At mid-day my youngest son was at work and my oldest son was away with a friend when my wife and daughter informed me they were going to the movies for the afternoon. It was quickly apparent I would be home alone with no plans of my own. On a day where Hurricane Sandy was already influencing Ohio's weather, there wasn't much to do as the temperature dropped, the rain increased and the wind intensified - except return to the cabin.
Upon arrival through the wind, rain and mud, I was pleased to find the logs left earlier in the day still burning in the hearth. Although it was just 40 degrees outside, the cabin was still nice and warm. Having awoke at 6 am to ensure there was plenty of time to prepare breakfast for family and friends, I was now starting to wear down. It didn't take long to decide that ascending the loft ladder was a good plan.
I can't fully explain how comfortable it is to curl up in a fetal position in an over-stuffed loft bed as the rain pelts down on the metal roof. Looking out the sky light, a huge tree's limbs sway in the wind above and occasionally drop acorns and leaves on the glass. The steady sound of rain is interrupted by sounds of overloaded water drops released from branches and leaves as the wind continues to increase. Not a touch of draft can be felt as I lay uncovered on the soft comforter. The loft is much warmer than the lower level which helps a nap come quickly and consume the next two hours of my life.
The mind is an amazing vault that stores so many memories of life's experiences. Before I share, I need to first explain.
After the nap, a box of Merlot on the bar, the cheap stuff you buy in the wine section of a grocery store, caught my eye. With the fire searing seasoned logs in an intense heat and the wind now blowing more forcefully outside, I kicked back in the recliner to enjoy the peace and quite of a Sunday's late afternoon with a glass of wine while watching birds frequent the feeders on the porch.
The stereo above the mantel is equipped with an iPod that contains over 5000 songs. Today, with the sound of the rain on the roof and the wind blowing outside, I decided to listen to Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits, an old favorite and blast from the past.
Shortly after A Bridge Over Troubled Water began playing, my mind immediately re-opened buried memories from 42 years earlier. Listening with closed eyes, I was returned once again to the Waverly East Elementary school auditorium on a Saturday night at an 8th grade dance in 1970. It was a slow song, something an awkward Appalachian farm boy had been waiting for all night since he was too embarrassed to try dancing fast. As the boys all sat in a line of chairs against the west wall, we peered across the gym floor at young ladies on the other side trying to decide who we would be brave enough to venture over and ask to dance. I don't recall which classmate it was, Kim, Karen or Teresa... it doesn't matter as all I can remember is the feeling and experience re-opened in my mind as the song played above the fire. It's amazing how memories and experiences like this remind us how finite life is. At the age of 56, having a mother die at 63, I am reminded I'm on the last quarter of life's cycle; especially accepting that I've already lost 2 of my 3 best childhood friends. So as I listen and reminisce, I think of how it must be after death with Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates of heaven. I have to believe that the mind's vault, the soul, will once again open to reveal the life of a man. The life experiences, such as I just re-lived, will once again be reviewed.
As I throw another log on the fire and take a sip of wine, I wonder if I'm worthy of entry above.
If I could bottle and sell the peace one finds in the silence of a remote cabin, I'd be a wealthy man. However, it doesn't take long to realize that wealth is relative and a figment of the imagination -one reward of my life is being inside these 4 cabin walls.
Others can seek wealth and money.
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