...we knew right there that a scared human being can do the damnedest things.
Towns like the one I grew up in may lack many things. Electricity and most other services are usually in short supply, but one thing these towns have in abundance is superstitions. The elders would tell you this or that is bad. Why? You may ask. Because, they would answer. And that would be the end of it.
You were not supposed to ask further questions or question your elders' wisdom. You may think that that was oppressive and not conducive to the development of children's inquisitiveness and curiosity. Well, if you know children, you should know that that’s exactly how you ignite their curiosity.
The good and the bad thing about growing up in the country if that you have a lot of freedom and opportunities to put your elders’ wisdom to the test. Most of the time to your own risk, and that’s exactly what they expect you to do. They love to hear stories that prove them right.
Like my story.
I remember being told that certain plants were not good to have at home, for different reasons. This one calls worms, that one calls bad luck, and the worst ones call snakes. That was the case of the gallitos (little cocks). Any 9-year-old knew that one was not supposed to touch those darn flowers, especially if you found them in the forest.
But who can resist a bunch of flowers that look like a combination of colorful macaws and lobster claws hanging elegantly by the side of the road? I could not. They call snakes, I was reminded by the kids who were exploring the riverbank with me. Let’s see, I said, and grabbed some of the flowers.
The flower is strong and heavy. It does not smell pleasant, but it looks inviting. You force it open and it lets out a squeaky sound. Some may say it sounds like a little bird (probably that’s why they call it bird of paradise). For me, it sounded more like a little mouse’s cry.
We got so excited at the variety of sounds that came out of the flowers, depending on how wide or fast you opened and closed it, that even the most reticent of my companions started to play their colorful instruments. In retrospect, I understood then why we, and not the flower itself, had attracted that snake. One of my friends spotted it first, soon enough for us to drop our crying flowers and run for our lives. I can’t recall how we made it down the river, but we knew right there that a scared human being can do the damnedest things.
We also understood that if we wanted to grow old, we needed to listen to and obey our elders. Who cares about the logic of their warnings!
This was my entry to @mariannewest and @latino.romano’s Friday’s 5-minute daily FreeWrite. Prompt: bird of paradise/ave de paraiso. Details here
Thanks for stopping by and reading
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What a great childhood memory, and you wrote about it very well. My attention was captured immediately, and the story unfolded in a way that kept me reading as quickly as I could to find out what happened!
Thanks for stopping by, @scribblingramma
I am glad you enjoyed the story. It is one of those memories we feel engraved in our minds, partly for being scary, partly for being fun!
a fascinating tale 😃 i've never really seen a bird of paradise out in the wild before but i feel this story is something that should be kept in mind, thank you for sharing this! 😊
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Thanks, @ilovewintergem
I can't say snakes will always come if one plays with these flowers, but in the wild one never knows what some sounds can attract 😁
wisdom always comes after knowledge or knowledge should generate wisdom. wisdom without knowledge is something I don't understand, and so I won't accept it easily. Your attempt to play with those flowers is fine curiosity. There might always be some truth to what elders say. Isn't knowledge a better litmus test to their wisdom? We wouldn't want ignorance in the name of wisdom.
That's a great point. And that explains some really crappy things happening around the world. Senior officials and "experts" running the show in many places, getting terrible results, but always appealing to their age, experience, or degrees (usually a combination of all) as badges of honor that gives them the authority to keep screwing up.
In rural towns the wisdom of our elders is usually the result of try and error, especially when it comes to survival and the wild. Sometimes, the experience comes from observation; sometimes it is first-hand. In either case, youth's curiosity Will usually find ways to challenge the elders . I guess it is a natural process.