Standing on the Water

Why do we surround ourselves with houses and big cars
And try to make out we've got it made
When nothing really belongs to us we're only passing through
We're all a part of a masquerade

When we're standing in the water
Talking to the wall
Making so much matter that's of no matter at all (Andy Fairweather Low)

This past weekend, I was listening to NPR, sitting at home, sidelined by my doctor.

Across the airways came a voice that sounded so familiar. I could not channel surf. I wanted to know who it was. Which male singer was making me pause?

Dang. Richie Havens. A blast from the past, and not an Arctic blast, but more a warm summer breeze. What a voice.

The name of the CD is No one Left to Crown. Not new tunes, but some that are familiar and when re-recorded, take on new meanings.

Not just because over 35 years has passed, but because 35 years have passed.

Life has happened.

Life is still happening.

A struggle to keep in the present, not to wonder what might come next.

Living with someone younger is an adventure.

While I am divesting of stuff, she is gathering.

What leaves my closets goes nto hers. Round and around we go. I have to sneak things out to Goodwill and The Clothing Bank.

There are doubles and triples of so many utensils, pots and pans. Clutter to me, cookware to her.

Food not the same, sleep patterns not the same. Hard to believe that we are related.

This is cycle of life stuff. We come in with nothing and forget, walking store to store, that we leave with nothing.

Except a closet full of life's experiences.

Think of it, donating and recyling our experiences. Head to the local "Experience Bank" . Stock up on a cruise to Alaska, a marriage that lasts a lifetime, a parent that lives to 100, another college degree, president of the US.

Or, sit with the homeless, sick, or hungry. Be a single parent, a stepbrother or sister, or someone living with mental or physical illness.


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