When I was little I really thought that I had it all figured out. I remember that I thought the barren mountains along I-10 were really sleeping dinosaurs and at any moment they would wake up from their fifty million year slumber and begin roaming the earth. Their tall necks stretching into the sky would surely touch the clouds.
I also thought that if you were listening to the radio and you turned it off mid song the same song would be playing when you turned the radio back on.
I believed that there were teeny tiny people that lived underneath the traffic lights at intersections and it was their job to change the light from green to yellow to red. When someone would push the crosswalk button it would send an alarm in the teeny tiny world and the teeny tiny people would know it was time to change the light.
And when I was seven and my Grandparents gave me a handful of silver dollars and fifty cent pieces from their weekend trip to Vegas. I remember opening my first bank account with my shiny money -- $7.50. I also remember being truly distraught when I made my first withdrawal. I was not given the same money back. I remember asking why I was given paper money when I had given the teller coins.
Somewhere along the way the innocence of my childhood and my thought process gave way to the wisdom of adulthood and life experience.
A constant has been a love of clouds. In my early twenties I had an opportunity to be amongst them. I was para sailing off the coast in Eleuthra. I remember gliding along and feeling the breeze as it gently swayed me into a Zen like state. It was so quiet and peaceful. 300 feet above the beach felt like it was the closest I could get to heaven while being on this plain of existence.
There was a time when I could easily identify all of the cloud types and know the subtle differences between cumulus and stratus. But there was also a time when I couldn't identify invasive from in situ and when I didn't know the toxicity of AC versus TC.
I had a good look at the clouds today. I paused to celebrate their magnificence and take great honor in being able to continue to gaze at them.
Ancora Imparo
Marla
2 comments:
Hi Zacks:
Thanks Marla for that nice piece of writing. I am a big fan of clouds too. Since becoming an adult I have fortunately had a few occasions of waking up and taking some time to notice them. It's amazing how such a simple pleasure can be so memorable. I remember one time I laid down on my back on a lawn while on vacation and was startled to realize it had been many years since I had last been in that position. As I watched the clouds flow across the sky and change from shape to shape I was saddened that I had let so much time pass but at the same time very happy that it hadn't been forever. Last summer I spent a few hours while camping watching the sky and marveling at clouds forming making rainbows and then disappearing in a special spot in the sky directly overhead. Clouds are like jewels, just rocks, very common but sometimes very special.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
Steve
Hi from Terrah too.
Marla...you are a wonderful poet...and a thoughtful observer, as well. Thanks for letting all of us have a peek into your world.
With love and admiration.
Marilyn, Fred and Betty
Post a Comment