Gogol's Echo
I took a walk in the city today. In the middle of Kruisstraat I saw one of my neighbours roaming past. It was the man whose wife had died so unexpectedly two weeks ago. He wandered about in the snow with an uncertain gait. He whistled energetically.
Channeling the master! Say, I left a little Gogol reference over at the Mower Shed for you and also for my sister, who is no doubt scratching her head right now. You rock, Martijn!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anonymous Dave. I echoed your reference with all due honour.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about Gogol, except i have been a fan of the Yul Brynner movie Taras Bulba since I was a little boy, and I even saw a Russian remake, if you could call it a remake, complete with english subtitles filmed in 2009 called "The Conquereor".
ReplyDeleteBut what I want to say is that I do that. I whistle energetically when I am upset, when I need a distraction. The more upset, the more furious my whistling.
It has nothing to do with Gogol perse, but some of the elements in the story (snow, a dead wife, a man of his senses bereft, possibly drunk) made me think of The Russians.
ReplyDeleteBut it's nice to hear that nervous whistling isn't a figment of my fantasy. Thank you, Steve.