My Mexican father, as his father before him, believed that old men know more than young men; that life will break your heart; that death finally is the vantage point from which a life must be seen.
I think now that Mexico has been the happier place for being a country of tragedy. Tragic cultures serve up better food than optimistic cultures; tragic cultures have sweeter children, more opulent funerals. In tragic cultures, one does not bear the solitary burden of optimism. California is such a sad place, really--a state where children run away from parents, a state of pale beer, and young old women, and divorced husbands living alone in condos.
Days of Obligation, Richard Rodriguez
No comments:
Post a Comment