THE SHADOW KNOWS

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be tall. So, every night, before I fell asleep, I stretched my legs, convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that this exercise would make me taller.

However, heredity  foiled my attempts, and to this day, I still have problems getting products down from top shelves at the grocery store. That’s why, several cans of coffee tumbled to the floor, and one hit me on the head when I pulled the bottom can out of the high stack. Even the listed price was too far up for me to read, so I ripped it off the shelf. I may not be tall, but I’m too old to climb a ladder, and the customer is always right.

The only time I get an inkling of how it feels to be tall is when I am hiking and the sun is at my back. Then my shadow is tall and skinny like a giant. So, it’s me and my shadow.  Someone really should write a song about that!

I never had a desire to live in anyone else’s shadow, because I enjoy rambling along with my own. My shadow is a momentary affirmation that I exist. But, I am a realist, and I know that as soon as a cloud covers the sun, I will, once again, walk alone. Unfortunately, my shadow is always on the verge of being erased.

Another shadow can tip me off if someone is walking behind me. That shadow can look extremely threatening, so I always turn around to look. I want to be sure that it isn’t Big Foot  crunching those rocks behind me on the path. And, Yes, I do know that a very little person can cast a big shadow, but it’s a good idea not to take a chance. I never worry about Vampires, because I know that they don’t have shadows, because they have no souls.

Jim Barrie’s, Peter Pan lost his shadow, but Wendy Darling helped Peter by sewing his shadow back on.  Lady Gaga said, “If you don’t have any shadows, you’re not in the light.” Well, that’s a shadow of an idea, if I ever heard one. And, Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn said, “Stars and Shadows ain’t good to see by.” And, he never even met Lady Gaga.

My shadow is a comfort. It reminds me that I endure. However, if I turn my face to the sun, my shadow falls behind me, and then, if I walk in the shade, it disappears and doesn’t even leave a trace. So the trick is to keep the sun at my back and the wind in my sails and persevere.

Esther Blumenfeld (“I’ve seen George Foreman shadow boxing, and the shadow won!”) Muhammed Ali