Mood:
a-okTopic: "Ballamer" (4)
It was truly in black-and-white, and that is the way that Frodo will always remember the images. Slowly, without fanfare, the people came to pay their respects, and to share their grief. As the train pulled into the train station in Baltimore, they began to sing, acappella, the mournful tune that was the favorite of he whom they lamented. It was a song that Andy Williams performed at the funeral, a song which he swore to sing no more after that day. It was a song that Frodo will always associate with those people who shared his grief as that train passed slowly by. Baltimore, and its' very special people, earned Frodo's respect, and his affection, that truly terrible day.
Yesterday, just over forty years later, another train moved slowly southward toward Baltimore. Frodo's black-and-white has long ago been replaced by superior technology, but he expected the imagery to be just the same. Instead, the networks chose not to dwell on the comparison in Frodo's mind, forgetting, if not unaware, just how emotional such a moment might be for those who suffered so greatly. The moments in Baltimore on this day were to be for the hopeful, the dreamers, those who look forward. They would not provide fresh moments for those who live in memory.
It is, muses Frodo, as the PEBO (President-Elect Barack Obama) has orchestrated or been orchestrated throughout his campaign. It is not the time to dwell on that which is behind us, simply because the tasks ahead are so daunting. He would argue that we should never forget that which joins us all, the common experience, but forgiveness and letting our grief take its proper place are what we must do.
The younger ones know that to be true. So, too, do the ghosts that stood there, unseen, along those railroad tracks, singing. Frodo has reason, once again, to appreciate, and to respect, the images of Baltimore. The tears were fresh, and proud.
