GOING TO SEE THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS [Sat, 6-14-25]

BEYOND WINTER: The Irrelevant Befuddlements of An Old Man—GOING TO SEE THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS [Sat, 6-14-25]

 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert should be named The Too Late Show, for that is what it is for us. Probably for most old people. But we tape it and watch some of it the next night during supper. I say “some of it,” because we rarely watch the “musical” guests, not just because we don’t know who they are, but because we like melodies and lyrics that are meaningful, as they were in our day, like “Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats,” or “R-A-G-G, M-O-P-P, RAGG-MOPP!”

We usually do watch the “actor” segment, though, when some actor who needs to plug a new movie or show, is the guest. That’s how we became aware of Dutch actress Katje Herbers, of whom we had never heard, who is in a TV series called Evil, Westworld, Manhattan, The Leftovers, none of which, of course, we have ever seen. We don’t intend to watch their new series, especially if it has a title like Evil, but we like to keep current about “popular culture,” in case we are ever on Jeopardy.

 

Ms. Herbers is older [31] than she appears. She is attractive and bubbly. If you don’t know a person, “bubbly” can be either creative or superficial. I’m still not sure about her. I do know, though, that she is now free of the ghosts who were giving her headaches.

First she told Colbert that she is “not spiritual,” but then she said she had suffered such terrible headaches that she couldn’t function. A friend told her she needed “to see the woman in the woods.” Well, you can imagine the reaction of a non-spiritual person to that! But she was so desperate, she went. The woman in the woods said, “You have 35 ghosts living in you. I’ll have to convince them to leave.” So, she did. She spoke to each one by name. “Dawn, you have to go,” etc. A couple of them refused and she had to be stern, but she eventually got the job done.

“My headaches disappeared,” Ms. Herbers said, “and I’ve not had any since.”

Colbert, who is openly Catholic, didn’t say it in words, but his expression said it all. “You went through that and still claim you aren’t spiritual?!”

Now, of course, there are explanations for that experience that can be called psychological instead of spiritual. But I’m beginning to think that the bubbliness of Ms. Herbers may be more superficial than creative.

You don’t have to be current to be relevant. My grandmother did not know who Buddy Holly or Bruce Springsteen were, but she was the most relevant woman I ever knew.

I am getting confused, and I’m not certain how to finish this. I’m not certain even why I started it. Something about there’s more to life than what we can understand…

Please be patient while I go see the woman in the woods.

 

John Robert McFarland