Hagioscope

Monday, August 21, 2006

Did you ever see a penguin come to tea?

This year’s T’ai Chi retreat was by far the mellowest ever. Usually a few guys bring guitars, a drum kit and an electronic keyboard and jam in the rec room. This year, they didn’t. Usually there’s a huge conflagration in the fire pit, around which raucous, alcohol-fueled storytelling draws a huge crowd from about 8:00 p.m. into the wee hours of the morning. This year, it was a small fire, meagerly attended, and no one so much as recited a dirty limerick, at least while I was there.

I can’t decide whether I’m happy or sad about the lack of hearty partying. I drank one beer the entire weekend and was in bed by 10:30 both Friday and Saturday nights. This made dragging my keister out for 7:00 a.m. practice much easier, of course, but the retreat did not have its usual spring-break feel.

In keeping with my recent ability to find lost objects, I found a man's watch on the bench beneath the tree. Found the owner this time, though. Too bad; I wouldn't have minded keeping that watch.

The most interesting thing that happened was Tim and Lynn teaching the group a really stupid song, the kind that wedges itself into your mind like corn between your teeth. It came complete with actions that had all the adults flapping our wings and waddling around like penguins. The actual children present watched from a safe distance for a few minutes, bemused, before returning to their water fight. Regrettably, I did not dig out my camera in time to collect any incriminating evidence.

For the interested, the melody goes like this:

Do re mi fa sol
Ti sol fa mi re do.
Do re mi fa sol
Ti sol fa mi re do.

GAAAAAHH!! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!

I got home Sunday afternoon in time to enjoy a very pleasant supper on the deck with Mom, followed by some online shopping, a couple more episodes of Moonlighting, and some splendid Peanut Butter Panic ice cream. And again I was in bed by 10:30.

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