Gum on the Soles

To: Jonathan Maeda Trygg (born July 7, 1994)


From: Uncy Dave


Subject: Getting to this point


Well Jonathan, as you sit there taking your first breaths of air (oxygen, it's a gas!), as the people who stand around you coo and gurgle, as time flies by, as you wonder what's going on, as you try to comprehend just enough to satisfy yourself, you've got to be asking yourself what it's all about. So from the tip of my tongue, to the back of my mind, to the top of my head down to the souls through my feet, I offer you the following bit of wisdom I somehow managed to stumble upon along the way- Life is a song.


It all must seem so confusing right now as you struggle with the commotion around you, the bright lights, the darkness, the noises, the smells, the stuff in your diaper, and as you will find out, not much changes (except hopefully, your diaper). Life is about struggling and learning to deal with the day to day tedium as well as the accidents, the disappointments that crop up.


Let me share with you a moment I had with an old friend from Cheapo, Christina, from the now world renown Tina and the B-Side Movement. We were both reflecting on hard times and we found we shared a common fear: that once things straightened out and we reached our individual goals, right as things finally seemed to be OK, it was inevitable something would happen like being hit by a bus. We shared a fear of happiness, a fear of struggling so long only to lose the sun as it finally appears over the horizon.


Jonathan,on your birthday I had one of those days. Which these days happen all too seldom but I do feel lucky that they happen at all. Maybe it's a temporary state of mind, and maybe that bus is on its way, but you know as I approach the big three-oh, it seems to me life isn't full of the melodrama, the strife it once held. Maybe I'm numb. Maybe I'm just wiser. I'm not exactly where I thought I'd be, nor am I with the people I thought I might be with, but you know, life is full of possibilities. Your dreams may not turn out the way you had them planned, but sometimes your hopes have a way of working themselves out. Here was my day, on your day:


Stuck inside these four walls. Sent inside forever. Never seeing no one, nice again. It took me awhile to get to this point, but I find myself spending at least forty hours a week inside a six by eight cubicle trying to process a mountain of work while trying to put out small office fires. If you do something right, people expect you to do more; if you do something wrong, people cry. Just the way it is. So it was a typical work day. (Well, not really. It was supposed to be a day off but I had to go in.)


I was finally able to leave around noon. Ying Yang. The morning was gone, but I had much to look forward to. Time is as individual as you and I. When you share it with someone, you have to appreciate that. I was to have lunch with my pal, my soulmate. Reliable like gum stuck on your the sole of your shoe. A Chinatown buffet followed by smokes and excellent conversation. Like youoohoohooh. Mama, youoohoohooh, Mama, youoohoohooh.


And it was softball night, which of course is usually the highlight of my week. Arrived at the same time as another, pitter patter pitter patter. Your future aunt? Tee hee. We warmed up. Can't stop time, can't say a word, dweeb dweeb dweeb. If only we could read minds. "He never says anything to me when he sees me, but yet he calls me up a lot..." I led off the game and there I was standing with a metal bat in my hands as the thunder boomed around me. Would Thor strike me down? No, and I even hit a single. But the skies let loose and we all scampered for cover. The evening cut way too short. The rain exploded with a mighty crash, as we fell into the sun. As the first one said to the second one there, I hope you're having fun.


We went our merry ways only to wait for another week, which now days seem to arrive faster and faster. And a bell was ringing in the village square for the rabbits on the run. So I came back home and prepared myself for upcoming tests. I was disappointed the night ended so quickly but I gathered my thoughts and said my prayers before bedtime. Then you arrived.


Bless the Lord, (or as my friend Alex might hear it, BUS ALERT) Jonathan you have much to look forward to. Please believe me that the longer you can last, the more worthwhile it all becomes. Work, play, sleep, eat, drink, sing the song in your heart. Avoid the bus. That's all there is. Happiness in simplicity. Who knows what tomorrow knows, what tomorrow will bring? The important thing is learning that there will be plenty of tomorrows, you may mess up today but for now, there is always another day.