Omens

Outside my door at school are the nests of swallows.  I have written of them before, for they have been there for years- always returning in the spring to raise their families, and the young always fly before graduation.  I take it as an omen of sorts, the blessing of leaving the nest and going on to new adventures.  The swallows themselves are symbols of faithfulness and voyage, soaring and returning over great distances.  British sailors tattooed a swallow for the first 5,000 miles, another for the next.  They have become popular icons in contemporary art and tattooing, mostly used without reference to the meaning or awareness of the bird itself.  But perhaps I sell things short, and young people are wiser than I know.

People tell me things, always.  Strange stories or observations out of no where, questions, comments, truths. I don't know why this is- I do smile lots, and am accessible I suppose and not afraid of strangers- but I can't hear worth crap and maybe that is why they pick me as well.  They can tell it and it will wash over me like water, and either I will nod politely then walk away when they are done or I will remember it and transform it into part of my story.  Or a retelling.

The past few days this has been happening frequently, more or less- first on Saturday morning, when I was in the farmer store buying dog batteries.  Now our local farmer store (Southern States) sells everything farmish, and is the weekend morning hangout for 'geezers' who stand in the back, drink coffee and talk about whatever farmers talk about.  Feed and pigs and planting and- you would assume- the weather.  Yet this Saturday while I was at the register (which is at the front of the store, and the nice lady that works there always knows what I want the second I walk in the door) one of the geezers made his way up to me.  White haired and farmer tanned, he drank a drink of coffee then asked me if it was supposed to rain today.  The question itself isn't strange, it is the fact that 1). he is a farmer-geezer and knows about the weather  2). he walked up to the front of the store to ask me  3). I do not look like a farmer- on this day I was going to the city with Grendel, so I had on just basic blue jeans, rainbows and my new scientists vs magicians shirt.  Not exactly alluring, but Charles seems to think that the old fellows had a dare to 'talk to the pretty redhead'.  Just like school boys....flattering (if I really believed it!), amusing, but odd none-the-less.

Yesterday it happened again at Wal-mart.  I was picking up frames for school (presentation of art tonight- yuck.  I am not thrilled with social things) and was wandering around looking at a sales rack.  A boy walked up to me- not an old boy, about 15ish, pale/glasses/typical geekish type of boy- nothing that odd about him- and asked me "Do you know about lightning?".   I said "Yes".   He then pointed to the umbrellas displayed above the cash registers- they were open and hung upside down- and said "That's a bad omen.  Umbrellas open inside.  Upside down.  Bad omen."  I said "Yes" and drifted away.   This was strange because he is not one of *my* kids from school (who I would expect to say strange things), he was not with friends and up to shenanigans, and he used the word 'omen' which, in my experience, is not a word often used by that age group.  And the whole umbrella thing- so I looked it up.  I know that umbrellas open inside are bad luck, and found out that if an umbrella falls in a house that murder is near, and some people believe that if you carry an umbrella in a rainstorm that you are more likely to be hit by lightning because of the metal tip at the end.  But nothing about upside down umbrellas drawing lightning.  A curiosity to add to my charrette of beliefs.  

So that is two in two days- today the moon is full and I will wait for the third.  Something about weather and lightning I suppose, and it would be fitting if it was said by a man of middle age (I've had the elder and the youth).  I will keep my eyes peeled and ears perked and let you know~