The other day I was at the local community center using their one not antiquated treadmill. It was tortuous to run 10 miles staring at a blank wall. My mind was nearly numb upon completion. I was a little out of sorts. My joints hurt and sweat stung my eyeballs, as I stumbled to regain some semblance of consciousness. When I started to come around, I heard this young girl, she couldn't have been more than four years old. start singing 'Blowin' in the Wind'. She new every word, verse and chorus alike.
A smile crept on to my face. She paused, obviously feeling a little self-conscious, as I and everyone in the vicinity watch this timid performance with eager anticipation. There weren't more than 5 of us watching as her father prepared her to leave and she sang. When she had completed her cover of Dylan's classic song, I told her father that she had made my day. Her father, with a wry grin, said, "It pretty much makes my day too."
I left soon after and quickly put Dylan's version on the radio in the car (Thank god for some modern technology). It quickly led me to start thinking about the time and place it was composed. It made me think our time and place, the state of our world and the role music plays in the way we define ourselves both collectively and individually. It made me wonder, like I haven't in a long time, what is going on? How have I become so disillusioned? What can I do now?
It left me with things to think about and other things to learn. But...What I do know is that I will certainly never hear that song without thinking of that day and that little girl. She gives me hope.
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