Somewhere Over The Rainbow

by | Feb 4, 2004 | John Ong Living | 1 comment

I have a new definition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”

It all started with the sweetest little gift that Bruce gave me – CD mix just for me.

Bruce is very good with customizing song mixes for a certain someone or occasion. This time, he made me a collection of songs that he knows I would enjoy. Some, I know ahead of time, some I don’t.

This is a busy week for me. Monday night after work, I went to a singing rehearsal. By the time I came home, Bruce is already in bed. But I found a CD on my school bag. So, after getting some work done for the next day’s class, I went to bed too.

Tuesday morning. I popped the CD into my car stereo, and there it is, “Hey Ya” by Outkast, which he bought from iTunes. We don’t do illegal downloads. I’m a musician myself, I can understand why that is so wrong. Then there’s a series of my other favorites. I enjoyed listening to all of them from home to work, which was about eighteen minutes. 

Tuesday evening. I left work around five to drive up north to go to school. That’s another 30-minute drive. The CD is still going. All my favorites. I arrived. Went into class. Finished the first class, and I packed to go to another singing rehearsal. I had to skip my second class for this rehearsal (the one which was suppose to be on Sunday, and due to the ice storm, it was postponed to Tuesday night). I went into my car, took out my sandwich, and preparing to take care of my dinner on the drive to my rehearsal. 

Now, by now, I am already a little tired and stressed. I just sat for a quiz. Skipped a class. Starting my 45-minute drive to my rehearsal. Hungry. And missing Bruce because I haven’t seen much of him since Sunday.

From my stereo, came the warm cuddly sound of the ukulele. Then the gentle humming of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole a.k.a. “IZ”, delivering one of the most heartwarming version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” (mixed in with “What A Wonderful World”).  

Tears started to roll off my eyes.

I don’t know if I was stressful, or if it reminded me of the sweet Toys.com commercial, missing Bruce a lot, or just the sweet old sound of “IZ” and his companion ukulele, or perhaps, the combination of everything. I just couldn’t stop crying.

I know I was going to be late, I kept driving, and kept munching on my sandwich, while I was balling away.

Then, this came to me. 

“Somewhere over the rainbow. Somewhere in Kansas, I found my true love. My life is so much prettier and colorful with him around.”

It really IS pretty over the rainbow.

I love you baby.

1 Comment

  1. Bruce

    Wo ai ni!

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Ongline Podcast documents the life of a gay Malaysian-born Chinese American. Immerse yourself in the life of a not-so-typical individual. Expand your horizon by experiencing the topics, issues, stories, and simply, the life of a gay Asian man. Until now, the voice of a minority individual has not been this loud!

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