An Offer I Couldn't Refuse
Alone with the shore and the harbor,
the stems of the cocoanut trees,
the fronds of silence and hushed music,
we cried for the new revelation
and waited for miracles to rise
~Arna Bontemps (1902-1973), from
Reconnaissance
I key "godfather" into the search box on Google, and just as I feared, it brings up page after page about the Godfather Trilogy. Alas, lots of words about Sicily and Scorcese or Brando and Pacino, but not a word about the ancient tradition of the role of the godfather in a child's life.
Why am I searching the Internet like this?
It is because Nichel Anderson, Suite101's Reading Center Manager and Contributing Editor for Harlem Renaissance, has asked me to be a Godfather for her newborn child, Malachi, and I want to acquaint myself with some of the duties of a godparent.
In desperation, I enter "godfather traditions" into the search engine. I scroll down the page, and at last begin to see some sites worth noting. I find an interesting article on customs relating to godparents in Latvia, a country on the Baltic coast next to Lithuania and the Russian Republic.
From this site I learn that Latvians value godparents very highly, and in fact believe that children inherit the good qualities of their godparents. Thus, they choose people-often relatives-who they would like their children to emulate. Uh-oh on the good qualities: I start counting possible good character traits on my fingers. . . after touching two or three digits, must pause to reconsider this issue. .
Surely, there are some more "good qualities?" Idly, I wonder if the ability to imbibe three or four cappuccinos in a day without going ballistic is a "good quality" for Malachi to have. Oh well, Malachi, I suppose you will have to do with some meager journalistic skills, a propensity toward confusion from reading too many books and embarrassing tendency toward early baldness.
On the other hand, Malachi, I do hope to pass on to you my rugged good looks, glorious, dark beard and of course that dazzling smile and charming personality that so enchant the ladies. I suppose that I should mention in this regard that I hope my capacity for extreme prevarication does not pass down to you should this preternatural genetic phenomenon be true.
You will probably do well with yo-yo's if what the Latvians say is true. Truly, a defining moment of my childhood was the day I did fifteeen. . .count 'em. . .15 "around the worlds" with my trusty Duncan spinner with the three sparkly "diamonds" embedded on each red side. Unfortunately, that was the height of my childhood athletic achievements.
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