EARTH’S FIRSTS
The first time a mother sees the wet, slippery, rubbery body of her new born baby ....
The first time a father holds his new born baby and he fits and cradles perfectly in his hands and arms ....
The first time a kid sees her shadow on a long cement sidewalk and turns around to see if the shadow is on the other side and it isn’t and she tries to figure it out ....
The first time a small child hears crickets in the park and stops to see where the sound is coming from and discovers a symphony of sound, stereophonic music, from every blade of grass ....
The first time a child sees the ocean, sees waves crashing in on the beach, waves rolling in one after the other, sea gulls fishing, singing, screaming, rejoicing in creation ....
The first time someone teaches a kid to put a conch shell up to her ear and she does and she discovers the wonder of the ocean in a shell ....
The first time someone sees a field of woolly sheep dressed in gray white Irish sweaters munching on sweet grass on a green hillside ....
The first time a person falls in love and finds there is nobody around to talk to about these wonderful feelings, because they don’t even know what feelings really are yet ....
The first time a kid gets her own yo-yo and makes it “walk” on the school yard macadam in front of her friends ....
The first time a little girl sitting in the back of a family van sees a rainbow after the rain and shouts to everyone to look out the window, and the car is filled with “Wows!” and her father is able to pull the van off to the side of the road to see the rainbow as a family, not just out a window, but on the big screen of the eastern sky ....
The first time a boy discovers that you can make rocks skip along a lake by simply finding flat rocks and throwing them low and sidearm and close to the water ....
The first time a child sees fireworks on the Fourth of July together with a couple of thousand people “oohing” and “aahing” at each new burst and splash and crash of lights and sparks in the dark summer sky ....
The first time a boy has his own water gun, and he and his father have a great fight -- in front of their house after supper -- his father with a small light green plastic water pistol -- the boy with a Superblaster both of which his father had bought that afternoon on the way home from work and his mother is laughing as she is looking out the front window watching her husband and her son having a great time ....
The first time kids go to an Art Museum on a class trip and discover big people’s drawings, paintings and sculptures -- and one little girl has a dream ....
The first time a kid goes on a roller coaster ride and his parents won’t go on it with him, “It’s too scary for us!” and he sees them down below at the fence looking and waving as he goes flying by and after the ride he heads back to his parents standing tall, feeling like a grown-up ....
The first time a couple is making love and it’s on their wedding night and they’re laughing not just because they waited, but because several of their friends joked that they hadn’t ....
The first time a person goes hiking in the mountains and after a long climb up, way up beyond the tree line, reaches the peak of a mountain and all is clear for miles around ....
The first time a retired airline pilot has the time to plant tomatoes after hearing from all his friends about their tomatoes and cucumbers and zucchini, and it’s September and everything is coming up tomatoes -- big, red, beautiful, juicy tomatoes ....
The first time a person goes on an airplane and everyone seems so relaxed and it seems that no one has a clue to how nervous I am right now ....
The first time a person experiences the presence of God: seeing a baby’s fingers or a red rose or a splashing rust orange sunset or a waterfall ....
The first time a person makes a double layer cake with icing or a loaf of bread or Jell-O ....
The first time a kid reads in public, at school or at church, and she is nervous and her Mom and dad are nervous, sitting down there, front row and center, holding hands and crying tears of joy and pride, as if their kid was mayor or governor or president giving her inaugural address ....
The first time a person realizes he or she is going to die, be placed in a box and buried in the earth....
The first time I’ll see the face of God ....
The first time a father holds his new born baby and he fits and cradles perfectly in his hands and arms ....
The first time a kid sees her shadow on a long cement sidewalk and turns around to see if the shadow is on the other side and it isn’t and she tries to figure it out ....
The first time a small child hears crickets in the park and stops to see where the sound is coming from and discovers a symphony of sound, stereophonic music, from every blade of grass ....
The first time a child sees the ocean, sees waves crashing in on the beach, waves rolling in one after the other, sea gulls fishing, singing, screaming, rejoicing in creation ....
The first time someone teaches a kid to put a conch shell up to her ear and she does and she discovers the wonder of the ocean in a shell ....
The first time someone sees a field of woolly sheep dressed in gray white Irish sweaters munching on sweet grass on a green hillside ....
The first time a person falls in love and finds there is nobody around to talk to about these wonderful feelings, because they don’t even know what feelings really are yet ....
The first time a kid gets her own yo-yo and makes it “walk” on the school yard macadam in front of her friends ....
The first time a little girl sitting in the back of a family van sees a rainbow after the rain and shouts to everyone to look out the window, and the car is filled with “Wows!” and her father is able to pull the van off to the side of the road to see the rainbow as a family, not just out a window, but on the big screen of the eastern sky ....
The first time a boy discovers that you can make rocks skip along a lake by simply finding flat rocks and throwing them low and sidearm and close to the water ....
The first time a child sees fireworks on the Fourth of July together with a couple of thousand people “oohing” and “aahing” at each new burst and splash and crash of lights and sparks in the dark summer sky ....
The first time a boy has his own water gun, and he and his father have a great fight -- in front of their house after supper -- his father with a small light green plastic water pistol -- the boy with a Superblaster both of which his father had bought that afternoon on the way home from work and his mother is laughing as she is looking out the front window watching her husband and her son having a great time ....
The first time kids go to an Art Museum on a class trip and discover big people’s drawings, paintings and sculptures -- and one little girl has a dream ....
The first time a kid goes on a roller coaster ride and his parents won’t go on it with him, “It’s too scary for us!” and he sees them down below at the fence looking and waving as he goes flying by and after the ride he heads back to his parents standing tall, feeling like a grown-up ....
The first time a couple is making love and it’s on their wedding night and they’re laughing not just because they waited, but because several of their friends joked that they hadn’t ....
The first time a person goes hiking in the mountains and after a long climb up, way up beyond the tree line, reaches the peak of a mountain and all is clear for miles around ....
The first time a retired airline pilot has the time to plant tomatoes after hearing from all his friends about their tomatoes and cucumbers and zucchini, and it’s September and everything is coming up tomatoes -- big, red, beautiful, juicy tomatoes ....
The first time a person goes on an airplane and everyone seems so relaxed and it seems that no one has a clue to how nervous I am right now ....
The first time a person experiences the presence of God: seeing a baby’s fingers or a red rose or a splashing rust orange sunset or a waterfall ....
The first time a person makes a double layer cake with icing or a loaf of bread or Jell-O ....
The first time a kid reads in public, at school or at church, and she is nervous and her Mom and dad are nervous, sitting down there, front row and center, holding hands and crying tears of joy and pride, as if their kid was mayor or governor or president giving her inaugural address ....
The first time a person realizes he or she is going to die, be placed in a box and buried in the earth....
The first time I’ll see the face of God ....
© Andrew Costello,
Chapter 6, Down To
Earth But Looking Up, 1999
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