We know it's a suffering world. Even if we are not inhabitants of Iraq, Afghanistan, or one of X number of other trouble spots, many of us plod a somewhat weary way through this vale of tears, often forgetting to count our blessings. On a kind of pedestrian auto-pilot, we are, putting one foot in front of the other.
Yet, once in a while we are stopped dead in our tracks. By the human, which occasionally turns out to be the miraculous as well.
I was recently stopped in my railway tracks, as it were, shortly after embarking on a train journey to Melbourne from the Western District.
My place in the train was opposite a couple who were old, but did not know the meaning of the word 'ennui'. I'm old enough, Heaven knows, but John and Jane (not their real names) are much older.
I was immediately struck by a memory of the term 'irrational exuberance', which has been frequently used in these troubled times as a reference in economics. But John and Jane were incandescent with an exuberance which was irrational and, paradoxically, completely rational, at least to my way of thinking. For they had fallen unexpectedly, but completely and rapturously in love. At 81.
The journey of nearly three hours simply whizzed past. Usually, caught between idle interest and nostalgia, I gaze out the window at the familiar landscape. Not this time. And idle interest? Forget it. I was enthralled.
John and Jane had met at a senior citizens' club, they told me, and it had not really been love at first sight, but something that grew between them. Rapidly. 'Well, at our age you can't muck about, can you, so we're not; we're hoping for ten years.'
They were returning from a wonderful holiday, and to their separate abodes. Neither was relishing this thought, and they were trying to decide what to do next. Part of their exuberance was an irrepressible sense of humour. 'I'm quite happy to be caught,' announced John, 'but in the meantime I'm having fun running.' Jane grinned: 'So am I.'
The life stories were duly sketched. Both had been widowed for some time before they met. Significantly, both had had happy marriages, although very different ones. Jane's had been unusual for the time, as she and her husband had had separate interests, so that both travelled independently as well as together. John's long and