Summertime And the Livin' Is Easy

I was walking up my street the other day and this sight suddenly caught my attention. It is not an unusual scene; I see it every day when I walk up to get my mail. For some reason it spoke to me and I went home to get my camera to preserve it on film. The white puffy clouds reminded me of my childhood when I would lie on my back and see how many shapes I could spot in the clouds. The dark undersides of the clouds told me that a storm was probably brewing up there in the atmosphere. Somehow, this all seemed to be a metaphor for my life.

When trouble comes it is usually unexpected like the dark clouds that will turn a sunny day into a rainy one. One thing I have learned in my 80+ years is that the sun will come out again and all will be well. As the current colloquial saying goes, you just have to 'hang in there.'

Another thought was prompted by the clouds. I reminisced about the innocence of youth when anything was possible. I was going to write the great American novel, or compose a symphony, or find the cure for a dread disease. I looked forward to a life yet to unfold. As I looked up at the beautiful sky my dreams did not have limitations. Life was a movie and the ending was still a mystery.

Now the movie has been viewed and I know the plot. I didn't write that novel or compose that symphony or find a cure for cancer. And yet, my life was full of unexpected twists and turns and some wonderful things happened along the way.

The innocence of youth faded along with the belief that all things were possible. I became jaded and cynical as I discovered that justice does not always triumph and that some very bad things happen on earth. And yet the earth survives and the sun does come out again.