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| Photograph by Mirage Kale, 2013 |
Above is one of the lesser known Beatles album, but it's always been one of my favorites. I wonder if it was the one that Will's sister showed to him.
Rock It!
by
Will Mayo
"Will you take a look at my records, Will?" my sister said to me some 50-odd years ago. "It's the Beatles. They're really cool."
I took one look at the pictures of the Fab Four on the album cover in her room and said, "They look all alike."
"No," she said. "They don't look at all alike."
I peered a bit closer at the photos there and said, "No. I don't suppose they do." I walked off.
I had no idea how these four boys from Liverpool would rock my world in the coming decades. No idea at all.
So, Too, The Passage Of Time
by
Will Mayo
And then it came to pass that the Sixties were coming to an end and the Seventies were due to come upon us and, we, all of us in our family, stood outside and lit our sparklers counted down to the new year.
"...10...9...8...7...6...5...
"Happy new year!" we all shouted...
...and then nothing. We noticed no difference. Not one bit. Finally, disappointed, we extinguished our sparklers and went to bed, seeing no bang for our having stayed up late. It hardly seemed worth the trouble.
But then the years came to pass. There was Watergate and the resignation of Nixon. There was the death of John Lennon, our cherished idol. There was, too, our first kiss, our first lay. And, before we knew it, the century was complete.
That's just the way it goes, you see. One day, one year, one decade, indeed, one century passes before another with hardly anything to mark the difference. But just when you least expect it there's a real bang up time to mark the miles. And you cry out, "More!" "More, please!" only to realize that the time has yet come complete. One cherished life after another.
A Few Passing Words Of The Spirit
by
Will Mayo
So a few years ago I went to the funeral of the father of a once dear friend of mine and stayed at the friend's house overnight beforehand where, given free rein to the fridge, I spied this wonderful jar filled with all manner of little fudge cakes. I sampled one and then quickly afterwards sampled another and before I knew it the whole jar was empty. My appetite filled me then with a curious euphoria whereupon the night passed without incident.
In the morning, I, my friend and my friend's wife all drove to the funeral together and, upon entering the church, I had the curious sensation of exiting my body. Throughout the whole service I laid my hand upon my dear friend's arm and that of his wife's while, simultaneously, I seemed to float several feet above the congregation. Although I took little note of the minister's sermon (though I couldn't help but note in passing that the deceased was among one of "the saved") it seemed that the Holy Spirit had entered me like none of my samplings of the world's religions had ever shown me before.
Finally, the deceased father was lowered into the ground and we all returned at once to the house for more food and festivities. Upon checking the refrigerator where I had partaken the night before my friend's wife couldn't help but notice one small missing item and she called out in a loud voice,
"What the hell happened to my hash brownies?!"
The spirit does indeed move in mysterious ways.
Stranded
by
Will Mayo
So one night back in January of 1977 I was stranded in some desert town out in California and some long black limousine pulled up beside me with tinted windows and men all dressed in black suits and the driver's window rolled straightaways down and he spoke to me thus:
"I want you out of here by sunrise."
I had no idea of what wrong I could have done to these men let alone anything to merit getting run out of town. In the end, I only nodded. The long black car passed into the night
I searched in vain all night for a ride. One came along that was headed for New York City but that was not my destination and, so, I turned it down. There were no more offers.
Sunrise came around with a heartache. Two nasty looking desert cops came around along with a truck driver who claimed that he'd seen me driving some stolen car. Once again, I knew nothing about it. Finally, I gave up to the cops my one true name and had them call my father back in Maryland. Time to get back to where I belonged. Time to get back to Frederick.
The miles passed, the desert wind howled and I swore that I could hear the coyote give one last cry. And I was gone.
Dreams Of Mongolia
by
Will Mayo
And then last night I dreamed that I was sitting at the dining room table at the old house up the hill from here and all the family was there, alive and well, gathered round to offer me my every pleasure. My father, it seems, was prepared to offer me a journey to anywhere in the world if only I would cease my grumbling and get on with life.
"It must be Mongolia then," I said. "I have a friend there, the dearest friend in all the world, she lives in the coldest desert known to man and she says she knows where the bones of Genghis Khan are buried nearby, a man who conquered all the known world a thousand years ago. Oh, there are some folks in the Himalayas I've simply got to see on the way. They are the greatest."
"Are you sure that you don't want to head south to Mexico?" my father asked. "I know some people there. They are also nice folks."
"No," I said. "It's got to be Mongolia or bust."
So for a week we bundled up, got all our shots and passports and prepared ourselves for a journey halfway around the world. My mother did the packing and then my father and I headed out to the airport, ready to begin our journey to those faraway lands.
But, lo, once we stepped from the outdoors with the bluest sky above us into that airport, the most blinding white light overcame me. It blinded my eyes with their intensity and I closed those eyes and covered them with both arms until finally I fell away back into the deepest, blackest sleep.
When I woke from that sleep I was back in the apartment where I have lived for some years now. All the family was gone away as well as the old family home and I was left with only my room full of books, one black cat and the couch on which I had slept and had those distant dreams. My next trip out would only be to a doctor here in town and would not take place for another week. My Mongolian vistas would remain unrealized. Silently, I rose from my place of rest and began another day.
From The Beatles to Mongolia and beyond, Will is quite prolific, but I am going to stop here. Hope to bring you more soon!
In the meantime, here is some music for you.
Let's start with Dave Damiani and the Instigators' cover of "All My Loving": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFfTg4FKbOs
Arthur Philipe and Quintessence Jazz, a Brazilian group, covers "Here, There, and Everywhere": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG4XqMZButI
I'll finish with Trio Gafas' version of "Blackbird": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IqVYvg_9mc
