Diana , Mary Kay and Clouds

     It is a perfect May day. I  water the potted  Geraniums, then  sit down and  stretch my legs on the chaise lounge. So   peaceful and restful. For the longest time  I  look up and stare  at the vast , voluminous sky,  like I didn't have a care in the world. Its   brilliant blue draws me in like a cool pool on a hot summer day.

     I try to penetrate its depth with my constant gaze, but  it remains distant and mysterious. Majestic.  Only known to  angels on wing.

    Clouds drift slowly by until they gather together like friends at an afternoon social. I study each one  and notice their different shapes and sizes.  All look beautiful to me.  I wonder, are there silly clouds? Serious clouds?   Is one trying to lord it over the other ? To be more important and popular ? Then I notice a new  cloud roll in, all puffed up with its ego and self perceived charm, proclaiming judgement on what's best for the other clouds,  and what kind of clouds  they should be. A few  of the clouds scatter and are gone, no longer welcomed,   and lost forever  to their fellow clouds - all because of  bias   spoken by puffed up, self important  cloud. 

    Still staring up at the sky, and looking at the clouds I reflect  on the song Both Sides Now, popularized by both Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins and wonder about Mitchell's lyrics,  and what she meant by clouds. 

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,

from up and down, and still somehow

it's cloud illusions I recall. 

I really don't know clouds at all

    From the earliest days of listening to this favorite song, I  interpreted clouds meaning life - life as in friends. 

    Then,  looking more and more at the clouds, I recalled another long ago  May when I  lay in a hospital bed, my body broken and nearly left for dead after suffering an auto accident, along with dearly  beloved others,  and how two very special  clouds (friends) were ever present by my side. I had a  serious head injury. At first the doctors told my mother they didn't expect me to live, and if I did I may suffer  brain damage, and at the least I  may never walk again.   For three months I was in traction, my lung collapsed, my back broken, my femur crushed , and nearly every bone on the right side of my body broken.  Other than my  mother, brother and grandmother,  Diana and Mary Kay visited me nearly every day. They decorated my hospital bed, hung a  Robert Redford poster on the  wall, and sneaked pizza in for me to eat on Friday nights.

     While our other friends were sunning  at the beach, busy with their lives,  finding new loves and getting engaged (all in right order),   Diana and Mary Kay helped  cheer  me with  their colorful  stories  and constant encouragement.  They brought laughter to a broken spirit, and joy to a broken heart.   After being released from the hospital I  spent another two and a half months in a full body cast. When at home,   Diana came to live with my family and me, to help provide for my needs while my mother was at work, and   Mary Kay brought  over  her parents cool car and  removed  the front seat  so I could fit my plastered  body  into the back,  to  cruise the boulevard with the girls.

    At  19 years old, I don't know what I would have done without them. I  doubt I  ever  let  Diana and Mary Kay  know how much their friendship meant, how important they were to my getting well, how their example of friendship is  one I hold today  in high esteem, and strive to emulate.  To be there for my friend,  whenever in need. Not to judge, condemn or ridicule, but to listen and love.

    And looking  once again , up  at the clouds,  I think how important it is to  speak  the best of  our  friends, whether  in our presence ,  or far away.