Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.
These are the first and last verses to a familiar Bob Dylan classic which was first released in 1964. In 1967 they were re-released, and that is the version I was most familiar with. I had no idea that 40 years later those words would be significantly more meaningful to me personally than they were when I was 16. In those days the hippie / free love movement began at the corner of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco - the Israeli army conducted the famous 6 day war - Viet Nam was raging - and my family moved from the only home I had ever known growing up, into a school whose junior class alone was more than two times larger than my entire high school had been. The times, they truly were a'changin'.
Then, this past week I traveled with Debbie and Marisa to visit my mom and dad in the Dallas, Texas area. My parents no longer live together. After 64 years of marriage, my dad has had to be moved away from my mom into an Alzheimer's care facility. My mom lives in a retirement village and has assistance 5 days a week. For them - and for the rest of the family - the times they are a'changin'.
My dad is no longer the dad I have known all my life - he is but a shell of the man who gave himself so diligently and lovingly for his family.
My mom, though lucid most of the time, can be seen sitting in her chair talking to people only she can see, or going through motions with her hands as if she were sewing something precious to her - movements she has done thousands of times making dresses for my sisters and quilts and such - though there is no needle, thread or fabric in front of her.
For us all - especially mom and dad - the times they are a'changin'. I pray that we all will continue to make the adjustments with grace and dignity - and the love we learned from these two wonderful parents. Bless you Mom and Dad - and thanks for giving us all life and love.
