That old feeling. When someone gets on your mind and it is hard to shake them. Everywhere you turn, you see some sort of reminder of them. If they are still with us, we can pick up the phone and call. If not, we just wonder, what or why we are so strongly reminded. For most people, it comes in the way of a friend, or a parent, or a spouse. Most people. With me though, it is always someone goofy.
Recently, in this case, I can’t stop thinking of Captain Kangaroo. And then, all that ensues. I’m sure it is because of the Australian wildfires. We are seeing kangaroos and koalas everywhere. God help those people in the Down Under. I pray those fires die out soon.
Nonetheless, I can’t get Captain Kangaroo off my mind. Most of us are old enough to remember him. I grew up loving his show, but his name is a little mysterious. I had to Google for the reason. Apparently, it was because of his “voluminous” pockets. Which, I don’t know about that one. Mostly he just wore that navy blazer. He switched to red later in life. Yet. I don’t remember anything overly grotesque about his pockets. What I did notice, as a kid, was his hair. I loved that man, but I thought he needed a haircut. His sideburns grew straight out of his head, like little air flaps, on the wings of a plane. Every day, I’d hope Mr. Green Jeans, or better yet, Bunny Rabbit, would bring a pair of scissors to work. It was never in the script. Instead, the ping pong balls would drop from the ceiling and careen off his head, sometimes, falling softly into the “voluminous” sideburns.
He’s been on my mind lately.
So has Joan of Arc. Again, I’m not sure why I am thinking of her daily. Of course, we all know her crazy life. The 1400s weren’t such a great time to be a woman. If I lived back then, I doubt that I would have fared very well. But, perhaps I knew Joan. I hope I was on her side, if that’s the case. The English had a big beef to pick with her, and ended up burning her at the stake. That was in Rouen, France on May 30, 1431. What a way for anyone to die, but a 19-year old kid? But, when the English killed her, they immortalized her, making her a French National Symbol during that Hundred Year’s War.
She’s on the other end of the spectrum from Captain Kangaroo, I’ll tell you. Born a peasant. Started hearing Divine Voices when she was 13. Seeing visions of St. Michael, St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Margaret of Antioch? And what did those saints say? Help Charles VII, heir of Charles VI, be named the rightful king of France.
So that young girl dressed up like a man and fought. Fearlessly. She led all sorts of charges, battles, and subsequent victories, against the English. And her divine vision came true. Charles VII was crowned. But then she tripped up and got herself captured. She jailed for more than a year and put on trial. Heresy, witchcraft and violating divine law for dressing like a man.
What most people don’t know is that the trial was pretty involved. A real, to and fro. And the authorities offered her a deal. She signed a retraction, on May 24, 1431, for a reduced death sentence, to life in prison. (Ugh, the 1400s.). It was all on the condition she would dress as a woman. But wouldn’t you know, just four days later she started hearing those dang voices again. Telling her to dress like a dude, I guess. And they found her, once again, donning men’s clothing. All 27 trial masters pronounced her a relapsed heretic, and they got out their matches.
So, yeah. I’m thinking of her too.
All I can say, about either of those things, is that the energy of this Universe swirls at random. Most of us have completely lost touch with how it works. But sometimes, even though we are thick as paste, we get a glimmer of the light. We should pay attention. Pay attention to those gut feelings, those hairs on the back of your neck, the little tickles on your cheekbone. When you see the white feather drop on your shoe, take notice.
It happened that way to let us know.
To let us know something important.
We might not be able to figure out the “thing.” But. The more we try, the better we’ll get. I’m almost sure Captain Kangaroo and Joan of Arc told me so.
===========
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
― W.B. Yeats
=========
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
― J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan
===========
“Children see magic because they look for it.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb
============
