Vith walks in; George is lying on the sofa. With the light on.
Vith: Why aren't you at work?
George: Just so much to be done.
Vith: [observing stack of unopened magazines and letters on floor] Some of these look like they could do with a lookover.
George: Weather. Can't face them. Need to sleep.
Vith: So it's a dull day. The toast burned. Get over it.
George: You go. I'll just...
Vith: Tell you what. Let me put the letters into piles. Urgent, non-urgent, throw.
George: That'd be nice.
________
Voice-over
Much of the sense of resignation is in body language. Some of it is in falling intonations at the end of declarations. An air of giving up pervades the conversational atmosphere. Negative comments prevail. There is no sense of what can be done, only what can't be done.
How to answer? Remonstrations or coercive comments like "Get over it" produce no effect. So subtly suggest something positive. Don't offer to help with comments like "Shall I...?". Take control of something needing attention. Gentle management. "Tell you what. Let me..."
...
1 comment:
"So what is Lord Barrymore doing in Uruguay?" asked Rodrigo Fresan, glaring down from his perch in Buenos Aires. "Last time I saw such a sight I was peering down at the man I'd just barreled into in the street – horrified in the realization that it was my father's dear friend, Borges, lying there with his cane across his chest and as close as a blind man can get to a look of horror on his face. I don't remember helping him to get up... in fact I'm sure I didn't do so."
Lord Barrymore, the plutocratic peripateterie is impressive. A Uruguayan mama funding this peregrinaje?
As ever, your humble and obed't servant, sir,
Rolenzo di Moncici
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