I don’t know where the lake is that my parents called Silver Lake. It was a stop on the road somewhere, probably in California. I never saw the lake close up. It lay low within its banks and far beyond trees and reeds. We parked at a lonely picnic area, late in the day, tired and hungry from a long day’s drive, with miles more to go before we would stop again. We spread Mom’s oilcloth on a table, but the wind blew so hard we had to weight it with rocks, and the wind kept blowing my hair into my face while I ate. Paper plates, cups, and napkins had to be held tight, and I don’t recall but wouldn’t be surprised if some escaped and tumbled away in that wind. It made us all a little cranky to be so road weary and hungry and have to fight the wind.
None of that detracted from a sight, late in the day, of sunlight striking the slope of a nearby mountain. It shone through a faint haze just dense enough to make golden sunbeams slant onto the trees on that hillside in such an indescribable way I wanted to memorize the scene. For some reason it made my heart ache just a little, so sweet was that light. We held tightly to our tablecloth as we folded it, and drove away. The memory of that golden light has stayed with me for some forty years. I’ve looked for sunlight like that ever since and sometimes glimpsed it, always ever so fleeting.
1.
Beautiful. There are indeed certain qualities of light which seem to touch something in us. What I can’t say, or why one kind of light is so suddenly striking. But this captures the feeling.
Comment by Eric Mayer — May 27, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
2.
Isn’t it striking how some events or moments like that etch themselves into your memory, and decades later you can recall them in crystal clarity. When you were younger, the memory was just around the corner and you’re sure you could re-create it if you wanted to. Decades onward, you realize that it is far beyond anything except that light-filled recall and only you can see it.
Comment by Sarah — May 27, 2007 @ 8:32 pm
3.
Very nicely put; the memory, the image, the feel of the wind that lasts forever.
Comment by susan — May 28, 2007 @ 4:55 am
4.
I am a BIG fan of lakes. They are so tranquil and lovely. I have memories of wonderful places like that, too…
Comment by violetismycolor — May 28, 2007 @ 3:52 pm
5.
Everything about you is poetic. xoxo
Comment by Reenie — May 30, 2007 @ 6:14 pm
6.
I could almost feel the wind while reading. It must have been really beautiful for you to have remembered after all these years. It’s wonderful to have such a memory like that to hold on to, almost spiritual.
Comment by Sherry — May 31, 2007 @ 9:35 pm
7.
What a lovely memory.
Comment by cassie-b — June 1, 2007 @ 5:11 am
8.
Congratulations! You’ve won The Thinking Blogger Award. (see my blog).
:-)
I love to read you!
Comment by Beverly Jackson — June 4, 2007 @ 5:50 am