Three Years Gone

I heard a story once- it's apocryphal but today, like I do every year, I always think about it. They say that King George III wrote four simple words in his diary on July 4th, 1776: nothing important happened today. The simplest explanation is most likely the truth: news travelled more slowly in those days- it's entirely possible that King George had yet to hear the news. It's possible that he was unaware of the significance, didn't feel the earthquake, the thunderous upheaval as a new country shouldered its way into the world.

I like to think he knew though. I like to think that he had some inkling of what was coming or what was about to come- and by declaring the absence of anything of importance on that day of all days, he was trying to push it away, trying to forget but the absence speaks louder than words. The silence is immense and in that silence, you can hear everything and remember.

So I'd like to think the King George knew. He was insane, of course, suffering from porphyria and the story, as I've said is apocryphal. It probably never happened at all. But today is a day for quiet. Today is a day for silence and today is day to remember that day, three years ago when a part of my world stopped and vanished forever.

Nothing important happened today.