{"id":768,"date":"2020-01-24T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-01-24T14:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/?p=768"},"modified":"2020-02-09T13:24:24","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T18:24:24","slug":"edition-2-a-story-of-stones-and-everlasting-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/edition-2-a-story-of-stones-and-everlasting-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Edition #2 <br> A Story of Stones and Everlasting Love"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"768\" class=\"elementor elementor-768\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7a34218f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7a34218f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3544f0c4\" data-id=\"3544f0c4\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-88aeda5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"88aeda5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"667\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/20171008_morocco_02_medina0011.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-772\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/20171008_morocco_02_medina0011.jpg 667w, https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/20171008_morocco_02_medina0011-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ece9172 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"ece9172\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4d5244ae elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4d5244ae\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Edition #2 <br> A Story of Stones and Everlasting Love<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a240f2c elementor-align-center elementor-mobile-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"4a240f2c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-8d55559 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>24\/01\/2020<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d81d030 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"d81d030\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-66e83ab0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"66e83ab0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><i><b>Hey Alex Henry,<\/b><\/i><\/p><p><i><b>I\u2019m not super familiar with your previous band (Have you split up?) but I totally dig your solo stuff and just can\u2019t stop listening to Summertime Departures (I should say cannot stop watching, because it\u2019s on YouTube). Anyway, long story short, I\u2019m really curious about the meaning of the song.\u00a0Thanks for your consideration, Alex Henry.\u00a0<\/b><\/i><\/p><p><i><b>-Allan G., Bolton, UK.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-51c446d elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"51c446d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b342a99 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b342a99\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I started to daub the words to what would later become the lyrics for \u201cSummertime Departures\u201d as I was living in the dazzling city of Tangier, where I sort of drifted in a moment of great confusion.\u00a0My father\u2019s passing being at the center of the echoing emptiness that I was no longer able to ignore after years trying to avoid any type of introspective honesty on what felt like a senseless existence at this point in my life.<\/p><p>For a son, a father\u2019s death is often the end of innocence and the illusions that come with it.\u00a0Time unexpectedly becomes an implacable enemy looking to get its fair share of whatever joyful moments you\u2019ve experienced in the past as well as a loyal shadow always creeping up to you through daily preoccupations, we become ready to give away anything in return for a shallow promise of peaceful upcoming days\u2026 And as I have always embraced the concept of impermanence,\u00a0I believed there should be a great deal of serenity coming with death\u2026 I was wrong.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-68e2d97a elementor-blockquote--skin-quotation elementor-widget elementor-widget-blockquote\" data-id=\"68e2d97a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"blockquote.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<blockquote class=\"elementor-blockquote\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-blockquote__content\">\n\t\t\t\tFor a son, a father\u2019s death is often the end of innocence and the illusions that come with it.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ac12206 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1ac12206\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In fact, my father\u2019s death was as if I had lost enough of myself to suddenly wonder who I truly was and what it meant to face a truth that didn\u2019t imply faith, if only the elusive sensation of having to let go in order to move on.\u00a0There\u2019s a profound lucidity that comes with honesty and having to face the reality that comes with death. I knew somehow I would find enough nonsense to convince myself of an intelligible measure of acceptance in order to find some purpose in all those emotions, as much as in their denial or absence thereof. Again, I was wrong.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p>The way I dealt with it all was silence and isolation, even though his presence, souvenir and memory, as much as all the questions and the resentment coming with it, were haunting me.\u00a0I would so often dream about conversations we never had that I thought I was going crazy, if not obsessed. I wondered if it was sorrow, guilt, anger, but it was something intangible.\u00a0My father dedicated most of his life to his strong spiritual beliefs and he believed until the very end that he would be healed. Even if he knew his cancer was incurable, he sang and praised to his last breath. He was so convinced of his miraculous healing that he never thought it would be necessary to write a few words of his own, to share untold stories or what he was making of his situation\u2026 That deep conviction was incredibly troubling for me, especially after his passing, but I refused to address any of it\u2026 Until I got to Tangier\u2026 and knew I had to.<\/p><p>Being alone in a place as appealingly fascinating as greatly puzzling, I spent countless days observing the sea standing between Europe and Africa from the rooftop terrace of a small guest house, looking at all the people craving to fill the few-minutes-ferry-ride gap keeping them away from the dream of a better life, all gracefully standing with their hopeful arms trying to stretch just wide enough to reach out to a shore of new possibilities that seems to slowly fade away with every longing prayer, observing kids playing football in old and narrow streets, the very same streets that saw their fathers and grandfathers envisioning a more singular life and the everlasting love only believed in by innocent youth, watching women peacefully smiling back at me while drawing water from the kasbah\u2019s public fountain, gazing at elderly people reading poetry while others were praising the wonders of what looks so ordinary to passers-by always walking a little faster as days pass by. It was a world of unique paradoxes reflecting my state of emotional bewilderment right before my eyes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-45cbbf56 elementor-blockquote--skin-quotation elementor-widget elementor-widget-blockquote\" data-id=\"45cbbf56\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"blockquote.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<blockquote class=\"elementor-blockquote\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-blockquote__content\">\n\t\t\t\tThere is a permanence amidst the most painful of all sorrows and our decision to let go in the acceptance that love, just like stone, will forever endure.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1355404c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1355404c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Witnessing how those people connected with the notion of the \u201cnow\u201d offered me a perspective I couldn\u2019t escape from no more, something that was way beyond grief, life, death and myself. Therefore, I started writing.\u00a0I never thought I would have the courage to be that honest, to be that vulnerable, to expose what I was going through and to eventually find a way to let him go, to be set free. It all sort of made sense with the image of setting stone on a sanctum shrine\u2026 That was the starting point. That was the strange but meaningful ignition for me and ultimately the song. The idea was about a \u201cmarker\u201d testifying of the foundation a person could have been in our lives\u2026 a \u201ccommon\u201d stone transcending any sort of precious ornaments.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p>That image led me to wonder what\u2019s ultimately left of us, when time passes by, when loved ones disappear, when promises vanish with the memories of those we cared for, when names are no longer mentioned, when our fondest souvenirs of someone we used to cherish slowly make place for somebody else\u2019s heart, when the vivid colors of flowers are long gone, when time keeps its vows and catches up with us, when dreams and their hopeful shines wither,\u00a0when we\u2019re one faceless soul to somebody else\u2019s view, just like those travelers stand on the beach waiting for a way to leave everything behind, kids losing their innocence before time, women withering away with every drop of water they still have to draw or an elderly person turning invisible, just like the magnificence of life that we cannot see anymore\u2026 When we are lost in the winds\u2026 When there\u2019s no right or wrong in death\u2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p>And therefore, now looking at it with an honest perspective of my own paradoxes and vulnerability, I understand that \u201cSummertime Departures\u201d is my way to say that regardless of what we may have spent our entire lives believing in or what we may have forgotten with time, there is a permanence amidst the most painful of all sorrows and our decision to let go in the acceptance that love, just like stone, will forever endure.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-67e6e5cf elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"67e6e5cf\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1039f510\" data-id=\"1039f510\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7631ad2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"7631ad2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-13d72889 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"13d72889\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-36c0c94\" data-id=\"36c0c94\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d64c2d3 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-global elementor-global-153 elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"5d64c2d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-xl\" href=\"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/ask-a-question\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Ask a Question<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hey Alex Henry, I\u2019m not super familiar with your previous band (Have you split up?) but I totally dig your &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Edition #2  A Story of Stones and Everlasting Love\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/edition-2-a-story-of-stones-and-everlasting-love\/#more-768\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Edition #2 <br \/> A Story of Stones and Everlasting Love<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-a-stranger-to-another","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexhenryfoster.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}