The sound track for this week was a series of graphic-novel sound effects: poke, thump, blast, wow! The poke was our second CoVid19 vaccination–hurray! We even got pins afterward that say “Victory within Our Reach.” They feel like the stickers available at polls on election day that say, “I Voted.” They proclaim the wearer a person who, for one shining moment, did the right thing. And they may encourage others in their efforts to do the same. For comic relief, the voice of our GPS slipped a cog and switched, it turned out, to Afrikans.
The thump came as I was waiting on the Parkway for a light to turn green. Mine was one of several cars so engaged; this was an entirely unremarkable moment until the thump of the car behind me rear-ending me. It wasn’t much of a thump, as thumps go, but any damage costs money and time. The other driver and I got out to assess the damage. There was none. Double hurray! No harm, no foul.
As we continued down the Parkway, the embarrassed other driver made very sure not to catch up with me, and I spent my time thinking about what happened to our daughter when someone thumped her while she waited for a light. The crash jolted her car into the intersection, hurting her and totaling her beloved Pontiac GTO. She’d been planning to keep mollycoddling that car until such time as it became eligible for classic car shows. And, of course, Pontiac is no more, so she can’t just buy another one. Her injuries have healed, praise be to God, but she still mourns that car.
The blast sound effect was winter charging back on to the scene, con brio. Yikes! My friends Sue and Tesla and I checked out another park, the Lloyd and Mabel Johnson Preserve, donated by friends to a land conservancy. The park has wetlands and woods and abuts a much larger, three-pond park owned by the township. But with snow flying and wind howling, we kept our visit brief. Even Tesla, who is a dog, seemed happy to get back to the car. The sun came out again this morning, and the wind has moderated; spring weather lies just ahead, I’m sure.
The wow portion of the program occurred more than once. For starters, there were the vultures, two of them, talking smack and showing off. I migrated from Central America, said one to the other, as they sailed the air currents over the plant nursery. Well, I migrated from South America, the other replied, and I’m not even tired. Oh, yeah? responded the first one, I bet you can’t do this! And then the first vulture slipped sideways under the power lines next to the road. Whereupon, the second one did the same thing! Slipped sideways under the power lines. Then they each did it again. Vultures are virtuosos of flying. Wow.
Speaking of marvels to behold, the amaryllis my sweet sister-in-law sent us for Christmas is blooming again for Easter, and this second blooming is even more spectacular than the first. The stalk and blossoms are bigger, and the flowers are the slightest bit fragrant. Their scent wafts on air currents as we move through the house, blending with the perfume of the lilies in the house for Easter. Even the shape and size of the flower trumpets coordinate well. Wow.
The wonder of it all brings to mind an Easter blessing that befell the University of Michigan Symphony Band in 1961. The band made a four-month tour of the USSR and Middle East as ambassadors of this country, the first group to venture past the Iron Curtain during the very cold Cold War. The tour was a privilege for the band, and it also felt distinctly risky. The audiences were invariably warm, bordering on wildly enthusiastic, but the government was what it was.
There were no churches, the winter was almost invariably cloudy, and—no matter how you looked at it—the band was a long, long way from home. As Easter approached, a number of the performers and staff, our dad among them, decided they would celebrate that most hallowed of days together. They gathered in a room in the relentless darkness and spoke and sang the words they needed to say and hear. And as they celebrated, the sun burst through the clouds, rays beaming down in radiant glory. Christ is arisen! Allelujah, allelujah!
Wow. Happy Easter.
9 April 2021