Tag: dust-in-the-wind

DUST to DUST

“Because Charles is deader than a mummified Egyptian, there are only two ways to prove they’re right.”

Silhouette of a cowboy walking in a desert at sunset with dust swirling around him
A cowboy dissolving into dust walks across a desert towards the glowing sunset.

Several years ago, I wrote a public piece jokingly advocating that Charles Darwin’s body be exhumed and sent to a lab for DNA analysis. I mentioned that I believed the results would show no direct relation to tadpoles, monkeys, or apes, although a correlation to dust would be found.

I was immediately besieged by harsh comments from scholarly critics who said I knew nothing about DNA. They were mostly right, as I understood little of the subject. I can’t remember DNA even being mentioned in my early 1970s high school biology classes.

I wasn’t a Biblical scholar back then and knew little of what I’d just written, other than it sounded logical. If anything, a song composed in 1976 spurred my idea forward as music sometimes does.

The song “Dust in the Wind” was penned by Evangelical Christian Kerry Livgren of the band Kansas. Its message reflects on the fleeting nature of life, the limits of wealth and achievement, and the reality that human accomplishments are temporary.

I believe that Livgren’s final message in this tune is that our bodies are made of dust and will return to it. For those questioning things, simply turn to Genesis 7:7 and 3:19, as well as Ecclesiastes 3:20. Kerry Livgren evidently knew these verses well. The next time you sing along with this song, remember the story behind it.

Evolution is something that some instructors tried to cram down my throat in my last years of public school, although in Alabama and Texas, not so much. These states were considered the Bible Belt back then and still are. Liberal ideology had infiltrated the curriculum in Alaska, and NEA officials, along with selected teachers, spoon-fed it to students. I was one of those who regurgitated.

As young parents, and with our eyes wide open, my wife and I elected to send our children to Christian schools, while at the same time still having taxes taken from our pay for public school. It was tough, but we paid double for their education through all 12 years without complaining. We believe it paid off as they avoided the secular brainwashing.

I did some studying on Charles Darwin to see what his religious beliefs were. Baptized and raised in the Church of England, Darwin at one point was headed toward becoming a clergyman. Somewhere along the way, he changed and became agnostic. Darwin died in 1882, some 144 years ago.

It is claimed by some that he recounted this viewpoint while on his deathbed. Those same scholarly critics who attacked me say this is poppycock because it sticks a dagger into their evolution theory. Because Charles is deader than a mummified Egyptian, there are only two ways to prove they’re right.

His body needs to be exhumed, DNA removed from it, with an attempt to clone his existence. Only then can we ask him. The only other way is to wait until we die.

If I find Charles Darwin in Heaven, I’ll know for sure that these anti-creation experts were wrong. Something tells me, ultimately, those evolution scholars might find that information not so gratifying, especially when they go looking for him elsewhere and discover Charlie is not there.

Sand dunes and blowing sand in a desert at sunset with a glowing sky and distant mountains

DUST IN THE WIND

“Dust in Lake Havasu City can be bad at times, with dusting becoming a weekly ritual if not daily.”

HAZEL

It’s dusting time in our house again, and Hazel’s nowhere to be found. Sometimes I believe she went “union” on us. We rely on Hazel exclusively to keep dust off furniture and often have her clean vehicles when they need a little TLC (tender loving care). They generally get dusty, not dirty, like in Alaska.

Hazel is not a real person, unlike the housekeeper of the same name featured in an early 1960s television sitcom starring Shirley Booth. Our Hazel is an authentic ostrich-feather duster like the one I used as a stocker at a grocery store. The fluffy feathers on a stick were always kept in a back pocket back then.

Dust in Lake Havasu City can be bad at times, with dusting becoming a weekly ritual if not daily. Having bad allergies to Arizona dust and pollen, Joleen is generally the one putting Hazel through the wringer, while my main household task is Vacuum Master. On occasion, you’ll find me dusting while holding my breath.

Dust in this city isn’t as bad as it was when we lived in Lubbock, Texas. My brother and I were assigned the dreadful chore during summer months to daily dust and vacuum our trailer home. Dust in Lubbock is red, and when a wind storm passed through, everything was covered, despite doors and windows being shut.

How it got in is still a mystery to me, and even now that we live in a house, it makes no difference. I’ve opened cardboard boxes sealed shut for years and found trace amounts of dust inside, and picture frames, too.

In 1977, the rock group Kansas released a tune called “Dust in the Wind.” Each time I hear it on the radio, I get a reminder to check our coffee table for the stuff, as this heavy piece of furniture seems to be the central dust magnet in our home.

How this song came to be is an interesting story.  “Dust in the Wind” was written by Kerry Livgren, one of the founding members of Kansas. The inspiration for the song came when Livgren was experimenting with a fingerpicking exercise on his guitar, which his wife encouraged him to turn into a full composition.

The lyrics reflect a philosophical perspective on life’s fleeting nature, influenced by Livgren’s readings in existentialism and the phrase “all we are is dust in the wind.” Bible verses 3:20 and 12:7 in Ecclesiastes helped to kindle his thoughts. The song ultimately became one of Kansas’s most iconic hits, resonating with listeners for its contemplative message about mortality and impermanence.

Two years after writing this tune, Kerry Livgren became a born-again Christian, and his music drifted more towards spiritual themes. I can see now why, because the hit song he wrote about dust conjures up depression to me, unless I knew I was going to a better place after death, of which I do. Perhaps Kerry felt the same until finally seeing the light?

As long as there’s wind, we’ll be dusting until the day we die, and I have an inside joke about dust that relates to the famous Kansas song, as well as those two Bible verses.

Viewing the dust covering our coffee table as a bunch of lazy people, I think to myself, “You folks need to move on down the road because there’s no loitering in this house. Don’t let the door hit you in the…!” I believe you know the ending here without me spelling things out.

At this point, Hazel is looked upon to do her thing, that is, when we find her!