Outbound from Stapleton to Lake City, the train follows the Rushing River valley past the orchards of Washington County, now groaning with fruit. Mr. Smith dons his headphones, touches "Music" on his iPad and selects Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Gotterdammerung, the last opera in Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen.
At Old Ivy, Mr. Smith attended Herr Pfaltzgraff's seminar on the Ring Cycle. Proficiency in German is not a prerequisite to attend the seminar, but students lacking this skill are unlikely to succeed, as Herr Pfaltzgraff speaks no English. His exams in German History, Literature and Culture are notoriously difficult but immensely rewarding, as the successful student develops a deep understanding of the civilization that gave us Goethe, Schlegel, Brahms and Goebbels.
Daydreaming, Mr. Smith ponders how old Pfaltzgraff is doing. The man is a character, you have to hand him that. Resident Master of the East Quad, he shares his passion for Wagner with the Old Ivy community by pointing the speakers of his high-performance audio system into the Quad and playing excerpts from the Ring at two hundred decibels.
Clickety-clack, clickety clack, clickety clack. The train passes over a switch with a slight lurch, and Mr. Smith holds tight to his coffee so it won't spill.
Thinking again about Old Ivy, Mr. Smith reflects on Roderick's pending departure for school. He feels proud to have such a son. It seems like yesterday that Roderick was a wee lad, toddling about, playing with young Molly Bloom in the garden with the watering can. Molly would lay naked on the grass, Roderick would sprinkle her with the watering can, Molly would squeeze her eyes shut, and then they would laugh and laugh. Mr. Smith remembers that later that day they brought Knuckles the puppy home for the first time. Roderick hugged Knuckles and Molly, still sans clothing tried to hug him but Knuckles ran away.
Back to Pfaltzgraff. Such an interesting Resident Master. And an awesome collection of Nazi memorabilia.
