That One Left A Mark

The bells were ringing

Our souls were singing

Do you remember, never a cloudy day

There was a 

Ba de ya, say do you remember?
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shiny days

September, Maurice White & Allee Willis (1978)

(image by Cyler Groseth)

Five years ago today, I stood alone in the blazing sun, stunned, at the closed U.S. Border Station at Antelope Wells, New Mexico not quite believing that I had just finished riding across the country on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Unreal.

That day is seared into my pysche.

Rather than trying to somehow express that day yet again, I simply reproduced the journal entry handwritten while waiting on my brother for a ride toward home. Nothing profound, yet it still releases a flash flood of thoughts and emotions.

That one left a mark.

Addendum. I listed, described, and linked over 50 posts about this ride on a Blog Page entitled Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (2021).

Addendum 2. I finished my Great Divide ride on September 8, 2021. While waiting for my brother Cyler to pick me up at Antelope Wells, the song "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire and the cover by Kirk Franklin played through my head many times. Pure joy. Some singing and dancing may also have been involved.

The bells were ringing

Our souls were singing

Do you remember, never a cloudy day

There was a 

Ba de ya, say do you remember?
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shiny days

September, Maurice White & Allee Willis (1978)

September, Earth, Wind & Fire (1978)

Everybody has a September in their life

You know that first time you heard God's voice

So you felt His love

So no matter what season you're in right now

After winter comes spring

So, if you love my Jesus, help me sing

Ba de ya, tell me you remember
Ba de ya, when your heart felt like September
You still had the joy and God was just a prayer away

September, Kirk Franklin (2007)

September, Kirk Franklin (2007)