I had one of those periodic blogging hiatuses (is that a word?). You can always tell when my life gets a tad too hectic… the blogging ceases. This was going to be my big come back week and as you can see, it’s Tuesday and I’m finally getting this sucker out to you. Sheesh!
This Monday(-ish) I have chosen Pink Floyd’s “On The Turning Away” from their 1987 album A Momentary Loss of Reason.
This song seemed appropriate because over the weekend my family and I, along with some good friends were able to work with a wonderful group of people who are special in their single-minded purpose: they want to build bikes for kids at Christmas. People who saw a problem and, instead of turning away, decided to face it.
I wrote about this group once before. You can read that blog by clicking here. The organization is called Turning Wheels For Kids. It was started in 2003 by Sue Runsvold who recognized the inherent potential for pathos in the question, “what did you get for Christmas?” For a child in hard times, how lonely and even harder must Christmas be? So this group tackles the problem one child, one bike at a time. Here is a link to their site. They spend all year raising money for this bike build, so it is already time to think about 2013!
http://turningwheelsforkids.org/#&panel1-1
Here is a glimpse of what we did last Saturday as volunteers built 2500 bicycles!
Because I love this song’s poignant message, here are the lyrics to “On The Turning Away.”
On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won’t understand
“Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others’ suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away”
It’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we’re all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerised as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It’s not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there’ll be
No more turning away?
