Bide One’s Time: Christopher Isherwood & Lee Prosser in 1969
Christopher Isherwood was no stranger to the subject of ghosts. Looking back in time to the end of 1969, I remember our talks and a few walks together. I was soon to return to Missouri and be inducted into the Army to fight in the Vietnam War.
One day, I met Isherwood at Santa Monica, California. I recall mentioning, “This place has a lot of ghosts.”
Isherwood gave me one of his wry smiles, saying: “Yes, yes, Santa Monica and Santa Monica Canyon have their ghost stories.”
“Have you seen ghosts?”
Isherwood paused in his walk, and then stared out at the ocean. There was a hint of sadness in his tone when he replied: “I know about ghosts.” We started walking again, enjoying the scent of the clean ocean air coming across the beach below the cliff.
We strolled on, talked of other matters. It was a beautiful day for a walk at the park overlooking the ocean. There was a breeze with no name that seemed to follow our footsteps as we walked about. It was a good day for being down there on a visit in Santa Monica, California. What ghosts walked with us remained a secret lost in the passage of time.
