Well, hasn’t THIS just been the most interesting couple of months?!!!
The Spring of Covid 19, when the world changed forever!
We have all read the books (WHEN THE ENGLISH FALL comes to my mind) of when society is faced with some enormous disaster…when the Mother finally decides she has had about ENOUGH and starts exterminating the ants in her jungle kitchen…the ants being US.
And to watch it all unfold from the peaceful shores of Cooper’s Beach, New Zealand, the most beautiful place in the world… was surreal.
Of course, this community, being retired Kiwis, are healthy, well-behaved, ruled by a BRILLIANT Prime Minister whose decrees they follow to the letter. When she says stay 6 feet away from EVERYBODY, including the people you have been having drinks with for two weeks, they obey!
So for three lovely weeks, as their summer turns to Fall, we watched the human race fall into whatever this next paradigm will be.
And EVERY one told us to STAY THERE. We are too old to come home to a hot zone. I tried! I swear I tried. But the call of pets and gardens and home was too strong. Besides which, had we stayed another day I would have gone out of my mind from homesickness, boredom, and carbohydrates.
(And the local liquor store had closed so there would be no Vodka, and that will NEVER do.)
For three days we tried to get out of town. Flights being cancelled last minute, no more flights to be had. We packed, we unpacked, we emptied the wine bottles, we bought more wine, we ate all the cheese and bread, we bought MORE cheese and bread.
Finally two incredibly dear friends transported us from 5 hours North to the Auckland airport. Richard drove us to Whangerie (with beloved pup Nigel snoring in the back seat next to me where I could find comfort in the act of petting something). Then lovely Bevan, son of dear, dear Hugh and Diane, who handed us pots of hand sanitizers and waved us away, drove us the next 21/2 hours to the airport on beautiful totally empty roads.
The airport was close to totally empty as well. We were EARLY, so they told us we had to sit on a bench outside for two hours before they would let us in to the terminal. I had to walk to the domestic terminal 15 minutes away, to pee… SOME exercise, thank God!
Then some kind Air New Zealand man let us in, and we wandered through this almost totally empty international airport till we found a wheelchair for G, the ONLY kiosk that was open with some juice and Cokes, and we sat for another 3 hours till it was time to board.
Seeing the entire crew in masks and gloves was a bit disturbing… or maybe reassuring.
To see the various ways people are choosing to protect themselves, from nothing to wrapping themselves entirely in plastic was a lesson in the variety of the human fashion sense.
(This is actually a shot from a market in Joshua Tree, but her sister in fashion was standing by the curb at the Auckland airport.
Wee made it home at last, arriving at a totally empty LAX, another surreal moment. We self-isolated for two weeks, waving at friends And now we seem to be germ free, as do all of our beloveds.
And what will the world become, I wonder? Kinder?… more divisive? …more aware of the POWERFUL fragility of our mother planet?…Stay tuned!
And here is a poem I wrote for the little girl I met staying at the house next door to us on the beach. Her name is Ruby Belle. Long many she wave!
RUBY BELLE
I MET A GIRL NAMED RUBY BELLE
UPON THE SILVER SAND
WITH GOLDEN CURLS UPON HER HEAD
A SEASHELL IN HER HAND
SHE LED ME TO THE WATER’S EDGE
TO WATCH THE WAVES AT PLAY
SHE THREW A KISS, UNFURLED HER WINGS
AND SOFTLY BLEW AWAY.
Thank you for the moment you just gave me. Peace, calm, Faith, love all much needed in these strange times. Writing to you in Quarantine in Santiago Chile
Blossings on thee, LuLu girl….and MoonBeams light thy way….
You will be long remembered through the songs you have written. How about sharing it with others who need.
I need your permission to use the melody of “The Rose” for the gospel lyrics that the Lord has given me in my dream so we can sing/play it in the church.
Thank you,
Eduardo
Love The forever.
I’ve always loved “The Rose” and now I’m planning having it sung at my funeral
I was born in 1941 and have just been reading all about you who wrote it
Thank you That song just says it all
I heard “The Rose” again this morning, this time by the King’s Men on YouTube, and once more was overwhelmed by admiration and gratitude. This time, though, I thought to look up who wrote this profound and beautiful song and came upon you. Pleased to meet you. I’m a few years your senior. Pussycat and I are getting along pretty well in these viral times here in Belfast, Maine.
Love your poem ‘Ruby Belle ‘
Love your songs
Glad you are safely home
I love your work, I always have. Your performance on a MASH episode made my day! You are perpetually pulchritudinous as well. Stay Healthy!
My Best…..
Larry
I have been a fan for more years than I will admit to! I first saw you at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Cinegrill in 1985 and have seen you many times since then. “The Rose” is my favorite song of all time. As I told you when we met after one of your shows, that song got me through losing a loved one to AIDS. I have since sung it in church on several occasions. I adore the new version you made with Vince Gill. I was so delighted to find your website. I love your comments about our Mother and the ants and am so glad you made it back safely from New Zealand. I am in Lubbock TX, which is one of the top 5 in rising cases in the US. Masks are our new best friends! Be well, and thank you for many years of enjoyment and feeding of my soul through your gifts. — TomB
THE CHILD IN ME Written by John Brennan and Stephanie Nelson Copyright 2010 (Chorus) If I could sing like the angels sing If I could play like the angels play Would the woman in me still long to see The child she used to be? I have lived a life of grown-up dreams And I have reached for the stars above I have stared at the moon alone in the night What happened to love? When I was young I had all the dreams Even if they didn’t come true I created a world and played all the games Like young girls do (Chorus) If I could sing like the angels sing If I could play like the angels play Would the woman in me still long to see The child she used to be? I have flown like a bird in the sky And I have stared at the world below I have dressed like a princess Who dreamed of a prince who lived so long ago I have chased and caught fireflies In the dark of a summers night And when there was thunder and I was afraid I’d run for the light (Chorus) If I could sing like the angels sing If I could play like the angels play Would the woman in me still long to see The child she used to be I dressed my dolls and sang them baby songs As I tucked them away in my room They were my children and I was their friend Why did we grow so soon? Now that I’m older I will never say I once had love but forgot the dreams I had as a child yesterday
Because my dreams are safe And I can sing like the angels sing And I can play like the angels play But the woman in me still longs to see The child she used to be But the woman in me still longs to see The child she used to be The woman in me still longs to see The child she used to be