Eyes Only

Eyes Only

There are things seen by the naked eye that defy all belief. A natural twist in nature that draws our eyes in and causes our mouth to gape open uncontrollably. Or an amazing play in a sports arena that causes us to rub our eyes in disbelief. Maybe it is seeing the love of your life for the first time, and though your eyes train onto that person you somehow can remember every detail of all the people and things in the background. You can try to snap a photo as a keepsake, your memory cringes at the image you see on the Kodak paper. The vision is meant for “eyes only”.

Such a thing happened when we were returning from my parent’s home in New Mexico. Alamogordo is a town that sits in the middle of nowhere. It is literally surrounded by white desert sand, and boxed in by rugged, towering mountains. While we were in New Mexico we actually had some snow fall in the desert plain that my folks call home. None of the snow stuck where we were, but the mountains became white over night. By whatever fate guides the universe the moon was full and bright at the same time as our visit.

We left early Sunday morning. My heart was heavy because we were leaving behind family that we were just starting to reconnect with. It was decided that I should be the first to drive. The white sands of the desert reflected the bright moon’s rays and turned the area as a whole into a blue hued study of nighttime desert. The sun was not even a thought on the low desert plain, yet one could see out in all directions for horizon.

Now this is when I saw the amazing view that inspired me to write this blog at all. I pause for a moment, because I really want to describe my vision in a way that perhaps you could close your eyes and see it as I did. I hope to do the experience justice. I looked up at the mountains that split our path out of its rock.

The night sky over the valley that we were leaving was crisp with out a single blemish or wisp of cloud to block the full moon, or her sister stars. The road was moving up into the pale mountain and at the very peak; a thick blanket of cloud was rolling over the top of the jagged mountain. The man made gorge ahead was already filed with the invading cotton-like cloud. I marveled as the cloud “caught” itself on those misshapen spires, and it looked as though the cloud was fragile, like fine linen, and it had torn itself as it rolled over.

Lourdes grabbed her digital camera hoping to catch the image. Nothing. The camera could not see what I was witnessing. Lourdes tried again, and the only thing that showed up was the camera hungry moon. No, this was not an image meant for camera (at least our camera), and even if it did take, then I would be disappointed at the end result. There was an energy as we climbed out of the desert valley, and over the mountain. My heart grew light again at the experience. I find now that remembering the view, the feeling is a jolt in and of itself. Meant for me to see. Meant for me to remember.

I realize that we all have the images in our mind that make even our brightest photos seem dreary. They are the images that we think of as we drift off to sleep. They are the images that cause us to smile a little, and make us feel warm all over again.

There is a scene in the Movie BLADE RUNNER that comes to mind. An android name Roy Batty (Rutger Hower) is dying, and the idea that all that he has seen and done will be lost forever when he does:

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe.Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.Time … to die.”
The moments are not lost in time, they are with us, they make us, and we define them. If only the android had written Blogs…