I do a lot of walking (the more impressive term is “hiking”) here in NC. When I am with people, we talk. We talk about the trails; we talk about the things we are seeing; we talk about our destination; we talk about other people (don’t judge); politics; health; movies; music; what’s streaming; religion; how much longer; you name it. But when I walk alone I put in my earbuds and either an audio book accompanies me or a podcast or music I have downloaded from somewhere.

Today I am listening to a podcast recommended by a friend who shares my love for Leonard Cohen and who is taking a chance that I like Paul Simon. (I do.) Malcolm Gladwell is interviewing Paul Simon on his career, his music, his creative genius, his work ethic, his origin story, his “mentors”. It is called, “Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon.” It is riveting. (I found it on Audible.) It is a good thing that I am pretty much alone on these wooded paths, because I am listening, walking, singing. Like in the shower – no one around – no inhibitions.

I learned so much about the songs, about the arc of Simon’s career, about his creative process, music of his youth, musicians he collaborated with, and musical traditions he traveled the world to learn from. Way back when I was still living in Springfield, New Jersey, I was so captivated by Sounds of Silence that I used it as a basis for a sermon. There is poetry in the lyrics: “Hello darkness my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again because a vision softly creeping …” I have the sermon in a cardboard box filled with blue 5X7 cards with my words typed in black ribboned ink on a baby blue Smith Corona electric. I can’t replicate my original message right now, but in this fractured America we are living through I hear the words of prophet written on the subway walls … people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening…

And I wonder at the sanity of it all. As I listened to the podcast I was sure that I was going to use the words of a different classic of Simon and Garfunkel to jump off from for this blog. “When you’re weary feeling small … ” But words often take you to places you do not recognize and unless you are disciplined you can wind up in a different key. But one thing is clear to me. We need a bridge in this country we call home; we need to find ways we can talk with each other and move forward together. This stalemate in government and this privilege of sitting inside the Washington beltway and ignoring the issues of gun control and women’s rights, a planet that keeps heating and the rising prices of silence – in the words of the prophet – like a cancer grows.

In Florida there is a primary coming up. I’m waiting for my ballot to be forwarded so I can vote for candidates who know how to build bridges.