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- Denis Giles
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Ah! The awesome, exalting sound of a pipe organ as it fills a hall! What a magnificent, glorious sound! And what a majestic looking instrument; its flute-like pipes rising high into the roof and seemingly disappearing into the heavens!
Years ago as a youngster I joined a choir. The conductor, not too sure that puny skinny me could produce bass sound, asked me whether I was willing to press the pump to see that enough air filled the pipe organ so the organist could produce the sound. I readily agreed as all I wanted was to be somewhere near the singing. Maybe it was the same enthusiasm and zeal in working the pump that ultimately got me a place in the choir and not my voice! It was also my proximity to such lovely sounds produced by the instrument that has made me love the instrument, and thus this tale about another pipe organ:
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- Denis Giles
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We were a noisy group in the car driving to the famous Waitomo glow worm caves. The caves are located in the southern Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand, 12 km northwest of Te Kuiti. This cave is about 2 hours south of Auckland, 1 hour south of Hamilton, and 2 hours west of Rotorua by car. The directions to the Caves said, to exit State Highway 3 onto Waitomo Caves Road and to continue on the road for about 8 km. To we strangers in this foreign land, this was like Greek, since we were so used to asking directions when lost, but here there were no people, and so the car was filled with noise as we argued and debated all the routes till we found ourselves suddenly at the entrance of the caves.
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- Denis Giles
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I walked that morning in the garden I once walked so frequently in, my eyes glancing disapprovingly at the dirt on my shoes, realizing they needed to be cleaned. I saw spots where people had spat as they’d walked and shuddered in disgust and revulsion. A little farther I saw the gardener had left his watering pipe on the walking track, waiting for someone to trip and fall, and had even left a wet patch which I could have easily slipped on.
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- Denis Giles
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‘India lost more than 1.8 lakh students to suicides, of which the most were recorded in 2020, a year that had lesser examination pressure compared to any other year..’ Times of India
As I hear about children committing suicide I remember a talk I’d given to parents of a school down the road on how to bring up children. I had asked myself that time and I still do as to how I was selected to do justice to such serious a talk, and wonder whether it had anything to do with bringing up two daughters, who I have little doubt would laugh if they’d known their dad thought he’d become proficient in a subject they still considered me a dud at.
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- Denis Giles
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Was driving through Kentucky in the US, when suddenly my eye caught by miles and miles of stonewalls alongside the road.
“Built by slaves!” said my brother and I stared at the walls and then whispered, “Stop the car!” I got down and walked over to the stonewalls and stared at the flat stones placed roughly one on top of the other even as seemed to hear faintly through the ages; sounds of soft singing: Agonized, harrowing, painful, it pierced through my soul tearing me apart with the sadness the words and tunes carried!