My boyfriend and I were in Long Branch, New Jersey for a wedding a couple of weeks ago. The morning after the celebration, we headed down to breakfast at the inn, and fortunately, the only two seats left were next to a man reading a newspaper who invited us to join him.
I commented on the headlines of his newspaper, then told him I worked for Good News Network– all good, all the time.
“It’s all about perspective,” said the man, whose name I later learned was Vinnie. “Which reminds me of a story from years ago.”
Surrounded by preppy guys in arrowhead shirts and khakis, he noticed the only other guy wearing leather—a guy named Bob—grabbed a bottle of rum from behind the bar, and headed for the beach.
That night, there seemed to be billions of stars in the sky, and they all looked like diamonds.
Bob was laying next to him, talking about the poor and downtrodden of the world, how they’ll never get a chance in life.
“Bob, you’ve got it all wrong. Look up at the sky, man. It’s beautiful. It’s all about perspective,” Vinnie said.
The two continued to talk, and to drink, and eventually they danced, arms above their heads, taking turns holding and swigging the rum, until the wee morning hours.
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Years later, an iconic song was released into the lexicon that was the 60’s, and the lyrics were:
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow
There’s no real way of knowing if Bob Dylan was, in fact, talking about a night with Vinnie, in Tambourine Man.
What you choose to believe all depends on your perspective.
Share This Perspective (below)… Photo by Vjeran Pavic, CC