4.03.2012

C: car accident, chameleon, cocaine, crescent moon


c
CAR ACCIDENT
It was years before the sound of an ambulance or other emergency vehicle stopped throwing me into a series of violent flashbacks. I was an adult before I was convinced that I could be barefoot in a car and it wouldn’t cause an immediate car-related fatality. It’s only recently that I can see a white van on the road without my chest tightening. I’d say the 30 year anniversary of the car accident that changed my life is a fabulous time to finally let it go.

CHAMELEON
The first time I read the word chameleon was in 4th grade. My dad gave me a copy of Piers Anthony’s A Spell for Chameleon. I asked my dad what a “chameleon” was, sounding it out with the blended /ch/ sound instead of the hard /k/ sound it’s supposed have. “What’s a cham-ē-lē-on?” I asked, innocently. He shook his head. He took the book back. He said, “Huh. I could of sworn you were ready to read these.” His eyes were sad; confused. I’m just now making the connection between this moment and my “shedding my chameleon” mantra of letting go of all my masks. Interesting.

COCAINE
When I was 12, my reconstructive surgeon (see: car accident) decided I needed my nose whittled away to make room for more oxygen or some such nonsense. My parents eagerly signed me up. Before the surgery, the nurse shoved Q-tips laden with cocaine up my nose. It dripped down the back of my throat, burning and causing me to cough and sneeze. When I woke up from surgery, I couldn’t stop crying.
“Don’t worry. Many of our young patients have this reaction to the cocaine,” the nurse said, patting me on the back.



CRESCENT MOON
Whenever I see a crescent moon, I instantly think the same thing.


Horns up: it’s the Cheshire Cat.


Horns down: God is giving me a thumb’s up!

4 comments:

  1. I have read the first 15 books in Piers Anthony's series. I wouldn't hand A Spell for Chameleon to a 4th grader. I think I was in 7th before I was allowed to read it. There is quite a bit of sex...or at least sex humor and sexual situations. Did you ever get to read it? Did you like it? I loved it. Between 7th grade and high school graduation I almost completed the series. It got redundant and boring after a while.

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    1. Well, that was pretty much par for the course with my dad! I did eventually read it and the rest of the series and loved them all! :)

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  2. Love your thought about the crescent moon. I can totally see both of those things!

    Thanks for visiting my blog the other day. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here (my girls are on vacation this week).

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    1. I've had a busy week too! Hard to get around to all the blogs I want to see!

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