A Narrow Escape and a Flood of Childhood Memories
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:35 am
At about 2pm today (my time) 1pm (gmt) ¦ I was driving along in my car minding my own business when suddenly without warning the accelerator got stuck and the car just took off! I stood on the brake but it just kept gaining speed. I dodged in and out the traffic and swung off the main road into a side street next to a park ¦ its an automatic and I didn’t have time to think about snapping it into neutral so I pulled up onto the pavement and switched off the engine. Thankfully it stopped quickly before it could do any damage ¦
Then something very weird happened. I had stopped beneath a Eucalyptus tree ¦ my window was down and there was quite a strong wind blowing. While I was sitting getting my breath back ¦ one of those globular sort of bell shaped ¦ dunno what they called ¦ seed pods ¦ the Aussies here might know what its called ¦ fell off the tree into my lap ..
Without thinking I picked it up and smelt it ¦ why I still don’t know ¦ but as soon as the pungent aroma assailed my nostrils ¦ a flood of childhood memories swept over me! Memories of tree climbing and walking beneath these tall trees, which I believe, grow about six feet a year ¦ memories of chewing on the leaves and just smelling the scent of these giants ¦ which incidentally are not indigenous to my country ¦
I’m not a religious man but I wonder if that pod falling into my lap wasn’t a sign from someone ¦ somewhere saying ¦
"Hey! Stop and smell the roses buddy ¦ take some time off to be a child again and do some childish stuff cos life can sometimes come to a very sudden and abrupt end."
There is an angel who watches over me ¦ but that’s another story ¦
Maybe I’ll go for a walk thru that park this weekend and smell those memories again ¦ and that tree!
Jj
Then something very weird happened. I had stopped beneath a Eucalyptus tree ¦ my window was down and there was quite a strong wind blowing. While I was sitting getting my breath back ¦ one of those globular sort of bell shaped ¦ dunno what they called ¦ seed pods ¦ the Aussies here might know what its called ¦ fell off the tree into my lap ..
Without thinking I picked it up and smelt it ¦ why I still don’t know ¦ but as soon as the pungent aroma assailed my nostrils ¦ a flood of childhood memories swept over me! Memories of tree climbing and walking beneath these tall trees, which I believe, grow about six feet a year ¦ memories of chewing on the leaves and just smelling the scent of these giants ¦ which incidentally are not indigenous to my country ¦
I’m not a religious man but I wonder if that pod falling into my lap wasn’t a sign from someone ¦ somewhere saying ¦
"Hey! Stop and smell the roses buddy ¦ take some time off to be a child again and do some childish stuff cos life can sometimes come to a very sudden and abrupt end."
There is an angel who watches over me ¦ but that’s another story ¦
Maybe I’ll go for a walk thru that park this weekend and smell those memories again ¦ and that tree!
Jj
