Mr. Abraham had taught high school chemistry for nearly 15 years
in the small,rural town of Scituate , Rhode Island. In the springtime, when
the weather was getting milder-on a nice sunny day- it was his habit to
take an idyllic lunch break in a secluded area in the burgeoning New England
woods near the Scituate Reservoir.
" A beautiful sight as always ", he reflected on this fateful day. If
only he had youth again to enhance the pleasure; YOUTH was his growing
obsession nowadays.
With the sparkling, roaring, free flowing water fall in the background,
he remembered once swimming under it- illegally, of course -with a gang of
male and female friends one hot August afternoon more than 30 years ago.
" All beautiful bodies then. All decrepit now ?" he wondered at the
melancholy thought . He had an aesthetic appreciation of the male body as
well as the female. His son Isaac was indeed beautiful. So was his girl
friend Ruth. She reminded him of a young Liz Taylor. Suddenly last summer
he noticed how she had blossomed.
" August Heat " can make a man delirious, he reflected. Last night-
too much beer? - he had a very strange dream . By diving into this pristine
Reservoir water one late spring day, he had rejuvenated himself miraculously!
He possessed a skeptical intelligence, of course. He had specialized in
the chemistry of aging and concluded long ago that it was the inevitable
result of enzyme state entropy.
But his middle aged EGO rebelled against such a depressing restriction
of reality. He desperately wanted to be YOUNG again. He lusted after his
son Isaac 's girl friend ,Ruth.
When his colleague Julius, also middle aged, caught Mr. Abraham
- enthralled - reading a book on witchcraft by " Sybil ", a woman who
claimed to be the famous ancient Roman sorceress reincarnated, he
commented wistfully : " There has to be more to LIFE than just one form
of Matter in Motion ! "
Mr. Abraham finished his six pack of beer . " Perfect scene for
a Narragansett beer commercial", he said to himself.
He walked drunkedly toward the " pristine " waters and plunged
in, swimming around for just a minute or two, so cold was the springtime
water.
He drove back to his charming country home and encountered Isaac
and Ruth about to make love on the living room couch. They said " hello ",
a little embarrassed , but did not even notice his drenched clothes.
" Passion can blind you, he reflected . He went into the bathroom and
studied himself in the mirror. It was Isaac's young Adonis face that
looked back on him . He stripped himself naked and beheld " David ",
thrilled at the sight of his rejuvenated body.
" Sybil was right ! " he shouted . Then he heard Ruth's sweet voice
from the couch: " Are you Ok , Mr. Abraham ? "
Not responding, he quietly went into his bedroom, which was
separate from Rachel's, his wife. He stopped sleeping with her a year
back. He came out of his bedroom stark naked into the living room- with
the powerful magnum revolver in his right hand.
" I love you very much son but there is only room on God's earth
for one of us now ! " In a split second Isaac's face was a bloody
pulp of destroyed flesh.
A strong and virile man, Mr. Abraham overpowered Ruth and left her
moaning on the coach.
He returned to the Scituate High School looking exactly as he
did : a stark naked, middle aged MADMAN ! He was gunned down by a
state police sharp shooter just before entering his chemistry classroom.
Found in his briefcase : a very original work of research ," On the
chemistry of aging ".
Speaking anonymously to Providence Journal science writer, Gene Emery,
his old friend and colleague Julius said : " That paper is a masterpiece
of SCIENTIFIC reasoning. Abraham may yet win the Nobel Prize ! "
in the small,rural town of Scituate , Rhode Island. In the springtime, when
the weather was getting milder-on a nice sunny day- it was his habit to
take an idyllic lunch break in a secluded area in the burgeoning New England
woods near the Scituate Reservoir.
" A beautiful sight as always ", he reflected on this fateful day. If
only he had youth again to enhance the pleasure; YOUTH was his growing
obsession nowadays.
With the sparkling, roaring, free flowing water fall in the background,
he remembered once swimming under it- illegally, of course -with a gang of
male and female friends one hot August afternoon more than 30 years ago.
" All beautiful bodies then. All decrepit now ?" he wondered at the
melancholy thought . He had an aesthetic appreciation of the male body as
well as the female. His son Isaac was indeed beautiful. So was his girl
friend Ruth. She reminded him of a young Liz Taylor. Suddenly last summer
he noticed how she had blossomed.
" August Heat " can make a man delirious, he reflected. Last night-
too much beer? - he had a very strange dream . By diving into this pristine
Reservoir water one late spring day, he had rejuvenated himself miraculously!
He possessed a skeptical intelligence, of course. He had specialized in
the chemistry of aging and concluded long ago that it was the inevitable
result of enzyme state entropy.
But his middle aged EGO rebelled against such a depressing restriction
of reality. He desperately wanted to be YOUNG again. He lusted after his
son Isaac 's girl friend ,Ruth.
When his colleague Julius, also middle aged, caught Mr. Abraham
- enthralled - reading a book on witchcraft by " Sybil ", a woman who
claimed to be the famous ancient Roman sorceress reincarnated, he
commented wistfully : " There has to be more to LIFE than just one form
of Matter in Motion ! "
Mr. Abraham finished his six pack of beer . " Perfect scene for
a Narragansett beer commercial", he said to himself.
He walked drunkedly toward the " pristine " waters and plunged
in, swimming around for just a minute or two, so cold was the springtime
water.
He drove back to his charming country home and encountered Isaac
and Ruth about to make love on the living room couch. They said " hello ",
a little embarrassed , but did not even notice his drenched clothes.
" Passion can blind you, he reflected . He went into the bathroom and
studied himself in the mirror. It was Isaac's young Adonis face that
looked back on him . He stripped himself naked and beheld " David ",
thrilled at the sight of his rejuvenated body.
" Sybil was right ! " he shouted . Then he heard Ruth's sweet voice
from the couch: " Are you Ok , Mr. Abraham ? "
Not responding, he quietly went into his bedroom, which was
separate from Rachel's, his wife. He stopped sleeping with her a year
back. He came out of his bedroom stark naked into the living room- with
the powerful magnum revolver in his right hand.
" I love you very much son but there is only room on God's earth
for one of us now ! " In a split second Isaac's face was a bloody
pulp of destroyed flesh.
A strong and virile man, Mr. Abraham overpowered Ruth and left her
moaning on the coach.
He returned to the Scituate High School looking exactly as he
did : a stark naked, middle aged MADMAN ! He was gunned down by a
state police sharp shooter just before entering his chemistry classroom.
Found in his briefcase : a very original work of research ," On the
chemistry of aging ".
Speaking anonymously to Providence Journal science writer, Gene Emery,
his old friend and colleague Julius said : " That paper is a masterpiece
of SCIENTIFIC reasoning. Abraham may yet win the Nobel Prize ! "
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| Fountain of Youth ? Scituate Reservoir and " Rite of Spring " |
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