Boots Chimes In

(It's the first week of March, and Dave is wondering if it might be time to pack away( his hot carpet for the year. Today is a very sunny day, and sunshine is streaming through the window, helping to make the room quite warm, but he knows well that come evening it'll be a different story. No, it's better to wait a bit longer ... Boots the Cat is nearby, stretched out in a sunbeam; she opens one eye quizically ...)

Dave: So, you're awake are you? Enjoying the sunshine?

Boots: Yes, of course. It doesn't get much better than this, does it! We've had some very cold days this past winter.

Dave: I know. I didn't see you visiting my downstairs workshop very often!

Boots: You must be kidding. I don't see how you can stand it down there, in that north-facing room right near the river.

Dave: But remember, I'm not trying to sleep down there, like you. I'm busy making prints, and that's sometimes very hard work; it keeps me warm enough!

Boots: Well, keep it up; keep it up. But I have to ask you, what are those sounds in this room today? This isn't like the music you usually play.

Dave: It's interesting stuff, isn't it! It's not music, but a recording of different bell sounds, programmed into a long endless loop. It's very beautiful and relaxing, don't you think?

Boots: I didn't know what was going on; those deep resonant sounds filling the room, with the smaller bell sounds chiming and echoing in the far distance. I thought I was having a strange dream ...

Dave: This music very much reminds me of the times we visited my children's Japanese grandfather many years ago. He owned a couple of bells which he kept on small cushions and tapped occasionally as he chanted his prayers. I didn't understand the chanting, but the bell sounds were very beautiful. The people who make this disc must be thinking in similar ways, because they advertise it as being useful for meditation.

Boots: I didn't think you were the 'meditating' type.

Dave: No, I'm not, at all. Some of my overseas friends think that because I live in Japan, I am involved with Zen and meditation. That's one of their images of this country. They sometimes seem disappointed when they find out that I have no particular interest in such things.

Boots: Then why are you listening to this disc?

Dave: Because it's peaceful, and very beautifully made. The producers selected the bells very carefully; they're not really just 'bells', they are like fine musical instruments! Just because I don't 'meditate' doesn't mean that I can't enjoy these sounds.

Boots: But even now, as these bells are playing, it just makes me want to slide back into sleep. How can you do any productive work this way?

Dave: Well this afternoon's job doesn't need a lot of energy; I've been working on a couple of ideas for A Story A Week, and that's quite peaceful work ...

Boots: Yes, too peaceful sometimes, I think ...

Dave: Oh, do you think so? But anyway, I'm nearly finished this story, so it's time for a bit of a break. These bells are so beautiful ... and the sunshine so warm ... What are your plans for the rest of the afternoon, Boots-chan?

Boots:

Dave: Boots? Boots?

Boots: Zzzzzzzzzz Zzzzzzzzzz

Dave: Zzzzzzzzzzz Zzzzzzzzzz

Story #114, March 2 2008