No - it's not always a horse.

 

The smell of thunder has placed my nerves on high alert.  I doubt this tree can save me, but by being out of sight I feel safe.  It is this feeling of being safe that has calmed my nerves a little.  It is the very bright flash that tells me more thunder is on the way and the burning limb at my feet suggests I’m not that well-hidden.  Obviously, the storm can see me.  It is most likely laughing at the prospect of this tree saving me.  Never seek shelter under a tree, isn’t that what they say? 

Apparently, I should have listened to them.  There are so many other things in my life I never paid much attention to, like do well in school.  They said that but they never said why.   Now, much later in life, I can see that school, like any other institution is simply a business.  They are selling the idea that there exists a connection between higher learning and a good paying job.  Truth be told, the manager assigned to very technical job of assembling a portion of the space shuttle, had his degree in Art History.  Trust me when I tell you, no aspect of the shuttle concerns itself with Picasso or Monet.  In fact, the only correlation between this person’s education and his working life was that it all took place here on this planet.  The moment the shuttle left Earth, there was no connection whatsoever.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe some education is needed if a person is going to function within today’s society.  Stupid people tend to stand out with very little effort.  Just watch some of the game shows on television.  Simple questions get amazingly stupid answers, which is why the shows run them.  Even though it is wrong to call people stupid and laugh at them, it is TV’s cheapest form of entertainment.

None of that, however, is what I came to talk about.  What some people refer to as a premonition, I say is the ability to smell thunder.  I tend to know when something significant is going to happen.  I need not see the flash of lightening, I just suddenly become aware.  I’ve not tried to put it all into words before, so suffice it to say, if I tell you to not stand so close to that horse, move away.