Third Of June

As my kingdom crumbles down, inside I feel my life begin

June 3, 2020

Edited June 13, 2021

I'm 3 days late getting to this, but that is something I have come to accept as my new reality - not being able to get to the things I want to get to when I want to.

Because my days are so unpredictable, it's hard for me to plan on anything, even spending some time on my writing. June 3rd did not have any specific importance for me, until 1997, when I heard the song "Third of June" by Corey Hart playing over the radio in a medical transport vehicle. Here's the story.

"Still, I'm haunted by the sounds of a battle I cannot win."

In July of 1997, I had my first hip replacement surgery, just five years after being initially diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis. This is relatively uncommon, to have this much joint damage occur in so little time and have a hip replaced at such a young age. I have yet to hear of anyone in my circle of autoimmune disease sufferers who have had joint replacement surgery in their twenties. At 27 years old, this was a significant turning point in my life. No longer would I be able to keep the disease at bay as I once had. The damage was done, and a new hip was in order. It was then that I realized that the gazelle in me was gone. I would never run again, and that was a hard pill to swallow. Ironically, this past June 3rd was "Global Running Day". 


For people who don't know, joint implants are not a replacement for the real thing. They have limitations and a life span of about 15 to 20 years. A new hip allows you to walk again, but that's about it—no more running or jumping. With a limited range of motion, even kneeling to pick up something off the floor has to be navigated carefully.

So, I've had the surgery and been hospitalized for 2 weeks. I've been discharged, strapped into a wheelchair, (a first for me) wheeled down to the lobby, raised on a hydraulic platform, and secured in place inside a medical transport vehicle that will be taking me to a rehabilitation hospital. These vehicles can carry several patients, but today, it's just the driver and me. It's a beautiful mid-July summer day, the sun is out, the birds are chirping, and people are walking around with a spring in their step. The driver has the radio on, and just as we are about to leave, this song comes on and carries me away. I sat there, physically immobilized, but my mind and spirit found themselves free, drifting on a summer breeze of melody and lyrics that left such an impression on me that I can still relive the feeling to this day. My whole life seemed to take on a new meaning. There was just something magical about that moment, a moment that cannot be created; it just happened.

Marty McFly vanishing in photo from Back To The Future

I was facing the end of something - how I had seen my life playing out before becoming ill was vanishing. Imagine Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in Back To The Future when he sees himself disappearing in the photograph that he has wedged in his guitar. Just before he vanishes completely, his father and mother kiss on the dance floor, and he is instantly saved and reborn. I was being forced to face a new beginning, one with challenges that I could never have anticipated.

The Grinch's heart grows ten times it's size!

The drifting along with the song was bittersweet. The lyrics "As my kingdom crumbles down, inside I feel my life begin" captured what I was feeling, which was the knowledge that a part of my body was gone forever, but also knowing that I had been given a second lease on life. I guess at that moment, kind of like how the Grinch's heart grew ten times its size when he suddenly saw the light, I gained some new perspective on life and perhaps became a little wiser that day. My life was beginning - again.

The Strawberry Moon

"Oh, dance with me, under a bright moon, third of June."

To this day, every year without fail, on the 3rd of June, I secretly cue up the song on the stereo in our living room, and invite my wife to slow dance with me.  This year, the 3rd of June happened to fall 2 days before the full moon, which is known as the Strawberry Moon at this time, so the moon was bright that night! This song takes me onto a journey into the past, present, and future. For me, only music can do this. One song can change a life forever. It has the power to transport and envelop someone in a way that cannot be described, only felt. Music is beautiful, pure, holistic, reverent, majestic, magnificent, and magical. It's all those things and more, rolled into one incredible mysterious human experience.


- Patrick Franc

a.k.a.: Your Friendly Neighbourhood Bionic Man

Third of June – Corey Hart

My sweet love it's taking time
For the truth to set me free
I've been running for so long
Is there a wisdom I can't see?

Still I hear the whispers of a
Candle crying in the wind
Still I'm haunted by the sounds
Of a battle I cannot win

Then I see the virgin beauty of your eyes
Calling me
I'm so humbled by
This sacred air we breathe

Oh, dance with me
Under a bright moon
Third of June

Everything I thought I knew
Was a place I've never been
As my kingdom crumbles down
Inside I feel my life begin

Let me paint the colors
Let me stand before you with open heart
Let me hold you darling closer than these words

Oh, dance with me
Under a bright moon
Third of June

Oh, Third of June

Then I see the virgin beauty of your eye
Calling me (calling me)
I'm so haunted by
This sacred air we breathe

Oh, dance with me
Under a bright moon
Third of June

Oh, Third of June

Dance with me
On the Third of June
(My sweet love it's taking time)

Dance with me
On the Third of June
(I've been running for so long)

Dance with me
You will dance with me
(My sweet love it's taking time)

Dance with me
On the Third of June
(I've been running for so long)

Everything I give to you
(My sweet love it's taking time)

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