Disposition
My friend Gabriel lived next to us in the village of Bodou.
He was sinewy thin—a body that had seen plenty of field work. He had a friendly disposition and was skilled at all manner of things. He could stand in a dugout canoe and throw a net to catch fish without capsizing.
I still have a basket he wove and gave to me.
But you could just sit in the village. You didn’t need to be doing anything in particular.
So, we sat and chatted often, at the end of the day with the cool breeze coming off the lagoon.
He taught me a proverb which is a tongue-twister in Adioukrou: There is not any good without some bad, and there’s not any bad without some good.
For example, I spent my early adult life in Africa: great adventure, but I missed out on life in the US. I had three children by the time I was twenty-four, so I missed out on the twenty-something play years! On the other hand, the kids left home for college when I was in my early forties, and I was able to start a PhD.
Is this painting a pyramid building up? Or a hole going down? It depends on your disposition.
There’s never any good without some bad, and never any bad without some good!
My friend Gabriel lived next to us in the village of Bodou.
He was sinewy thin—a body that had seen plenty of field work. He had a friendly disposition and was skilled at all manner of things. He could stand in a dugout canoe and throw a net to catch fish without capsizing.
I still have a basket he wove and gave to me.
But you could just sit in the village. You didn’t need to be doing anything in particular.
So, we sat and chatted often, at the end of the day with the cool breeze coming off the lagoon.
He taught me a proverb which is a tongue-twister in Adioukrou: There is not any good without some bad, and there’s not any bad without some good.
For example, I spent my early adult life in Africa: great adventure, but I missed out on life in the US. I had three children by the time I was twenty-four, so I missed out on the twenty-something play years! On the other hand, the kids left home for college when I was in my early forties, and I was able to start a PhD.
Is this painting a pyramid building up? Or a hole going down? It depends on your disposition.
There’s never any good without some bad, and never any bad without some good!
My friend Gabriel lived next to us in the village of Bodou.
He was sinewy thin—a body that had seen plenty of field work. He had a friendly disposition and was skilled at all manner of things. He could stand in a dugout canoe and throw a net to catch fish without capsizing.
I still have a basket he wove and gave to me.
But you could just sit in the village. You didn’t need to be doing anything in particular.
So, we sat and chatted often, at the end of the day with the cool breeze coming off the lagoon.
He taught me a proverb which is a tongue-twister in Adioukrou: There is not any good without some bad, and there’s not any bad without some good.
For example, I spent my early adult life in Africa: great adventure, but I missed out on life in the US. I had three children by the time I was twenty-four, so I missed out on the twenty-something play years! On the other hand, the kids left home for college when I was in my early forties, and I was able to start a PhD.
Is this painting a pyramid building up? Or a hole going down? It depends on your disposition.
There’s never any good without some bad, and never any bad without some good!
8 x 8” oil on wood panel. Framed size, 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 1”.