VODKA Time

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'Andrew Wyeth A Story of the Olson House' Collection of Marunuma Art Park

The music used for the slides was

octaviosantos
Cellos Chill out
SoundCloud

As the end of the exhibition period approached, I finally felt like making the long trip to Yamazaki, Kyoto.
The sunny and mild weather also encouraged my desire to visit Yamazaki, Kyoto.

As I exited the ticket gate of JR Yamazaki Station, I saw a lively group of people. There were five or six women, all older than me.
They said, “It looks like the car just left, so let's take two taxis.
They said, “There's only one, but we'll go ahead and wait for you.”
I wondered if they were also going to the Andrew Wyeth exhibition. I wondered as I walked up the hill to the Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art. Even if they were, they would not come with me because they were going up by car. With that in mind,  I walked relatively slowly.
The small museum was crowded even on a weekday, and there was a short line at the entrance. The lively group I had feared was right next to me, and I could hear them inside the museum as well. There is, of course, a sign warning people not to talk in private. ......
I wondered where the story of the Olson House, where Christina and Alvaro lived, and this bustling group of people would connect. My displeasure grew. In front of the Chichuukan, the collection exhibit, Monet's Waterlilies, and a notice board with the artist's biography, the chatter only stopped when the security guard warned them to shut up.

I considered leaving the museum immediately, but decided to order a glass of vodka with orange rings, which Andrew Wyeth used to drink before dinner. As it was lunchtime, I had to wait my turn  in the cafe, and when asked if I would mind waiting a while, I had to nod my head.
Finally it was my turn and I was shown to my seat. Without even looking at the menu, I ordered a vodka and added cheese as a snack.
The vodka didn't come out very quickly, probably because the place was so crowded. When the vodka was finally served, I was told that the seating was limited to one hour. The alcohol content was high and there was a limit of only one drink per person. There was no way I could stay that long.
I took a sip. It doesn't look like an alcoholic drink.It is orange juice itself. I regretted that I didn't need the cheese.
But as I took a few sips, the voices around me became mere sounds.
The voices that had been so unpleasant just drifted away as meaningless, irrelevant sounds.
The beauty of the autumn leaves at their peak. The blue of the sky. I noticed the silence of the museum grounds.
I felt happy, as if I had lied to myself.

Whenever you have a bad day at work," she said, "have a drink on the way home. You are the kind of person who feels better after a drink. Don't bring the bad feelings from work home with you.
When was it that time my wife said this to me?
As she said, I stopped by once every two days to have a drink and go home. Two glasses of sake. Two appetizers. Three to forty minutes. And when I got home, I drank sake and ate what I was served as usual.
This went on until I retired.
During the time I was stopping at the standing bars my wife was probably in the kitchen reading a paperback book and drinking sake without eating anything. I am sure she was a stronger drinker than I was, but if she drank to the point of physical deterioration, that was the only time I could think of.
It was more than 10 years ago that she left a note saying she had to call an ambulance and be taken to hospital when I returned home after my usual stop.
I remember rushing to the hospital and being told by her doctor that there was a lot wrong with her. After that hospitalisation my wife stopped drinking. She couldn't drink anymore.

I wonder if she would still be alive today if I had been a person who didn't have to stop and go to bars to refresh myself.

会期終了が迫まり、京都山崎まで漸く足を延ばす気持ちになった。
良く晴れた穏やかな日差しだったことも、その気持ちを後押しした。

JR山崎駅の改札を出ると、ひと際賑やかな集団がいた。私よりも年配の女性、５～６人ばかり。
「送迎の車、今行ったばかりみたいだから、タクシー２台で行きましょう」
「１台しかいないけど、私たちが先に行って待ってるから」
この人たちも、アンドリュー・ワイエス展へ行くのだろうか。そう案じながら、大山崎山荘美術館への坂道を上っていった。仮に、そうだったとしても、車で上がるのだから一緒にはならないだろう。そう念じて、比較的ゆっくり目に歩いていった。
小さな美術館は平日ながらも混んでいて、入り口には少しばかりの列が出来ていた。恐れていた賑やかな集団は、すぐそば、館内でも、その声を聞くことになった。無論、私語はお控えくださいとの注意書きはあるのだが。……
クリスティーナやアルヴァロの暮らしたオルソン・ハウスの物語と、この賑やかな集団は、どこで通じ合うのだろうかと訝しむ。不愉快な気分が募った。コレクション展示の地中館、モネの睡蓮、画家の略歴を記した掲示物の前で、警備員に注意されてはいたが、お喋りが止まるのは、その時だけだった。

そのまま美術館を出ることも考えたが、アンドリュー・ワイエスが夕食前に飲んでいたというオレンジの輪切り入りウォッカを注文してみることにした。喫茶室は昼時ということもあり、順番待ちで、暫く待っていただいても構いませんかという問いに、頷くしかなかった。
漸く順番が来て席に案内される。メニューを見るまでもなく、ウォッカを頼み、摘まみとしてチーズを追加した。
混みあっている所為か、ウォッカはなかなか出てこない。漸く供された際、座席は一時間以内でお願いしますとのこと。アルコール度数が高く、一人一杯だけという制限つき。そんなに長居が出来るはずがない。
一口飲んでみる。アルコールドリンクとは思えない。オレンジジュースそのもの。チーズは必要なかったと後悔する。
しかし、何口か飲む内に、周りの声が単なる音に変わっていった。
あれだけ不愉快だった話し声は、意味の無い無関係な音として、ただ流れていった。
今を盛りの紅葉の美しさ。空の青さ。美術館の敷地内の静けさに気付いた。
ウソのように幸せな心地になった。

「仕事でイヤなことがあったときは、帰りに軽く飲んできて。飲めば気持ちの良くなる人なんだから。仕事のイヤな気分を持ち帰らないで。」
妻にそう言われたのは、いつだったか。
私は、その言葉通り、二日に一度、寄り道して飲んで帰った。日本酒を２杯。アテを２品。時間は３～４０分。そして、帰宅後は、普段どおりに酒を飲み、出されたものを食べていた。
それが退職まで続いていた。
私が角打ちの店に寄り道している時間、妻は多分、台所で文庫本を読み、何も食べずに酒だけ飲んでいたのだろうか。私よりも酒が強かったことは確かだが、身体を悪くするほど飲んでいたとしたら、その時間しか考えられない。
いつもどおり寄り道して帰ったら、救急車を呼んで入院することになったというメモが残されていたのは、もう10年以上も前。
慌てて病院へ駆けつけ、主治医から悪いところだらけだと言われたのを思い出す。その入院を境にして妻は酒を飲まなくなった。飲めなくなった。

私が寄り道して、飲み屋で気分転換などしないですむ人間だったなら、妻は今も生きていたのだろうか。