Corporals, Sargent and Grandmothers


He liked to have others do his thinking for him, felt secure when obeying orders, how he rejoiced when on parade, as they marched on time, his companions of arms in perfect and synchronized order, never stepping ahead of them, and much less, falling behind, carrying the waving flag on his shoulder with pride…          (Tombstone of the unknown corporal)


Bandera mexicana Londres. UK
Mexican flag
London streets, London, UK

“I hope not to be boring you to death. If not, allow me to explain the enormous number of small, tiny, useless, but regrettably, unavoidable, details to be observed, and attended to, while preparing my grandfather’s morning, daily, and most dull, tasteless, breakfast. I doubt that in all mankind’s history there has ever been a creature as picky, as fussy and so thoroughly fastidious as my grandfather, Sir John Henry.”

La bandera inglesa Calles de Nightsbridge , UK
The British Flag
Nightsbridge streets , UK

Happily laughing, Alicia answered in an excellent mood:

“Bore me, Sir John? Quite the opposite. Today has happened to be a most memorable day. It’s been years since I’ve had such a good time.”

“Well, if sharing a few cups of tea with this old geezer has turned out to be one of the most memorable times in your life. I must thank you, indeed, for such an undeserved honor, but you make me wonder on the extreme monotony of the life you have led,” he answered, delighted by her pleasant company.

La plazuela Calles de Nightsbridge , UK
The plaza
Nightsbridge streets , UK

“The daily rituals, my grandparents followed, required absolute exactitude and precise timing, for grandfather could not, and did not, tolerate any deviation whatsoever from his constraining instructions. And what had been established by him was rigorously pursued by my grandmother. She, silent as always, was a consummated artist of the repetitious and recurrent arts of the daily kitchen routines.”
“Grandmother excelled in following orders in an exact, accurate and punctual way. I must say that she could have been an excellent corporal or maybe even a sergeant. For, you see, she had no capacity for spontaneity, much the less for creativity, and lacked any possible traces of originality.”

Banderas Calles de Nightsbridge , UK
Flags
Nightsbridge streets , UK

 

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   ©  All photos by edudelcorral


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