Love – Where’s Fran?

From Retreat to Recovery: A Week in the Hospital

I must have fallen hard when I arose from bed on Monday morning, Sept 30. We could blame it on the wet surface (as I do), or harbor the suspicion that this was a cardiac arrest (as the doctors seemed to believe). In any case, I found myself sprawled on the floor for the next six hours. I just didn’t have the muscle strength to lift myself back on the bed, nor could I reach my cell phone as time passed and the calls increased. Finally, someone opened the door, gasped at the sight of the old priest on the floor, and called the ambulance.

That’s the title of a haunting melody from Stephen Sondheim’s 1973 musical “A Little Night Music.” It was a big song in its day, with some 500 versions including those by Judy Collins, Frank Sinatra, and Barbra Streisand. It’s the sardonic reflection of a woman who realizes that she and her boyfriend will never find a happy life together.

Francis X. Hezel, SJ, is a Jesuit priest who has lived and worked in Micronesia since 1963. At different times he has served as high school teacher, school administrator, pastor, and regional superior to the Jesuits of Micronesia. He spent thirty years directing the Micronesian Seminar, a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Pohnpei, Micronesia.

He has written and spoken widely about social change and its impact on island societies. He has also written several books on Micronesian history, including The First Taint of Civilization, Strangers in Their Own Land, and The New Shape of Old Island Cultures. His most recent book, Making Sense of Micronesia: The Logic of Pacific Island Culture, is available through University of Hawaii Press.

Category - Love

From Retreat to Recovery: A Week in the Hospital

Send In the Clowns