Chasing Rainbows

On the afternoon of Nov. 5 after a week of rainy weather, I was standing on a busy mid-town street corning waiting for friends to join me for dinner at a nearby restaurant. More precisely, this corner was at the bottom of a slightly inclined thoroughfare, but, even from this vantage point, I could see an arc of a rainbow in the eastern sky. Since I was a bit early, I decided to get a better view and so I walked up the street, looked up, and was rewarded by the sight of the entire, magnificent rainbow spread across the brightening firmament. Beholding this natural phenomenon in all its glory, I could only murmur to myself a short prayer of gratitude to the Creator of such splendor.

Soon I retraced my steps back to my original position, for I did not want to miss my companions. As it turned out, they were delayed, but it was during the interval that I began speaking to the many passers-by of the revelation of pure beauty that awaited them as they headed up the hill.

Guess what! Most of these people I addressed hurried by without the slightest acknowledgement of my enthusiastic words; others acted frightened, as if I was some escaped lunatic; and some even appeared downright hostile and angry. It was a seismic reawakening to life.

The Angelenos I encountered that late afternoon were obviously preoccupied with their own problems, intent only upon getting home from work. They were not about to smell the flowers or chase rainbows--even for a moment.

The world is still too much with us. When rainbows don’t move us, we have indeed gotten out of tune with the eternal music of the spheres.

BURT REINER

Los Angeles