The Taleswappers’ Porch

Since it’s Sunday, and since I’ve just written two pieces on the Transfiguration, I thought that this week, I’d share some story snippets about transforming moments along my journey.

The first memory I have of a brush with the infinite was when I was almost-four or just-turned-four, when we were living in Army quarters in Indiana while my dad finished college. It was a summer afternoon, and I remember swinging on a swingset. The sky started to turn that strange pink color that it can get just before a thunderstorm, and the air felt electrified, expectant. The world seemed enormous around me, grass stretching out on all sides to the woods far away. And I knew a monster was coming. Godzilla, to be precise. I was frightened, and I ran inside. Mom wanted me to take care of some chore or other that required me to go outside, only a little ways, but still outside. I refused, huddled by the window to watch and wait for Godzilla, shivering with fear.

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July 18, 1997

In the summer, we always sit out on the porch after supper. The trees overhead keep us cool, almost s cool as Mom’s fresh lemonade. Last night my cousins and aunts and uncles came over to visit. And after supper, we went out to sit on the porch and watch fireflies and tell stories.

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I once saw a mermaid. I was at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, walking through the park with my family, when I saw her sitting on a bench next to a fountain. I only caught a glimpse of her, but it was enough to give me two impressions: She is a mermaid, and She is the most beautiful mermaid in the world.

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Last Friday, I was on my way back to Virginia from my big Canadian vacation.  After crossing the Thousand Islands Bridge, I found quite a line at US Customs to officially cross the border.  There were about six queues, each stacked about eight cars deep.  The Border Patrol agents were trying to open two more lanes, so they were stopping cars, redirecting cars, and trying to give instructions to us.  I know they were thinking that each driver they’re dealing with is behind the wheel of a 2000-plus pound lethal machine, so they were trying to be polite but firm, secure in their authority.  And also, with this being June and a warm day, loud enough to be heard through closed windows and over idling motors.  Not the best of circumstances for them, I can imagine.  I turned off my air conditioner and opened my windows, because I really didn’t want to miss an instruction and get into trouble at a border crossing (and end up in GTMO!). 

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