Pascal Derrien

3 years ago · 2 min. reading time · ~100 ·

Blogging
>
Pascal blog
>
Open The Gates

Open The Gates

c2489291.jpg


I quite like the symbolic of the door. Doorways, openings or gates have always had a great significance . Gateways offer transition, a point of change , sadness, melancholy, loss or even hope. As a kid one gate in particular had a profound impact on me. While I was not in a position to verbalize it for a long time I have somehow always known of its profound impact because it always triggered a range of unprecedented emotions.

June 1976, this is the second summer I am shipped over to my maternal grandparents for three months. We are 10 miles away from the stud farm. Will there be any new horses joining Kamela the mare, would my grandmother make her legendary stuffed tomatoes (my favourite), how many races has my grandfather won this year, has my tree house resisted the harshness of the Normandy winter?

As we are getting closer I recognize the house at the junction, they have not done much work on it but the porch is completed now. My grandfather knows the people who live in it but I have never met them. He says they are all right and I trust grand da. Just one kilometre away now. The large trees swing their heads on both sides of the road as we enter the final leg of our summer procession.

The gates are here, in the excitement I find myself asking a fundamental question: are the gates bigger or smaller than last year? I remember thinking it was funny to have gates who are always open. The road to the mansion consists of a one kilometre uphill track, half tarmacadam and half gravels. Its not an immaculate path but its neat. 

There are a few potholes too proving if needed be that the rigour of the westerly winter frost is more than just small talk between two elderly neighbours. As we pass the gates I turn back and look at the entrance from a different angle almost as if I wanted to hurriedly capture those seconds for ever.

I remember that tree. I remember the promise I have made to myself the last time I left. I had made a faithful pact with nature that I would say hello to Timmy the tree as a gesture of gratitude. The adult in me would probably call it a significant breakthrough. I guess at 7 or 8 it was just a way to provide myself some reassurance that I would be back sheltering my chaotic and stormy living conditions into less choppy waters. 

I always took as many photographic memories as I could. It was like I wanted to suck up the entire landscape in my memory bank. Memories that I could revisit at my leisure when stuck into a basement fleeing drunken verbal abuse or on a run out of harm’s way.

This is the summer now and I am safe for a while .




Pascal Derrien Copyright 2020

#Gates #June #Kamela #rigour #stud
Comments

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #28

#29
thanks Louise :-)

Louise Smith

3 years ago #27

How poignant

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #26

#26
ah thank you Fay Vietmeier I have not written much the last 12 months but slowly getting back to it at least there is one decent line :-)

Fay Vietmeier

3 years ago #25

Javier \ud83d\udc1d CR Thank you for sharing Pascals buzz .. it was your share that brought me here ;~) Wishing you and your beautiful family a Peace-full Wonder-full Christmas.

Fay Vietmeier

3 years ago #24

Pascal Derrien I have not read all your posts Pascal .. but this one will stick with me. Well done my bee-friend. I share this hoping people pause & walk through the gate with you .. to their own self-discovery Like Lada \ud83c\udfe1 Prkic .. this line stood out: "As we pass the gates I turn back and look at the entrance from a different angle almost as if I wanted to hurriedly capture those seconds for ever."

Fay Vietmeier

3 years ago #23

Harvey Lloyd So well said Harvey "there is something majestic how in our youth we find those peaceful places that ride with us the rest of our life."

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #22

#23
many thnaks so great to see you here I have been quiet for a while. Season greetings as they say :-)

🐝 Fatima G. Williams

3 years ago #21

Hey Pal, Pascal Derrien Trust I find you jolly good this holiday season. Compliments of the season. You always have some great stories to share, loved this one as always.

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #20

#20
thanks Greg Rolfe for dropping by I really appreciate your thoughts :-)

Greg Rolfe

3 years ago #19

Pascal Derrien, excellently written. It is easy to hear your young self as you looked forward to your summer.

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #18

#18
thanks Lada \ud83c\udfe1 Prkic for your kind words I am glad it resonated with you :-)

Lada 🏡 Prkic

3 years ago #17

I enjoyed reading your story, Pascal. It made me very emotional. The moment you passed the gates and turned back to look at the entrance from a different angle has a somewhat symbolic meaning to me. As always, you have chosen the lyrics of the song that fits the story. :)

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #16

#16
many thanks Debasish Majumder :-)

Debasish Majumder

3 years ago #15

lovely buzz Pascal Derrien! enjoyed read and shared. thank you for the buzz.

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #14

#11
many thanks dropping a comment, its very much appreciated Amit Janco :-)

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #13

#10
Indeed Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman, beBee Brand Ambassador I know they can be a bit of a cliche but to me they are an integral part to the rythmn of life...

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #12

#9
thanks John I think it is rather fitting and the Talking Heads reference too :-)

John Rylance

3 years ago #11

#10
No doubt going through thegate singing/humming the Talking Heads "We're on our way to nowhere"

Amit Janco

3 years ago #10

There's such a sweetness to these stories of nostalgia: À la recherche du temps perdu. Your last paragraph was particularly and personally evocative...

John Rylance

3 years ago #9

#6
The gate to Nature is a gate to Heaven. Im not sure who said this, but it seemed apt.

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #8

#6
thanks Harvey Lloyd I was watching Heartland a Canadian show with my daughter recently and it reminded me of just that Heart Land :-)

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #7

#5
thats a good one Zacharias :-)

Harvey Lloyd

3 years ago #6

My summers on the farm were very similar, gates, tobacco and cows. The gates kept the farm animals out of grandmas flowers, didn't work for the grandkids though. Great piece, and there is something majestic how in our youth we find those peaceful places that ride with us the rest of our life.

Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris

3 years ago #5

#3
What about Bill Gates? :-)

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #4

#3
Thanks Ken I knew I would not manage to gate away with it :-)

Ken Boddie

3 years ago #3

Big gates, small gates, steel gates, wooden gates, I love gates. Gates swing! 👍

Pascal Derrien

3 years ago #2

#1
salted melancholy :-) thanks Joyce

Joyce 🐝 Bowen Brand Ambassador @ beBee

3 years ago #1

Sadly sweet

Articles from Pascal Derrien

View blog
3 years ago · 3 min. reading time

St Anger

2003 was a funny year for me. A professional venture I had heavily invested myself in emotionally en ...

9 months ago · 2 min. reading time

No Subject

Hello how are you? I don’t know if I answered. Reason being is that I was not too sure who this was ...

3 years ago · 2 min. reading time

10:59

Henry Nicholas John Gunter was a German American or more discreetly referred to as being of strong a ...

Related professionals

You may be interested in these jobs

  • Cpl

    Product Development Verification and Validation Engineer

    Found in: beBee S2 IE - 6 days ago

    Cpl County Roscommon, Ireland Full time

    Product Development Verification and Validation Engineer · On behalf of our client, we are currently recruiting for a Product Development Verification and Validation Engineer for a global medical technology company. The company is based in Dublin. There is some hybrid work, appro ...

  • BDO International Limited

    Financial Controller

    Found in: beBee S2 IE - 3 days ago

    BDO International Limited Ireland Full time

    We'll need these details in order to be able to contact you. · Résumé / CV Accepted file formats are .pdf and .docx · Personal Summary · Personal Summary This section is optional. Use it to tell us a little more about yourself. · 3. Questions · Are you eligible to work in th ...

  • Abbott Laboratories

    Manufacturing Systems Engineer

    Found in: beBee S2 IE - 1 hour ago

    Abbott Laboratories Kilkenny, Ireland Full time

    At Abbott, you will play a crucial role to help people live more fully at all stages of their lives. Abbott is a global healthcare leader, and our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medica ...