Ross rented the basement of a house... The landlady was an older lady... I am sure in her mid eighties... She was living alone after her husband without any warnings... abruptly traveled to eternity...
The basement opened up to the backyard and a small garden that both the landlady and Ross enjoyed...
It was a good set up and the basement apartment was cozy and the glass door to the backyard garden made it very attractive, sunny and open to daylight...
The basement opened up the the backyard... It was well kept and inviting...
He had all the necessities for living... and he was happy... he did not want more...
His most expensive furniture was his stereo set which at times was too loud for the landlady... But like me Ross loved his music - classical and sixties and seventies pops... he loved jazz too...
In the garden he had another outdoor table with four chairs... and couple of outdoor plastic chairs...
That's all... Ross had all that he needed...
"Why people accumulate things that they do not need...?"; he wondered... Of course he knew and did not expect an answer from anyone...
We were friends for couple of years now and our friendship circle included a female teacher and a Polish poet and a teacher too... The three of us were math teachers... and Ross was the chaplain with a knowledge of "math without numbers..." He was the cohesive bond among us...
It was summer and the days were lazy and long... The sunset was past nine... The summers were hot and humid... All three of us were teaching Summer School... So at the end of July when all was done and we had handed the marks and the exams and all the paper work... Ross invited us for dinner...
He was going to cook... he boasted as a good cook... and we had to taste the food and test his skills... He was excited...and we were apprehensive... but we agreed...
Each one of us brought a bottle of wine... and sat in the garden...
Ross after apologizing that he did not have the brand that I usually drink, honoured me with a generous glass of Grey Goose... and insisted that I have another glass... and I did... The others were sipping their wine...
Ross explained to them that the afternoon without the vodka will be a garden without a fountain in the middle... To be honest I did not grasp the analogy... But I was okay with a glass or two of Grey Goose...
The dinner was good... Of course we joked about Ross's cooking and he was happy for that... Jokes did not bother him at all... He took them as extolment... and accolades... He was easy going and talkative... of course the wine had loosened all four of us... and we were jovial...
In the midst of our chatty and lazy afternoon the landlady came down... excused herself and wanted to hang things on the clothesline... Ross offered him some wine and I offered her my sit... It was unthinkable for me to cling to my chair while the older lady was standing up...
She very friendly and polite... She did not want to "spoil" our merriment and did not join us... But chatted with us for few minutes and Ross introduced us with his idiosyncratic exaggerations... we smiled on them and did not interfere or correct them... We wanted him to be happy too... after all, like us he was "allowed" too...
No Matter What...You Are Allowed...
The next day in the chapel he remarked... "I noticed that you did not sit down all along while the landlady was there..."
That was the fist time I noticed his love for details... like an experienced mathematician...
Ross stimulated my imagination... always... when we were together and afterwards... He was an intellectual who thrived on fun and on details too... After that day he referred to me... as a "European gentleman..."
I am not absolutely clear what he meant by that... by this time it was my turn to take that as a compliment...
***
No Diogenes Things... Today...
Ross said... I am allowed...
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