“Where it began… I can’t begin to know it…” So goes Neil Diamond in one of his better songs, “Sweet Caroline”. ‘Samatteroffact (well, isn’t this the way this phrase sounds when spit out?) I’m listening to it right now, as one of the 2800 songs I have in my I Tunes repertoire, which happens to be very eclectic. From jazz to pop/rock, going through the big bands and the not so big’uns. From Harry Chapin (an all time favorite) to Los Cinco Latinos, The Doors, The Who, The Drifters and The Platters; some “Norwegian Woods” by The Beatles followed by Mick Jagger’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”… and, of course, plenty of boleros and some salsa; not bad. I like to put the music on while I’m within listening range or when I’m writing, even if this strains this poor computer. Being from about three or four computer generations ago, it lacks the needed RAM memory to chew gum and walk at the same time. Hmmm… George Benson and “Summertime” just came on… GREAT MUSIC!!
Usually by the time the first paragraph is done, there is a recognizable thread to what is being written, whichever the direction it may be taking, already taking shape. Not so today. I’m not too sure as to the why of this, but my mind (don’t laugh, there is some of that still available) is stuck on Haiti and Chile, with the respective earthquakes and the incredible amount of damage done to these people(s).
Haiti I only know as “The Neighbor Island Country” to República Dominicana, a country where I have been many times and where good friends reside. I have no ties to Haiti and yet, when the destruction and the human desperation are witnessed there, it is an emotional tide that overwhelms you.
With Chile, it is a different story. Although it has been many years since I lived there, the good memories (there are also some not so good ones, but those are relegated now to the gray bin in the brain’s attic) are still with me and the people I came to know still live there. Even though I have not really maintained contact over the years, I know about them and their families –by now extended, I’m sure- their homes and their lives. How this could have been affected, is beyond my imagination.
My experiences with earthquakes, in Chile precisely, were reduced to very minor, almost daily little shakes. At the beginning, I remember being very upset while my coworkers laughed. I came to eventually understand that there is constant movement and push-pull fights within the plates that run the underside of the whole country. Only once every 20 or 30 years do these plates actually bite each other’s head off. Then… we would see what just happened over there. Before last week’s quake, the other big one was in 1960. Chileans are a hardy lot. Because of their history and the location of their country, right along the Pacific Rim Plates, they are clear about the fact that their lives will be touched by such a monster quake at least once in everyone’s lifetime, as well as being subjected to several smaller ones along the way; almost daily, as I came to know while there.
But when such a hit actually comes to pass, all hardiness and preparation go out the window (if there is a window left, that is). When all your possessions and your life’s history; when everything that means anything to you, not to mention the lives and limbs of your family and friends is destroyed, one wonders whether there is a meaning to get up and go on once again. I hope that is a conundrum I never have to face. Many loses I faced along the way, including Hurricane Andrew in Florida, as well as many other issues that were “personal hurricanes”, but never a major quake or tornado. I hope this innocence is never broken.
My prayers truly are with both these countries and their people; there is work to be done for years to come in both areas, perhaps in Haiti more than in Chile due to their lack of everything. Even before the earthquake.
On to other things. Decision time is coming to knock on my front personal door again. I won’t go into details at this time, but it looks like life changing decisions are pushing to be recognized and made. As much as I would like to, they refused to be ignored, so the underlying issues will be analyzed to the extent possible and, hopefully, this will be done without letting emotions interfere in the process. Not easy but it must be done.
I was re-reading my last posting and am not sure that the reason(s) for my not being accepted to Officer Candidate School were made clear. In retrospect, it is very clear and understandable now. But, as we all know, Monday morning quarterbacking is always easier. It was late 1966, the Cuban Crisis had just happened 4 years before and the relationship with The Soviet Block and its allies (including Cuba) were, at best, frost like. With the bulk of my family being there still (and today I can still say “still”) the feeling was I could be blackmailed or induced somehow to reveal “State Secrets” to someone on the other side. At least, that was the explanation given me by those who passed on the denial news. At the time, it was very disappointing. As years went by, the disappointment grew smaller and smaller until it actually disappeared.
After reading this potential posting, it jumps at me like a hodge-podge of non-related issues and perhaps not much of a post. In other times, this would have just been erased but, today is not other times. A blog like this is meant to reflect the mood of the writer and, even though this writer is usually “up”, there are times this is not true.
The weight of those decisions “lightly” mentioned before must be heavy in my mind, so I guess this will close for now and will be retaken another day.
Be Well… Back Soon
No comments:
Post a Comment