Euphoric Moments

In review of one of my favorite movies Stealing Beauty, I am cast into the artistry of Bernardo Bertolucci. Not to discount the allure of Liv Tyler but I want to point to the projection given to us by Bertolucci and another favorite Federico Fellini. Such visionaries can bring us into their fantasies. Perhaps not a total gift from the Italians but they have an edge to expressions of beauty and desire. In this vortex I tend to reel back into moments that I have experienced. We cannot dwell in their imagination but reflect on our own.
Many trivial moments stay with us eternally. Other instances may transform our character for how we judge other such events. I have documented various lists but the following are significant whether trivial or transforming.

I was very young and impressionable while being part of a party of a Michigan fashioned New England Lobster Fest. We retired to the garden of our benefactor. In the party of beautiful people, a golden retriever and I played catch with a stick and I drew apart from the crowd. (transforming)
Again so young, a company business dinner found me and a bunch of coworkers surrounding three airline stewardesses at the bar. The loveliest looked to me and said, “Are you married?” I stuttered, “Who me?” Everyone laughed. (trivial)
Trapped in New Haven Connecticut on business for the weekend, after dinner and alone, a combo was playing a lovely song at the Motor Inn. I walked over to a table of where three had been. The most beautiful girl was left alone. I asked if she would like to dance. She said, “No. But would you like to sit down.” (transforming)
Bettina on the plane was a long conversation on a flight from Detroit to Frankfort. She sent me a bar of chocolate on the following Christmas but I could not distinguish the return address to send thanks. (trivial)
Idle conversation at the Copacabana Palace Hotel on my first day in Rio, a lovely Australian lady rose to leave. I asked if she would have dinner with me. She said, “I’ll pick you up at nine.” (trivial)
At sixteen, I stopped at Hollywood Market on Auburn Road to get some snacks for the road. As I rounded the aisle near the veggie counter a lovely goddess tending the lettuces met my glance. Both of us were awestruck but could not say a word. Heart pounding, I left with a coke and some chips. As I went to my car she was standing near the window – another glance and I returned to the store. Within her reach the manager came between us, she hung her head, so I walked away. I returned to that store when thoughts arose but never saw her again. (trivial)
On the first curve while riding a bus up a mountain road in Puerto Rico the driver avoided a collision with an out-of-control vehicle and we ended up in a ditch. They called for another bus but said we could walk and be picked up along the way. This was my first time in the tropics as a young sailor, of course, I chose to walk. The sight of such flora and fauna along the way stays with me today. (transforming)

Less preemptive events are first sightings: Taj Mahal, Chichen Itza, Borobador Java, Pyramids at Giza, Macho Pichu, Cristo in Rio, Statue of Liberty, Arlington National Cemetery, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach, Neuschwanstein, Stonehenge, Cape of Good Hope, Kilauea Volcano, Ganges River, Mount Etna, Rock of Gibraltar, Istanbul, Grand Canyon, The Forum, Opera House in Sydney, The Great Wall, Angkor Wat, Mount Fuji, Vatican in Rome, Niagara Falls, Hadrian’s Wall, my Buddhist Bell, Terra Cotta Warriors, Fatima in Portugal, Death Valley, Bali, Coptic Churches in Ethiopia, Temple of Diana in Ephesus Turkey, Kronborg Castle of Hamlet in Copenhagen, Serengeti Plains, Nelson Mandela, Dali Lama, Fez, Yosemite, White Cliffs of Dover, Mekong Delta, Mount Everest, Tour d’Eiffel, Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown NYC, Cape Hattarus hurricane, Tintagal, Auschwitz, Venice, (each transforming as a succession in attainment)