thanking and thinking of her on Mother’s Day
In honor of my mom on Mother’s Day, I’ve decided to report on something I wouldn’t normally share publicly. See, Mom was known for her absolutely bizarre dreams. And she has passed that legacy on to me. So as a loving tribute to her, I offer up today’s inexplicable edition from very early this morning. (Thanks for the endowment, Mom! I’m thinkin’ of ya!)
It appeared I had some tiny metal splinters in the middle side of my left forefinger. I tried to grab at them with my right thumb and forefinger, but couldn’t pull them. I then looked closer, and what had looked liked some black fuzz, was now a fully formed, but extremely tiny bird. It was only about a quarter-inch round in size, with bright pink and buff feathers. As I looked, disbelieving what I was seeing, it flew off my finger and lighted on a shelf or half-wall directly in front of a mailbox facing away from me about 7 feet away, and grew into a full-sized duck with similar plumage. I frantically asked Becky to take some pictures of it real quick! I wanted to see if we could identify it.
There were other people standing and talking near me. I still couldn’t trust what I think I saw, and pulled Carol and Ann close so I could whisper into their ears what I witnessed, and see if I was crazy. Then, as I looked again at my finger, which still felt like there was something stuck in it, the wound opened up and appeared as a deep, narrow throat. Looking down it I saw a pair of long black, curlicued antennae, with the tops extending to the top of the “throat.” I grabbed them with my right thumb and forefinger and pulled them up and out. They were attached to a long, narrow black insect, about an inch long, that crawled out as I pulled. I kept hold of it as it struggled to get away, and went over to a nearby sink. (We were neither indoors or outdoors, but both, what with the sink and the street mailbox in close proximity.) And I asked Carol to get something to help me drown it before I let go of it. It was getting bigger all the time, now at about 5 inches, with long legs and curly antennae, and still struggling.
She gave me an odd-shaped cup, like those for measuring laundry detergent, filled with a liquid. I carried it away, crossed the street to what seemed like a boardwalk over the street next to water, and I forced the now 18-inch-long insect’s head into the cup. It seemed to be extremely thirsty and actively drank with its whole head submerged. I then tilted the bug vertically and kept the cup on its head until it stopped moving. It was now about three feet long including antennae and legs, and dead.
I showed it to two men on the boardwalk and explained that it came out of my finger. I had thought it was a splinter! They seemed amazed, but looked at the spot on my left finger, and agreed that it looked like it had had a splinter. The monster bug was now starting to shrivel and shrink. I wanted to get back to show Carol before it shriveled up entirely. But I had to cross a couple street blocks to get back to her. But then there was construction on the parking lot and sidewalk. The sidewalk was all crumbly and taped off closed, and I was in a hurry, and had to backtrack a little to go around the construction site.
The end.
