Above the clouds

This is a look at a life and a relationship. That's all I can really say....

One

It was her wedding day, and she looked off into the clouds. She had waited all her life for this day. She had been planning every detail from the time she was twelve. She had crammed notebooks full of sketches for dresses she would show off to her grandmother on weekends. Now that the day was here, however, she couldn't help but feel a part of her was going away forever.

As she peered upward, she could make out a great, pillowy castle. Its tall towers were cotton, its flags were silk, and its long ornate windows were filled with divine light. She could also see a gigantic turtle. Its shell was more box than dome and it had a neck like a dinosaur. The turtle made her giggle. It was a peculiar sight and took her mind off an uncertain future. She felt a warm arm wrap around her cold shoulder. “Honey, what are you doing,” the man asked.

Honor Choir

I recently heard a Beatles song. Whenever I think of the Beatles, I think of my elementary school honor choir....

I was nine-years-old before I was ever formally introduced to the Beatles. Of course I had seen footage of them on television and heard a few of their songs in different places, but I associated these images and melodies more with a distant time I had never known than with one of the world's most well-known and influential bands.

My elementary school music teacher, Ms. B, however, tried her best to instill in her students an appreciation of her favorite band. We spent weeks learning the history of the band, its songs, and its respective members. My favorite was Ringo, because he had the kind of a name you would give to a dog.

My class was forced to sing along with many of the band's greatest hits, but one in particular stands out to me, and for more than one reason. All Together Now was one of Ms. B's favorite songs to push upon the class. It is an ideal song to teach young children both for its echoing chorus and simple lyrics. Of the song's 249 words, 144 of them are “all,” “together,” or “now.” Twenty-two of the 105 remaining words are “bompa” and “bom.”

One day, after yet another round of bompa boms, Ms. B came to the class with some news. The school would be forming an “honor choir.” I wasn't sure what was going to be so honorable about this choir. No one seemed interested in Ms. B's offer, but the mandatory try-outs were to be held the next day.

I spent the entire evening thinking about the choir. How embarrassing would it be to sing in front of so many people? Singing in the shower was one thing. Anyone can sing in the shower. When you hear in the shower's closed acoustics, you could fancy yourself the world's greatest baritone. The cold and distant annex at my elementary school was a completely different scenario. That was a place where love for music went to die along with whatever other furry rodents had found their way in.