1. Those early years beneath the Eucalyptus Trees

...Well, it was love at first sight. Their sleek white trunks reached endlessly into the deep blue sky. The new leaves were always silvery blue with a white powder that you could press fingerprints into. Their flesh was soft, fat and juicy, like little cherubs. These eucalyptus trees would toss gifts down to the ground: tiny menthol pods (small wooden space capsules with white tufts of hair-like antennae, each with its own pinpoint red tip). When the leaves got bigger they tapered, becoming long, thin and dark green. Hanging from their willowy branches like a shy lady's long flowing hair, they hid her secret smile. The entire acre was edged by long rows of these exotic eucalyptus. Just a whiff of this wild pungent scent always takes me back home. I will be eternally grateful to the old Donnellen couple for selling their little farm to us. It was a wonderful time to be six years old.