I believe in the moon landing. That while the rest of the world gazed into the sable night, spacemen bounded untethered of planetary gravity. I believe in boot soles imprinted upon the lunar desert which will last eons. I believe if I were to write America’s memoir, I would close with the image of our fearless explorers driving an impossibly waving flag into one of the many bodies of heaven. I believe in torching the sky on the Fourth. I believe Icarus was right, and the fiery crash never changed that. I believe Evel Knievel is jumping buses on the plains of Elysium, and he still feels his bones snap every time he tumbles over the bars. I believe that even the warm kiss of a princess is insufficient to morph a daredevil into something less divine.
I believe there is no virtue in learning from pain. I believe that even warm hearts can lose their way, but at the deepest level, we are all still the perfect beings our mothers once held. I believe the ability to see the baby within the man is where God hides. I believe you can never grow old watching Spielberg movies, that there is no mystery in this world or any other that five 80’s kids and their Schwinn bicycles can’t unravel in a summer. I believe in stealing Dad’s cigarettes and smoking them behind the church. I believe in cussing well, in never saying fucking fuckers or goddamnfuckingsonofabitch. I believe a good swear glides out the mouth.
I believe in Hulk Hogan bodyslamming Andre the Giant at the Pontiac Silverdome. I believe if I say my prayers and eat my vitamins, I can slam giants too. I believe in Rocky, in Rambo, in Robocop. In Rock and Roll. I believe G.I. Joe beats that motherfucker Cobra Commander every time. I believe in guitar solos lasting six minutes.
I believe Elvis still hitchhikes between Graceland and Las Vegas. That kings never die. I believe the government is secretly controlled by aliens wearing skin masks to hide their tentacle faces. I believe the Virgin Mary appearing on a grilled cheese sandwich is a miracle, just like a pirate ship emerging in the shapes of clouds. I believe every cloud breaks.
I believe that some acts are immortal, and that is all we are defined by. I believe in the extra set of legs which keep us upright when we outrun even ourselves. I believe in the moment you grabbed your parachute straps and flew free of the plane. Free of the Earth. Free. I believe the courage which inched you over the precipice of Suicide Hill still dwells within you, and it will resurface when you need it the most. I believe in being flung into waters too deep to touch bottom, in surviving the first moment of death’s existence, in kicking until your body remembers the ocean.
STORY IMAGE CREDIT: Flickr Creative Commons/John McNichols
