Buddy And Friends At the Gates

I was listening to Buddy Holly the other day - he's one of my all-time favorites, a recurring touchstone. The beauty, simplicity and reverence expressed in "Everyday" strikes me as truly angelic. That night, I had a dream:

February 3, 1959: Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper take the fatal airplane flight. The plane is a tiny brave vessel of calm and safety against a monstrous adversary of wind, snow and gravity. Snow-blinded and confused, the pilot misreads the altimeter and thinking he is climbing, rides them all straight into the cruel white ground. The silent impact throws the broken human contents of the plane out into the snow: so small against the storm, so soft and lonely and sad and dead.

St. Peter is waiting for them. Richie is first. He is waved through after the matter of the Mexican brothel is cleared up. Next is Buddy. Buddy has to keep adjusting his glasses. The left stem is broken. His clothes are abraded and burned and disheveled. Buddy feels uncomfortable - he is used to looking nice.

"I suppose you thought that you would breeze through, eh Mr. Holly?"

"Well, uh, I kind of figured I'd end up topside, Mr Peter, sir. Please forgive my appearance."

"We aren't concerned with image here, Mr. Holly. We are interested in what's inside you. We don't care about the capped teeth or the haircut. We care about your heart."

"Mr. Peter, I've always held Jesus in my heart. I know I've grown kind of proud, the teeth and the clothes and all, but I would have outgrown all of that. I was only 22."

"You played rock 'n' roll, Mr. Holly."

"You don't mean to tell me that rock 'n' roll really is the devil's music, do you? I mean, of course it's wild and rebellious and all, but isn't it how you use it that matters? I wanted to make people happy, have fun, do good. [pause] You let Richie through."

"Do not concern yourself with the affairs of others, Mr. Holly. Your music does make people happy. It does fill their hearts with joy. But our God is a jealous God, don't you recall that Mr. Holly? By filling people's hearts with happiness, you leave them no room for God's happiness. You deceive them into thinking that there can be happiness other than from God. You are either with us or against us, Mr. Holly. There is no in between."

Article Author: Eric Olsen

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