THAT’S LIFE – Bennet Paes
Good old days when the river ‘Sal’ had no concrete corridor over its head, I
had to use the ‘thar’ (ferry-boat) below to get across. Failing to catch the
‘caminhão’(bus) on the other side, I often ran a mile or two, just to meet my
sweetheart in downtown Chinchinim. ‘Sweat was oozing out of my teeth’ – so to
speak, and the girl’s mother used to pity me, saying: “the poor boy must have
swum across the river.”
But the sympathising lady didn’t know that I didn’t know how to swim. I didn’t
dare confess it to my ladylove, either. I let her feel that I could even run
over water, even though only to steal a close look at her pretty face.
Honestly, that’s as far as I could get, because her mother didn’t allow me any
closer.
Which reminds me of an old Dean Martin number called “L.O.V.E.”. It said love
is more than a game for two. Sure it was – the mother played the no.3, and I
had to lump the load whether I liked it or not. However, what made up for this
unpalatable situation was my DNA’s oversupply of appetite for change. So I
decided to get out of that ‘ferry-tale’ kind of a love affair and seek
adventure on prettier pastures elsewhere. This ‘moon river’ had made my dream
and broken it, as well.
But fortunately for me, and not long after the first chapter in the book came
to a close, the Portuguese ‘sossegados’ had for a change sprung into action.
Keeping up with colonial traditions, rarely though, they produced a world-class
alternative to the ferry. A brand new bridge was in place which forced the
ferry-man out of business and enabled the ‘caminhãos’ to extend their route
over the river and past my doorstep. It was a huge spur to my love-bug’s quest
for new faces, in places far beyond Chinchinim. Yes, it was, and I did seize
the moment to go on a roll, until another change stopped me dead in my tracks.
It reversed my journey right back to this side of the bridge where it all
began.
Several flings older and with maturity ripened yellow, I descended on a path
that angels no longer feared to tread. Then, while in a contemplative mood, a
line from Frank Sinatra’s lyrics caught my memory: “For once in my life I found
someone who needs me...”. And that someone happened to be the last in a series
of my life’s drama. That’s right – she happens to be my wife.
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