Herve Mommeja-Marin, 2013

A long conversation with my new, Russian (first time for everything, obviously) friend, Anya, set me off to thinking about difficult subjects I usually avoid (even with myself) nowadays.

A comment of hers reminded me of this portrait, one of the many I did of Herve/the household over the years. Those were, indeed, lovely years.

As I recall, I played this song for him on our second night together (which immediately followed our first night together and went on for approximately 4,386 nights after that). Twelve years will do that to you.

Still?…..this was the song for that second night. He was oddly shy/reticent, given that he was unavoidably more experienced and far more worldly than I was. Isn’t this the sweetest song (and, yes, I told Herve on that night I’d already been in love with Jennifer Warnes for at least twenty years) Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuXkkbrIsqk

“One summer night you light a lantern

You catch a tiny firefly in a jar

Set her dancing on the mantle

Like a piece of star

See how the boy lays low

He wants the shiver in the wind

See him hiding in the willow

Playing with lightning

You don’t know me

I don’t know you

And the summer’s come again

My oh my, the sparks are flyin’

All over Lousianne

There’s lots of fishes in the sea

I swear I’m gonna catch one in my hand

Make him dance for me

In the fryin’ pan

You don’t know me

I don’t know you

And the summer’s come again

My oh my, the fish are flyin’

All over Lousianne

In your eyes there’s a light

It comes and it goes without a sound

If I hold on tight

It’s gonna burn me to the ground

You don’t know me

I don’t know you

And the summer’s come again

My oh my, the sparks are flyin’

All over Lousianne……..

Our lives go by like sparks a’ flyin’…..

All over Lousianne