What an amazing week. I am in awe of many things. There’s a wonderful moment at the end of Free Solo (spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it), when Alex Honnold stands atop El Capitan and calls his girlfriend (now wife) Sanni McCandless and says he is “so delighted.” So delighted. He free soloed El Cap which is impossible – don’t attempt it because you will die – he spent a lifetime training and climbing and doing pull-ups with his freaking fingers, then years practicing El Cap with ropes and his friends the top climbing partners you can have in the world, and he tries it once and blows it off cos he’s not feeling it (he is, I emphasize, so definitely not a crazy person), comes back a season or so later and one fine morning glides up that sheer wall with the grace and precision of a dancer and ENJOYS it, he’s smiling, grooving on it, loving it, one small misstep would mean certain death and he’s completely focused yet not worried in the least, he’s got this and he knows it, and it’s a beautiful day, he summits and he is alive and tells his lovely lady he is so delighted, so delighted, so delighted. I just love that. I find myself saying it sometimes and no, I have never done or will do anything of that sort! But I can be so delighted sometimes, yes I can.
I watched some classic Ray Charles concert footage this evening, down a rabbit hole that started with Georgia. I had to hear again Brother Ray’s classic take on Hoagy Carmichael’s beautiful lament which became, after a decades-long saga that included the Civil Rights Movement – the Georgia state song. Because Georgia this month turned the senate Blue. Thank you, Georgia. So delighted. Down the rabbit hole from there I watched more Ray Charles – his concert footage is magnificent and I have never really checked it out before. What a great performer in every way, and his bands, so top notch. Watching Ray Charles at the piano dancing seated-ishly and just knowing from a lifetime of doing, where the keys are, where the mic is, flawlessly, gesturing cues to the band with a nod to the left, projecting love to the audience on his right and just shining, uniting everyone and uplifting them, delivering these gifts night after night for so many years, these incredible pieces I watched constituting but a small part of his work. Excellence is so fun to watch. Whether in sport or music or anything else.
I remind myself today that this pandemic is out of control, made so largely because the 45 “administration” was incompetent and malicious. They’re gone but the stink remains, and it will for a while. So I remind myself to mask up, social distance as much as possible, wash hands etc. do the things, don’t let up til this is over and it’s going to take time. I see posts from friends who have COVID, whose friends and family members do, some are having a very bad time of it and some are dead or dying. The freakish reality that so many, many Americans have somehow chosen to deny that this is happening, is so disheartening and maddening. Hopefully now, their imbecile lord banished and facing prosecution, some will resurface from the ocean of bile they’ve been swimming underwater in and see the light.
I’m proud of the millions of people who made our struggling, aspiring, baby democracy work, against terrible, dishonest, hateful, ugly, criminal, and finally seditious opposition, in these recent months at the end of four calamitous years. Made it work. Caused it to work. By showing up. Many in my little corner of FB really showed up. Tens of millions of other folks, most of whom will never meet each other directly, worked with a unity of purpose to prevent the end of our democracy, and the unimaginable disasters which that would have brought. We did it. We have to keep at it, obviously, this ain’t done, but we did it. I think after such a harrowing experience, less people will be apathetic or complacent about their responsibilities as citizens and voters. I hope so.
Much work to be done. And now, we can do it. We won’t be fighting upstream against an evil GOP in power, for now. The future looks brighter to these eyes again suddenly. The air smelled fresh today. Rain forecast in Cali, and the grown-ups are in charge in DC.
So delighted!
