Today the weather was perfect, so a friend took me for a drive in the country. Old Baguettes like me love drives in the country. We can leave behind crowds, noise, cement, bricks, glass, and steel for space and quietly spectacular scenery. So much to see and enjoy. Hills, trees, ponds, rock. Fields of weeds, fields of crops, horses, cows. We stopped in a quaint town for a leisurely lunch al fresco. After our last sip of coffee, we continued our drive. On the outskirts of the town, off in the distance, was a building with a tower of some sort. Clearly it wasn't part of a farm. The land around it was uncultivated, it was surrounded by trees, and no other buildings could be seen. It was in the middle of nowhere. What on earth was it? Curious, we decided to check it out.
The brick building was small while the attached tower was tall. The proportions of the one to the other seemed just right. The building had been abandoned. The windows, four on each side, were boarded up, and the brick was disintegrating. A wooden sign stuck in the ground read, "District School -- 1904 to 1944." Despite the disrepair, this former one room school still had great charm. We began noticing signs that someone, perhaps a former student, was probably responsible for that charm. On top of the tower was a cupola with a white wrought iron fence. The fence was decorated with hearts and had received a fresh coat of paint in the not too distant past. As a decorative touch, a blue and white enamel teapot with a rusted spout had been placed by the front door. On the roof of the cupola was a fat brass owl. At least two feet tall, it had the quality of a museum sculpture. Even from the ground, you could see its feathers, its folded wings, and its wise expression.
When we'd had our fill of looking, we headed home. Like all Old Baguettes who've had a drive in the country, I feel rested, rejuvenated, ready to deal with the assaults of crowds, noise, and the stuff cities are made of. Yet I also feel sad. I wish that charmer of a school with its hearts and its owl were still open. But what if the teacher weren't a charmer? What if they had to have a heart on the outside because the teacher was heartless on the inside? What if they had to have an owl on the outside because the teacher was an old crow?
Drives in the country and naps. Two gifts from God. As magnificent as they are, I am surprised the government does not tax them.
ReplyDeleteYour trip sound lovely and the school house a wonderful bit of serendipity (possibly another thing that could be taxed).
On the teacher, maybe she or he had a very big heart and was as wise and an owl. Very nice drive.