My Uncle Bob had been one of the most interesting persons I ever knew, although he kept saying the only interesting thing about him was his nose.
\nAnd, thinking about it, Uncle Bob\u2019s nose had been a distinctive feature of his face.
\nHis nose had been big.
\nAnd when I say big, I really mean big.
\nNot that Uncle Bob ever had a problem with the size of his nose.
\nHe had been quite content with his life.
\nAnd with his nose.
\nHe had been a tall man, never without a cigar.
\nHe used to say that the Lord had given him a big nose to smell the wonderful scent of a havanna. And to show the Lord that he appreciated this gift of a big nose, he smoked double coronas.
\nHis cigars had been as big as his nose.
\nHe also used to say that his nose was the only reason why they had come down and taken him with them. They had eventually discovered that he was of no use to them and had allowed him to leave.
\nBut they had wanted his nose.
\nNot that he would ever have given his nose to them.
\nA man without a nose is not complete.
\nAnd you can say what you like about my Uncle Bob, but he definitely had a point there.
\nA man without a nose is not complete.
\nBut anyway, Uncle Bob said, they had come down and taken him with him.
\nHe said it all started like a dream. He had not realised at first what was happening to him. Besides, mind you, he had just come home from the pub, and maybe he had been drunk. He said he couldn\u2019t remember.
\nAnd then, suddenly there had been this light, and he found himself in a room, not being able to move, lying on a table, and there they were.
\nStanding around him, pointing at his nose, and although he had not understood a word of what they were saying, he was sure that the only thing they wanted was his nose.
\nHis nose – he was so proud of his nose, he said, and he wouldn\u2019t let them take it away from him. So he pretended to fall asleep, and the next morning, he woke up in his own bed, his nose still with him and everything seemed to be alright.
\nBut anyway, Uncle Bob said, since they had come and taken him with them, he was able to hear strange sounds and noises and he was sure that it was them talking about him and how they\u2019d finally manage to get hold of his nose.
\nInterestingly enough, Uncle Bob only heard these sounds and noises when he was really drunk, and so we all thought he\u2019d made it up.
\nIt was a good story, though, and it helped me come to terms with the fact that my nose was almost as prominent as Uncle Bob\u2019s. I sometimes even suspected that he was my father and that the man whom I knew as my father had just been a bystander. But never mind.
\nUncle Bob had been a great story-teller in his time, and when he died, I missed him terribly.
\nSaturday nights in the pub never were the same again since he had died, and although sometimes jokes were told about him and his nose, it slowly died away.
\nAnd then I went away.
\nI left home to start work somewhere else, and I took my big nose with me.
\nEvery morning, when I looked in the mirror, I thought of Uncle Bob and his aliens, and it put a smile on my face.
\nI was grateful that Uncle Bob had let me participate in his story.
\nOne night, I went to bed early.
\nI felt very tired, and I fell asleep the very moment my head touched the pillow.
\nI dreamed.
\nI dreamed of a light, that suddenly appeared in my bedroom, and I dreamed of a spaceship.
\nI dreamed of weird creatures standing around me, talking about my nose.
\nAnd in my dream, I thought of Uncle Bob and was not afraid.<\/p>\n
But when I tried to wake up and open my eyes, I suddenly realised that Uncle Bob had been right all the time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My Uncle Bob had been one of the most interesting persons I ever knew, although he kept saying the only interesting thing about him was his nose. And, thinking about it, Uncle Bob\u2019s nose had been a distinctive feature of … Continue reading