I was up early this morning, making a trip to Costco to stock up. I got in and out pretty quickly, with just a couple delays. It was a relief, since now I can dedicate the rest of the day to doing things I want to do.
After leaving the store, I was heading west on Cypress Lake Drive when my lucky song came on the radio (60s Gold): "Daydream Believer." I immediately got tears of joy in my eyes, realizing I had not heard this song on the radio in a very long time. It felt like a small miracle in the midst of everything that has happened.
I thought about how yesterday was the one month anniversary of the devastating hurricane, and three months since the death of my stepson. I thought about how Jim spent a great deal of the night in the bathroom, the radiation causing him to struggle. I couldn't help but feel like Davy and the boys were sending me a signal: happiness is right now. And I was feeling it!
I turned onto Summerlin and noticed street signs lying on the corner, downed trees, and other hurricane remnants. I was still listening to "Daydream Believer" but my thoughts were not as carefree and happy. It seemed hard to hold on to that happy feeling --here and gone.
When I reached Gladiolus Drive, a police car was in the intersection with blinking lights A long caravan of police vehicles from the east coast, including a boat, went through the intersection. I started to feel again the depth of our community in crisis. We are far from done with any of this, and trying to hold on to any good feeling is short-lived.
Then, another small miracle occurred. "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James and the Shondells came on. I was taken back to the summer I was entering high school, and how the song felt rather mystical and odd, especially in light of previous songs by the band. It has always been my favorite.
I thought of how "Daydream Believer" came out in 1967 when I was a 7th grader, and that by the time "Crystal Blue" came out, I was fourteen. Just in those two years, so much change can happen within a person, within the music, within our culture.
Today I believe these songs were brought to me for a clear reason. "Daydream" was to remind me that good times are always with us, no matter what. We need to be in the moment, as I was when the song came on. "Crystal" to remind me that sometimes we have to do the work to keep the belief. It isn't automatic. It will take faith and surrender and determination of spirit.
Beyond that, there is more. I was highly influenced by events in the late 1960s--the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of MLK and RFK, and the music that seemed to be signaling a new day, a new era was at hand. This seems to be another time, as in the past, when the values and hopes I had as a young person rises in me once again. That is probably the real message of "Crystal Blue Persuasion" for me today:
As someone who works with children 12-14 years old, who have had to deal with a worldwide pandemic and this crushing act of nature, I wonder what feelings they will be hearkening back to when they are 25, 38, 44, or 67? What will they see when they look back at this time of their lives?
I pray, for their sake, that there will be light.
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