Magical Moment 239, "The Perfect Soundtrack"

I don’t think I would survive the bus and train rides in and out of the New York City without my iPod. I got it free with my new computer and Eddie engraved the words, “Gonna take a Sentimental Journey” on the back, lyrics to my all time favorite song. Music makes the sudden stops, rude passengers, and overpowering scent of BO just a little more bearable. Today I put the headphones in my ears, selected “shuffle” for my 8-kilobytes of music, and absorbed the sites around me, noticing how they correlated in perfect synch to the music that only I could hear. Like the soundtrack to a movie.

You won’t believe me, but the song that played as Bus 163 drove through the Lincoln Tunnel (connecting NJ to NYC), was “Back to Manhattan” by Norah Jones. I listened to her gentle voice as I stared out the smudged window at the beige tiles of the tunnel, reflecting the glare of the fluorescent headlights as cars made their way to and from the city. On the subway, I heard my ancient recording of “Rock-a-bye Ethan” I made years ago for my baby nephew. I would normally skip this song, but I let it play when I noticed a mother come through the sliding subway doors pushing a toddler in a stroller, and carrying an infant wrapped in a swaddler, which she steadied with her free hand as she struggled over the threshold between the platform and subway car.

As I walked a few city blocks in the Lower East Side, I heard the most perfect song. Though it was dreary and raining, hundreds of people swarmed the sidewalks with their umbrellas. We bumped shoulders with one another, flooded the crosswalks despite the “don’t walk” signal, and made a beeline for our destinations. I heard a line from “I Died So I Could Haunt You” by Stars. I thought about how so many of us daily make our way through this world, filling our lives with what we believe is significant. The song was so fitting, I felt as though a ghost whispered the lyric right into my ear, “Thousands of ghosts in the daylight, one day we’ll all disappear. We’ll walk till we get to the harbor. They’ll never know we were here."

Comments

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

Search This Blog