Tuesday, December 21, 2010
11:30am
John and I left home last night around midnight to go in search of a good spot from which to watch the winter solstice lunar eclipse. We went first up to Cheat Lake, which was so beautifully frozen, and pulled over alongside the road after crossing the old iron bridge. I guess it seemed impractical to run the gas out trying to stay warm, so we left that spot before the eclipse actually began and went to Brook Hall. We sat on the fifth floor overlooking all of Morgantown, so still at night over Christmas break. It was the perfect place to view the eclipse, no one really around but the janitorial staff. So we sat there, John drinking coffee, me eating honey bbq Frito twists. It was calm and beautiful, gave a chance to put everything into perspective of the big picture again.
An old woman was cleaning the stairwell around the corner. Her breathing scared me- she couldn't catch it. It was more labored breathing than I've known even after running six or seven miles. John told me he knew her, that she had emphysema. I wondered why she wasn't on disability.
"Now she sleeps in the valley where the wildflowers nod
and no one knows she loved him but herself and God."
...Just a song from Maureen's graduate recital that is stuck in my head. Something about the lyrics- that mix of devastation with beautiful imagery, and the music itself is heartbreaking. Also, Maureen sang it better than this chick, but I don't have a video of Maureen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDVcV_9am70&feature=related
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