Gumleaf
February 27th, 2009, 06:16 PM
i got this farwarded in an email. it is quite a moving experience. if only love was like this for everyone.
An Angel in Hell
It was the hottest summer. Not only for Melbourne, but the entire Australian subcontinent – roughly the size of the Continental US. It was the HOTTEST DAY in recorded history – (since 1850). The mercury hit 47.1 Celsius (or …a thousand hundred bazillion degrees….in the old currency). But the sun’s heat was NOT the worst danger. Thirty- seven fires raged uncontrollably across the state of Victoria – 1/3 the size of Texas. Where I live, Roxburgh Park, we were only 30 mins away from the runaway Whittlesea fire that claimed dozens of lives and countless homes.
My mother and I had organised ‘grab bags’ – bags where we stashed our valuables – old family portraits, pictures of grandparents, parents, babies, letters, love letters of loves past, diplomas, certificates, bank books, textbooks (I am no nerd. But medical textbooks cost half the national budget of Zimbabwe! THEYRE COMING WITH ME!), etc, etc,… We put them in our car that I;ve filled with petrol (UK-speak for gas) in case we have to go. Mum and I decided we will NOT defend* our house against the fire. (* In Australia, defending the house means staying behind, hosing down your house with a puny garden hose WHILE the fires of Hell -hundreds of feet up into the sky and travelling at 70 kms per hour - tries its darnest to swallow you ).
We learned on the news that those who perished days before were those who tried doing this. So, we’re booking,..and will head south for the City (Melbourne) because the city concrete will burn slower,…and then we will head for the coast. But from nowhere, from 24 years in to the past….came this email checking if we were okay. I did not even recognise the name, much less the person. She pleaded guilty that she had been a member of our yahoogroup of college journalists since September last year but had just been ‘listening’, ‘flying under the radar’, as we say. As the fires all over Melbourne raged, she was moved to check on me - ), and my 84 yr old mother- from where she was, in Sydney (10 hrs drive away And so started our conversations. Conversations through emails, at first. Then, instant messages, and webcams, and eventually, telephony. We tried to stitch together old bits of cloth, tattered and faded, - that was OUR past. Our happy youth,….our fun college years, thinking of old friends, common enemies, acquaintances, parties, happy times, sad times, failed exams, missed chances, celebrated successes. Births of family,…and deaths of loved ones. Happy beginnings, and teary ends..Weddings and divorces. Pledges and broken promises.
Then, - just like she came – unannounced, unplanned, - love knocked on our hearts. We would chat for 2 hrs and vow to end it shorter the next time – which instead became 3 hrs. Then, again vowed to ‘let go’ at 3 hrs,….and ended up talking for 4,….and on it went til we were chatting for 6 HOURS…9pm to 3am, sometimes 4 the following morning. What in the hey do people talk about for 6 hrs? Anything, and everything. But we found out we were each other’s mirror image. We loved the same food, hated the same ones. Held similar values. Even our kids were the same ages, taking the same courses, and both wanting to serve in their militaries (hers with Royal Australian and mine with the US Navy/ Marine Corps) – both as nurses. BOTH our boys are the same age, even looking almost alike. Handsome and meaty. We both have cute 11 yr old girls. And many more similarities.
On Valentines Day, it felt natural to wish her Happy Valentines – tho this is reserved for people we ‘love’, officially. We spent most of Valentines online….now just mostly, watching each other’s webcam….no more fast typing,….asking questions and answering…no more sending silly emoticons,….or “hehehe;s”….or wink, winks.. No more clicking, the funny “audibles”… JUST staring. Looking at each others’ eerily ‘refreshing’ images. And hurriedly inviting to “View Webcam” when images disappear – probably due to high volume usage at certain times. No more laughing at smart jokes, or quotable quotes.. Just ‘feeling’ each other’s breaths – through the internet cables. Being ‘HAPPY’ just to be in each other’s presence. Contently watching her kiss her youngest daughter goodnight. And she cajoling me for reacting to David Letterman’s joke in the background noise…
Then it hit me . THIS is love. Love should NOT be tedious. It should NOT be a lot of work. A lot of pain, crying, a lot of fighting. A lot of jealousy. It should NOT be a chore. A bore. It should not be tiring. It should NOT require a lot of ‘required’, ‘demanded’ attention. Instead, love is WHAT WE were having- relaxing, soothing, calming, comforting, a big sense of security and trusting. It is an old worn-out shirt, a ratty pair of sneakers, a dirty baseball cap full of holes.
It is ‘being in the presence’ of someone thousands of miles away, and savoring the glow of her beautiful face, even while it is merely the electronic glow of her laptop monitor, even often pixelised. I realised….I WAS FOUND BY MY ANGEL…who plucked me out of the fire.....while I was surrounded by Hell. - AG (I LOVE YOU, Aileen. Be mine, forever.) Love, Ariel
An Angel in Hell
It was the hottest summer. Not only for Melbourne, but the entire Australian subcontinent – roughly the size of the Continental US. It was the HOTTEST DAY in recorded history – (since 1850). The mercury hit 47.1 Celsius (or …a thousand hundred bazillion degrees….in the old currency). But the sun’s heat was NOT the worst danger. Thirty- seven fires raged uncontrollably across the state of Victoria – 1/3 the size of Texas. Where I live, Roxburgh Park, we were only 30 mins away from the runaway Whittlesea fire that claimed dozens of lives and countless homes.
My mother and I had organised ‘grab bags’ – bags where we stashed our valuables – old family portraits, pictures of grandparents, parents, babies, letters, love letters of loves past, diplomas, certificates, bank books, textbooks (I am no nerd. But medical textbooks cost half the national budget of Zimbabwe! THEYRE COMING WITH ME!), etc, etc,… We put them in our car that I;ve filled with petrol (UK-speak for gas) in case we have to go. Mum and I decided we will NOT defend* our house against the fire. (* In Australia, defending the house means staying behind, hosing down your house with a puny garden hose WHILE the fires of Hell -hundreds of feet up into the sky and travelling at 70 kms per hour - tries its darnest to swallow you ).
We learned on the news that those who perished days before were those who tried doing this. So, we’re booking,..and will head south for the City (Melbourne) because the city concrete will burn slower,…and then we will head for the coast. But from nowhere, from 24 years in to the past….came this email checking if we were okay. I did not even recognise the name, much less the person. She pleaded guilty that she had been a member of our yahoogroup of college journalists since September last year but had just been ‘listening’, ‘flying under the radar’, as we say. As the fires all over Melbourne raged, she was moved to check on me - ), and my 84 yr old mother- from where she was, in Sydney (10 hrs drive away And so started our conversations. Conversations through emails, at first. Then, instant messages, and webcams, and eventually, telephony. We tried to stitch together old bits of cloth, tattered and faded, - that was OUR past. Our happy youth,….our fun college years, thinking of old friends, common enemies, acquaintances, parties, happy times, sad times, failed exams, missed chances, celebrated successes. Births of family,…and deaths of loved ones. Happy beginnings, and teary ends..Weddings and divorces. Pledges and broken promises.
Then, - just like she came – unannounced, unplanned, - love knocked on our hearts. We would chat for 2 hrs and vow to end it shorter the next time – which instead became 3 hrs. Then, again vowed to ‘let go’ at 3 hrs,….and ended up talking for 4,….and on it went til we were chatting for 6 HOURS…9pm to 3am, sometimes 4 the following morning. What in the hey do people talk about for 6 hrs? Anything, and everything. But we found out we were each other’s mirror image. We loved the same food, hated the same ones. Held similar values. Even our kids were the same ages, taking the same courses, and both wanting to serve in their militaries (hers with Royal Australian and mine with the US Navy/ Marine Corps) – both as nurses. BOTH our boys are the same age, even looking almost alike. Handsome and meaty. We both have cute 11 yr old girls. And many more similarities.
On Valentines Day, it felt natural to wish her Happy Valentines – tho this is reserved for people we ‘love’, officially. We spent most of Valentines online….now just mostly, watching each other’s webcam….no more fast typing,….asking questions and answering…no more sending silly emoticons,….or “hehehe;s”….or wink, winks.. No more clicking, the funny “audibles”… JUST staring. Looking at each others’ eerily ‘refreshing’ images. And hurriedly inviting to “View Webcam” when images disappear – probably due to high volume usage at certain times. No more laughing at smart jokes, or quotable quotes.. Just ‘feeling’ each other’s breaths – through the internet cables. Being ‘HAPPY’ just to be in each other’s presence. Contently watching her kiss her youngest daughter goodnight. And she cajoling me for reacting to David Letterman’s joke in the background noise…
Then it hit me . THIS is love. Love should NOT be tedious. It should NOT be a lot of work. A lot of pain, crying, a lot of fighting. A lot of jealousy. It should NOT be a chore. A bore. It should not be tiring. It should NOT require a lot of ‘required’, ‘demanded’ attention. Instead, love is WHAT WE were having- relaxing, soothing, calming, comforting, a big sense of security and trusting. It is an old worn-out shirt, a ratty pair of sneakers, a dirty baseball cap full of holes.
It is ‘being in the presence’ of someone thousands of miles away, and savoring the glow of her beautiful face, even while it is merely the electronic glow of her laptop monitor, even often pixelised. I realised….I WAS FOUND BY MY ANGEL…who plucked me out of the fire.....while I was surrounded by Hell. - AG (I LOVE YOU, Aileen. Be mine, forever.) Love, Ariel