All we ever do in our lives. All our hopes, dreams, and achievements. All that we have striven for, worked for, reached for, dreamed for. In the end, it leaves us with only memories, nothing more, nor less.
I went to the food bank today. Times and circumstances have dictated that I must sometimes humbly and gratefully accept the kind, freely offered assistance of my fellow man.
I'm what you might call quite a free spirited person. As I've, ahem, matured, I've grown to love people. I often do things for a reaction. I listen to music constantly, never through headphones, but usually through a custom made bluetooth speaker (a hobby) attached somewhere to my person streaming whatever music I think my feelings or the situation dictates. I think life should have a soundtrack & I"m very tech savvy.
Today I had chosen the Vince Guaraldi Trio (older readers will remember them for the fantastic soundtracks of the TV Charlie Brown specials. The strains of "Christmas Time is Here" [think "a Charlie Brown Christmas"] are wafting through the ever growing, incredibly diverse varied line of disadvantaged members of our society, choosing to stand in the chilly morning air, clutching the empty bags, boxes, totes, and bundles that they hoped to soon be filled with whatever others had not used nor wanted in order to feed themselves and their families.
quite a few seniors were in the line, shivering and jostling, trying to reach the church alcove, where warmth and the security of at least another day or two's meal's for the family may await. For now though, there is just the fog shrouded, Stalinist gray morning, nipping the fingers and noses as the line snakes back and forth across the silver frosted asphalt.
I had finally reached 'The Alcove'. I nearly felt a sense of accomplishment as I gazed at the now behind me, nearly forgotten crowd of faces that now peered, some a mite jealous, into the soon to be experienced veneer of warmth, friendlieness, humanity, and decency that many of us might know for a bit this season.
As I rubbed my hands against the fiery cold of the winter day, cruelly teasing us with her winter sunshine's empty promises of warmth , Vince Guardi's excellent jazz version of "Oh Taunenbaum ended, and the Linus and Lucy theme filled that glass alcove with jazz strains anyone under 40 (NO THIRTY!! I was corrected by an auburn haired mother of 3 who had been enjoying the time travel that my music had brought her over the better part of an hour we had held our part in "The Line", a now cobra-like formation that had tripled in length and breadth since my own musical arrival. I wondered if any of them had a speaker.
(sorry, old writers tend to ramble, then forget where we were in the first place. But that is the luxury of a life spent chasing experience. I do what I want, when I want, how I want. I dont' wait for things to happen, I MAKE them happen. the MS has awakened me. I experience life, in all it's fullness plus every day. I love my life and wouldn't trade it for a thing.
anyway, to make a long story boring,,, I couldn't help but notice a young, immigant looking mother pushing a small stroller silently up, barely edging, The Line with her humble, silent advance on The Alcove. In the stroller was a beautiful, healthy young baby, obvoiusly so well cared for, his mothers pride shown within and without him.
She paused as she had nearly reached the door of the Alcove, only to be delayed once again. she used her body as a shield to protect the well bundled tot against a shivering draft.
I stepped out of line, opened the door and told her "here, take my place in line.", surprised that no one else had offerred to help get the child out of the cold. My gesture had a ripple effect and I actually felt a tear in my eye as I witnessed people slightly jostle each other, then help one another out of the cold and into an hour of human fellowship I will never forget.
all the gold in the world couldn't have bought me this memory, as the vince guaradi's Charlie Brown theme faded into the incredibly, somehow slightly richer rare auburn fire that occasionally greets a Pacific Northwest sunny winter day. I sat back and thought how rich I am and how lucky I am to be able to truly enjoy life and take whatever comes with a grain of salt and a smile on my face.
Enjoy today, laugh, smile, dance where it's inappropriate, cause what else we got?
