Well, here I am again. Life will take a strange and circuitous route on the way to the abyss. Just when I fell out of favor, I am by default back in the good graces of the powers that be.
All of this is the lead in for the first chapter of Giovanni’s Journal, which exists primarily because no one around here can agree on anything. For our American readers, this should be familiar.
As all of you know by now, “The Pizzaonian" is out of operation – for how long remains to be seen. For a country that can exist without government or wars this is somewhat unusual.
To avoid the embarrassment of completely shutting down, I have been asked to write my journal until “The Pizzaonian” resumes normal operations.
Not knowing where to start, I decided to go back to the beginning. Since that time our country has progressed from being a fictitious place to an alternate universe. Keeping that in mind, I will start with our original introduction.
CONVERSATIONS WITH GIOVANNI AND FRANCO
Who are Giovanni and Franco and why should you care? Because in the pursuits of G and F you find the human conflicts you deal with, now or later. The difference is they do it without the clutter or background static that we “real people” deal with on a daily basis. This makes them uniquely free; and eventually begs the question: what is real?
The background:
Giovanni and Franco are two fictitious monks living in a fictitious remote monastery in a rural and isolated place in the United States. They became brothers of their order in their mid thirties and have spent the last twenty years of their lives toiling in the kitchen of the monastery . Ironically, both are educated, reasonably sophisticated, worldly men,
Because each suffered through occupational and relationship disasters, they found themselves going into their mid life crisis younger than most. Both came to the conclusion separately that they had enough of the world as they had experienced it and were quite ready to withdraw from its day to day travails to find something else. That is how they found themselves and each other at the monastery and developed this strange, strong bond of friendship that only can be shared by people with shared experiences.
Their daily routine at the monastery consists of rising early each morning so they can tend to the duties in the kitchen. These duties consist of washing an endless parade of pots, pan, dirty dishes, dirty floors, tables and anything else that is needed in a kitchen that feeds two hundred and fifty other brothers, who from Giovanni and Franco’s perspective seemed to be always eating.
Since Giovanni and Franco are also expected to devote their time to spiritual devotions and reflections they are allowed two hours a day for prayer in silent meditation. It was during this time together they developed this strong bond of friendship and affection that became a true love hate relationship.
It is also during this time together that the conversations we will eavesdrop on take place. Keep
in mind that these conversations are forbidden by the rules of their
order, but nevertheless they find the temptation to converse pervasive. Unknown
by either Giovanni or Franco, is that Brother Timothy, the headmaster,
knows about their transgression during the meditation hours, and is
quite willing to let it pass.
Brother Timothy learned long ago that perfection was not to be had in this world and anyone who could do the job that Giovanni and Franco did so well everyday in the kitchen could be cut a little slack.
We are entering their conversation after a long period of silence has existed between them. These periods of silence usually occur when Giovanni is overcome by guilt for not using the two hours for meditation. However the guilt usually subsides and the talks begin anew.
We join them after their trip to Tibet. Concern and anguish is rampant since the monastery and the monks discovered they are fictitious. Brother Timothy, the headmaster has taken it particularly hard. Ironically, Giovanni and Franco are not bothered by being fictitious since they have never been sure of what is and isn’t real.
Like
most people facing the question of what they are doing with their
lives, real or imagined, their preoccupation, strange as it may seem for
two monks working in a remote monastery, covers a gamut of subjects
from the vow of poverty to getting rich quick. This
constant state of agitation between their conflicting drives of
spiritual and material pursuits provides much of the motivation for
their conversations.
Occasionally, a mysterious voice also joins the conversation. This person is simply J. I have some trepidation about eavesdropping on these conversations. However, I somehow believe that Giovanni and Franco really don’t mind the intrusion.
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