The Good Life
La Dolce Vita!! The Good Life! I heard this saying for the first time years ago while watching a movie. It was a Cary Grant and Sofia Loren movie, Houseboat. Sofia Loren is the nanny to his motherless children and they are all living on a houseboat. One night the houseboat gets loose and they all wake up in the middle of the lake. He goes crazy and starts panicking about the situation...work, school, getting the boat back, etc. She on the other hand, gives each child a fishing pole, teaches them to say La Dolce Vita, and she and the kids start fishing. All the while, father is running around like a chicken with his head cut off, worried about everything that he has no control over.
At the time I saw this man, I was kind of in the same place Cary Grant was in. Running around trying to cram as much into a day as I could. It was cramming in fun but still cramming. I was in New Orleans several years before I retired from teaching. Some friends and I had gone to New Orleans for the day to shop and have lunch. It was a busy day of fun, start to finish. We were winding up our trip and stopped in the French Market on our way out. I love to go through the French Market and see all the fresh produce and the vendors with crazy, unusual items for purchase. As I was walking through, trying to find treasures to take home, I looked over and saw this man and his dog sitting on a bench, over to the side of the activity. They seemed so content just being in each other's company. As I walked around for awhile, he continued to sit there. It made me a little envious of his ability to sit and enjoy doing nothing...all the time in the world! La Dolce Vita! Somehow, I kind of moseyed over to where they were sitting. Being the dog lover that I am, I had to ask him about his dog. Dogs just seem to make people automatic friends. We can talk about our dogs for hours. He told me he was retired and that he and his dog walk the French Quarter every day, and then sit and "people watch". We talked for awhile more before I had to gather everyone to head home. I stopped long enough and turned and asked him if I could take their picture. He was glad to show off his dog and said "of course". As I started to approach my years close to retirement, I could imagine the joy that this man had and his ability to enjoy "doing nothing". I looked forward to being able to have that life. Several years later, I painted the picture. I hope you will enjoy a moment of "doing nothing" and the joy these two have in each other's company.
I have that life now. My dog, Opie, is fifteen. He and I still enjoy walking the neighborhood, enjoying the brief conversations of the neighbors we meet along the way. Living The Good Life.
Thanks for connecting,
Cissy