Djurdjevic - Personal Essay - Scottsdale, Phoenix

07 Mar 2009

Updated Nov 23, 2007

My Thanksgiving Story

A material, spiritual and artistic experience... and maybe a play, too?

SCOTTSDALE, Nov 23, 2007 - Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (to those of you in the U.S., anyway). Hope you took pity on the turkey and the trimmings. I tried. And failed. So today, I did a triple workout (bike ride, gym/weights and yoga). Tomorrow morning, the scale will tell the tale. Wish the darn thing would sometimes lie a little...

My Thanksgiving 2007 was a bit unusual. [Thanks for asking. :-) ]. Some of you know about a personal paradox of mi

ne. I loathe organized religion, yet have a number of friends who are priests or pastors or monks or whatever they choose to call themselves, including Patriarch Pavle, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (see the photo of us taken in Aug 2004, for example, at the Patriarchate in Belgrade). Which is why "my Thanksgiving story" has had material, spiritual and artistic dimensions.

I spent the Thanksgiving afternoon with an older priest, three younger men and an older woman - none of whom I had met before (except for the priest). It was an interesting group. We swapped tales as we demolished the turkey. So it was almost like a play (or as they now like to call it on TV - a "reality show") about five lives that unexpectedly come together at Thanksgiving. As a matter of fact, I may do a play like that.

Some of you know that I did translate, adapt and co-produce a successful play in the early 1990s that ran in San Francisco, London and New York ("The Professional"). At the time, I told the media that it was a one-off deal; that I had no intention of doing another theater production. But now that this Thanksgiving has given me a new idea, who knows... It will be a matter of making time for it, though, given my extensive travels and other obligations.

Meanwhile, back to "My Thanksgiving Story," the best part is that it was totally unexpected (you know how I get a rise out of surprises and spontaneity). I got a call the Thanksgiving Eve from a priest, a New York-born former Catholic monk of Swedish descent and royal blood, who spent 10 years at the Vatican before defrocking himself in disgust with the "Pope et. al.", only to pick up the Orthodox Christian robes several years after that; who happens to be also a 737 pilot who trains commercial pilots; and is an expert chef, among other things, which includes police work etc. In other words, just an ordinary Joe. [Not! :-) Actually, this fascinating character will also have have a place in my book, not just the play... :-) ].

Anyway, Fr B asked me if I had anything planned for a Thanksgiving dinner. I said I did not. He said he was trying to put together a small group of people he liked "so we can have a party" at his place (which is also a monastery; he is a monk). He said if he succeeds, he'd call back to confirm.

Now, if someone else had said it, it might have seemed like a startling choice. Cook or fly. But knowing Fr B, it sounded perfectly natural. You either cook a turkey or go fly a 737 jet into the blue yonder. What else would a "flying monk" with a cordon bleu apron contemplate for Thanksgiving? :-)

I remember Fr B once flying a select number of parishioners in a small plane at Easter, taking off just before sunrise, and then performing an abbreviated version of the Easter service aboard (while piloting the plane, of course... but PSSST... don't tell the FAA morons about that, please!). In such a beautiful natural setting, the resurrection story seemed practically palpable.

Another time, 10 years ago, Fr B somehow flew in from Kiev (Ukraine) to Phoenix in the nick of time to perform the St. Nicholas Slava service at my home. It was one of the three miracles that happened that day, the day of the Saint - dubbed the Miracle-Maker. I even wrote a story about it (see "St. Nick's Three Miracles of 1997"

And then there was another St. Nick miracle that happened to me in Kobe, Japan, on Dec 19, 1993 (one year before the devastating earthquake that destroyed much of that city). As if led by an invisible hand, my ex-wife and I were taken to the city's only Christian church, where we were invited by the local Japanese people to join them for a St. Nicholas Day service that day. I have never been to Kobe before (or since). The Christians represent less than 1% of the Japanese population. The church was spared during the earthquake. Go figure...

Anyway, Fr B confirmed his Thanksgiving "party," and so I went. As to what actually happened, you may have to wait for the play to find out. Suffice it to say that my Thanksgiving 2007 ended up being material, spiritual and artistic.

"But wait a minute," some of you may be thinking. "I can see 'material' (eating turkey), 'spiritual' (in a monastery, sharing stories), but where is the 'artistic'?"

On my way back, a Brandi Carlile tune kept haunting me as it has been for several days now. I would even wake up in the morning hearing it in my head. The song is called "The Story." Brandi Carlile is one of the young recording artists whom I have discovered recently. Anyway, when I came home, I sat down at my old piano and just started playing "The Story" by ear. After a while, it became passable for "public airing." So I recorded it for you, as my Thanksgiving gift to you. Voila!

All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you...

The preceding song evoked a response from a childhood friend of mine, a poet from Florida, who sent me her poem this morning titled "Starry Gates." Which, in turn, reminded me of another beautiful song that has touched me this year - the "Answer" by Sarah McLachlan. I first heard the "Answer" back in February in a yoga class. It was during the time of great uncertainty in my own life. So it struck a chord, both literally and figuratively. Julie, the yoga instructor who played it, said the "Answer" makes her cry. I could see why. My Florida friend also cried when she heard it, she said.

So if you are a sensitive soul, a fair warning... the tune and the lyrics may also cause you to tear up. But hopefully it will be in a good way. For, learning to laugh through the tears and to live without fears - that's the ultimate nirvana. Tears tend to cleanse the soul and open the heart to love. Fears do the opposite.

With that as a preamble, here is now a live recording of the "Answer" from a Sarah McLachlan concert. You will also find the lyrics on the same web page:

Finally, I saw an amazing film on Thanksgiving Eve [I know, I am going backward chronologically... but that's a writer's privilege and an engineer's curse :-) ]. It's "Beowulf." I am not much for science fiction or computer-animated films, but this was something else. It was truly a unique movie-watching experience, because of the new 3D technology that it uses.

Here's a CNN story about "Beowulf" that merely confirms my own impressions that I shared (verbally) with some of you right after I had seen the film. The article concludes that this amazing technology will probably sweep the film-making world in the future. (Wish I knew who invented it so I can buy shares in that company. Maybe I'll find out now and do it, come to think of it...) Guess I'd better hang on to my 3D glasses, too, while I am at it... :-)