SHE IS STAGGERING

Story by Peter Vuono

Title by Mark Mulcahy

   Years ago, when cars had CD players, I'd love to play one of my favorite songs as I rode home on Route 495. This was the little known song, "She's Staggering" by Polaris, a little known band out of New Haven CT who played the lion's share of background music for the TV show "Pete and Pete".

   I liked it because it reminded me so much of my daughter Amy who just got married to a great guy on August 22nd. The gist of the song is that the story teller sees a woman that he's enamored with and it's all he can think about. It reminds me of Amy because of two things: first, there is some nice flute playing in the middle and at the end of the song. Amy, for a brief time was very proficient in the instrument. However, the more important reason was that for such a very long time, I, my wife and I suppose Amy prayed that she would find a soul mate because all we wanted for her was happiness.

  She had unfortunately encountered many road blocks and perhaps wrong decisions that only broke her heart all the more. We continued to pray and it happened; God blessed us all. She married Mike in a beautiful setting in NH with me presiding as a Justice of the Peace and a gathering of some of the most beautiful people I've ever met.

  Throughout my life, God has afforded to me many blessings.

The time in 76 that I got my 1st teaching job and didn't expect it.

The time I won the NH state powerlifting championships in 77.

The time I sat on Diane's couch listening to "You Take My Heart Away" as she said, "Of course, I'll marry you".

The time the doctor handed me Amy the second she was born and I looked upon her in awe.

The time my son Mike earned a Black Belt in front of the top ranking Kenpo artist in the world.

The time Mike became a teacher

The time I survived a heart attack and went on to take care of both my elderly parents, get a Black Belt at age 61 and pull a 400 deadlift a few months later.

Or the time when a dolphin jumped clear out of a pool on a wall to meet my 6 yr old daughter!

All these were blessings to be sure that I'll never forget but they didn't have the impact of joy as the day Amy found happiness, found a man who loved her for who she really was and  who found her staggering.

"I couldn't stand up; I couldn't sit down. One look at her and I stumbled around. She is staggering".

M. Mulcahy