While Gazing Into Her Lightning Blue Eyes, We Toasted With A Glass Of Funky Cold Medina

The following poem was inspired by my lovely daughter, Wee Lass, and a song, and came about from a morning ride to her day care:

Steering wheel cool in my hands
As we head off to school,
And spheres of perfect lapis peer at me
across a few feet of mirror

Helpless laughter as I warble off-key
to something by the Secret Machines
and the Princess sings "Rudolph
With your nose so bright...”
(She will win my heart tonight)

Hair the color of cedar just
turning under the sun,
A face like a million brilliant memories:
Shimmering, as joy fills my weary eyes

This long, patient search ended not in the
virid womb of a distant jungle
Nor burrowing the igneous heart of a mountain
No, this singular jewel fell into my hands,
cast up by the tremors of my fluttering heart

“Daddy, you have to say ‘check!’ when I say the words!”
“Check!”
“Not yeetttttt!”
“Oh, sorry, sweet pea.”
“Sunglasses!” “Check!”
“Tote bag!” “Check!”
“Jacket!” “Check!”
“Brass Monkey!” (laughter) “Check!”

So began another typical day in the Gumbo house, getting the Wee Lass bundled up and out the door. We have developed a routine approaching that of the pre-flight checks the pilots do on 747’s, and she is really into it some mornings. When it is sunny out, YOU MUST HAVE SUNGLASSES. She insists, and she has a transparent blue pair that look sort of like the glasses Bono wears that make him look like a fly.

This morning we got in the car and I turned on the radio and heater to get things going, and of course Wee Lass loudly proclaims that we must hear 'Brass Monkey'. I have mentioned this in a previous post that it is one of her favorite songs. The CD it is on has a number of songs on it like that, but normally the she only wants to hear 'Brass Monkey' and the song right after, 'Word Up’ by Cameo. And she likes to listen to them loud.

This morning was a little different. I put the disk in, and the first song starts to play. I was about to hit the track select button, but Wee Lass says, “No, Daddy, I want to hear this one, then the next one, and the next one all the way up to Brass Monkey.” I started laughing and she wanted to know what was so funny.

“You want to hear this song?”
“Yes.” By this time I am belly laughing.
“Why are you laughing, Daddy?”

She is starting to grin and laugh, which makes me laugh even harder, and then she starts laughing even harder. At this point, I start seat dancing and singing the lyrics, even doing my best to do some turntable scratching* at the appropriate moments. By the time we neared the school, we were both dancing and bopping around** and having a great time. She found my attempts at singing to be hysterical. And so did I. I was surprised at how many of the lyrics I remembered, after all, the song came out back in the ‘80’s. What song, you ask?

“Funky Cold Medina” by Tone Loc. “This is the eighties, and I’m down with the ladies…”

*Funny, but don’t try this at home, kids. I mean, don’t try this while you are driving. It’s dangerous, and should only be attempted by people like Run-DMC or the Bomb Squad from Public Enemy, not by rhythmically challenged ordinary white guys like me. Unless you are really, really careful.
**I was REALLY careful, so no outraged phone calls or e-mails, please. I let Wee Lass take the wheel while I ‘scratched’.***
***I’m kidding. She drove the entire way.****
****No, she didn’t. Really.

The poem title is “Her Lightning Blue Eyes” and was inspired by the song “Lightning Blue Eyes” by Secret Machines and by my daughter’s lovely, lovely eyes. Oceans that I could swim in forever.