The Talisman

In the Middle English poem- saga Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is given a sash which purports to guard him from death. A form of Talisman! It corrupted the pure honour to be expected of a knight of the Round Table in the encounter with danger. In their early childhood all three children of the pianist and I had little blankets. Each child reposed in safety only when the blanket was in place. A form of Talisman. Each child had a unique ritual with the blanket which was required to give it power. The first born carefully wrapped the satin edging around his index finger and massaged his upper lip, with the opposite thumb in the mouth. The second born massaged the nostrils with the satin edging, and as well, tickled her nostrils with her hair. The third born tickled her nostrils with a frayed edge of the satin border, and up to age six had one of the pianist's slips later subsituted for the satin lined blanket, often provided by her older sister or the pianist. The ritualistic application of the Talisman provided a refuge from evil. Think of it! We all have a Talisman in some form. Sir Gawain was not immune to his own human nature. There is always a visible representation to an invisible part of us. When I was a little boy my blanket was a part of me I am told.It was ,like the others, an extension of my body; an integral part of me. My mother went on a holiday when I was three and left me in the care of my father's sister Mildred. She apparently said, "You are a big boy now Jim, and you don't need your blanket." Mother gone, blanket gone, I must have grieved and faced the danger alone!