Black Holes and Rainbows...A Heavenly Coup de Theatre

Black Holes and Rainbows…
A Heavenly coup de theatre

The barometric pressure hung low all week, and I hung low with it.

This heavenly drama makes for cabin fever and low spirits. The inescapable combination of sorry weather and news, both of which are tough to escape, puts a damper on things. They hound us relentlessly with a disgustingly depressive diet, reminding us:

“…this ain’t no technological breakdown,
Oh no, this is the road to hell.” (L. Cohen)

Even the earthworms in my yard abandoned their grassy haven and migrated mindlessly en masse to the pool, collectively drowning their miseries. I might have tried the same thing, but the thought of hell lifted my spirits. I crawled out just in time to see a rainbow sprouting in the sky. While I can’t swear to it, I believe I saw angels riding the rollercoaster of colors through the skies. “Hop on,” the host sang, as I remembered the tune,

“Give me silver, blue and gold, the colors of the world I’m told,
My rai, ai, ainbow is overdue…”
Bad Company, c 1990

And my rainbow was long overdue!

I’m in good company with Bad Company … they knew what they were writing about, and I’ve had my own share of “bad company.” I call them black holes, those giant sucking vortices in the heavens that are like my mosquito catcher…a device that sucks ‘em up into a canister and makes worm food. I once had such a friend---I said “once”---upon entering a room full of merry folks, instantly the life was sucked out of that room…he didn’t have to say a word, he just showed up. That’s a human black hole.

Rainbows are not like that. Elusive, yes…but their aloofness is their allure. Disappointing, yes, because they are always where you are not, which is about near everywhere except where your one-foot square plot of earth happens to be. They are a reflected glory, not the glory itself. Some people are reflections of celebs, politicos, you know, important folks. They think they’re rainbows, but they are black holes.

Neither can rainbows deliver what they seem to promise, which is that pot of gold at the end. We concocted that story, because we’re always looking for silver and gold, not blues. Rainbows have no end, or beginning, which makes them sorta special. They can be everywhere, and nowhere, all at the same time. Kinda like Somebody else, if you know what I mean. And because we cannot grasp them, hence we cannot corrupt them, which is what we seem to be especially adept at doing. They are ephemeral, and not selective upon whom they shine…they are just a sign of Someone’s everlasting favor. At least, that’s how I like to see them.

An angel rode a rainbow into my office one dreary day. His name was Scott Angel, and he worked for that giant, black-hole-sucking vortex called the IRS. He was there to collect a very large debt I had incurred and was at that time hard-pressed to pay. My intentions were honorable, but my bank account was humbled. That makes no difference to black holes…they siphon whatever you have to feed “the machine.”

I reminded him of his name, and he seemed to want to live up to that high calling. Of course, I did my part, shedding Belushi-sized tears, reminding him of the plight of my poor family, employees and prospects for life. With compassion he rode out on that same rainbow, having given me six months to pay up.

We have two choices: Black holes or Rainbows…we choose daily. As the rainbow faded into the ending of the day, I think I heard encouraging laughter from the heavens, singing, “Look up, and remember.”

Rainbows may never be early, but they are never late! Be one today.

Bud
August 14, 2008