A World Suddenly Less Bright

 Eddie Van Halen has left us.

The lead guitarist for the eponymous rock group Van Halen, Eddie died of throat cancer on October 6, 2020.

Some of you, reading this, wept. Some recognized the name, and felt sorrow. And some, perhaps, wondered exactly who he was.

Eddie Van Halen was a rocker who live the rockstar life, and he was also a devout Catholic. Married for a quarter-centruy to the actress Valerie Bertinelli, he left a son, Wolfgang, who is a part of the current Van Halen lineup.

And he changed my life.

The band's signature song, Jump, has such a relentlessly cheerful beat and message...the first lines...

I get up and nothin' gets me down
You got it tough, I've seen the toughest around
And I know, baby, just how you feel
You got to roll with the punches and get to what's real

...became both inspiration and challenge. I wanted to live that.

And, to a large degree, I have (which has, no doubt, irritated many who know me!).

I never met Eddie Van Halen, of course, but as his brother Alex said, "I'll see you on the other side." I hope so!

So this brings to mind two things...

1. He never new the profound impact Jump had on me, as an individual...and how many of us live in ignorance of what our words or deeds may have meant to others?
2. He lived the dichotomy of drugs and booze and devout Catholicism...so what makes a 'good Christian'? Is there such a thing, or are we Christians, to God, simply 'Christians', steeped in worldly sin but holding to a faith that reaches up from the mud and mire?

I don't have an answer. I try to be 'good', but even with terminal cancer, now, I still fall, daily. More in the in of pride (I don't have the energy for sins that might be more fun), but pride being the worst of the lot maybe makes up fo the lack of fleshly sin.

I'd love to hear your thouyghts, and I hope you'll enjoy the sonnet below, an the video link to Jump. It's such a fun, high-energy video, and I wish I had Eddie's brown hair, and wonderful smile.

There’s a silence on the airwaves,

the dial is not as bright;

all’s OK, for Jesus saves,

but we’ve lost a little light.

There’s a guitar waiting in its case

for hands that come no more;

in this now quiet, sadder place,

the Lord has closed a door,

and let us with a memory

to burnish through the years,

a headstone in a cemetery,

and private mourning tears.

Eddie did so much to please us,

and now it’s time to jam with Jesus.

And here's Van Halen, with my beloved Jump. (Please click here if the video doesn't come up.)

I do try to answer each comment in a timely fashion, but with Internet providers really stretched, I have only about half of the access I once did. Please bear with me!

Thanks to Carol Ashby, Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart is back on Kindle, and will be available in paperback soon.

Friends are everything. I couldn't have done it.

Below are my recent releases on Kindle -please excuse their presence in the body of the blog. I haven't the energy to get them up as 'buttons' in the sidebar. You can click on the covers to go to the Amazon links.