The Moment

Anyone who has been through a big loss will relate to what I am about to say.  There is a moment in time after a tragedy where you realize that things are going to be ok either because you have a day which was entirely good or because there is a moment where you laugh your ass off.  I can say this because I've been through four tragedies.   Today, that moment came.

I have been staying over at my newly purchased home more and more.  It is not quite ready as I've needed a lot of repair work before I could get insurance (don't ask).  Purchasing the house, clearing my land from the fire, the permits, the multiple phone calls...it's been grueling.  My former township treats me like the anti-Christ so when a neighbor in my new neighborhood said she wanted to talk to me, I wondered what I had done wrong...turns out she wanted to invite me to her 89th birthday party.  Mrs. Johnson or "Mother" Johnson or as I found out today, Catherine Precious Johnson is a petite African American woman with a love for plastic flowers, nicknacks, candy and all things Christian.   Usually the party is held on my tiny one block street.   Today it was catered at a hall.  I was the first neighbor to arrive but soon found the other neighbors joining me as we made polite chit chat, listened to speakers profess their love for Mrs. Johnson and ate soul food.

The event was pretty much how someone summed it up for me, not exciting, not boring.  That all changed on a dime when Mrs Johnson spoke about God granting her the wish to play piano. According to her, God had given her the ability through prayer alone.  I thought it was cute when, with childlike enthusiasm and innocence, she asked if we wanted to hear her play.  The sound that came out of those 89 year old hands was not to be believed.  It was completely bizarre and dissonant, but Mrs. Johnson played us three songs with fervor while my future neighbors and I were not able to speak or look each other in the eye.  This was straight out of Saturday Night Live.  When finished, someone finally said to me, "Welcome to the neighborhood" where I had to further stifle my laughter.

As soon as I got out of the hall and into my car.  I laughed for at least 10 minutes straight with tears streaming down my face and belly hurting.

Yes, I think things are going to get better from now on.