What if the bridge was never built?

I talked about wanting my bridge unbroken before.

Some people never even got the bridge built.

Jim Corbett National Park photo by Sumeet18

What if the bridge was never built?

I've been listening to this song a lot lately and thinking about how opposite my life is from the songwriter, one of my musical heroes, Chris DeGarmo.

- Bridge (by Chris DeGarmo) -

You called me up on the phone today
struggling with the right words to say.
Time can change a thing or two.
Time has changed the lives of me and you,
but you know... it could have been different dad.

The word brings back a sweet memory.
I'm sitting on a bluff on a broken tree,
by my side a distinguished man giving me
encouragement, telling me I can, and you know ...
you're not there.

You say, "Son, let's forget the past,
I want another chance, gonna make it last."
You're begging me for a brand new start, trying
to mend a bridge that's been blown apart, but you know...
you never built it dad.

So I sit here through the night, and I
write myself to sleep, and time keeps ticking...
Time has made you finally realize your loneliness and your guilt inside.
You're reaching for something you never had,
turning around now you're looking back, and you know...
I'm not there.

You say, "Son, let's forget the past.
I want another chance, gonna make it last."
You're begging me for a brand new start, trying
to mend a bridge that's been blown apart, but you know ...
you never built it dad.

- Queensryche -

It's a deeply personal song he wrote about his relationship with his father who walked out on his family when he was young.

For someone who carries such an emotional baggage, Chris certainly grew up into a fine man. An accomplished musician and a family man who has managed to stay married to the same woman longer than most rock stars out there.

It is just the opposite of myself. I wonder what kind of a person would I be had I lived his life instead?

What if I got "a distinguished man who's never there telling me I can", instead of "a distinguished man who's always there telling me I can't do this or that"? Would either way made me bitter that it really wouldn't matter which life I had?

Chris' father passed away during the making of this particular Queensryche album, Promised Land.

It's now July. Chris' birthday is in June and there is one thing I can learn from this Gemini star. The way I see it from observing him, we are what we choose to make out of our own life. Sure, life makes us but to Chris, only to a certain extent seemingly. I see him making choices and steering (or pilotting :-)) his life into the direction he wants to bring his destiny to.

Ok. I used to trash it when people said that Gemini is a good balance for Aries, which I am. I said Gemini people were boring. Looking at Mr. Chris DeGarmo, hmm....I'm 'pilotted' to change my mind.

Thank you Chris. You've always been a magnificent bridge.

Here's the song: