Terror on Both Sides

(Kogo)

Of the only two flight-worthy in the world, I have seen one of them; a flying piece of history, the B-24 Avro Lancaster. For those who don’t know, it was one of Britain’s most important bombers during World War II. I was intrigued by the noise as it roared overhead. Its four engines with twelve cylinders each beat out a steady, throbbing rhythm, while the propellers spun out a steady whine. What a gloriously wonderful sound! Or was it? For a few moments I wasn't so certain as I slipped away.

The only thing that was the same was the sound of the engines. Through pitch blackness of night, I heard them faintly in the distance. My heart stopped beating. I knew what that meant. Through the darkness, the evil, throbbing rumble gained intensity. The air raid siren wailed to life. “Run!” it screamed. And so everyone did. Yet over the desperate pounding of feet and the piercing siren, you could hear them marching steadily on. The invisible foe was coming for us, identified only by the dreadful noise it made. The bomb shelter was supposed to protect me. Physically it did. Was it my imagination or did the thrumming sound of the engines follow me underground? Was it my imagination, or could I hear the whistling of the bombs, feel the earth-jarring collision, and experience the instant explosion that wracked the earth and shredded humans like paper? Was there relief when the danger passed? Would I stop shaking in an hour? Two hours? The eerie glow of fires met my eyes as I emerged. And fading into the distance was the steady throbbing rumble… 

In the air it wasn't any better. 

The throbbing serenaded us; it propelled us through the darkness. Us as in our aircrew, us as in our group of bombers. The vibration was fatiguing. And as we drummed over Germany, the terror began. A single pillar of light stabbed menacingly through the darkness. If only it had stayed single. Exponentially they multiplied until the sky was filled with the flaming swords that swished viciously and threatened our thunderous journey. The flak popped and pushed us around. Up and down, side to side we swung, trying to weave our way through the maze of explosions and blinding lights. Suddenly the searchlights converged on a single bomber. It glittered as it twisted through the sky, attempting to elude the fearful focus. A flash and a stream of orange. The aircraft became its own light, spiraling down, down, down. And still our engines droned on. Once the bombs were away, we left the city to its terror as we faced a terror of our own: weaving back through a dangerous night. Terror combined with tiredness as the engines throbbed on… 

And then I came back and the throbbing engines were only a harmless historic aircraft. Did I still find the sound so wonderful? Is it surprising that veterans don’t speak of their experiences?

Kogo. "Avro Lancaster." Wikipedia, 9 July 2005. Web. 26 June 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Avro_Lancaster_B_I_PA474.jpg>.

Mystery of Languages

I have a work place filled with wonderfully diverse people. Yesterday I could listen to three conversations, all in different languages!

I find languages rather fascinating. This is my favourite perspective: a conversation in a foreign language is just a string of sounds to me, but to those who understand, it is complete thoughts. 

I'm sure you have heard a conversation in a language that you don't understand. (If you haven't, I ask you, "Where have you been all your life?") Anyway, don't some words sound absolutely hilarious? How the speakers can keep a straight face? But what about with English? Good grief; pick any word, say it to yourself a couple times, and see if it doesn't sound funny.

Have you ever attempted to see what English would be like if you didn't understand it? On occasion, I have tried to do this... I try my best to block out the meanings of the words and listen only to the sounds. I have yet to succeed. My brain is wired so the thoughts always take precedence over the sounds. Now I challenge you to read this without understanding the words. Come on, view it like it's just a jumble of letters. Pretty hard, eh?

Every noticed that you understand people when they laugh? Last year, I was sitting in a McDonald's in eastern Ontario listening to a small group of people speaking French, when they all started laughing. I thought, "They're laughing in English!" Well, actually they weren't... 

Castle in a Storm

I drew this picture for our school's drawing contest. Unfortunately, it didn't win. (sniff, sniff) Click here to see the picture that won. Anyway, I used a combination of pencil and charcoal; pencil for the outlines and charcoal for the shading. The coolest part about charcoal is that you can use an eraser to "lift out" white highlights, which is exactly what I did for the foam. 

The Coming of Power

Travel back to Easter. The crucifixion of Jesus, the fear in His disciples hearts at the time. Think of what has all transpired in your life... April seems so long ago already. Many incidents have come and gone. And yet, in A.D. 33, Jesus disciples had been cowering from the public all this time. They'd seen Jesus in person after he rose from the dead, but to them, even that must have seemed like a long time ago. Until today. You can read all about it in Acts 2. Pentecost, the might rushing wind, the tongues of fire, and most of all, God's power resting within them. But why the wait? For months, the disciples might have felt that God had forgotten them. He just waited. But when the glory of the Holy Spirit come on them, I don't suppose they would have wished for any other way! 

Journey Through The Heavens

I went wandering through the cosmos last night. The old familiar constellations had delightful tales to tell. Cassiopeia seemed lost; she was far from her usual palace. I told her so. She said she was just taking her yearly travels. I didn't dare to disagree; she can be such a disdainful ice queen. However, we gossiped about two stars that were flirting, Cassiopeia supplying some dreadful details. After the fact, she sternly reminded herself that royalty should never gossip, especially young royalty, but I promised her that I wouldn't leak any statements to the media. Later on, I swung within a couple light years of the flirting stars to see what they were up to, but they were very secretive. They weren't about to include me in their confidences! The man in the moon was on sick-leave, but in his place was his fair daughter. She was just a fragile crescent drifting gracefully towards the horizon. Well, I say a crescent. There was a deceptive glow that transformed her from a crescent into an elusive sphere. She wasn't very chatty; we sat in silence until she bid me goodbye for new worlds. Scorpius must have been feeling very friendly, for he talked to me. He’s one of those cold-blooded creatures that find a warmer dwelling place for the winter. Did he ever have some tall stories to tell! You can’t believe everything you hear. Anyway, his raspy voice got on my nerves after a while. And of course, Mother Milky Way was waiting patiently for me. Such a wise one, she is. She has been around for a couple eras and has a multitude of experiences to share. I was surprised how old she looked. Maybe it was one of her poorer nights, but it's a gentle reminder me that she won’t be around forever. And then it was time to leave this far-flung world for my own. All I have left from my travels are some memories and a bit of star dust around my lips. (Cassiopeia said I had to taste it; trust me, it’s wonderful). 

Do you ever wonder whether there really is such a thing as the music of the spheres? When you see the intricately placed stars strewn across that great dome of sky, and you stand in an atmosphere of communicative silence, you can almost imagine the majestic music played by the orchestra of the sky.