Water, Sea Breeze and Elizabeth

The Journey continues…

You would think, after the name of my blog and how I process life that ‘understanding’ the Journey would be my point with my writings, musings, etc. but at least, in my honesty, my readers see I can get lost in the pain of the moment and forget about the dance like everyone else. I am no hero, I am not a great man, and as the years pass like the flipping pages a book, I see more and more of the child in me than anything else. But I am on this journey with a number of people and I pray they keep their patience with me. Elizabeth and Cayden are are the two ‘main’ sources of those I dance this life with.

Speaking of dancing, Elizabeth and I are gifted in that area. (NOT!)…I don’t think she will mind me saying we look like we ‘might possibly’ being having a seizure or some kind of medical emergency when we dance. Though at times we’ve been brave enough to publicly dance, it’s been rare. I wrote once about Elizabeth getting up and doing some real ‘flat footing’ in the hills of Virginia last year. But there was another incident I wanted to discuss.   

One of the moments I hope to carry beyond the grave was on the water, coming from Ocracoke Island, N.C on the Ferry to Hatteras Island, N.C. Some redneck jackass had a huge, orange, ‘monster tired’ jeep/truck ‘thing’ which he and his ‘girl’ kinda matched. Both of them, heavy models like me! They had a sound system that was larger than the tires and they were ‘gracing’ the entire ferry deck with whatever music they were choosing.

• It was loud.
• It was painful.
• And it pissed me off.

I am sorta like the storm that blew out to sea. Lots of noise, lots of news then usually I just ‘blow out to sea with little damage’. (heard a friend say that about herself and thought it was an apt description of myself.) But I was thinking how we could change the mood of this? I walked up beside the window on ‘bubba’s’ side and waited for him to ‘sense’ my presence since there was no way he was going to hear me. He ‘flinched’, which due to his size, caused the whole jeep to move, when he saw me. He turned the volume down so the folks in the space station couldn’t hear his music and started apologizing for the volume. Of course he was apologetic, he knew they were not being kind to anyone. She on the other hand was ready for a fight. How dare someone confront her man.

Typical…

I asked, “Hey, do you take requests?” He looked 100% relieved because my question wasn’t what he ‘thought’ was coming. He cheerfully said, “Sure thing dude!”  His girl on the other side pulled up her iPhone and we are set.

I asked, “Do you have anything from Zac Brown?” His response was perfect.

“Hellllllllll yea, man!”

Things were quiet for a minute as ‘babe’ found it on her iPhone then BOOM… the whole ferry literally shook with ‘Knee Deep’…

I have no idea ‘why’ it just hit me, but off we went. I grabbed Elizabeth and next thing you know, we are dancing on the ferry, crossing over to Hatteras Island.

You know the whole mood changed. (Quick, call 911, these folks look like they are going to be sick!! …I am sure that is what some thought). But I found myself sorta lost in time as we danced around the deck. In some ways it was like everything around us started to blur and everyone, everything became backdrop to a little magic on the water and Elizabeth and danced around the car deck. The noise of the ferry’s diesels died away, all I could see was Elizabeth, the sea breeze blowing through her hair, the roll and ebb of the waters under our feet as we moved from a fast paced dance to something slow and intimate. It was then I realized this was one of the most ‘outgoing, intimate’ kinda things I had ever done. Next thing I know out comes cellphones and we are being recorded. (Weird what people use or need for entertainment.)Then other couple got out of their cars and joined in. The whole mood of the deck changes. ‘Bubba and breasty’ became ‘dj’s’ for the 45 minute crossing.

But my lesson on this journey, other than I have the greatest fiancée in the world is, this life is about a dance. There is no guarantee what music will be played, no promise of calm seas and winds, but it is our dance.

What will you do with the the music and your dance hall today? How will you make the most of it? Lord in Heaven, I myself have attempted to change music hall’s more than once because I didn’t like it.

There is no preaching here. Just the awareness that this is the dance we are given.

Make the most of it.

Peace on your journey this week.