Memories of Nancy Rising Out of the Ashes of the Fires
"I know that she, if alive, would be destroyed inside..." Poetry by Ernie McCray
The raging fire in Pacific Palisades darkens my soul as it’s part of me, the home of Nancy my very dearly departed soulmate, the mother of three of my six children. I know that she, if alive, would be destroyed inside, viewing an inferno, miles wide, leaving her old neighborhood burning away in its wake. And, as I wallow in the tragedy of it all, images rise in my mind like ashes from the fires of the times we had in her hometown when we visited her folks, cruising on the Pacific Highway, dining at some exquisitely fine cafes, every now and then seeing a celebrity or two, kicking back, near the top of the hill, above a canyon quiet and still, enjoying the wonderful ocean view, affluence surrounding you, a setting I wasn’t used to based on my humble upbringing on the northside of Tucson, a hood full of folks who, in comparison to Nancy’s neighbors, didn’t have a penny to their name. But I love from whence I came and these memories remind me that no matter who we are, or what our circumstances are, we’re basically the same, and both Nancy’s and my community put us on a path towards each other as both of us have undertaken the role of doers and changemakers all our lives, enjoying the support provided by mentors in our lives who energized our penchant for activism, she having resided next door to Charles Seeger, folk singer Pete Seeger’s father, who encouraged her to think broadly with an open mind as she contributes to her times, and she went about it with a kind of hippie-style and just from living among folks who were struggling just to get by, I got the itch to want to, for humanity’s betterment, shake things up a bit. When we joined our lives together we were a perfect fit. So, as I shudder from the continuing news of the fiery tragedies in LA, I have to say a little girl grew into a wonderfully beautiful woman in a breathtaking community called Pacific Palisades. I hope it can be remade.
Ernie McCray is an activist for love and peace who acts and sings and writes both poetry and prose, a man who rises each day to do whatever he can, no matter how small or grand, to make the world better in some way.
Unapologetically.