Another Bench

Another Bench

One time, I was sitting on a smooth concrete bench in a park.  I had about twenty minutes to do nothing – I would then go back to work for an appropriate time.  A woman was in a rush, then she sat right by me.  I did not know much about why; I just kept quite.  She frantically got out her smart phone and checked the time.  A storm was coming; the shades of the nearing clouds were blowing in the winds with flying leaves.

“You must be in a hurry,” I said.  I had waited to speak, it would have been rather awkward if I had not.  “I am not in a big hurry,” she said, “I am trying to decide on where I want to go.”  I did not say a whole lot.  She was playing with her phone and making calls, no one would answer.  I wanted to help her, could not really figure her out.  She was nicely dressed.  She was probably on her way to continue running errands.

She sat back to make herself comfortable; she was playing with her phone, still.  I would be leaving, soon.  I really did not have the time to talk with her much.  “I cannot decide on a good song,” she said, “Do you have any favorites?”  “I listen to most kinds of music,” I said, “I like 80’s music, rock-n-roll, and piano music.  Have you tried the nin website?”  “No,” she said, handing me her phone.  I entered the site in for her and chose a song I knew.  It was soothing.  The song reminded me of dark, crystal-clear nights lit by the stars.  She listened to it for a minute and said it was nice.  “See you,” she said, and she walked away with her phone.  I left to make it to work on time.

My Bags!

My Bags!

“Six hours will not be too long,” I thought to myself.  There would be plenty to do around the airport.  I went and tried out the coffee – its flavor was uniquely predictable, as always.  I put about six grams of sugar in it with some ice from the nearby soda machine.  I sat and thought for a while; why not write a story?  I was going to walk around asking for a pen and possibly find some napkins or something to write on, and I heard a woman scream “Ahh… He has my bags!”

I looked that way and saw a man running with a carry-on bag and a purse towards the front of the airport.  He normally would have been able to be stopped by the facility’s employees, however there were none by the door he was headed to.  I sprint in a dead run towards the man; he was sure to get away.  I ran after him, anyway, and, as luck would have it, the woman’s purse got caught in the door as the man was escaping.  I tackled the man in the revolving door like I was playing football, and attendants with hip radios were there in moments.  I tried to get a good look at the man’s face, however they carried him away in cuffs.

The woman thanked me, and the guards checked me out to make sure that I was fine.  “How can I ever re-pay you?” asked the woman.  “With a handful of cash,” I said, “Just playing.  I am glad he did not get away.”  The woman was fine.  I borrowed a pen from someone who said I could keep it, and a college student happened to be nearby to give me some paper to write on.  I wrote down everything that had happened, as well as a few thoughts on writing and pleasing a literate audience.  I checked the huge clock on the airport wall, I still had four hours.

There was a blind man near me, we spoke for some time and I fell asleep.  Time passed, and I woke up in time to board the airplane, finally.

Day 7, A Juxtaposed Contrast

A Juxtaposed Contrast

 One time, a pretty young girl, Rose, and her grandmother, Ema, went to an art museum.  It was nice – not too many people were there at 8:30 AM on a Saturday morning.  There was a curator and a college student, nearby.  The student was working towards a post-graduate degree in graphic design, took some time during the morning to go check out the local art museum.  “What, if you do not mind my asking, is your opinion on these works?” asked the curator.  He and the art student, Mathew, had already spoken together once or twice, before.

Rose and Ema were standing near enough to hear their conversation.  Rose was admiring a huge orange flower while trying not to be afraid of a scary cow skull.  “Well,” said Mathew,

“I have always enjoyed O’keeffe’s artwork.  It, like many things to me, has become too overly cliché to really talk too much about.  I am happy to see these works in person, do not get me wrong.  It is the whole life to death comparison idea, though.  This whole idea that we can compare good to bad, beauty to disgust, or life to death; put those things into a painting; and expect others to enjoy the picture or sing our praises is just not very impressive to me.  What makes her stand out are these vivid colors that radiate from her canvases; death can be a cool form of inspiration.  I like and appreciate what she knew how to do for what was able to be done, technique wise, during her time; her juxtaposition of life and death was a sort of cop-out, in my opinion.”

“I think I agree,” said the curator, “She could have conveyed a deeper message – I still like to see her paintings, too.  They far-surpass many, in my opinion.  At least she had a message.”  The admirers continued to look upon the various paintings in the large room, its polished marble floors were white with wavy grey lines.  “Grandma, what is a ‘juxtaposition’?” asked Rose, thinking it may be a tough question.  “That is simply a comparison of two ideas, pictures, or things that are usually perceived to be opposites,” said Ema, “Which one is your favorite?”  “Well,” said Rose, “I like the big purple orchid with the pink stripes, because I think it is pretty, however I also like the one there by it of bones.  I like the second one, because I know.  One day, we are all going to die.

“She speaks rather well,” said Mathew.  “Most prodigies can,” said Ema.  Rose looked over to Mathew and smiled; she was proud to have heard the complement.  Rose and Ema held hands and walked through the rest of the exhibit.  All four people thought about comparing things for the rest of the amicable day.

Person of 2014

Person of 2014

“So, who is the most interesting person you have met this year?” asked the woman named Kady.  She was speaking with someone on the subway named Aklan, a person of religion from India.  Aklan had said, “It is nice meeting you – I am thinking to look up your writings, someday.  You are the most interesting person that I have met on this day.”

“Oh, I already know a great many interesting people,” said Aklan, “I sell gold with my husband.  We import metal and jewels from India, and we cater to some interesting people, indeed.”  “Are these people really wealthy?” asked Kady.  “I should hope so; we do stay in business, somehow,” answered Aklan, “I am trying to decide on the most interesting one.”

Kady looked at her watch; the ride would not be over for another twenty minutes or so.  “I think the most interesting person was a young woman,” said Aklan, “She came in and bought a rare sapphire bracelet with the saying ‘Forever Love’ engraved on the outside.  ‘Nice choice’ I said.  She said it was for her girlfriend.”  “Oh,” said Kady.  “I am not really like that,” said Aklan, “However I found it ‘interesting’ enough.”  The two finished their ride mostly in silence.

A To Do List

A To Do List

Having found out about the death of my unknown aunt, I re-read the check.  Sure enough, it said, “$1,000,000.00.”  What was I to do?  I wrote a list of things to do:

  • Clean out house and throw everything away;
  • Form a list of debts and pay them;
  • Buy a small car;
  • Research +$100,000 investment opportunities;
  • Invest $500,000;
  • Drive to a beautiful new estate;
  • Purchase proper writing equipment and start a book press;
  • Decide on opening a small diner; and
  • Live well.

After having done these normal things, my life would sure be nicer.  I would probably go study English at a university to pursue becoming a professor and novelist.  I would also consider painting techniques with oils and other mediums.  I cannot imagine what other people would do.  I would even consider the purchase of a small houseboat with a new word processor – I love to write.

We are always constrained by various forms of inadequacy or poverty.  Once no longer poor, what would we do?  We can hope, for each other, that we would choose to live a good life and be nice to each other.

Dream Teacher

Dream Teacher

Two college students were having a conversation on a bench outside of one of their professor’s office.  “If you could spend a few months with any historical figure known to man, who would it be?” asked Becky, she was deep in thought.  “I am not sure,” answered Calvin, “I study a lot, however I think I would enjoy learning something to do with a hobby.”

“A hobby?” asked Becky, “What do you mean; are you going to go with ‘Monet’ or someone?”  “No,” said Calvin, “I would choose the famous mathematician Pythagoras.”  “I see – you want to get to the bottom of understanding more about math,” said Becky, trying to back up her friend, Calvin, known by others on campus as someone who was  a good choice for a study partner.  He made good grades.

“No,” said Calvin, “I chose him out of many people, because of an interesting historical fact I read about him two days ago.”  “Oh?” said Becky.  “Did you know that this whole idea of an eight-note ‘octave’ came from him?  He alone devised the idea with metal strings and, to this very day, we as humans compose music according to his real-life experimentation with wires.  If I could go back in time, I would spend a year with him; we would make a handmade baby-grand piano.  I could teach him ‘Jingle Bells’ – I could learn from him.”

“Wow,” said Becky, as their professor was coming up the wooden stairway, “I think I would have gone with Martha Stewart.”  Calvin looked over to her; she blushed.  “Nice choice,” said Calvin.  He looked to the ground and thought, “Could she be the one?”

My Happy Room

My Happy Room

One time, it was 2AM.  I should go off to bed, I thought, then I hear an onomatopoeia – “Ka-Shworkan!”  I turned slowly to look in the direction of the surprising noise – as if there was ever a time when nothing was going on.  It was a magical new room; I could hear it thinking.  It said, “Three things that you bring… you and I disappearing.  Three things that you bring; we will be gone.”  It spoke these thoughts in silence a few times and faded away.

I would have been somewhat scared; I actually would have been freaked out.  I was not, however.  Being scared of things that did not matter too much was a thing of the past, for me.  I looked to the room, it was pitch black with a doorway.  It reminded me of “The Twilight Zone” with Alfred Hitchcock.  “Hmm,” I thought, “What could I bring in there?”  A candle would be a given.  I suppose I could grab a book and a writing pad, too.  After all, what else would I prefer?

I grabbed a book at random from a shelf, lit a candle, and got my pen and writing pad.  I walked through the door.  A huge couch magically appeared with a lamp-stand for my candle.  I put the candle on the stand and began to write.  I wrote, “A Few Thoughts and Criticism’s on Steven King’s, ‘Mr. Mercedes’…”  The composition would be a nice idea for public audience commentary.

I re-read through the parts of the new book I enjoyed the most – the room seemed to listen and agree while I worked.  An approximate 800 words later, I felt as though the composition was complete.  The room and I faded away… we were no more.

The Letter

The Letter

     One time, there was a pretty young girl named Patty.  She was walking home from school; her bus just dropped her off.  “What a long day,” she thought, and she saw a small piece of paper on the ground with the word “Dear” visible.  Patty picked up the note and read it while continuing to walk – she was in a hurry to get home, trying to get a sugar cookie for a chore she had been thinking of all day.  The letter read:

“Dear Galvin,

I am happy you are my boyfriend.  I like the candy you give me; my friends think you are cool.  One day, you can work for my daddy and buy a car.  I am glad we are ‘going together’.  I love you.

Your girlfriend,

Penelope”

“I know of a Penelope,” thought Patty, “She is in the grade above me.  I will have to bring this note to her tomorrow – I wonder if it is the same person.  We could be friends, one day, if she is a nice person.”

Patty returned home in good time and took out all of the trash in her house.  Her mother would return at any minute – she was sure to be allowed to eat at least one nice, fluffy sugar cookie.