If the house were on fire, I know what I would take with me on the way out.
I would reach for my cane.
Truthfully, if I didn’t, I would probably fall flat on my face somewhere by the front door. But that is not the reason I would take it with me. I would take it because my brother gave it to me.
When I was in my twenties and using a plain wooden cane, my brother stared at it one day and said, “That’s a cane for an old lady. Here, give it to me for a week.” So, I bought a cheap aluminum cane from the drugstore to use in the interim and crossed my fingers. I didn’t know what he was going to do with it, but I hoped it would not involve candy cane striping. Red is my favorite color, so I thought that might be a possibility.
When he returned my cane to me, I was stunned. There is no other word. I thought it was brilliant. It had eight radials, beginning at the bottom. The first radial was entirely made of neutral shades. The second radial dropped a neutral. The third radial dropped two neutrals and introduced a primary color. The fourth and fifth, the same. The sixth, seventh, and eighth radials dropped two neutrals and introduced a secondary color each time, so that the eighth and final radial was only the color wheel, except not in the correct order, which I thought was quirky and great.
The slow process of rising from black & white to vibrant color held significance for me. It was a symbol of darkness giving way to Light in my life.
Also there was something else on the first iteration of this cane.
There was a black space right under the crook that read, CANE. In all caps. In one-inch all caps. When I asked him why my cane said CANE, he said, “Because that’s what it is.”
I thought that was quirky and great, too. Until I grew tired of the dozens and dozens of people who asked, “Why does your cane say CANE?”
“Because that’s what it is!” I would smile.
*silence*
“So … why does it say CANE?”
Aggh! Look, I had to have that removed, even though I liked it. I did not have time to deal with questions about the details of my cane, of all things.
Five years after he painted it, it needed a touch up, and I begged him to remove the word CANE. He stripped the whole thing and recreated the original design without that one feature. Instead he repainted it with NIKA wrapping around the base of the crook, the N in front. There was also a hidden N on the cane, that no one ever noticed, but I knew it was there. Having a secret N on your cane is almost as terrific as having a secret-bookshelf-door in your house, but not quite. (One day …)
For six more years, I used this version of the cane, and it showed. The wear and tear of daily use was just too much. Even so, everywhere I went, someone would remark on how lovely it was, and they would ask where to purchase something similar.
Oh, how I loved that cane.
Still, after a total of eleven years, I wanted a new one. I can’t explain it, but right now I sense an old season leaving my life and a fresh one coming on sweet breezes. I wanted a new cane to mark the moment.
This Sunday, my brother was watching the Cowboys beat the Seahawks. Naturally, I took advantage of the goodwill in the room. I asked him if he would paint a new cane for me.
“Haha,” I said, “By this Thursday. Haha.”
As I said, the Cowboys were in a good place. When that happens, just go for it, because you never know.
And …
Today is Thursday.
He had it behind his back when he walked up to me. I had given him carte blanche on the design.
“It is the Bright and Morning Star,” he said, handing it to me.
I took it all in, squealing.
The red! The cool blue! The red and cool blue together, my favorite of favorites!
Then, near the top, I saw the coy letters of my name peeking from behind one of the rays of the Morning Star. This is the perfect symbol for the dawn of this new season. Yes, I want to be hidden. Now and forever eclipsed by the Light of the World.
I only thought I loved the first cane.
Now I have two treasures I will reach for if the house is on fire … or if it is a sunny day, and I just feel like walking with two sassy canes.
If you see my brother, thank him for me.
Because I cannot thank him enough all by myself.
