Tracks of Lost Tears

I walked around the gallery and stopped to look at various paintings, but when I came upon one piece in particular, I lingered and pondered within my spirit what I saw. A couple was so focused on their individual feelings that there was nothing that would call their attention away to anything but what was hidden within them. They wouldn't hear or mind the rattles, clacks, and the metallic clunks of the train. Neither people buzzing with conversation, nor a camera flashing from across the aisle would stir them. Most importantly, they didn't even turn to one another. Why? One photograph frozen in time held the emotion that lay beneath their outer appearances. It was the perception of an artist who held that photograph in her hands to paint, years later, what she saw and felt from her people watching experience. She neither knew the couple nor did she know their plight, but something in her heart was touched by their silent sounds. The painting of the nameless couple was born of her hands. She carried it until it was time to release it to me. I saw what she saw in the couple. However, I saw more. As I mindfully looked at the painting, I collected symbolism from all over the canvas. The artist wondered how I could see so much. Every time I looked at the painting, I saw something else. Their faces were turned away, forever locked into position on the canvas, yet they spoke to me. This is where the story of Yvette and Milt Campbell begins. Yvette Reveur and Milt Campbell met as young children playing in the same neighborhood. They sat in the same living room listening to the radio, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that the United States was at war. The children survived the harsh realities of WWII. During their teenage years, Yvette and Milt began the mating dance. At Manca's Market, he put his unusual talent to use as he entertained her and showed off, hoping to catch her attention. He knew in one wink that she had noticed. They began dating and their infatuation with one another led to the intimacy that would cause her to become pregnant. They wed and waited. The birth of Joseph was a joyous experience, however the joy became struggle, and that struggle lasted for many years. It lasted through the birth of their first daughter, Catherine. They suffered with the community, the country, and the world when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated A year later, their last daughter, Cynthia was born. She sprang from a fracture within their bond which greatly subdued their love. Ironically though, this child brought them a satisfaction and that glimmer of hope to stir their relationship again. Eventually, their children, Joe, Catherine, and Cindy, became adults, moved out, began their careers, and their own families. Yvette and Milt were in the throes of empty nest syndrome. Life seemed to be going in different directions for Milt and Yvette. Their marriage was a train ride with no stop at a station to let them off. Within the pages of Tracks of Lost Tears, you will come to know Yvette and Milt intimately. You will experience what they experienced and feel what they felt. Let yourself be open. Your heart will truly be touched.