yesterday doesn’t seem so far away
Somehow, to loosely borrow bits and pieces from the lyrics of a Beatles song: yesterday came suddenly and now it seems so far away.[1] Time warps do indeed exist and the speed of it a fickle thing, just ask any child waiting for the bell to ring or hoping summer’s end will never come. Ask anyone who has lived three, four, or five score[2] years or more and they will confirm that the speed of time logarithmically increases while the distance that lies between then and now decreases exponentially in direct relation to one’s own longevity.
Jumping from the precipice
I can personally attest to this phenomenon—even though no one should ever accuse me of even the slightest aptitude toward anything mathematical—having now somewhat arguably survived for three-score and eight years on this earth. In remarks made at a recent high school baccalaureate celebration I admitted to having recently traveled through just such a time warp, whereupon I came to the realization that my high school graduation had occurred but yesterday, albeit now fifty years distant.
A few months ago I came across a four-page newssheet, yellowed with age but remarkably well-preserved for having been printed a half-century ago. Dated May 21, 1965, the banner declared: “The Rosarian – Official Newspaper of Holy Rosary High School” of which I was the editor that year. The issue in evidence was dedicated to the graduating class of 1965; I was one of the twenty graduating seniors of what would turn out to be the next to last high school class to graduate from there.
In rereading its pages I was transported to a time long past and yet it seemed as though it was but yesterday. Yet as we now know that is what happens when you are traveling through life at warp speed.
Imagine for a moment being born tethered to a lifelong bungee cord, standing high above the gates of heaven and then – imagine how fast and free you fly when you dare to jump from the precipice into the abyss below, caring only for the moment and the thrill of living large. Imagine the sensation as you fall, when the cord begins to tighten, then to stretch and stretch some more and your descent begins to slow. And then you reach the limit of the elasticity of the rope, hanging for a second, only inches from certain death and then the rope retracts and you find yourself returning, reliving moments and experiences that once were real but now are but fading memories.
It is a good, good thing that the memories to which we cling so tightly within our hearts and minds are but of the more pleasant moments in our lives. Of things less pleasing we readily forget with few or no regrets and that is a good thing too.
Those who are far too young to hold deep and distant memories have but launched into the sky and begun to spread their wings and learned to fly. We who have stretched the rope to its limits can only trust that we have tied one end securely to the rail.
[1] John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Yesterday, track #33 on the album Love.
[2] An archaic term denoting a span of twenty years.
