Frigate (c) Sophie All the world's a stage,And all the men andwomen merely players:They have their exits andtheir entrances;And one man in his timeplays many parts,His acts being seven ages.-- William Shakespeare's As You Like Ithas anyone read, "dennis the menace ain't misbehavin'?" i found the book conspicuously tucked beneath my grandfather's selection of law books (don't ask me how or why it got there), and quickly adopted dennis mitchell's credo at an age where mischief was the name of the game. i was remarkably sanguine -- ok fine, i am remarkably sanguine. true, i have outgrown most of the stuff i've daydreamt about (e.g. playing pirate or indiana jones's love interest), but the more attainable ones, i'm proud to say, have come to pass. there are four major things in my adult life that i still fancy:
1.) create a masterpiece
well, why not show [off] a little bit of talent? it isn't as if i claim to be this generation's michelangelo buonarroti, although there's no harm in wishing -- perhaps the vatican could build another sistine chapel and request the honour of my company -- it has been decades since the world has had a taste of true masterpieces...Tanto nomini nullum par elogium. (No praise is sufficient for so great a man.) -- michelangelo's monument inscription. what would mine be -- Eternalii Overconfidentii. (Eternally Over-confident.)?? aahh heck.
2.) be a real ballerina
i've studied classical ballet and modern jazz, but ballet is what i want to pursue, and well, you know if you're good at something, right? you feel it the most in the pit of your stomach. i felt it, luckily, i didn't throw up when it was my turn to perform on stage while the russian ballet company looked on.
3.) live life like indiana jones
can anyone believe i used to want to be this ancient playboy's girlfriend?? actually, i still do sshh... seriously, i can't imagine myself being domesticated... at least, not yet. my favourite reverend said, in his lifetime, he discovered that only a handful of people have real bright eyes and i'm one of them. i guess what he saw was my thirst to go the distance.
4.) become a shakespearean actor
"Wherefore art thou?"
"So you walk softly and look sweetly and say nothing, I am yours for the walk; and especially when I walk away."
... it's one of those nagging thoughts and yet...
"I shall forget, to have thee still stand there, Remembering how I love thy company."
... indeed.
if you remember your childhood fantasies, would you still chase after them now that you're fully grown? or would you let go?
Let us have fantasy, boldness, unexpectedness, enchantment -- above all, tenderness, and morbidezza!
-- George Bizet
since 2004.10