Eighteen and a bit years ago

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 12 July 2006 12:12:05

I was literally impressed.

I don't know if English is especially bad in this regard, but as time goes by many words become devalued and lose their strength. I tend to believe that language is dynamic and it's as pointless to complain about words changing their meaning as it is to complain at clouds in the sky changing. But occasionally it is nice to recover the original meaning of a word as sometimes that meaning cannot be conveyed better in any other way.

So I was impressed, in the way that a foot in fresh concrete leaves an impression - a mark that lasts long long after the foot has gone. Normally when I am impressed the feeling may last for a few hours, or a day or more, but rarely longer. Yet this impression has lasted nearly twenty years and will probably last many more. I suppose it has lasted because it was also inspirational - it was an example of behaviour I would now aspire to.

I was with a friend and her dad. Her dad is (or at least was) something high up in the Red Cross or St. John's ambulance (or some such organization - I forget). And my friend asked some question about how to handle a particular medical emergency. He began to reply, of course, but very quickly sensed that I was not comfortable. I am, I should say, unbelievably squeamish. And although I hadn't said a thing, or physically reacted, he had sensed this, and he immediately stopped without any comment and changed the subject to something utterly different. I know many first-aiders and medics (and I should admit my biasses and declare that there are few people I hate more than medics - probably a legacy of being at a university with a medical school and seeing the competition between the medics and the ulster divinity students to be the most childish and the most annoying) who love talking about their subject and, whenever they sense that someone squeamish is present, they lavish their attention on that person telling them ever more detail until they can provoke a response. So the contrast was particularly stark. And to be able to understand the situation and handle it so quickly and sensitively is a talent that I would love to have.

I was reminded of that occasion a few years ago when a group of friends got to discussing a certain topic and, after a while, one of them said that they were touching a raw nerve and could we change the subject. There was a deathly hush for a second before someone said "I've always wanted to have an orchid". Everyone laughed and began discussing orchids and odd wishes. It didn't have quite the same sensitivity but it was equally effective and much funnier.