“…Let your eyes transform what appears ordinary, commonplace, into what is a moment in time, an observed fragment of eternity.”
Philip Levine
While driving with a friend from the village of Nogaro to the village of Laujuzan in the Gers, we passed a church tower neither of us had ever noticed before. We pulled down the tree lined driveway to Estagnet and parked in front of the church.
An old man who was working in the garden, stopped and came up to us as we climbed out of the car. He introduced himself as Monsieur Roumat, the caretaker of the church and owner of property and the house next door.
He explained that he and his wife were busy taking care of their 50 hectare property, which goes slowly now that they’re in their 80’s, but he’d stop what he was doing to show us around the church and grounds if we were interested. We told him we were, indeed, interested.
As if on cue, his wife, Madame Roumat, appeared almost instantly, floating into her tennis shoes from the darkness of the house. She was very happy to receive guests and proudly showed us their new dog that she’d recently rescued from a poubelle (dumpster).
She asked if we wanted to see the inside of the house which dated from the 1700’s and hadn’t been touched in almost 60 years. We couldn’t resist, but I chose not to take photos. We respectfully followed them into the hallway, the ceilings of which were almost 30 feet high. Faded floral wallpaper hung from the walls and electrical wires hung down connecting lights in what appeared to be a temporary, haphazard, circus tent manner, though we knew they’d been that way for years.
Monsieur Roumat took the large iron key to the church door from its hiding place and let us in. He said the 2 Roman sarcophagi that rested in the small entryway were brought to the church from the village of Aire sur l”Adour, buy the then, local priest at the turn of the 18th century and have remained there ever since.
Detail of interior church column painting.
We spent over an hour visiting with Monsieur Roumat, while Madame Roumat worked in their flower and vegetable garden. He showed us the shed he built by himself and the lake which surrounds the property. He gave me two samples of an unusual ground cover plant he said liked to get its feet wet, when I mentioned I had a pond. We were shown the back wall of the church which has Roman stones at the base and is being held up by an old laurel hedge. On the west side of the driveway, tucked behind the barn, is a very small graveyard. Monsieur Roumat pointed out the graves of his grandparents and parents. He said he knows he’s only 20 meters away from being buried there himself one day soon, but seemed absolutely pragmatic about it. The Roumats were as sweet and proud as could be of their property. They are happy to show anyone who cares enough to stop, around. How could you not care? What appeared like an ordinary old church from the road turned out to an extraordinary afternoon.
