la macchina

“Who controls who?
the machine controls man?
or does man control the machine?”
Those were the words of my brother
as I stalled his car for the second or third time
I had started to look a bit frustrated prior to his questions
“man controls the machine,” I said…
“ok, so let’s go,” he said

My brother was my hero through my childhood
I remember wanting to do everything with him,
I played with marvels on the dirt,
climbed on trees and hanged out with him outside
I even wanted to dress like him and wear his handy downs
and then the day came, “you can’t come with me,” he said
I was confused, “why?” I asked, “they’re all big guys”
he was going to play soccer at the park
and I couldn’t come because I was a little girl

Years later, I was ready to go to college and went downstairs to wake him up
He said, “you can take my car, my class is cancelled”
Shocking! “I don’t think I’m ready yet!” I said
He rolled over, ignored me, and went back to sleep
“OK,” I prayed prior to departure an off I went
What now? My mentor wasn’t by my side…
For the sake of the slopes I pulled the handle brake a few times
but I did not stall or hit anyone’s nose
I felt quit victorious as I pulled in the school’s parking lot
And as my last class ended, all I could think about was driving back home

It was my brother who implanted my “love” for machines
He believed and trusted in my skills, he had taught me to “control the machine”
And as I got older speed became part of the passion
My first car, a 2000 VW Jetta manual grew my desire to race
My loyalty to the law betrayed my desire to go 100 mph
but I managed to squeeze in a few of them at times

Then came the boat! The experience “takes your breath away”
There’s the breeze of the Atlantic Ocean,
or the green lush of the New England forests shining on the water,
and the perfection of the sky, with the most beautiful sound of splashing water,
all in one speed!

Then came the plane! I was flying over the hills of Vermont
In a small yellow training plane, “it’s your turn to fly,” I was told
My teeth almost fell out because I couldn’t stop smiling
“What do you think?” the pilot asked… “I love it, this is amazing!”
Up and down we went, until my pilot said it’s time to go back.

As I drive through the streets at night and see that shiny green light at the distance…
off I go and ask God, “Will I die of joy as we fly over the New Jerusalem?”
I have yet to drive a ship, a train, an eighteen wheeler, a motorcycle, and a few more trucks!
and my conscious perhaps forbids me to go on a race track
But I know that none of these will suffice the greatest adventure of all
to fly from planet to planet once Jesus rescues us to take us home on the clouds
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see!

This text is dedicated to my brother, Luis Miguel Tapia Ramos
the one and only who gave my family three more bundles of joy, his three children