A Noteworthy Event

As I stood outside my son’s primary school at the end of the school day, children ran around joyfully  under the bright sun, parents chatted among themselves, and a young pre-school toddler played with his older brother.

 

The toddler ran towards the road, a car was driving along it. He was too far away for any of the parents to reach. Hidden by trees, I do not know if the driver could see him. Hearts pumped.  Then a shout delve through it all, a shout so driven and focused that it seemed to slice through all sound and movement.

 

Then Silence.

 

The complete silence of no-action. It seemed that the whole universe was brought to a standstill. Child, Parent, Bird, and even Air paused to take note. More importantly, so did the car.

 

The moment passed. The child collected. The car continued. Uncertainty about what had just happened buzzed in the air. Some smiles. Some embarrassment. Some awe.

 

What I witnessed was the power of the shout. Never before had I witnessed it in so pure a form.  The Japanese call the study of it Kiai Jutsu, it’s a worthy avenue to explore!

The Golden Oak

After coming down from Mount Nanos with friends and family I was introduced to a Mistletoed Oak in a nearby village.  It was the first  time I had seen Mistletoe growing wild, and was surprised to see that the berries were yellow. Truly Golden Boughs.

 

The Oak was still bare of its own greenery, the only life that could be seen was the green and gold of its mistletoe guest.

 

 

A nice National Geographic article describing Mistletoe as a ‘Keystone to forest health’ can be found here,

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071224-mistletoe-research.html

April 25th - Italian Liberation Day

In Italy April 25th is the day which marks its Second World War liberation by Allied troops. It’s a national day of remembrance for those who fell in the just cause and especially for those fallen who served as partisans in the Italian resistance movement.

 

And on this day, although Trieste was actually liberated on May 1st, a large number of the community hold a rite of remembrance at “Risiera di San Sabba”.

 

“Risiera di San Sabba” is a one time rice-husking factory which was taken over on September 8, 1943, by the Nazi occupation forces and used as a prison and extermination camp. And although it’s primary role was a ‘transit camp’ between 3000-5000 died within its crematory plant.

 

This year the morning gathering was a wet one, shorten a little by the tears flowing from the heavens, but personally I found it all the more powerful.

Bella Ciao