Hello Family! A story from Indonesia that touched my heart and I hope it will touch yours. I am so glad our wonderful John sends me these special moments to help me make it through some of the bad days. As usual I don’t know where to start so will just jump right in.
I was invited to go to Toraja last week with a wonderful friend that had company visiting from her native Australia. I had heard so many wonderful things about Toraja that I jumped at the chance to see it.
We left very early on the morning of the 14th of July 1998. It is a long drive, the roads are terrible, winding, very narrow and most of the drivers are very bad. We arrived after lunch on Tuesday and immediately visited the caves where the people of Toraja bury their dead. It is not as horrible as it sounds so don’t shudder. I actually experienced a sense of peace in the caves.
Wednesday was another long day and we decided to stay at the hotel for dinner. They were having what they call ‘Back to Nature’ on the beautiful grounds of the hotel. We had not planned to stay for the entire evening because we wanted to get an early start home the next morning. While we were eating, a small trio started playing all kinds of music that we were enjoying. A large group from Belgium was into the music as were we. Suddenly the chords from the guitarist sounded very familiar and my heart started pounding. They were playing and singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. I immediately assumed one of the friends I was with had requested the John Denver song. My friends knew of my love for John, his music, his gifts to us all, his love of our Mother Earth. Of course, their knowledge had nothing to do with the fact that I played John CD's for the 7 hour drive in the car. I played some music, some of his symposium talks and even parts of his autobiography.
They all denied any knowledge of why the song was being played. My heart was touched and the tears began to flow. The young men in the trio walked toward me with concern in their eyes. I got up and went to my room for my camera and some money so I could show them my appreciation. I wanted to record the moment with a picture of them to add to my John Denver memory book. By the time I pulled myself together and returned the band has stopped playing. They were standing at the outer ring waiting for me. None of the young men could speak a word of English even though they performed the song in English. I asked the assistant manager to translate for me so I could explain the tears. I told them of my love for John and his love for all the people of the world and Mother Earth. I spoke about some of the causes John believed in so deeply. They were so worried they had done something wrong and that was why I was crying. The looks on their young faces really got to me. I touched my heart and told them they had touched me deeply by playing John’s music. The smiles appeared as soon as I touched my heart and extended my hands to them. I knew by the smiles they finally understood.
We sat and talked for a long time with Putu translating for us. They asked lots of questions about John. I told them about this wonderful world wide family and told them I would tell the story on the Net so everyone could share in the special moment. It truly was a special moment for me and them. Their names are Benny Rantung, Renaldo Palit and Esaf Angi. The name of their band is ‘Oni Ballo’. The young translator’s name is Putu Wibawa. The manager of the hotel, Benny Sidolisa, led a songfest afterward and everyone requested the John Denver song. Here we were, in the middle of this beautiful area of Sulawesi, with tourists from all over the world singing John’s music. Most of the tourists didn’t speak English. I am sure the sounds of this mixed group reached to the stars for John to enjoy his own private concert.
I put together a package of things about John to send to them so they can have a memory of the night also. Puta tole me he would translate everything for the 'band' I don’t think they will ever play “Country Roads” again without thinking about John (and the crazy American lady).
Take a moment out of your hectic schedules to smile and know that John has touched more hearts than we will ever know. I know I will always be grateful for the ‘gifts he gave’ and the gifts he is still sending to us - a special moment in life you enjoyed with John’s music in the background, the warmth and emotions he brought into our lives, the gift of caring for others in this crazy world of ours - “All this joy………”.
Thank you John for standing in my soul and being the sunshine that always shines there!