The pain rings a bell

The welts and bruises did hurt, whether it was one of my brothers or sisters testing how much, by poking at it, or, as people often do, by pushing it yourself to see how the injury is healing. I know I am not the only person who has done this. You have a sore, an injury or a bruise and you keep pressing it or touching it at intervals. Perhaps you are simply being scientific and operating with great foresight by conducting tests to understand your pain threshold? In the event that you may need to know how much pain you can take when you grow older. You may be wondering how much pain you could take if you were, say, to be….. planning on a life in the armed forces. You may be captured and questioned. So you should have some idea what you can tolerate. Or, you could be thinking of a career as an interrogator? How would a person choose that as a career path? Did they grow up in a completely stable environment and then the guidance office or school tests revealed they would be best suited to that line of work?

Pain is not a pleasant thing. Yet, at times, mild pain can be interesting. I have many times used pain transference when receiving needles from doctors or at the blood donation centre. Just as they are about to put the needle in on one arm, I pinch my nail of my forefinger into my thumb on the opposing hand. Now I know, since I donate plasma every couple of weeks, the needle will only hurt for a fraction of a second. But I prefer to inflict pain in my other hand at a level that is slightly higher than that caused by the needle. Is that bizarre? Or is it that I need to be in control of the pain distribution. I can’t help hurting my other hand rather than tolerate someone else causing me pain.

But in the case of the memory I am relating, someone else was about to cause me significant pain. This was what I was waiting for now, sitting in the bedroom. My father had yet again delayed his entry to the ‘holding cell’ (my room) by returning to the lounge room. Increasing my nervous tension. I of course, was also furiously rehearsing the dialogue I anticipated would occur. To provide the definitive explanation of the sequence of events, which had led to my younger brothers injuries. The reason behind the incident (see blog 28/03/2012) would have to be outlined. The decisions and actions I took (as I related throughout April’s blog) would have to be outlined. The resulting outcome would have to be explained. In fact, if I accurately recalled previous narratives to my father before receiving other punishments (something that I had a lot of experience at), I would have about…..  5.8 seconds to explain all this, before the first blow connected.

(Continued tomorrow)