As I lay in the long grass the clouds drift carelessly over my head, changing the shade of the landscape and my mind drifts with them to times gone by and images I have stored in my hard-drive. I wonder why my mind stores some images and not others? Memories are different – I remember the events leading up to dad shooting my dog Judy, but only have an image of my mam playingย with meย in the aftermath. Maybe because it’s Christmas another image came to light today. When I was four years old my mam had a brain hemorrhage and was still in hospital on Christmas Day. In 1961 kids weren’t allowed in neurological wards, so my dad, in true Baldrick fashion, hatched a ‘cunning plan.’ Opening a window from inside someone plonked me on the window ledge from outside and I sang ‘Away in a Manger’ to the ward. It’s not my memory, I have been told about it, but its my image of all the poorly women looking up at me as I serenaded them. It was the same Christmas I became an Astronaut, hmmm,ย what would a therapist make of that I wonder ๐
Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often.
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Awww thanks Danny ๐๐๐
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Did your mother live?
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Yes she managed another 20 years after that, thank you ๐
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Whew!
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I’m assuming the astronaut gear was necessary for sailing back down out of that window! Good practice for the wilder days of your youth? ๐
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Haha yes thank you it was all good practice ๐
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Hell, you had no way of knowing it then, but that equipment probably saved George’s (it was “George,” right?) worthless hide, oh, fifteen, twenty years after the fact!
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Love this
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Thanks so much ๐๐๐
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I’m so sorry your mum had to spend Christmas in hospital, but that cunning plan was surely the highlight for her to be personally serenaded by her little boy! Memories are funny old things, and utterly fascinating. Did the astronaut career never quite ‘take off’..?
x
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Haha, no it kinda dwindled away ๐๐
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What a fabulous memory. Charlie. Now look here, friend, you are a musician, so am I. I hate singing in public, but have done plenty of busking and sang to my friends. But I will if you will so will I: here is a private song: https://wheatypetes.world/2018/12/01/song-i-wrote-for-my-wife/ So please, just for your friends here take up your instrument and sing us that carol song here for xmas and for your ma. Brroken voice is fine, but I am sure the ladies in that ward absolutely loved it, because it was from the heart. And additionally. if my Dad were like Balders then I would be very very proud. If all you ask for for Christmas is a turnip then you’re ok with me!
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Haha and thank you so much, youโre quite Dylanโesque Iโll have a look at that, but not sure how many people I want to punish by singing โAway in a Mangerโ lol.
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Cute images, Charlie.. So good your mum lived another 20 years – not long enough, but, could have been much worse!
People can be so mean (poison). That must have been a difficult thing for your father to have to do. And how about that – you haven’t owned a dog since. Now, that is sad.
“Memories light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories of the way we were….”
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Thank you Carolyn, yeah not sure why I wasnโt allowed in might have been germs or something haha. Love that song ๐๐
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I’m so sorry for your dog & your mom. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you for reading and commenting ๐๐
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Thank you for sharing. I love peoples’ memory-stories and old pix.
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Thank you for taking the time to read it ๐๐
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Happy Sunday
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Fabulous
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Thank you so much ๐๐๐
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So sweet!
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Thank you its sweet of you to say so ๐๐๐
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Great photos.
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Thank you, theyโre getting a bit grainy theses days ๐๐
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Charlie, if you get a chance, please stop by my blog and cast your vote on my blog’s first poll! Thanks again!
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What a story! Good job!
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Brought back memories of my Mum going into hospital when I was 8. Worst bit was Dad’s disasterous cooking while she was away. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger coud have been written to describe his cooking!
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Sounds great ๐คจ๐คจ I was lucky as my sisters did all the cooking ๐
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That is lucky.
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Same thing happened to me – good ol’ dad burned everything.
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I love the imagery. When I read your writing it’s as if I’m right there on the scene! #Awesome
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Thank you, I really appreciate that ๐๐
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Very welcome ๐
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Very welcome! ๐
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I really like the way you kind of told many stories in this short-ish post, giving us certain images like of your dog, mum and dad’s genius idea and finally the astronaut and still hold it together with just 3 word title. Almost like flowers in a string.
Do I make sense even? ๐ . In short, beautiful ๐
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Thank you thatโs quite a compliment, yes it makes sense, at least to me ๐
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