REFER TO GREY: Contemplations by Robert Greigos © 2007-2024

"When days dwindle down to a precious few ... September, October, November." -- words to a song once sung by Frank Sinatra.

Odd what goes through our heads sometimes. Most days our minds earnestly engage in planning or struggling to follow through on plans. There is little room for distraction, rarely a break in the action. But sometimes we do stop, set things aside, step outside for a breath of fresh air, a splash of sunshine, or whatever may be left of it. For at least a few minutes, our thoughts roam free. Not quite dreaming. Not quite meditating. We consider what our senses are telling us, what perhaps our emotions may be whispering to us. We remember things, wonder things, amuse ourselves by imagining things. Perhaps we make a call to someone, just to say "hi".

In and out we go of each other's lives. In and out we go of each other's thoughts. Sometimes with affection. Sometimes with derision. Many times with consequence. Other times without. Sometimes the pattern makes sense to us. Other times it definitely does not.

I listened to a story one time read by a beginning writer. The main character was a young woman. She and her boyfriend had stopped their car beside a rural country road. While he fiddled with the car, she decided to take their four chihuahuas for a walk. Her thoughts rambled on regarding the state of their relationship, their plans for the immediate future. Then annoyingly, she picked up a stone in her shoe. There was no place to sit, so she stood on one foot. The dogs pulled in four different directions. The boyfriend yelled, "Let's go". And a big truck whizzed past. She nearly fell, got all tangled in her leashes, and one of her four chihuahuas got squashed by the truck. Her boyfriend was entirely unsympathetic.

We reach for such distant stars, many of us do anyway. And yet, right here beside us the entirety of so many quite distinct and peculiarly unique interwoven worlds collide.