C.W. Gordon
Many people often come to a crossroads at some point in their life. Ron Fisher has come to his. His choices are not all that simple. His life has dealt his a bad hand of late, and he sees no alternative except to run away from all his pain. Haunted by a mysterious recurring dream and looking for solace and answers from a desert-dwelling Brooklyn Tattoo artist, Fisher is about to take a long journey to find himself.
The author is a regular working stiff with an overactive imagination. In the 80's and 90's his life has had a series of critical blows dealt to it and at one point I thought about running away from my family and the life I had. But through meditation and a deep inward approach to life I found myself again and have translated my life into the two lives of my book's main characters.
'Whatever,' Mel replied. 'Look that way.' He impatiently pointed towards the eastern
horizon.
When Fisher turned he saw the pink and orange glow that was illuminating the underside of the
billowy clouds on the distant crest. All along the horizontal edge of the rugged landscape, was
the glow of the radiant sun which had yet to peek above the hills in the distance.
'Nature's art gallery,' Mel said as he looked straight ahead.
Fisher drank more soda as he and Mel walked out a bit further, beyond the campsite and up onto
a small rise that gave them an excellent view of the sunrise.
'Don't say anything Fisher, just watch the show.' Mel's voice was calm and smooth, almost
somber. 'This is why we're here.'
Fisher blinked away the sleep that had crusted in his eyes, then washed some of his cola around
in his mouth and spit it out. He took a long, cool drink from his can then, placing a hand in his
pocket, did as Mel instructed. He shut up and watched.
Soon the glow around the clouds grew brighter and more incandescent as the approaching giver
of light cracked the summit of the far reaches and a brilliant array of color, from pink to azure
blue, splashed above the desert floor.
The silence was deafening as the two men stood witness to a spectacular show of unequaled
natural beauty and glorious grandeur. As the clouds rolled and shifted, their colors broke and
mixed. The ever rising sun changed the shades and tints, combining complexions of light and
shadow to create an exquisite vision of natural marvel that Fisher had never in his thirty-odd
years taken time to behold. The vivid hues blasted forth above and below the cloud line as the
golden columns of warm sunlight erupted in every direction, causing the orange and purple wash
to come together in a gleam of brilliant splendor.
Fisher and Mel both heard the screech of a hawk as it flew toward the sun, then banked in a
wide, sweeping pan that exposed its underbelly to the sun's warming rays. The silhouette of the
great bird seemed to hang in front of the scene forever before it swooped low then did an abrupt
turn and again soared high to the clouds and away from the two men.
'The bird knows.' Mel whispered
Fisher watched the soaring bird and the resplendent view in front of him and never bothered to
answer Mel for this was one of the only times he got the message without an explanation. This
was a sight that is taken for granted by millions of people everyday the world over. Now, here he
was, getting the full effect of the magic and mystery of nature's subtle perseverance.
This didn't seem like the beginning of a new day, but rather as though he were looking at a work
of art and a master brush man had used a multi colored pallet to splash the landscape and
illuminated it with a billion candles.
'That's what it's about Fisher. That right there,' Mel said as he pointed forward. 'That's what
everybody's after. Not the company car or the corner office. But that right there in front of you.'
Fisher felt a lump growing in his throat. 'It's rebirth. Life starts over everyday, right there.
That's the flash point. When you can cradle that in your heart....nothing can ever really die.'
Again Fisher never bothered to answer because he knew Mel was right. That was what everyone
was after....they just didn't know it. The adage that a picture is worth a thousand words was
never more profound then at that exact moment. In Fisher's mind he saw the homeless people of
the great cities sleeping on the streets. He saw the hustle and bustle of the grinding metropolises,
the running, the scurrying and clawing that evokes such misery in their crime riddled streets. He
could hear the sirens and the jackhammers, the screams and the car horns that dulled his senses
almost to the point of nonexistence. He could smell the smog and smoke, and taste the pollution
in his mouth as he got every word of Mel's meaning.
This is what life is supposed to be about....Not that!
The clean, dry desert air filled his lungs and he felt the sun shining on his face, and then he
understood what Mel had truly meant the night before when he had said, ‘Keep what's important
and let the rest be gone with the wind'. This was one of those things that are important in your
life, and if it's not.....it ought to be.
The sun continued to climb ever higher in the sky, getting brighter and brighter until the
fabulous colors were washed away and only the true white of the few clouds struck a drastic
contrast against the bright blue of the New Mexico heavens.
They stood silently for several minutes, with only Mel's few comments breaking the vigil as
they watched that magnificent spectacle unfold before them. As the sun grew hotter and brighter
Fisher turned to Mel and said, 'If I had died without ever seeing that........' his voice failed him
and he finished by shaking his head.
'That's just the first one Fisher,' Mel told him. 'And you can see it as many times as you want.
You just have to know it's there.'
