I have nothing to add to the timeline of this post from Jannaverse, she pretty much says it all. Click below, please read it, just another small world story to add to my many.
I lived in Coldwater, MI from sometime in late 1968 to February, 1973, I was 4 to 8 years old. The best and weirdest time of my childhood. At the time I lived there they had the 3rd oldest courthouse in the country just a block or two from my house. My father came in one night and woke me, carried me out to the front porch to see it burn to the ground. It was burned to the ground by a man who had a plate in his head from a motorcycle accident he got in at the corner of the block in between my house and the courthouse. I came up on the scene of the accident as the fire department was hosing the blood from the accident off of the pavement and down the drain. The motorcycle was a twisted wreck.
The connection between the two events has never left my mind, somehow the brilliant burning violence of the fire that couldn't be put out by the same hoses that washed the man's blood down the drain.
Experiences like that no doubt formed my ability to make connections, probably my most "intellectual" gift. I could go on and on about this and many other weird connections that came from my time in Michigan, I won't now, but the memory (albeit it, a weird one) was a pleasant revisitation of how I got to who and where I am now.
Amazingly, long after I have left Michigan, those connections are still being made. Thanks Janna.
3 comments:
Wow!
I drive to Coldwater often; at least once a week. One of these days I'll ask someone where the old courthouse used to be. (For all I know, I've been driving right by it countless times!)
Was it scary for you to watch it burn down, or were you excited by the thrill of the moment, or too horrified by the scene of the accident to even care about the fire, or what?
Interesting observation about the fire hoses being able to wash away the blood but not douse the flames.
Also interesting that your father felt it was something you should watch....
I live in Litchfield now, but I grew up in Jonesville, which is also pretty close to Coldwater.
And for a few years I worked in Quincy, which is really close to Coldwater. :)
Very cool blog. I'm blogrolling you. hLove your sense of humor and irony. Since I am a newbie to your site...what is the significance behind your "Onion Boy" moniker?
It must have been a strong experience to have remembered it after all this time. I think we all learn to make connections that way. Our experience and choices make us who we are. I'm glad you got this "revisitation"
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