(What follows is pretty much a blow-by-blow description of what I did today. I don’t usually blog about such things but I was impressed by what a strange experience the day was and felt a need to record it before it escaped my memory forever. Read if interested, disregard if not. I understand.)
Well today was the first time in about a week that I felt well enough to leave the house for any extended period of time. I had been shot down by a particularly potent strain of the flu. It was exciting to be able to breathe deeply again. It is amazing, too, how you can take that ability for granted up until it isn’t present.
I ventured out and had breakfast, followed closely by a mocha and did some window shopping. There was a big “ONE DAY SALE” at the local shopping centre, although, frankly, I didn’t notice much difference between that day and any other. Indeed the prices weren’t any cheaper! The one thing they did have, however, were balloons. Lots and lots of helium balloons for children. I’ve noticed this trend everywhere. Is the price of helium coming down, or do promoters just lack imagination when it comes to merchandise for children?
I eventually bought a shirt. I was eyeing off a beautiful leather jacket, I tried it on – it fit like a dream. Unfortunately the big “Reduced to $23.95″ sign lingering above the jackets was there in error. One woman managed to get the jacket at the price although after hearing the conversation I didn’t feel like it was worth the argument. Or the $69.99 price tag…
I decided to return home at this point and was startled to discover two police men peering into windows of the property across from my own home. They circled the house, eventually gained access. An ambulance appeared and before long somebody was brought out on a stretcher. A strange, surreal thing to witness.
After lunch I ventured out of the house once more (yeah, twice in the one day – that’s unheard of!) and visited a little something called “Shoalhaven On Show.” Essentially it was little more than an open day for local businesses to promote their wares and services (mostly for the benefit of other businesses.) I was impressed by how much they managed to packed into the newly constructed Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre although, frankly, there were moments when I felt really claustrophobic. A woman was handing out samples of flavoured milk, while standing next to someone in a cow costume. The next thing I knew I felt a tug on my grey shirt and I looked down and a fearful girl was clutching on for dear life. I’m not sure if she didn’t realise she wasn’t clinging to her father or if it was enough to know I wasn’t the cow standing on two feet. I was wondering what the hell to do when suddenly a voice from somewhere behind me said, “Wrong Daddy!” She released me and I continued on with my business.
I was largely unimpressed with the open day and proceeded on to a near by park. I sat there for some time watching the geese and ducks. One goose in particularly was trying to sleep on the bank of the dam not far from my feet, and I could see it always had one eye on me even though its head was sort of tucked in against its body. I strolled around the park a few times. It was nice.
Eventually I returned to my most familiar haunt; beside the Shoalhaven River. Some people were fishing on the wharf. One of them removed his shoes and socks and seemed to disappear underneath the boat shed, which lingers over the water. I couldn’t work out exactly what he was doing down there but I presume he had his reasons.
I proceeded to a park bench and returned to John A. Keel’s Jadoo, something I hadn’t seen for at least as long as I had been ill. It felt nice. The sun felt nice on my skin. Keel’s adventures had me sitting on the edge of my seat – well, bench – especially when he was describing an incident where he took on a cobra and lost. It is funny, intellectually you have to know he survived the encounter to have written the book but in the moment I was as scared as I imagine he was. Mr. Keel has a regular talent for pushing the boundaries, for taking risks few others would. He has outlived most of his colleagues in the realm of the paranormal – an industry where authors don’t seem to live very long. I got the impression that this might have more to do with his earlier experiences in Asia, The Middle East and Egypt; many lessons had been learnt that have apparent implications for his later work. Indeed the cobra incident was a great example of the perils of believing everything you’re told. And having his picture in The Times of India made him very famous, and made it very hard for him to get on with his own work. This surely inspired his later practice of denying all media interviews during his investigations.
Periodically I’d look up from my book to notice birds on the water, dogs sniffing around or being led by their owners. At one point I looked up and saw two people riding horses just behind where I was reading. And I thought to myself, “What a wonderful world!” This had been such an unusual day, what with people dressed as cows, random children instantly adopting me as one of their own, ambulances and police cars. It all seemed very surreal. But also very interesting. Oddly comforting. I felt like the world had a strange and beautiful sense of humour and I was so thankful to be out in the world again, rather than at home suffering.
When the wind began to chill, I closed the book and started to walk back to my car. A pelican I had seen on my arrival had returned. It was swimming into a bright explosion of sunlight on the water. It would’ve made a beautiful photograph, I thought to myself. Well it would have if: a) I had my camera; and b) I found an exposure setting to do the scene justice. Photography had taught me so much about life. At first I was gripped with a desire to capture “the moment” – every moment, in fact. The moment was fleeting and life was transient. If you didn’t capture the moment it was gone and what would you have to show for it then? Digital photography technology made it possible to shoot more images in a shorter period of time and memory cards had plenty of storage capacity. It was possible to capture a lot – if not all – of those precious fleeting memories.
Though over time I had another realisation. It occurred to me that there would be other moments to capture if I missed one. Perhaps this isn’t true of everything. Perhaps it isn’t true of a baby’s first step or a couple’s first kiss as a married couple, but it is true for a number of other things. If you missed the sunset this afternoon you can have enough faith that there will be another one tomorrow. You come to realise that animals come back to places they feel safe and comfortable. If you didn’t capture them today, there will be other opportunities.
But more than that there is an opportunity to just stop being a photographer and experience that moment, by yourself, and for yourself. There is something nice in savouring a beautiful scene just for the benefit of your own enjoyment.
At any rate I have faith that I shall encounter that pelican – or other members of his family – again. There will be other times for photo sessions. And I look forward to those also.
So that, dear reader, was my day. I look forward to being able to get back to blogging (and other things) now that I am on the mend. Thanks for your support!
