People Who Make Me Feel a Wonderful World

by Ernie McCray

As the dental surgeon prepared me for a procedure, a mellow rendition of “What a Wonderful World” played in the background.

On a violin. What a nice sound.

When I awoke the music kept playing in my mind. Evoking memories of Louie, the great Mr. Armstrong, Satchmo, singing this song, capturing so much beauty with lines about “trees of green” and “red roses” and “skies of blue and clouds of white” and “bright blessed days” and “dark sacred nights” and “the colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky.”

As Maria drove us home, I basked in the mood Louie had me in with his images of loveliness.

And I remembered, too, lyrics in the song that spoke to the beauty inherent in human beings, “friends shaking hands saying, ‘How do you do?’”

And I couldn’t resist thinking that there truly are many people who, through their actions, no matter what is going on in the world, approach the rest of us with an “I love you.”

People who make you smile on a dark bluesy day or get us dancing to the music they play.

People who cleanup behind us at the park and on the beach and people who feed and clothe those who live on our streets.

People who protest lead in our water and protect a people’s right to vote, keeping true to the ideals of democracy.

People who go to work every day in health clinics and hospitals that are overburdened with trying to preserve the lives of “misguided freedom fighters” who refuse to protect themselves or folks other than themselves.

People who, in essence, in the middle of the tremendous turmoil and strife in our lives, like the words in the song, make me “think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

Oh, yeah!