RUBY
What Tomas
will do when he finishes school is a mystery. No one knows.
He studies social communication in a faraway area of Buenos Aires. It takes two buses to get there every
morning. It is tiring, but he likes the
school so much he doesn´t want to miss going there. He studies social communication because he
has big idealistic dreams for the future, but what he will do with all these
intentions is still a great brainteaser.
It took a certain experience to unravel his future.
When Ruby
came running around the corner one day eight days before spring began, Tomas
fell in love with her immediately. Maybe
it was the coffee-cream color of her fur, or the way she nuzzled up to him as
he sat huddled in a corner waiting for the 113 bus. It was as if Ruby had always known Tomas.
Her color
was like a cross between yellow squash and vanilla yogurt. Or maybe caramel and butter scotch. Or maybe it was a mixture of oak and cedar
wood. It was the golden color of perfect
crisp toasted bread, not too light or too dark.
No one knew
exactly how, but the whole neighborhood got better the day they met. They filled in the spaces which were lacking
in each other and complemented each other perfectly. This made everyone around them happier and
more positive.
Ruby was
born in a shed. Her mother was a
homeless dog who found that place to have her six puppies. She was called ¨Rubia¨ at first which means
¨blondie¨, but that was not quite right.
So the name was happily changed to ¨Ruby¨. The name was not chosen because her color was
so similar to a Ruby precious stone, nor was it because the song ¨Ruby¨ was a
favorite song by Kenny Rogers or because of another favorite, ¨Ruby Tuesday¨,
by the Rolling Stones. The name was
obviously favored because of Ruby´s shinny color, which shone like real gold
when the light hit her fur just right.
The other five puppies were given to different homes, but Ruby was kept
because she was the pick of the litter and the most obedient.
Ruby was a
happy-go-lucky puppy and always pranced about sniffing people and gently noggin
them with her nose until they petted her.
All of the neighbors knew her and talked about her. ¨Ruby knows English. She stays put when she is told to wait and doesn´t
cross the street until she is told it is okay.
She sits or jumps when told. She
likes to play tug-o-war with an old rag and jumps up on the table when told to
do so¨.
But there
was something more special about the relationship between Ruby and Tomas. What Tomas liked best was that Ruby knew
English. Tomas also studied English. It was his favorite subject at his school
called, ¨El Taller¨ or ¨The Shop¨. Ruby
seemed to understand every word that Tomas said to him in English. It made Tomas laugh and it gave him a chance
to practice his English even in Buenos Aires where there were few people who
spoke English fluently, at least in his neighborhood called ¨Paternal¨.
Tomas also
felt close to Ruby because she woke up so early in the morning. They both were so enthusiastic, caring and in
a word ¨willing¨. They had similar ways
of being. Tomas was the kind of young
man a grandmother would want her granddaughter to marry. And Ruby was the perfect dog for a retired
English teacher.
The day they all met, the old retired teacher
knew immediately that Tomas was filled with anything but nonsense. She saw something special in him right
away. Maybe it was his quick smile, or
special nod of the head. Or his obvious
interest in his surroundings, and, of course, in Ruby.
Tomas
noticed right away that the lady was not very practical. Although she was down to earth, she had a
flare of something that goes beyond, a person who believed in miracles and
lived life each day like a miracle in process, never complaining and always
with a positive attitude. She was a
leftover from the late ´60s and the ´70s, although her life was not perfect she
had learned the wisdom to care for her health and Spirit. She was married to a good man, but with a
very bold character. She survived by
secretly adding Quinoa seeds and spirulina to his food without him ever finding
out. She prepared homemade V8 juice, and
other healthy foods and drinks. Tomas
learned to ingest these foods also. And
laughed at the thought of the ¨Grouch¨, as Tomas called her husband, eating
healthy foods sometimes without knowing about it!
Ruby and
the Old Lady were two of a kind, like two old torn and battered shoes that fit
perfectly and kept the feet from hurting after long walks. You certainly
wouldn´t toss them out! Tomas noticed
that Ruby bounced about like a ballet dancer and the Old Lady seemed like the scenery
in a musical comedy. The two forces (or
shall we say three forces) were joined together that early morning eight days
before Spring in a way that would affect all of their surroundings and impulse
a kind of change that inspired everyone around them. The neighbors paid more attention to these
three than to the problems of the day.
The
neighbors observed the relationship between this odd triangle and began to want
to take part in the activities. The
ancient knowledge of the inhabitants was revived from everyday life. Antonia said, ¨You have to grasp onto what is
in front of you because then it passes and you can´t pass it by all over
again¨. Lito, a handclapped neighbor commented,
¨You must only give the needed attention to situations, not too much or too
little¨. They were the kind of
euphemisms that Shakespeare or Cervantes built their writings on, everyday
words from everyday people.
Ruby was
especially happy about the union because she got all sorts of treats and
affection from both Tomas and the Old Lady.
Everybody seemed to be nicer to her and in a better mood since they met
Tomas. It was like a contagious disease
that spread, or a fire out of control, but positive.
The problem
was the government. Besides all of the
happiness of these three beings, there was uncertainty and preoccupation
amongst all of the neighbors. Nobody
knew how much bread or something as basic as milk would cost each day. The price of gas and electricity soared. People talked only of the robberies,
extortions, kidnappings, and criminal dealings all around them. Corruption filled the news. Millions of bills seemed to float from one
agent to the next, from bank to shinning bank, but went everywhere except to
the true needs of the vicinity. Corpses
seemed to show up in the most unlikely places.
Yet Ruby
happily ate delicious homemade meals each day and Tomas too because he began to
visit the retired Old Lady where he practiced English and paid attention to her
like no one else had. He appreciated her
skills in cooking and discovered she wrote poetry. Tomas was totally amazed at the number of
ex-students the lady had. She called
them, ¨my ex´s and re-ex´s¨ because many were the children of the students,
like Matias, Jeremy and Esteban. As the
years had gone by, she would get together with many of them and sing songs in
English from the 70´s and 80´s, and at times even from the ´50s and 60´s. Later on, Tomas learned all the hits by
heart. He also learned the favorites in
Spanish and even Italian because the older students shared their knowledge of
the best tunes.
Tomas loved
her tails, which she told to him about her youth when she had travelled around
the World. He learned about different
cultures and about geography. In her
relationship with Tomas she found purpose in life, to inspire young people to a
healthy life and a higher purpose. Tomas
was an easy candidate. He had ¨Star
Quality¨. He lacked someone to help him
develop it and encourage him, and she could do that.
Actually,
what Tomas had mostly was a beautiful singing voice and a love for music. One day, he stood outside her door and heard
her singing an old song from Frank Sinatra called, ¨Somethin´ Stupid,
originally sung and written by Carson Parks.
He heard her sing, ¨I practice every day to find some clever lines to
say to make the meaning come through ¨…
Tomas realized something. The Old retired Lady was oblivious to all the
problems around her. She only saw what
was before her and Ruby, Himself, (Tomas). The need to serve them and care for them was
all she thought about, except, of course, the songs in her head. So she practiced every day at what she knew
best; how to cook up a good healthy meal and how to make words turn into
poetry. The rest was obvious. It all must be shared and turned into music.
The old
retired Lady had no desire to go public.
She realized that was something Tomas was more prepared for. So she taught him the necessary skills he
would need, but in a pleasant way without pressuring him. She knew all the tricks because she had spent
her life reading and studying, contemplating everything. As time passed, Tomas realized that the Old Lady´s activities actually helped her deal with life and made life meaningful.
She taught
him many, many things, and also to make pancakes and homemade bread.
Something he would always be grateful for, especially later in life when
he became a famous singer and shared his homemade pizza with his precious wife,
who in fact just happened to be the Old retired Lady´s granddaughter!
By: Karla
