Red Suffusion
Somewhere over the US — Winter in the northeast comes with lots of snow and little sun. So while visiting Texas, I made sure to get some sun. Now on the plane, above the clouds, the blindingly bright sunlight pours though my porthole and warms the back of my hands. Sunlight reflected off my hand strikes my face with strong voracity. The suffusion of red from behind my closed eyes recalls the days of swinging on the elementary school playground, legs pumping, head back, staring at the sun through my eyelids.
Unhindered by ignorance, I attempted flight on those swings; a perfectly timed release from the confines of the rubber seat with metal chain links that bent at my will. From the apex I’d fly, or should I say, in the common parlance of my 4 year old nephew, I fell with style. A little projectile trying to break free from the earth’s gravity only to land in the same spot time and again; the limits imposed by my mass, the strength in my arms, the swing’s chain length, and Newton. Simple harmonic motion, the dominance of gravity, the inevitable decay of a 5 year old pendulum, the early failing of a failed physicist. Parabolic trajectories: failure, success, failure.
Later, a summer, 10 years old, and I make another attempt at flight off an artificial rocky ledge at the basin of a damn; my increased gravitational potential energy, the mechanical strength in my growing body, and a running leap off the ledge into shallow water about 3-4 feet deep. But this time I did overcome my limitations, by gradually increasing my distance with each successive leap. Pushing myself further and further away from the ledge into the water by sheer strength, speed, and desire. What became my best long distance jump pushed me past the underwater ledge I had been unknowingly landing and into the true depth of the body of water.
The surprise that traveled from the tips of my submerged toes, expecting to find ground but instead, nothing, then to my head, realizing the error of my assumption and telling my hands to clutch in the increasing darkness brought on by panic and the increasing depth of murky water above me. I found an ankle and pulled myself up, pulling the owner of the ankle down. An underwater melee ensued. Older cousins leapt into action, or so I am told for I only recall finding myself lying on the rocky ledge, with a burning sensation in my nostrils, and a suffusion of red behind my closed eyelids.
I am still awed when the plane leaves the ground and dismayed when it touches down.
It’s funny how many articles and news come out on a weekly basis.
Comment by BrianBfox — Wed 8 Sep 10 @ 4:28 PM