I am sure there are situations
In which you have been
Where things seem different
From what you are accustomed,
Where conversations are strained
Where you feel like
A fish out of water.
You just don't belong.
I was in one such place
The other night
A bar it was, a local dive
A place to drink
And a place to smoke
A place to play pool
A place to talk, if you can
And I was an invited guest.
Surely not my regular habitat
For I don't drink nor smoke
And I haven't played pool
For twenty-five years or more
In a place with tables so crowded
That I was more concerned
With my backswing
Than I was my stroke!
And the music seemed too loud
With words I could not hear.
The girl who invited me
Had written one of the songs
And I listened so carefully
Yet not a single word
Could I discern
"What were the words to that song?"
I had a conversation with myself
"What am I doing here?"
To which I said,
"This may not be where I'd choose,
But this is where I am,
So the best of it
I will make."
And that is what I did.
So I tried my hand at pool
Just to see how rusty I could be
Challenging another guest
And she beat me well!
So I retired to the side
To observe the local sharks
With no one to take their bet
They simply practiced their art.
I had an interesting conversation or two,
With a couple people there
There was one guy who worked
Twenty-four years in aviation
And loved what he did
And there was another guy
With just three weeks on the job
Who was still seeking his stride.
And as I looked around
There were plenty of strangers there
Each with a story
Each with their own point of view,
Some of them little more comfortable than I
But each willing to talk
Each wondering the other's connection
To Elizabeth whose birthday party it was.
The guests were a cross-section of her life
People from work and play
People from seminars
People from near and far
And the band which she knew.
I could tell that each one
Meant something to her
Thus I was honored that I was invited too.
Then there was Karrie
Perhaps Elizabeth's best friend of all
And a girl who I had coached
Through some interesting times.
We've become best friends as well.
Though this was not her style,
She seemed the life of the party
And inspired me to also have some fun.
Eventually people began to dance
And for a while I was a spectator
Until I joined in
I still thought the music loud
But somehow it didn't matter
At least there was a beat
To which I could move
And I danced with both girls.
I guess the message for me in this
No matter where I find myself
Or how out of place I feel
I can take interest in the people there
Each with their story to tell
And if I choose
Find some common ground
From which to enrich my life.
|