Guest Commentary: Finding the rainbow connection

Guest Commentary
Janet Elisovsky
For The Cordova Times

To quote a song made famous by Kermit the Frog, “Why are there so many songs about rainbows, and what’s on the other side…”

After the horrible weather this past week, and its ending being many beautiful rainbows on Friday, got me to thinking that there are so many ways to interpret a rainbow. One can see it as good luck, as though we could really find the pot of gold at its end. Or a Christian may see it as the covenant from God, as he will never destroy the earth again. And yet it might just be in our thoughts as a better life just waits for us over the rainbow. However you look at it, a rainbow is a wonderful sight. It can make the most cynical person take pause to just look up in the sky and see something beautiful that nature has chosen to share with us. It can give us a moment of peace in this crazy upside down world we live in. It can also give us hope, that the storm has finally passed, be it a storm in the sky or a storm in ourselves.

Wikipedia’s definition of a rainbow is as follows-”A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicolored arc.”

I guess it is important for each student in a science class be taught exactly what a rainbow is, and how we are able to see its colors, but I’m just a simple person, and I prefer my own explanation if asked-it’s magic. All the colors in the world come together after a rain, to show us all is well, and although there may be sadness and ugliness all around us, there is still beauty in this world. Sometimes you just have to look up to find it.

Seven years ago, two days after Christmas, I was sitting in a restaurant in Lewiston, ID with many of my family members. They had all attended my Mom’s funeral earlier that day. After missing three flights due to weather, sitting up all night in Sea-Tac airport, the final flight cancelled due to mechanical, I was finally able to meet up with my niece Lori, who then drove me 65 miles in a blizzard to Nezperce, where I was to have been almost two hours earlier. I had missed my Mom’s service. As we all sat around the table, swapping wonderful family memories, I mentioned to my family if when they cleaned out Mom’s apartment before I got there, if anyone had come across a small piece of denim that had fabric paint which read; “Everybody needs a rainbow.”, I would love to have it. All my life I’ve loved rainbows, and I had made that so many years ago, and my Mom loved me so much she had kept it safe for almost 50 years. I was sure there was no way someone kept it, but my niece Lori then said, “Oh, do you mean this thing?” And she pulled it out of her purse. Something told her to keep hold of it. Through my tears I held that ragged piece of cloth to my heart, and to this day it’s never far from me. Neither is my Mom.

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My latest find of rainbows is more recent. My late husband Walter got up early almost every morning for the 29 years we were married to start the coffee. When we moved into our house 21 years ago, I had him hang two crystals in our kitchen window facing the east. Every spring and summer morning the sun was shining I would come downstairs to fresh coffee and rainbows filling our kitchen and living room walls. Walter would point out the prettiest ones as I struggled to open my eyes. The first morning he was gone last year, I dragged myself downstairs, just trying to get thru the next five minutes, let alone the rest of my day, when suddenly I was blinded by a bright flash. I looked around and to my sadness and joy, I looked down and across my shirt was the biggest and brightest crystal rainbow I had ever seen. I look for them first thing every morning even now. I don’t always see them, but when I do, I know it’s Walter’s way of telling me he has never really left me. I now know once the dark clouds pass, I will see the sun and rainbows again. And thanks to my family and friends, I am truly not alone.  I have always been in search of my very own rainbow, and in some way I guess I found it.

So to end this with one last quote from Kermit the Frog, “Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.” May you never stop searching for your rainbow, because you never know where and when you’ll find it.

Janet Elisovsky has been a resident of Cordova for 31 years. She continues to make it her home, due to much support and kindness from the community. Janet can be found at the Cordova Museum during the day, or driving around with her dog Munchie.

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