You are Never Too Old

I saw him walking alone along the parapet wall of the monastery.
An old man, with a bald head.
He could have been a reflection in a mirror.
He was singing in French, naturally happy in his own world.
'Che Sera Sera'
At two metres our eyes met and I followed singing the next line
'Whatever will be will be'
French or Australian we were both fans of Doris Day, it seems.
He beamed the most beautiful smile.
I gestured that I would like to photograph him but he declined.
He said something in French.
Nearby, Susan translated his words for me,
'No, I am too old'
I felt disappointed and a bit sad. You are never too old. In particular, you are never too old to be photographed.

Later, I saw my Frenchman looking reflectively towards a cross on the mountaintop from Montserrat.
My mind raced back to early 1958 when I faced one of the most important decisions of my life; whether to join the Marist Brothers as a religious brother. I had tossed and turned countless nights wrestling with the decision.

Eventually, it was meeting a girl that changed my mind. I decided I was never going to give up the loving someone real for something intangible.

There was my Frenchman, the Benedictine monk nurturing the boy and the cross on the clifftop. Then, a girl walked through my frame.
Whatever will be, will be.
Che Sera Sera