Teardrops & Raindrops

"Hometown Glory"...Adele

Dunno why, but it is easy to drift off into daydreams while listening to music. I personally recommend songs by Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, Sara McClachan and Adele if you feel up to taking a mind trip, the melodies are soothing enough to permit your brain-cells idle away while your heart pumps at a pace sedate enough to permit your life beat at a lazy summer pace...

I'm an uncle again, Robyn was born on May 31st. Looking back, it feels surreal that a week has gone by since then. I still recall the smell of burning rubber as I sped down the NJ Turnpike with my sister in labor at the back seat. Tis funny how calm I felt, except for muttering and cursing (in words that would make a sailor blush) when we ran into traffic 60 miles away from the hospital, I bypassed that hiccup multiple times by driving on the shoulder and the sidewalk whenever I could. It kinda felt like an excerpt from the movie 'Speed', with Keanu Reeves telling Sandra Bullock that she had to keep the car running at 60mph at all costs. In my case, it was more like 100mph, and Sandra Bullock happened to be in advanced labor, so I didn't need any push. Pedal to metal, as for the cops, "catch me if you can" but this baby aint coming into the world in the back of a car!

Sometimes I'm more convinced that life is a dream. A few days ago just after the rain stopped, I noticed 2 rainbows in the sky. I remember thinking as a kid that the rain was as a result of the clouds shedding tears, then later I used to joke that it was probably the angels in heaven doing their laundry. Have you ever tasted raindrops? Little pearls of water dissolving on your tongue with no after taste, merging so quickly into your taste buds that your brain can't decipher if it was sweet, bitter or bland. Teardrops taste differently...

In the final seconds, when she realized that they were going to crash, a strange calm came over. Around her, she could hear the screams of panic and fear, a few seconds earlier she had been screaming too like everyone, calling on God as loudly as she could. Then she heard Him whisper to her softly, "It is time my child, I love you". The screams dried up, her eyes were wide open but surprisingly she couldn't see anyone or hear anything. Then the pictures floated by, her 1st birthday, her first day at school, her graduation from college, her friends, beautiful memories, the warm smile of her parents and siblings, her fiance...she realized she wasn't going to hold him again...she closed her eyes and a teardrop slowly ran down her face...she smiled, took a deep breath and walked into the light...

For those who've lost people, life sometimes grinds to a halt. Sometimes it never restarts for them. For the rest of us, we mourn for awhile and the sands of time turns the sharp pain into a dull ache till the memories starts to fade. We let go of the pain but the memories live on. Eventually we get swept away by the tides of our own lives that the memories of the past float by us like clouds, always hovering but barely noticed...Till a song, a smile, or a raindrop causes us to pause and look up...then we notice the rainbow in the sky. We smile sadly as the teardrops run down our faces merging with the raindrops, consoled by the knowledge that there is a life after death...

"Gone Baby Gone"...Asa