Sitting down to our luxurious ‘tuna rice dish’ decorated with avocado, lettuce and baby tomato salad, garnished with mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar, in companionship with a pretty white wine, we, or maybe I, leant myself to a bit of fantasy. Gazing out on some renaissance and gothic splendours from our donation only (and Corrie and I only) quarters, I thought philosophic thoughts.
I received a thoughtful email from a close friend some days ago who commented on a photo I took of Corrie presumably choosing one path over another. Robert Frost (whom he referred to) in his poem: ‘The Road not Taken’, philosophises with his poet friend about possible missed opportunities and the ‘what ifs’ of life.
Didier Diderot who was born here in Langres, took multiple pathways in his life. A religious life was contemplated early on. He then studied law, but soon found a wandering pen in his hand writing about many things. He was an art critic for some time and wrote much about philosophy. He fluctuated in his writings about his religious beliefs, from theism to atheism and back again.
He chose to sell his beloved library because he was too poor to provide a dowry for his daughter. This led to the Russian Empress, Catherine, buying his works and a close relationship followed. This eventually ended poorly due to his harsh criticism of her shortly before his death.
Corrie and I have chosen many paths especially since I was diagnosed with PD, and we continue to contemplate the future alternatives that we have available to us. This may all change, of course, if in the future something happens to Corrie
In the meantime we are looking at a confusing number of tracks to take for tomorrow’s walk to Chalindrey.
