There you were on that stage, an old highlight from America’s Got Talent.
Torn white jeans, black Doc Martins, and dark tee top.
For a brief moment you took my breath away,
attention and focus captured by that look.……..pixy haircut, dark skin, incredibly bright eyes, slightly big ears and that mesmerizing smile.
I was knocked out by you, a combination of things configured in a way that I had never quite seen before.
And the song you sung, an original “IT’S OKAY, IT’S ALRIGHT”, the judges loved it and they as well as everyone in that viewing audience fell in love.
It was a standing ovation, four yeses from the judges, and the golden button hammered down by Simon.
Gold confetti fell from above the stage and covered you as you fell to the floor overwhelmed by complete excitement and joy.
Simon came from behind the judges table onto the stage to hug and personally congratulate you………it was a sensational moment and no one tried to hold back their tears.
As you left the stage with the audience clapping and cheering you responded to a crew member who was also in tears, you could be heard to say, “ a two percent chance, but that is better than zero”.
And time stood still……I stood still.
A what??
That simply can not be,
no, no, no……. this isn’t right!
The smile on your face bigger than ever,
the electricity coming from you through that monitor,
the spell that you had cast still causing me to spin
and you tell us, me, that you have only a two percent chance.
In the on stage interview you had said that you were doing okay……that everything was alright, but you had been through a troubling time.
One of the judges asked the nature of these troubles and you simply said cancer.
A judge asked if you really were alright and you responded that it was only in your lungs, spine, and liver.
There was a universal gasp in the auditorium and then additional queries from the judges.
Your response to all of that was “you just can’t wait for life to be good to have fun”, which stunned me and everyone else who heard those words from your mouth.
My thought, probably along with others was, I guess this is not such a bad day.
You were pulling this off, given all that life had thrown at you,
making our spirits soar and then bringing us to our knees from this unbelievable high.
Your pixy haircut, the cutest thing I had ever seen, who had indeed held me captive and took my breath away sang her original song.
No secret as to what this was about……you, IT, fate, and your resolution.
Inside of me a scream………but it’s not okay, not in my or anyone’s book.
Everyone knew that you were special.
Everyone saw that spirit and magic.
No, it is not alright that you have a 2 percent of carrying on,
fulfilling your promise, bringing joy and pleasure to all those who might see and hear you.
No, it is not alright that you will be denied this,
that we will be denied this.
If there is a god in heaven, but just what is he/she thinking to allow this to happen.
Has he taken a good look at you to see what we saw?
Has he heard that melodic voice that wiped us out?
Will he really put an early end to such a creature that is his own creation?
Rerun that performance for him, just in case he didn’t hear.
Play the tape for him and beg for his reconsideration.
And say to him with all the respect that is due, that plan or no plan, this is not alright……it is not okay.
That performance was from August of this year.
I don’t follow this program and honestly never caught her name.
But now in November, I wonder what has happened to this thirty year old from Ohio who stole our hearts and then shattered them into a million pieces with the disclosure of her fate.
What has happened to that look, that voice, in light of what confronted her?
Sadly, I can guess………scourge that IT is.
However I have no doubt what has happened to that spirit, that smile, and that magic……….something that special cannot be extinguished.
Circumstances have most likely not gone her way and that deeply saddens me.
No, it is not alright, it is not okay……it never will be.
But in reality that is not for me to say.
On that day, in that moment, it was for her.……..
Joy, excitement, and satisfaction can not only be sought after when things fall your way.
Ask the two percenter.