Saturday Memory  

November 16, 2024

I was eight years old. A Cub Scout, hiking in the mountains with my mates. We got to roughhousing, as we often did. At one point, I lost my balance, fell off the trail, and started rolling down the mountain. I banged into shrubs and rocks and was getting scratched and pretty banged up. As I rolled, I saw a huge owl in the sky, and it said: "Grab hold of the tree." I then crashed into a small tree and I did what the owl said. By that time, I was likely in shock. I know I was terrified. I could hear my mates yelling, but I could make nothing out. The last thing I saw was that the tree I was holding onto was at the edge of a cliff. The huge owl vision was still in the sky, but all faded to black as I lost consciousness.

This memory is intense in the extreme whenever I call it to mind.

As a kid, I didn't know what to make of the owl vision, but I realized fully that the owl saved my life.

Even now, I feel the owl is never far away.