irrelevant the connection might be.

There was a shopping center at Oakridge, and once I wandered into it. There, I happened to notice that a store attendant lady was wearing a nametag of "Ann". I think that was the fish shop.

"Oh, your name is Ann", I said. The lady, noticing that I was apparently a young boy from a foreign country and having no idea what I was up to, just answered "Yes", and smiled.

At that moment, I think, something extraordinary happened. I was no longer living in a fantasy land, and was being exposed to the reality of the everyday life. I felt the living throb of the new world through the lady. In a flash, I realized how stupid I had been. The mundane scene of a shopping center appeared to glow in a newly recognized brilliance.

I did not now say "you're name is not spelt with an 'e'", by the way.

9 comments:

(ma)gog said...

When I was 13 or 14, I used to have crazy habits with my friend who was also a fan of Anne Shirley,
to tease each other by calling "Oh how are you doing Ann today, I mean without an 'e'?" everytime we came across in the school, and each time we were seriously hurt. Girls can also be sometimes so stupid!

By the way, when I had a week trip on the P.E.I., on the very last night, I happened to stay with old Mrs.Montgomery's tourist home, where L.M.Montgomery's father was born. This old lady was the wife of L.M.Montgomery's first cousin(she was 85 years old back in 1983), and she kindly let me stay in the very room which the authoress always,as that was her favorite, and she called it "a cozy room".

I still believe on that night, I was with L.M.Montgomery's spirit, and I will always remember the most beautiful sunrise I saw from that old window.

I'd like to add one more thing. In that old tourist home, Mrs.Montgomery showed me the porzellan dog, Magog, or Gog I don't remember, but she said to her regret one of them had been broken a long before, so there was only one dog on the tall cupboard at the end of the entrance hall.

That's why I call myself (ma)gog when I post comments on your blog.

Anonymous said...

Dear Friends (Mr. Mogi and Ms (ma)gog),

Thank you for your impressive essays and comments always. Ms (ma)gog, I knew, of course, why you post a message under the name ‘magog’ but I could not actually know the meaning why you need parentheses for ‘ma’ until now. What a lovely story.

I envy you two so much. I have been keeping my big dream that someday would visit the P.E.I. with someone since I was a primary school girl, but you two have already visited there and enjoyed closeness with Anne country.

Hope both of you don't mind my stupid suddenness - this means I have called you friend.

Anonymous said...

I would never call it a "stupid" act. I strongly believe that "growing up" inevitably involves the process of losing "belief" and becoming a "non-believer". In most cases the process concerns the two distinctive worlds of "dreams" and "reality". Not that I intend to determine which is more important than the other, but I would nonetheless never refer to your "belief"-driven act as "stupid".
SK

Yuzu said...

Dear:Mr.Mogi
My high school members stay at dormitory, off course boys and girls stay at very detached building. Then we were in quite strict life.
Boys and girls could not close each other easily. It is very funny life for teenager.
But now we are in interesting conversation at internet which is Mailing list. One day a boy(men) showed a picture when he was a postgraduate in mail. I saw Mr.Mogi in a picture.
Mr.Mogi was always shining.

Anonymous said...

wow...magog that is wonderful that you are taking the place of the porcelain dog...what a meaningful username.

We all live in layers of a daydream, some are just better at seeing through it. I tend to air on the side of seeing through it but choosing to go in and out of the layers every once in a while.

Anonymous said...

"the place of the porcelain dog" .. How interesting.

Listen, my teacher have been giving the porcelain Hippopotamus amphibius the place of honor. What a lovely story, isn't this..? :)

Anonymous said...

Mr/Ms Anonymous said...

"We all live in layers of a daydream, some are just better at seeing through it. I tend to air on the side of seeing through it but choosing to go in and out of the layers every once in a while"

I really like this lyrics about our world - somehow similar to Popper's three worlds.. (am I ok, my teacher ?)

Also I have a feeling of similarities with Neo’s world of "The matrix" ..

(ma)gog said...

Dear Mr/Ms Anoymous(I believe both of you are "Ms." actually), who commented on my name,

Thank you very much for your kind comments.

I have never dreamed that I could share my precious memory with someone who I haven't met before,
so I am very happy to know that now I can add another page to my old experience almost thirty years ago.

I am sure dear Anonymous san, you will definitely visit P.E.I. someday, but I believe also the fact that you have kept your dream for so long, proves you have already achieved that dream!

p.s. I am sorry that I spelled "porcelain" in German spelling by mistake, and after "the authoress",the word "used" is missing.
It is my habit keeping correcting my mistakes, not only spelling or grammar, but also coultless matters in every day life...

yuki said...

When I was 11,I traveled in Korea
,where I traveled first foreign country.We were called to play soccer.In air plain my heart was aching with the first experience.So I had ordered cabin attendant to a number of juices.She was reluctant to do it.
Now I was shame of it.
In Korea the scene ,though I wonder it was same with Japan,differ from Japan at all.I felt finally it was a foreign country. I became anxiety a little.
But people live in there was all kind persons .So it was wonderful experiment ,of course I was very very tired .I never forget this in my life.