The Who

A day of holding two truths at the same time. I spent the morning unpacking boxes of books and music. All my CDs that I haven’t listened to in 3 ½ years. Instruments I haven’t played in as long. A stereo system. The components of a life I used to live. I found very few things I wouldn’t like to live with now, and felt grateful to be taking these parts of my life back out of boxes. I alphabetized my CDs on my rack, and once they were all in order, I reached for the first one, the alpha CD, the music I’d like to be first back in my ears after all this time. It will come as little surprise to people who have known me a long time that that CD was ………………………………………………

Wait, do you want a moment to guess? ……………………………………………….

Yeah, you were right. Quadrophenia. (Which, BTW, is about to have a big screen run at BAM next week.)

There are men high up there fishing,
Haven't seen quite enough of the world,
I ain't seen a sign of my hero,
And I'm still diving down for pearls.

Let me flow into the ocean,
Let me get back to the sea.
Let me be stormy and let me be calm,
Let the tide in, and set me free.

I'm flowing under bridges,
Then flying through the sky,
I'm travelling down cold metal
Just a tear in baby's eye.

Let me flow into the ocean
Let me get back to the sea
Let me be stormy and let me be calm
Let the tide in, rush over me.

I am not the actor
This can't be the scene
But I am in the water,
As far as I can see...

I'm remembering distant memories
Recalling other names.
Rippling over canyons,
And boiling in the train.

Just wait til I unpack my vinyl. That first album will be …………………………………

Wait, do you want a moment to guess? ……………………………………………….

Yeah, you were right. The Who by Numbers.

Some people seem so obsessed with the morning
Get up early just to watch the sun rise
Some people like it more when there's fire in the sky
Worship the sun when it's high
Some people go for those sultry evenings
Sipping cocktails in the blue, red and grey
But I like every minute of the day

I like every second, so long as you are on my mind
Every moment has its special charm
It's all right when you're around, rain or shine
I know a crowd who only live after midnight
Their faces always seem so pale
And then there's friends of mine who must have sunlight
They say a suntan never fails
I know a man who works the night shift
He's lucky to get a job and some pay
And I like every minute of the day

I dig every second
I can laugh in the snow and rain
I get a buzz from being cold and wet
The pleasure seems to balance out the pain

And so you see that I'm completely crazy
I even shun the south of France
The people on the hill, they say I'm lazy
But when they sleep, I sing and dance
Some people have to have the sultry evenings
Cocktails in the blue, red and grey
But I like every minute of the day

I like every minute of the day

So after the pure me joy of listening to the greatest rock opera of all time, I packed up some stuff and joined Nina and Mickey who were already over helping Dana and Kathleen dig out from the flood. And as we sifted through soaked mucky silty clothes and papers and books and other ruined belongings, I realized that Dana and Kathleen were suffering a loss in direct relation to the delight of my morning. They would never again open a box of these items with the same sense of reunion that I had gotten to experience.

And my heart broke a little bit for them, and my heart filled a little bit for me, and I held both of those truths at once.

This week’s middah (mide) was, in fact, Truth: Say nothing unless you are sure it is 100% true.