Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Hello Columbus

Hi, I was just lying here on the bed thinking about how many times I had met Christoper Columbus, the Admiral of the Ocean Seas and the Lewis or Clarke of his day. Three times is the number, for the Admiral was a frequent guest of Captain Patrick Henry and his wife Sue who were neighbors of ours back in VA. The Henry's had lots of parties and if I hung over the fence long enough I'd be introduced to someone important. Columbus wore deep green velveteen with tights and puffy shorts a hat like a cake. He carried a stick with a silver tip and a carved likeness of Neptune for it's head.
Each time we met he would show me the carving of the staff and say "You know who this is boy?" "He is King of all sea and you gotta respect him." Truth is Columbus died a long time before Capt and Mrs Henry ever had a party. Still I remember standing by the back fence in the early 60s dangling my hand across the boundary like a bait fish and having it tapped by the admiral's stick followed by the Neptune statement. Of course this is probably a hallucination from my PD pills. I think I may have mentioned the thing about the books reading to me and other stuff. It's a weird feeling. I remember back when people in my circle were first getting high on pot, someone would always say "This is not like being drunk". Well having PD is just like being drunk. I even have a card to carry and it has "I'm not drunk, I have Parkinson's Disease." written on it in big letters. Last night, it seemed I was back in VA. spying on the Henry's party and there in the glow of the hurricane lamps stood Columbus holding the gathering in his thrall while making a point with an orange. Party tricks. I'll be needing a nap

1 comment:

Ms. Moon said...

I'm really glad you're feeling better. I am.