Throw Back Thursday’s Flight of Thoughts by Soulez
It is funny how one thought leads to another. Maybe it is age, but lately it happens often, and so it did yesterday. Just thinking of life and then: I was thinking about cutting up golf balls when I was about 12–13, and how life is so similar. You cut the hard skin off, and then, the softer part, the rubber banding. It begins to unravel until you get to the most important part, the rubber center is revealed.
It was fun, and then I thought, sometimes life begins to unravel. It continues that way, until the essence of you, your soul, your true self, appears in all it’s glory.
I then thought, of Prince, my long ago dog, a collie mix. At the time, we lived across the street from a golf course, across from the fairway to the first tee. Needless to say, a lot of lost golf balls found their way into the field, that ran along side our house, overgrown with tall weeds. Prince loved the golf balls, and I trained him to go find them in the field. When he brought one back, I grabbed it from him and did a fake throw into the field, while I kept the retrieved ball safely in my bag. Bounding, he would go, back into the field, and often find another one. Sometimes, he would harvest two or three balls, then we would wait another week and go through the process again.
When I got about a dozen balls, I would go up to the clubhouse, where the pros would buy them from us some for a quarter, up to a dollar and for a while I was rich. I never had an allowance, our household budget would not allow it. I remembered saving enough change and bought 10 post cards to enter a local radio contest. The prize was to meet the Beatles in Philly! I actually believed I had a good chance, and I smile at myself way back when.
Then I thought about, that house we lived in at the time. We only lived there for two, maybe less years. My parents had taken a giant step in buying the new two story colonial, big enough for them and their four children. It was the first home, in a new development being built from the land purchased from Mr. Edge, an old Quaker who sold his land, and still lived in an old farmhouse down the old lane that ran along the “ball field”. It was not long, though before my parents began to struggle financially. It was my education about mortgages and banks and taxes……..and sheriffs sales at a young age. Suddenly, a sign went up in front of our short lived home in the country, and we were packing to move back into the city. It did not seem fair to me, and in reality most likely was not.
After that we moved at least three more times, from one rental to another. This made me think of that bucket list started way back when, and adding the first two things to that list, one being when I had children, I would do all I could to live in one location, one home in the country, away from busy streets and row homes(oh I hated those places). Going on 42 years in this home of mine, I am still here, and the kids all gone into their own apartments or homes — for now. But they love to stop by, and chill a bit from their life’s unraveling. I can see the comfort they have by being here, and I smile within.
The second thing I vowed to do when I was able, was to help someone save their home anyway I could. That too, two years ago,has been done, and aside from only that person knowing of what I did, you are now privy to this little tidbit. I tend to be selfish with sharing information of accomplished good deeds. They become all the more special, for me, when no one else knows about them, (at times and when possible, even the benefactor- helps them believe in miracles). Shhhhhhhhh! Think I will end my flight of thoughts right here.
Originally published at cowbird.com.
