It’s 3:26 AM...I awoke thinking about what to say…later today...about your life
Starting light-hearted:
"Ice cream castles in the air..."
Thinking about your love and mine of this frozen delight...I heard the above words playing from Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now"...
...and imagined, as others have, how these would look...
Here's Hasbro's version of ice cream castles:
UPDATED: 5/19/24
Adding a wonderful video our brother Mike created for the first anniversary of Julie's passing...
As well as a tasty photo of the Haagen-Daz coffee ice cream coffee float I'm enjoying as I update this post. Earlier, I went up the corner to Witches Brew Coffee House for my daily cup and took along a fresh carton of the ice cream. I began by telling them that Julie's anniversary was the reason for me to ask them to whip up something that wasn't on their menu. They got right into it and even added lots of fresh whipped cream to top off their handiwork. As a sing of my appreciation, I left the remainder to satisfy their own sweet-tooth pleasures...
--created by our brother Mike
On now to questions...
Life AFTER death??? 🤔
In the days before today, much of my musing on this matter have been about what happens after death.
And, because of what I’ve interpreted from spiritual traditions - my original one and subsequent ones - ideas about “what’s next” seem now to be mostly wishful thinking. As Dusty sings it: “Wishin’ and hopin’…”
Bakery: these range from lighter than air angel food to Devil’s food eaten with a pitchfork
Housing: again, depending on whether we looked forward or dreaded the last trumpet…our final dwelling ranged from mighty mansions to squatters shacks
Beyond this imagining, that Paul of Tarsus,
John Lennon, Dante Alligeri and others have prosaically pondered…
Like Jimi Hendrix, I take comfort in experiences…specifically, of those fellow human beings who have “crossed on over to the other side”…and come back…to tell us of what they saw. These near-death-EXPERIENCERS are almost unanimous is describing wonder-filled and loving presence…
And a “relatively” new one for me comes from science and Uncle Albert Einstein’s theory that says we are all made up of energy and Furthur more…this energy cannot be created or destroyed. Seems like when this energy leaves its present home in our bodies…it goes somewhere else…🤔
Hopeful…
Enough already about “what’s next”…
Life BEFORE death...😘
I’ll start with a conversation I had yesterday when Eileen and I stopped in Mebane, North Carolina to refuel our bodies and our truck.
After enjoying the remains of my leftover pulled pork from Tuesday night’s Mason-Dixon Line Cafe, I went into a DD for a caffeine infusion. There, I was greeted with a warm, “How y’all doin’?” from a young server wearing a very faded T shirt containing an image of a skeleton sitting in lotus posture. This caused a big smile pose to form on my face.
After placing my order, and seeing I was deep into America’s Bible Belt, I started preaching….”Let’s talk about Jerry…”
I figured that in the words of a popular song, I might not pass this way again…so, I better be sure she was “saved”…and started my GD-101 presentation.
“I see your skeleton…do you know what band uses that imagery?”
Because I’m kind and always trying to prepare for my own finals…I helped her by showing her my dancing bears mask that I keep on a belt clip for emergencies like this.
BTW - it also helps in other emergencies -like when I’m surrounded by bears…
What followed was some fun bantering…so I’ll fast forward to comments she offered after I told her about Julie…and the reason for our trip…
In so many words, she said that all that really matters is how we treated those around us…I was overjoyed at the wisdom she already had at such a young age and told her so…It’s about people like her that it’s said:
“And a little child shall lead us…”
As I now see it, this DD employee also had a DD...Doctor of Divinity...degree!
Musical Interlude
Buddy Guy - Skin Deep
Preparing for our FINALS...😇 🌈 🥰
I continued this young dispenser of wisdom and coffee's musical Deaducation with a popular selection from the Grateful Dead Bible’s instructions for LIVING well. These come from the Book of John, also known as
“Uncle John’s Band.”
“Well, the first days are the hardest days
Don't you worry anymore
'Cause when life looks like Easy Street
There is danger at your door
Think this through with me
Let me know your mind
Woah, oh, what I want to know
Is are you kind?”
A related backstory…
Somehow I recently found myself in a Reddit thread of Deadheads that were having fun bantering about this question that had been posed to this group:
“What do you call it when an oldtimer starts reading the Bible?”
On the day I entered this chat, I saw this funny answer:
“Cramming”
Taking the bait, I offered some reflections that I had posted in other places at other times…that for time’s sake basically involved the previous lines from Uncle John’s Band.
As I now see it, IF….IF…There really is an entrance exam to “what’s next”…we’ve already been given the final Jeopardy question…An example of Mercy…mercy…mercy…
And the final Jeopardy category and question is…
What will we be asked at those Pearly Gates?
Or, for a younger crowd…After you’ve climbed the Stairway to Heaven and you’re asked -
“What’s the password?”
Or...for an older crowd...(Cousin Margie, thanks for this inspiration 😂)
Just remember what Jerry and the Band have immortalized in the song…and type:
“KINDNESS”
Uh…Remember up "there" it must be in UPPERCASE…but have no fear…in case you forget...up "there" you can only use UPPERCASE 😂
Julie, what was your LIFE like...? ❤️ 😇 😘 🥰
Julie, your kindness and care for Dad and Mom and later for your husband Ed…these are all recorded in the Book of Life…
So,
"God" spelled backwards…
Found along this morning's trail...
Closing with a Cinderella story...
Peace...
tOM
Other posts about Julie
Comments