Clouds!

Today the sky was filled with great big behemoth clouds, massive, moving, like armies invading. Liberating armies, promising deliverance from the tyranny of pollen and drought and dust. I have always had a fascination with clouds of every shape and size and color. One of the first moments of creative inspiration I can remember was in an elementary school art class -- we were painting with over sized q-tips and I looked out the window and saw the clouds dancing and I tried to paint those swirls of gray and white and blue because they felt so mysterious and alive. Even now I find myself pulling over my car to take a picture on my i-phone if I see a particularly impressive shape -- last week I captured a fried chicken drumstick floating above with some hush puppies, and today there was a dark shelf so black that it reminded me of The Nothing in the movie The Neverending Story. It delights my fancy to imagine touching those clouds, bouncing around on them, the wind in my hair. My dad used to take us flying in a small plane and we'd make a game of punching holes in the clouds...I can still remember the thrill. Amazing that some condensation and atmospheric pressure can create such joy in me, but it does, and for that everyday miracle, I am thankful.