Day 6 of Happiness
There were lots of things that made me happy today and I actually have time to write about them so I thought I'd write a little more than I usually do :)
- Talking in my sleep :)
- My roommate informed me that I was talking in my sleep last night and she wrote it down. Apparently I said, "Ughhh. Why are you buying so much? We don't need that much bacon!" Of course I was embarrassed at first, but then the hilarity overcame my embarrassment (at least most of it) and we laughed about it for a while. Thankfully she said this was the first time I've talked in my sleep...
- Children's Lit. Class
- This class has definitely become one of my favorites of this semester. It's usually dual-taught by 2 professors but today just one of them was there. He's super funny and went off on a bunch of random, short tangents about buying moose heads at auctions (didn't really happen), trying to fit door-sized paintings into a small Toyota (really happened), etc. The focus of today's class was to talk about folk tales so of course he told us a folk tale to introduce us to the genre. The folk tale he told was apparently one that was told in concentration camps during the Holocaust. I will try to give a retell it here for you guys. It was about a
violinist who was a prisoner at Auschwitz. He had been there for 6 months,
which is longer than most people lived there. The way that he would stay sane was
that at night he would swing his legs over the edge of his bunk, raise his
arms, close his eyes, and play the Corelli violin concerto. Everyone else
thought he was crazy because he had no bow or violin. No one else could hear
him, but he could hear each note. And he would do this every night. One day,
late at night, the guards opened the doors, turned on the lights, and read off
the numbers of the people that were going to be led out through the dark doors
(presumably to the gas chambers). The violinist pulled up his sleeve to look at
the number tattooed on his arm because he was sure that this time he would be
called since he had already been there for 6 months. But miraculously his
number was not called.
He watched as the group of people whose numbers were called were lead out through the dark doors. The next day, there was a new group of prisoners brought in. The violinist looked at the new faces and there among them was the Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic! He was very excited and called out to the Concertmaster but he did not reply. For Auschwitz was a place of silence. That night the violinist tried again to speak to the Concertmaster who had taken the bunk directly across from him. But still he did reply. And that night the violinist swung is legs over the edge of his bunk, raised his arms, closed his eyes, and played the Corelli violin concerto just like he did every night. The next night he spoke again to the Concertmaster but again he did not reply. Nor did he reply the day after that, or the day after that, or the day after that. Finally one night, after the he violinist had finished playing the Corelli violin concerto, the Concertmaster said just one word: "Again." So he played it again and the Concertmaster heard every note. The night after that, when the violinist swung his legs over the edge of his bunk, raised his arms, and prepared to play the Corelli violin concerto, the Concertmaster did the same thing. They both closed their eyes and together they played the Corelli violin concerto: the Concertmaster playing the top line and the violinist playing the bottom. And that night not only did they hear the music, but the others in the bunkroom heard it, and the guards heard it, and the people in the town nearby who pretended that they didn't know what was going on inside Auschwitz heard it. Even the stars heard their beautiful music.
The next day, late at night, the guards came in, turned on the lights, and began calling out numbers. Again, the violinist pulled up his sleeve, knowing up that this time his number had to be called. But again, his number was not called. He looked over to smile at the Concertmaster. But the Concertmaster was climbing down from his bunk because his number had been called. The violinist leapt down from his bunk and called out one word: "Stay!" The Concertmaster said nothing. How can I accept this incredible gift? he thought to himself. The Concertmaster disregarded the violinist and started making his way toward the dark doors. But the violinist called out again: "Hold him!" The remaining prisoners heeded his command. They pinned the Concertmaster's arms and legs so he could not move and covered his mouth so he could not cry out. The violinist looked into the Concertmaster’s eyes, smiled, and turned to follow the rest of the people whose numbers had been called out through the dark doors.
Miraculously, the Concertmaster was still alive when all the prisoners at Auschwitz were freed. He went to Poland and played for a while in an orchestra there. Then he decided to cross the ocean and head to America. There he played across the country in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and many other cities. Finally he ended up in New York where he had the honor of playing at Carnegie Hall. At the end of his concert, he walked to the front of the stage, sat down, swung his legs over the edge, raised his violin, and played the bottom line of the Corelli violin concerto. The audience was incredibly moved and could hear the intense emotion with which he played the piece. They saw tears running down his cheeks and assumed they were tears of joy. None of them knew that he was crying for a violinist that he had met back in Auschwitz who had sacrificed his own life. And as he closed his eyes, the Concertmaster could hear the violinist join him and play along.
Sorry that ended up being a bit long...but I enjoyed writing it down. Folk tales are meant to be told orally, but I wanted to write down what I could remember so that I wouldn't forget it. And I figured I might as well share it with you all. I hope you liked it!
- Reading for fun
- Now that I'm not watching TV shows or going on Facebook in my free time, it's made me think of other fun ways that time. I've been doing a lot of reading for class but I've really missed having time (or at least choosing to use my free time) to read for fun. So during one of my gaps between classes I picked up The Book Thief which I think I started over winter break but still haven't finished. Not that it's not a good book (because it is!), I've just gotten so busy and haven't set aside much time to read for fun. So it was really nice to read some and not have it be an assignment!
Bible Reading: Luke 2: 39-52
This passage is about when 12-year-old Jesus and his parents go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. His parents "lose" him and eventually find him (3 days later!) in the Temple with the religious teachers, "discussing deep questions." I think this passage is really interesting and it makes me wonder what it would have been like to be around Jesus when he was younger. Of course I wonder what it would have been like to be around him at all, but I'm sure he wasn't your normal kid. This passage says that "He was filled with wisdom beyond his years, and God placed his special favor upon him" and that in the Temple "all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers." I kind of feel bad for his parents... Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I can't imagine trying to raise a child who is both fully human and fully divine!
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