In one of my earliest childhood memories, I am running a hand through my hair to check for the telltale bump of a germinating tree.

That fear of growing orange seeds was sown by an adult somewhere in befuddled memory. My imagination has always been rampant and I had these graphic images of roots running riot in my head. I don’t believe I swallowed too many pips as a child. (Or enjoyed too many oranges for that matter…) In my defence, it all seemed pretty logical as a child. I don’t know long I lived with that secret fear of becoming a walking orange tree, but I do know that when I finally outgrew it and questioned the adults in my life at the time, nobody confessed to the mischief of telling the child I was:  don’t swallow your pips or oranges will grow on your head.

But fear certainly is an effective shortcut to achieving obedience .

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