Time Passes

 I'm sitting here with my daughter, Solvieg, who is now fourteen. She's sketching randomly in a school notebook. I write randomly, but she is very focused on what she is doing. This is one of her favorite things, just sketching. She's good, does mostly people. She works on heads and hands at various angles, tries to capture movement in the body.

 I'm looking out an apartment window at a rainwashed sky, vibrant green leaves with drops of water resting on them poetically before evaporating or blown away in a breeze. It's a temp apartment. We've been here seven months now while I'm in training for my next assignment, U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique. 

My younger daughter, Sage, is still at school finishing up a computer coding class. She's not much for computers, but because they are creating computer games she's stuck with it. Sage likes crafts; anything with paper, but also knitting, sewing, sculpting, whatever. Are we ready for this next big move? We only came back to the USA from Hanoi, Vietnam, last August after doing a three-year tour there. The girls made good friends and it was hard to leave. 

Shin is out shopping for items that we'll take to Mozambique, getting us ready. She will pick up Sage on the way home. Time Passes. It reminds me of a song I found on the internet by Jerry Ramsey called Time Marches on. I'm sure it's a cover. Yup. It's written by Bobby Bradock and first recorded by Tracy Lawrence. He does the song very well, but not like this Jerry Ramsey character. Here's the lyrics and a photo of Jerry Ramsey:

Sister cries out from her baby bed
Brother runs in, feathers on his head
Mama's in her room learnin' how to sew
Daddy's drinkin' beer, listenin' to the radio

Hank Williams sings "Kaw Liga" and "Dear John"
And time marches on, time marches on

Sisters usin' rouge and clear complexion soap
Brothers wearin' beads and he smokes a lot of dope
Mama is depressed, barely makes a sound
Daddy's got a girlfriend in another town

Bob Dylan sings "Like A Rolling Stone"
And time marches on, time marches on

The south moves north, the north moves south
A star is born, a star burns out
The only thing that stays the same
Is everything changes, everything changes

Sister calls herself a sexy grandma
Brothers on a diet for high cholesterol
Mama's out of touch with reality
Daddy's in the ground beneath a maple tree

As the angels sing an old Hank Williams song
Time marches on, time marches on
Time marches on, time marches on
Time marches on, time marches on