The PvR I know

As I pondered over the bad news I immediately had a flashback of many good moments I had with Pat over a span of the 28 years I have known him.  I remembered Pat the teacher, writer, idealist and philosopher king.  It was one of those moments when one goes through mixed emotions of pain, hope and despair, and cannot help but curse death.Among other things, Pat was fond of the arts. 

In my deep thoughts I was reminded of the 19th century German composer, Gustav Mahler’s piece, Resurrection, which was his second symphony.  In that piece Mahler grapples with the mystifying phenomenon called death.  The second movement of the symphony represents a view of life as a meaningless activity.  And the fourth movement is a wish for release from life without meaning.