I’m fresh from my Music Theory class at the Poel school.  The teacher introduces concepts that feel beyond my awareness.  I stare at the white board, often lost.  I look at my classmates and sometimes they too shake their heads.  Plus for me the teaching is in a language that skirts around the edges of my knowing.

And all of that is okay.  I’m home in Gent.  I’m where I want to be.

After class, my fellow student Jan talks to me about ChatGPT, the AI site that will answer every question under the sun.  Jan suggests the app will help me with incomprehensible Dutch.

We were still in the classroom and Jan took a photo of a picture on the wall, showing two women.  Then he talked to ChatGPT: “Make up a story about these two people.”  Thirty seconds later … voilà!  A story of several paragraphs.  I was shocked.  Has technology really left me this far behind?!

And here’s the kicker: Jan asked ChatGPT to change the wording of the story as if William Shakespeare had written it …

Lo and behold, there appeared a new version, festooned with words such as “betwixt”, “o’er” and “mirthful”.  Huh?

I remain astounded.

***

Today also brought other wonders:

1.  As I sat in The Cobbler for breakfast, I watched my server Sévrine carefully choose little pieces of red currant, blueberry, apple, pineapple and grape for my little jar of wonders.  There was such care in her hands.

2.  I walked into Panos on Langemunt and said to Eric “I’d like to speak to someone more intelligent than me.”  To which he responded “Of course, how may I help you?” 

Yes!

That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear

3.  I waved and smiled at Paul from the street as he worked inside The Press Shop.  He did the same.  How simple and profound … “I see you.”

***

And so my day unfolds

Magical in the telling