Histories have
themselves become mountains, they have piled up, one on top of the other and
have reshaped the landscape they try to describe. And from their summit, there
is the view of another mountain and a distant valley.
Daniel was playing
on the Commputer Sym City 2000. It is a game where you build and maintain a
city. I heard him playing with his friend Thomas Moran, and I went down to
look. “Look dad, we are bulldozing all the trees away, to make room for
disasters!” They were very excited. A little window opened on the screen, it
was a newspaper article of protesting people. They were protesting against the
deforestation. “Aargh,” he said, “get rid of them,” and he clicked them away. I
left. Later I was in the kitchen. Daniel came in. “How did it go, Dan? Did you
become the disaster you were trying to make room for?” “Naaa,” he replied, “The
people started planting the trees”.
Miss Jones has
died. Miss Jones was a lovely lady, who cleaned the office and would make
coffee. I feel guilty. I had wanted to visit her in hospital but was overcome
by prevarication. It is horrible. She was in the