THE GREATEST SUMMER NOVEL EVER LIVED

 And so as another week winds down, my thoughts turn away from the  dreary news of the nation---a budget debate still at a standstill,  a mother accused of killing her child declared "not guilty" in the face of overwhelming evidence, wars still waging,  and various other non-inspiring stories being played out and woven into this summer of 2011.  The real news in one's life is also unwinding its film, frame by frame, often much more inspiring,  interesting, and sometimes far more complicated than found on the pages of paper and screens. The stories are lived in real time with stories of courage, valor, deep hurt, forgiveness, exquisite joy, heartbreaking sadness, quiet desperation, longing, loss, and sometimes discovery of new  friends, truths, secrets, and if not the meaning to life, at least a few clues along the way. We are here but for a brief moment in time--then gone, swept away---before we solved all the riddles, accomplished all our goals, righted our wrongs, climbed our mountains,  appreciated the magnificent drama, the infinite possibilities. or the beauiful, epic, grand, story of it all. The moments are the moutains, and the people along the way are the messengers, our teachers, our beloved journeymen----

A sun rises, another day---another chapter
A friend many miles away writes that she is recovering slowly from         
     heart surgery
A daughter writes wistfully that she and her family will be moving soon.
A son calls with the sound of lonliness in his voice.
A neighbor's husband emails with news of his very sick wife in the hospital.
A friend takes her dog for their daily walk while her husband who cannot speak waits for her return.
A man cares lovingly for his helpless, memory-less wife--and drinks that he
     may also forget
An elderly mom weeps because she is old and tired and lonely.
A daughter weeps for what lies ahead
A husband stoops and limps under the weight of years and injured knees.
A wife worries and remembers younger days.
A homeless man wanders through a grocery store, listless and lost
A military wife is notified that her husband is not coming home, ever.
An old friend touches base and brightens the cloudy day---

A summer knows, but it doesn't care--it has more stories to share

A summer storm floods the streets and rumbles the skies.
A train whistle warns through the traffic noise--"be aware"
A visit from relatives reminds of the ties that bind

A child visits her grandmother for the summer
A cherry tree blooms, then bursts with cherries to pick, to seed,  to bake
A picnic in the rain
A hike in the mountains

A garden flowing with flowers
A lawn freshly mowed
A gurgling fountain
A bee's buzz

A tennis match, a walk, a run in the sprinkler
A shutter thrown open to catch the evening breeze,
    and capture the morning rays.

A lost summer love
A found peace

A woman kneels
A prayer is whispered
    Thy will be done, but if there's any way---

A summer reminds
A forgotten known, our time in the sun is short.
    Seize the day, the moment, the joy of now

A time to live, to savor what's left,
   Cry for all that's gone, for all the sadness, the world's sins, and your own
    then take a sip from
    summer's frosty glass, breathe the fragrant air, listen to the music of the
     earth, set yourself free
     Laugh in the sun again, dance in the rain, hold someone's hand, and
    be happy, if just for a while

  A sun sets on yet another golden day, laden with grief, regrets, joy, hope, but
   always the promise of tomorrows yet to be lived--jewels of surprise hidden,
    perhaps to be found, perhaps not.

A train returns its whistle through the night--"you are not alone"
A  secret shines through the moonlit light--- ---it's all good.