Rainbow on the Horizon

Brook Benton had a voice that could calm me no matter how stressed out I was at any given time.  In 1970 I was stressed out more often than not.  I’d been divorced for a couple of years and had gone through several less than stellar relationships since.  Financially I was barely staying afloat though I had a full-time and a part-time job that paid fairly well.  My life was pretty close to being in the toilet.
 The first time I heard Rainy Night in Georgia it immediately touched my soul.  Its plaintive refrain of “it seems like it’s raining all over the world” precisely expressed my own despair.  Yet it comforted me to know that I wasn’t alone in my misery and Brook’s smooth voice seemed to promise that even this would pass if we would just stay strong.  At that moment it truly felt as if Brook was singing directly to me.  I could almost see the rainbow on the horizon.
 A few nights later I was with my current male companion at a place called Page One.  We had eaten and were having a couple of drinks while we listened to the band.  When they took their first break the jukebox roared to life playing Rainy Night in Georgia.  After a moment my date remarked that it was a dumb son.  I was so stunned I made no reply; however, within a week I had conspired with others to not only get this guy out of my life, but also out of the state.  It rained the night he left, but by morning the sun was shining brightly.  I had taken that first step towards that rainbow on the horizon and it felt great.
 Now when I hear Rainy Night in Georgia I smile in remembrance of that first step.