I have rambling thoughts running through my mind as I travel down Highway 93 in this grey early morning.
They are fragments of fleeting memories influenced and perhaps triggered by some soft rock music of the seventies and eighties that are flowing from my car radio.
Certain lines of these emotional songs are repeated over and over till they are drilled and etched into my brain. First there was “When A Man Loves A Woman” and that was followed by “Message In A Bottle”.
Well, most mornings here on the high desert are bright, blue and clear, especially so this time of year. And that is how it should be today as we are already at the end of March. Spring is in the air and the weather is turning nice and mild.
But today my world is grey.
So maybe that’s why I’m in this grey mood as I watch the cars and campers pass me by on their way up toward Ely.
Every driver and passenger traveling on this road, just like me, has his or her own destination, destiny and personal story.
And, like the music I’m listening to, I’m sure their experiences are special and may have to do with work, travel, friends and family.
I pull around and pass up an old brown Ford pickup truck. Farmers here, unlike big city folk, are in no great rush in their daily routines.
Off and on I receive waves from passersby; people and friends who recognize my car. And I’m sure that if I was stopped and broken down on the side of the road that they would not hesitate to pull over and offer me help.
So, dear reader, these are a few scribbled words and random thoughts which I may combine and send off to my editor to hopefully find their way eventually to you.
They seem somewhat similar to the theme of the song I’m listening to: “Message In A Bottle”.
These of course are regular day to day events, occurrences and experiences of ordinary people. A day in the life or a trip down the road, you could say.
Today’s morning news headline was of a massive 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar.
I’m sure that very many everyday ordinary people there had their lives suddenly shattered by this tragic and unfortunate event. I and I’m sure most everyone else feels for them.
The fears and concerns of the current tariffs are shaking up the world of commerce, trade and finance. Free trade and goodwill are being replaced by national competition and self-interest.
Earthquakes are not the only forces that shake the stability of our world.
And it seems, according to the media, that we are never far away from the edge of World War 3. Armed conflict and confrontation seem to never cease in certain corners of our world.
But day to day life continues here in a peaceful and ordinary manner. We thankfully appear to instinctively know that it’s best to be friendly and kind to our friends, families and neighbors. And we know that we most likely can expect the same in return from them.
If the majority of the world’s population is aware that diplomacy, peace and goodwill offer positive solutions to our turbulent world of conflict, and I imagine they are aware of this, then why does it still continue?
It looks to me like all of life’s forces want to live, survive and continue.
It seems to be our nature and purpose. So why then are we continually stuck with these self-destructive actions of war and hatred?
But what can I suggest as a solution other than to just smile, wave and offer to help a friend in need?
Later on, I ran across an old friend in town. She asked me, “Did you know that today is Jim’s funeral?” That’s when I thought, well this grey day is so fitting.
I picture that if these words of mine were to be sealed in a bottle, bobbing up and down while wandering with the waves of the ocean, then it might take many years for it to wash up on some distant shore. And if, hopefully, some bright, innocent child finds, opens and reads this message, then it would be my fond hope that the conversation goes as follows...
“Daddy, what’s war, hatred and self-destruction?
“Oh my. What you’ve got there, my child, is a written testament to our savage past. What a rare and special find. We should donate it to the museum of ancient civilizations.”
Dan is at danhughoconnor@gmail.com