Sunday, June 11, 2006

 

09.06.06

Seven years ago
today
we rolled our tour van
in the desert
just outside

Needles, California.
Fedj our devoted sound guy
Steve Luxenberg our brilliant guitarist
Angus
and i
all sustained severe injuries
in an accident any of us were lucky to survive
yet
somehow
we all did.
And here i am
seven years on to the day
almost to the hour
passing by that fateful spot.
Our worlds were turned upside down
shaken and stirred.
It's over
i thought
as the dust settled.
It wasn't.
i give thanks
for our lives.
i give thanks for the multitude of humans
who played a part in our rescue and recovery.
The passers-by first on the scene
the two men who pulled me from the wreck
those who were there covering us with blankets and reassuring
the crowd that walked the side of the freeway
collecting our earnings from that weekend
as they fluttered away
the woman who stood over me
one hand on my head
the other reaching to the sky
as she cried out
Lord God ease this man of his pain
the emergency crews who arrived and took control
the nurses and doctors at the hospital in Needles.
i remember moans and cries of agony coming from the other blokes
in adjoining rooms
as i lay there that day

with little news of how
bad
everyone was
while tests were done
operations begun.
Just me
and my imagination

to still.
i remember with gratitude
the crew who air-lifted Angus and me to Vegas
the doctor there who put Angus' neck back together
our friends and family who rallied around us
doing what they could to ease us back into the land of the living
and the reality
that everyone else had continued to inhabit.
And Kathy
Leslie
Libby
and Leila
four fans who made it their mission to connect all our fans
and
ultimately
have us make music again.
Today
right now
as i ponder
i find myself thinking
how insignificant our lives are
really
in the middle of this wide desert
let alone this immense universe
but life is a gift

and i feel
we each have an obligation
perhaps
to make our individual lives
as big as possible
And every day
and each moment that passes
where we don't do one thing
take one step
think one thought
that makes us a little better
a little bigger
is an opportunity lost.
We can't force change in anyone
but ourselves.
All there is to do
is to inspire
by example
our selves
and maybe others
And keep holding hands.
h

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