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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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I'M A PRINCESS
The recent arrival of warm temperatures and springtime breezes has brought with it showers of fruit tree and Madrona blossoms. Watching them flutter to the ground can become spellbinding, eventually bringing visions of fairies dancing in midair. Such was my state of mind when a young girl brought me back to reality. Scooping up handfuls of pink petals and throwing them into the air to fall down again on her head, she was yelling, "I'm a princes! I'm a princess!" I smiled inwardly and outwardly as I watched the princess play. She didn't seem to notice me on a nearby bench. Soon, however, her mother appeared and demanded that she stop playing. Grabbing her wrists, the mother wiped off the child's hands as they walked away. Most people I've told about this incident thought the story was cute. One woman wished that the little girl had pretended to be an astronaut in a meteor shower rather than a princess, but even she had to admit that the story had charm. Several fathers reminisced with stories about their own little princesses. I, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. To be awakened from my vision of dancing fairies by a child claiming to be a princess gave me hope for the future. While wars and rumors of terrorist threats accompanied by recession and inflation have frozen most adults with fear, the human capacity to imagine has not yet been eliminated. That revelation excites me. For without imagination to spur creativity and ambition, where would the world be? I'm thrilled to see the beauty of spring. I'm happy to finally have some warmer weather. I savor the smells of flowers and the enjoy the flapping of hummingbird wings. Yet what gives me the greatest delight this spring is the memory of a joyful, little girl throwing pink flower petals into the air while shouting, "I'm a princess!"
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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