Taped To A Mirror

Taking an extended vacation from weekly posts provided a welcome break. Recharged with a list of new ideas, and a draft outline for my next book, I’m ready to resume writing.  I hope you enjoy the new stuff!

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Taped To A Mirror

I started my first big-boy job in July, forty-five years ago.

I remember grabbing lunch on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis when this crazy street person approached. He was dressed in filthy rags and wearing a crown of thorns affixed with a stick. Dangling from a string at the end of that stick, directly in front of his face, was a crumpled-up wad of dollar bills. Staggering in a zig-zag fashion, he yelled, “Repent, Repent,” while desperately swinging for the money that was just out of reach. 

I had just secured a position as a staff economist for The Pillsbury Company. My shoulder-length hair recently abandoned to sport a more conforming look, complete with a new three-piece suit and wing-tipped shoes. 

Stopping to take in the freak show, I wasn’t sure who was more out of place between us. The rest of the sidewalk crowd steered clear.  

The man approached and handed me a flyer, which turned out to be a manifesto blasting capitalism. In the center of the flyer was a crude caricature of himself, surrounded by small print in a style reminiscent of a bottle of Dr. Bonner’s Pure-Castile Soap.

The street crazy presented quite the juxtaposition. Was he poking fun at me? Had I made the right career choice? I thought so, and yet, his caricature resonated with me. I took the flyer home and taped it to the bathroom mirror as a reminder to keep things in balance.

A half-century passed, and I am sitting comfortably on a couch at the cabin, typing on my Macbook, thinking about that street angel. I wonder how his life turned out? 

The message I took away from him was that it’s important to reflect on what we exchange our lives for. 

The first stage of mine involved accumulation, things like clothes, cars, houses, and furniture. This undoubtedly continued longer than it needed to. I’m now in the second phase of life, mainly having lost interest in stuff. These days, when our adult children ask me what I’d like for my birthday or Christmas, I can’t think of anything. 

The street angel had a point. Material stuff is ephemeral. Before long, my prized possessions will find their way to an estate sale or Goodwill. (I’m looking at you, Martin guitar!). Time is short. I’m more focused on collecting experiences these days. 

Admittedly, I came to this insight late. MJ was way ahead of me. While I was taping manifestos and Ralph Waldo Emerson self-reliance quotes to the bathroom mirror, MJ was outlining our bedroom mirror with family photos. She’s been doing this so long that using the mirror for its intended purpose is getting harder and harder. Then again, what better reflection is there than images of our shared experiences with loved ones? 

That realization hit me one morning, and I wrote a song. I’ll spare you the audio clip, but here are the lyrics:

Taped to a Mirror

I woke up this morning

To memories so clear

A picture of yesterday

Was taped to the mirror

Through colors now fading

I can see you so clear

Captured in times oh so dear

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Where did the times go

The old folks would say

Why that picture you’re holding

Seems like yesterday

How can six decades

Just slip away

We were just children at play

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This is a story

Of life in its prime

The click of a shutter

Creates shortcuts in time

Their fleeting moments

Have now become mine

As I trace out

Their footprints in time

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We cannot look forward

Nor can we turn back

Our chapter’s been written

With tears, memories track

Of people and places

Remembered so clear

Like ghosts of a kind

Taped to a mirror

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