Fire Island
As a young kid, my family would go down to Fire Island every summer and visit our lifelong family friends down at their beach house. Chris and Grace, the two sisters were lifelong friends with my dad, Leo and James were my good friends that I had known since I was born, and Paul who was graces husband was always there as well. Paul would make us dinner every night, and being the chef that he was, he would preach to us how he made the food while we ate the food. I didn’t mind it but after a while you just want to eat your food in peace. Their house was a cabin that was inland only five minutes walking distance to the beach. This island was cool because the actual island was like a forest and all the houses were in this forest. Instead of sidewalks you walked along boardwalks that maneuvered through the trees. At night, Leo, James and I would play Mario 64 and Sonic the Hedgehog. During the day we would have endless fun at the beach.
Everyday we explore this island with an endless amount of kids to find. The boardwalk gave me splinters, but it was just all part of the experience. It never occurred to me to wear sandals. At the beach we find inland pools of water that make lazy rivers. It’s like a playground of sand. I’m afraid to ask the ice-cream man for ice-cream. My father thinks it’s silly to be afraid of buying ice-cream but I imagine that the ice-cream guy will get mad or something. That was the big conflict of the summer. We collect empty cans to bring back to the recycling in return for a few cents per can. 10 cents was a lot of money to us. I was probably 8 years old during the summer that I am recalling. It was probably one of the best times of my life. As a young kid everything is so exciting.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Childrens Story
The mouse’s adventure
I trekked through the tunnel. I saw a light at the end. It must have been hours since I entered the tunnel. I had to get out of the rain. I came to a clearing; I was in a big, cold room with a huge metal machine. It was better than being outside. I watched water droplets form on the clear panels that let light into the room. A gate opened and two huge columns stomped into the room. This thing got into the metal machine and it started to roar. Its eyes started glowing and it started backing up. One of the walls opened up and the machine backed up out into the abyss. The wall closed back down and the room was silent once again. All I could hear now was the echo of rain outside.
I traversed across the room to the gate where the creature entered from. The gate had a hole in it which was covered by a flap. I hopped over the hole and into the other room. I could smell the scent of a beast. I could feel the vibration of something through the floor. The pounding was getting closer. I followed the hallway to a delicious smelling room. I looked back to see a giant beast staring right at me. I backed up into a corner of the room where the beast slowly came closer. I was trapped. I looked over to my right where I saw a whole in the wall; I darted into the hole barely escaping the beast’s jowls. I was in a dark little space. I trekked through the cave until I saw a dim light. I heard
voices towards the light. It was a family of mice having dinner.
“Hello sir, what brings you here?” said one of the mice.
“It was raining so I had to find some shelter, when I got inside I came across a giant beast who tried to eat me. I escaped into this whole in the wall and here I am.”
“Well I’m glad you’re alright chap, my name is Peter and this is my family, this is my wife Patricia and this is our son Pete.”
“My name is Mouseth.”
“Would you join us for dinner Mouseth? Tonight’s meal is crouton shavings and milk.”
“That sounds amazing, I haven’t eaten all day.”
As we sat there and ate our scrumptious meal, the family told me about their travels and how they came to live here. In this house, there is a whole civilization of mice. The beast I encountered is known as golzor to the mice. Some mice are known as scouts; they stake out on the high cliffs and watch for the beast. Then there are agents, they go right into enemy territory and gather food for the next day. I was assigned the job of the agent. My first gathering would be tonight. All agents met in the main lobby, which was a huge room in the mice city. We were each given a rope. We split up into groups of three. I was grouped together with a mouse of the name of Louse and another of the name of Douse.
We looked out the hole into the wild, the scouts would tell us when the coast was clear and then we would run to the next safe zone. We darted out and ran for shelter. The beast was on our tracks. We each split up; I ducked under the machine that’s supposed to make food. I could feel the breath of the beast right above me. He was searching for me.
His massive claws were almost touching me. Then with a snort, the beast walked off back into the wild. I ran out to regroup with my squad. They had already set up a rope to climb up the side of the wall. We scaled up the side of the wall and out of beast territory. We were on top of a canyon now looking down on where we climbed from. There were all sorts of giant pieces of food up here. I grabbed a sheet of crispy bread and a sheet of cheese. Louse grabbed two big orbs of liquid and Douse filled his bag with sweet crystals. We scaled back down the cliff and into the basin. I could hear the pounding of a beast approaching. This beast was like the first one I saw when I entered the house. It was a towering creature that walked differently from the other creature. We hid on the underside of the cliff while we watched the beast. The beast walked towards a big box, and ripped it open. I watched as the beast grabbed a huge container of milk and poured the ocean of liquid down its throat. The thing then picked up some sort of contraption which turned on and started making a loud whirring noise. We had to make it directly across the room to get to safety. All of a sudden the machine started sucking up stuff around us. It was moving towards us. It was every mouse for himself. The machine jutted out straight for me, I rolled to the side and made a run for it. I wasn’t fast enough because the machine sucked me into it. I wasn’t sure where I was going, this could be the end for me.
It must have been hours since I was sucked into this place. All I could feel around me was floor particles and dust. The machine turned off shortly after I was sucked into it, I wondered if I would ever escape this place.
I woke up to find that the thing I was in was moving. I was being carried, probably by the creature that brought me here. All of a sudden, I started falling; I could breathe fresh air once again! I was now lying in a garbage can. Trekking across pieces of garbage, I finally reached the top and could see out the can. I felt like I had just climbed a mountain. The sky was clear and the sun was shining. I had survived. Wherever life takes me next, I will just have to find out.
I trekked through the tunnel. I saw a light at the end. It must have been hours since I entered the tunnel. I had to get out of the rain. I came to a clearing; I was in a big, cold room with a huge metal machine. It was better than being outside. I watched water droplets form on the clear panels that let light into the room. A gate opened and two huge columns stomped into the room. This thing got into the metal machine and it started to roar. Its eyes started glowing and it started backing up. One of the walls opened up and the machine backed up out into the abyss. The wall closed back down and the room was silent once again. All I could hear now was the echo of rain outside.
I traversed across the room to the gate where the creature entered from. The gate had a hole in it which was covered by a flap. I hopped over the hole and into the other room. I could smell the scent of a beast. I could feel the vibration of something through the floor. The pounding was getting closer. I followed the hallway to a delicious smelling room. I looked back to see a giant beast staring right at me. I backed up into a corner of the room where the beast slowly came closer. I was trapped. I looked over to my right where I saw a whole in the wall; I darted into the hole barely escaping the beast’s jowls. I was in a dark little space. I trekked through the cave until I saw a dim light. I heard
voices towards the light. It was a family of mice having dinner.
“Hello sir, what brings you here?” said one of the mice.
“It was raining so I had to find some shelter, when I got inside I came across a giant beast who tried to eat me. I escaped into this whole in the wall and here I am.”
“Well I’m glad you’re alright chap, my name is Peter and this is my family, this is my wife Patricia and this is our son Pete.”
“My name is Mouseth.”
“Would you join us for dinner Mouseth? Tonight’s meal is crouton shavings and milk.”
“That sounds amazing, I haven’t eaten all day.”
As we sat there and ate our scrumptious meal, the family told me about their travels and how they came to live here. In this house, there is a whole civilization of mice. The beast I encountered is known as golzor to the mice. Some mice are known as scouts; they stake out on the high cliffs and watch for the beast. Then there are agents, they go right into enemy territory and gather food for the next day. I was assigned the job of the agent. My first gathering would be tonight. All agents met in the main lobby, which was a huge room in the mice city. We were each given a rope. We split up into groups of three. I was grouped together with a mouse of the name of Louse and another of the name of Douse.
We looked out the hole into the wild, the scouts would tell us when the coast was clear and then we would run to the next safe zone. We darted out and ran for shelter. The beast was on our tracks. We each split up; I ducked under the machine that’s supposed to make food. I could feel the breath of the beast right above me. He was searching for me.
His massive claws were almost touching me. Then with a snort, the beast walked off back into the wild. I ran out to regroup with my squad. They had already set up a rope to climb up the side of the wall. We scaled up the side of the wall and out of beast territory. We were on top of a canyon now looking down on where we climbed from. There were all sorts of giant pieces of food up here. I grabbed a sheet of crispy bread and a sheet of cheese. Louse grabbed two big orbs of liquid and Douse filled his bag with sweet crystals. We scaled back down the cliff and into the basin. I could hear the pounding of a beast approaching. This beast was like the first one I saw when I entered the house. It was a towering creature that walked differently from the other creature. We hid on the underside of the cliff while we watched the beast. The beast walked towards a big box, and ripped it open. I watched as the beast grabbed a huge container of milk and poured the ocean of liquid down its throat. The thing then picked up some sort of contraption which turned on and started making a loud whirring noise. We had to make it directly across the room to get to safety. All of a sudden the machine started sucking up stuff around us. It was moving towards us. It was every mouse for himself. The machine jutted out straight for me, I rolled to the side and made a run for it. I wasn’t fast enough because the machine sucked me into it. I wasn’t sure where I was going, this could be the end for me.
It must have been hours since I was sucked into this place. All I could feel around me was floor particles and dust. The machine turned off shortly after I was sucked into it, I wondered if I would ever escape this place.
I woke up to find that the thing I was in was moving. I was being carried, probably by the creature that brought me here. All of a sudden, I started falling; I could breathe fresh air once again! I was now lying in a garbage can. Trekking across pieces of garbage, I finally reached the top and could see out the can. I felt like I had just climbed a mountain. The sky was clear and the sun was shining. I had survived. Wherever life takes me next, I will just have to find out.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Snow
Blood in my hands freeze
We shred the mountains with ease
We strap plastic sheets to our feet
Snow was warm once
Blood in my hands didn’t freeze
Fat people migrate from the beach
To sit in the toasty snow
Spas in the mountain peaks
Blizzards would be toasty
And people would live in the snow
Demons
The radio warns society of demons
Don’t drink that beer
Don’t curse
The Demon on the radio knows all
Listen to him little sheep
Deranged lunatics,
The demon is real
Spend your life listening to the demon
Don’t think, just do
The universe
The waterfalls of Europa
Slip into the sea
Life looks up at the sky of outer crust
Sea lions see their way
The orb of light shines through ocean
Lighting the way for the sea beasts
Undiscovered
The Bagel
David Ignatow
I stopped to pick up the bagel rolling away in the wind, annoyed with myself for having dropped it as if it were a portent. Faster and faster it rolled,with me running after it bent low, gritting my teeth, and I found myself doubled overand rolling down the street head over heels, one complete somersault after another like a bagel and strangely happy with myself.
David Ignatow
The narrator dropped a bagel and it rolled away. He chased after it and started tumbling down the street.
The author is trying to hold on to something that he can’t keep in his grasp, and in the end he realizes that you should just go with the flow.
A bagel rolls down the street and a man rolls after it.
The poem just reminds me of how you’re always chasing after something and you can never be completely satisfied.
The tone is humorous; it gives me the feeling of a cartoon.
How we always want something more and can never quite be satisfied.
The personification of the bagel rolling like the man. You are always trying to grasp things and you can never grasp everything you want. Let things roll over to you instead of chasing them around.
The quarter
One quarter per family
1 cent to last years
Life in a box
Few have more than a dollar
Ever since the second depression
Jobs are a privilege
Only the wealthy can afford an interview
Bill Gates works as a janitor
Lucky bastard
One quarter to last a lifetime
Fire Island
Fire Island in the summer
A cabin within the shroud of nature
A metropolis of vegetation
Endless fun at the edges of land
Splinters shovel away my feet
Afraid to buy ice-cream
The ice cream man waits patiently
I hide behind the pillar of my mother’s ankle
One day
I will buy my own ice-cream
Ode to boneless buffalo chicken wings
Oh chicken wings, with perfect spice
Your flavor has been perfected for ages
Passed down from generation to generation
The perfect recipe of flavor
Oh how I yearn for these wings of delicacy
Perfect crispiness enthralls me
I wish my bed was made of spicy wings
And I wish I could swim in barbeque sauce
If only buffalo chicken rained from the heavens
And snow was frozen hot sauce
The world would finally have peace
Thank you boneless buffalo wings
Imitation Poem
Two paths diverged in a wood
One looked more traveled by than the other
The one less traveled by looked like it would be a more difficult path to travel
Knowing the worn path had been taken before, I figured it would be easier to handle
The path less traveled requires too much adventure
Two paths diverged in a wood, and I took the one everyone takes
Structure Poem
As I sit in the Breakfast lounge, the ketchup waits patiently
For it is not ketchups time, but his time will come
For in the preceding hours, many a hamburger will be ordered
Ketchup watches maple syrup in its prime
“How can these people eat that, I’m the one with all the right amount of seasoning”
Syrup might be cool now, but later on in life he will be sitting on the table, neglected
I won’t let mustard take all the glory, for soon it will be my time
Blood in my hands freeze
We shred the mountains with ease
We strap plastic sheets to our feet
Snow was warm once
Blood in my hands didn’t freeze
Fat people migrate from the beach
To sit in the toasty snow
Spas in the mountain peaks
Blizzards would be toasty
And people would live in the snow
Demons
The radio warns society of demons
Don’t drink that beer
Don’t curse
The Demon on the radio knows all
Listen to him little sheep
Deranged lunatics,
The demon is real
Spend your life listening to the demon
Don’t think, just do
The universe
The waterfalls of Europa
Slip into the sea
Life looks up at the sky of outer crust
Sea lions see their way
The orb of light shines through ocean
Lighting the way for the sea beasts
Undiscovered
The Bagel
David Ignatow
I stopped to pick up the bagel rolling away in the wind, annoyed with myself for having dropped it as if it were a portent. Faster and faster it rolled,with me running after it bent low, gritting my teeth, and I found myself doubled overand rolling down the street head over heels, one complete somersault after another like a bagel and strangely happy with myself.
David Ignatow
The narrator dropped a bagel and it rolled away. He chased after it and started tumbling down the street.
The author is trying to hold on to something that he can’t keep in his grasp, and in the end he realizes that you should just go with the flow.
A bagel rolls down the street and a man rolls after it.
The poem just reminds me of how you’re always chasing after something and you can never be completely satisfied.
The tone is humorous; it gives me the feeling of a cartoon.
How we always want something more and can never quite be satisfied.
The personification of the bagel rolling like the man. You are always trying to grasp things and you can never grasp everything you want. Let things roll over to you instead of chasing them around.
The quarter
One quarter per family
1 cent to last years
Life in a box
Few have more than a dollar
Ever since the second depression
Jobs are a privilege
Only the wealthy can afford an interview
Bill Gates works as a janitor
Lucky bastard
One quarter to last a lifetime
Fire Island
Fire Island in the summer
A cabin within the shroud of nature
A metropolis of vegetation
Endless fun at the edges of land
Splinters shovel away my feet
Afraid to buy ice-cream
The ice cream man waits patiently
I hide behind the pillar of my mother’s ankle
One day
I will buy my own ice-cream
Ode to boneless buffalo chicken wings
Oh chicken wings, with perfect spice
Your flavor has been perfected for ages
Passed down from generation to generation
The perfect recipe of flavor
Oh how I yearn for these wings of delicacy
Perfect crispiness enthralls me
I wish my bed was made of spicy wings
And I wish I could swim in barbeque sauce
If only buffalo chicken rained from the heavens
And snow was frozen hot sauce
The world would finally have peace
Thank you boneless buffalo wings
Imitation Poem
Two paths diverged in a wood
One looked more traveled by than the other
The one less traveled by looked like it would be a more difficult path to travel
Knowing the worn path had been taken before, I figured it would be easier to handle
The path less traveled requires too much adventure
Two paths diverged in a wood, and I took the one everyone takes
Structure Poem
As I sit in the Breakfast lounge, the ketchup waits patiently
For it is not ketchups time, but his time will come
For in the preceding hours, many a hamburger will be ordered
Ketchup watches maple syrup in its prime
“How can these people eat that, I’m the one with all the right amount of seasoning”
Syrup might be cool now, but later on in life he will be sitting on the table, neglected
I won’t let mustard take all the glory, for soon it will be my time
Friday, September 25, 2009
Age
I stared into the mirror back at my reflection. The hollow eyes on the other side of the mirror were looking deeper into mine. The shadows on my face were becoming one, like an endless abyss. Soon I saw nothing but darkness. I looked away and looked back to see that it was only the familiar face that I once knew, but why was it so hard to recognize now? With scars for eyebrows and grey wisps of nothing for hair I wanted to rip this cold mask off and show my real face, but this mask is the mask of age.
I felt a deep hunger in my belly, down to the core of my soul. My withered legs made me feel like I was standing on jello. I opened the fridge to find nothing but a bottle of ketchup that had been there as long as I can remember. I realized that my life was in my hands. I needed to go to the store and buy food or else I would surely perish. I looked around the room for my coat. I bundled up as best I could, it would be a long trek through the storm. I opened the front door, the car was about fifteen feet away, I felt the weight crashing down on my legs, would I be able to make it all the way to the car? I took a step. I took another one. I was now in the middle of it all, there was no turning back. I carefully watched my footing. I watched as some little whippersnapper carelessly bombed down the street unaware of the danger. The kids these days think they can do anything. Huffing and puffing, I finally made it to the car. I had to give myself a second, I felt as if I was about to pass out. My heart was pounding. The lightheadedness got worse and worse till all I could hear was a loud ringing sound; my vision was turning dark and fuzzy.
I woke up to find I was sitting in my car. It was late, I was still hungry. My heart was tired, my head was sore, it was the after effect of passing out. I tried to start up the car. The old car gave a huff and a puff and then died down with a wheeze. My watch read 9:20. If I wanted to eat I would have to make it within the hour. I thought of all the relatives I could call. Aunt Janine was pretty close and she has a car. I struggled to hit all the right numbers with my brittle hands. On the third try I got all the numbers punched in correctly. As I waited for the dial tone I felt like I was going to puke. I was thirsty, but water only made me feel hungrier. Water puts all the weight of food in your stomach without actually making you feel nourished. Aunt Janine answered the phone, “ehem… hello Walters’s residence.” “Hey Jan, it’s Bob.” “Oh how are you today?” “It’s alright, what about you?” “I’m good; I just finished baking a cake for Cousin Jim’s family fun party. Will you be joining us?” “I wish I could that sounds like a really swell time but I have just been so snowed with work around the house and you know…..I called to see If I could get a ride to the grocery store. My car broke down and I have no food in the house.” “Oh of course, I haven’t seen you in such a long time, we need to catch up.” “Ok, thanks Jan.” “Bye.”
It wasn’t that I hated my family, don’t get me wrong, they are all nice people, but I always felt like those family fun nights were so fake. It was more of a forced meeting then a fun family time. I mean come on “family fun night.” It’s like some sort of mask they put on to show to the outside world. It’s kind of like an insurance to make it appear that they are normal. I have always been on the outer ring of the family, although they all try to make it seem like I’m not. It’s just another mask. There was a knock at the door. Jan was at the door with her bunt cake and overblown lipstick. She stumbled through the snow in her high heels as I slowly trudged through what felt like a mountain pass in a blizzard. We had twenty five minutes to make it to the store, the store was about ten minutes away; I was in the clear. “Bob did you see that doctor?” “Uh…Yea.” I said.
As we drove I drifted into another world. The snowflakes played tricks on my eyes in the dark night air. We were a ship racing through the universe. Stars of frozen water rushed past us. I thought back to when I was a child; you take everything for granted as a child. You don’t appreciate being able to bounce around the room as if nothing can stop you. Now I would do anything just to be able to walk at a normal pace.
The car came to a stop; we were in the parking lot of stopnshop. I had a good ten minutes to browse through the aisles. I decided to start at the soup aisle. I looked at a can of Dinty Moore beef stew, it was $4.50. Western family was $4.00. It was a hard choice, Dinty Moore was better but it would cost me a whole extra 50 cents. I bought two cans of Dinty Moore and a little bottle of orange juice. Jan dropped me off and went off to the family fun night. I closed the front door behind me and collapsed on the couch. Now my only task was to make the food.
I used the last of my energy to pour the soup into a pot on the oven. The soup I was about to eat would be the best tasting food I would ever eat in my life. Satisfied, I dragged myself over to my bed and passed out. Lying in bed, I felt complete relaxation; I would have the best sleep of my life.
When I awoke, it was 12. I felt like I wanted to do something on this day. I wanted to feel alive, like a kid in a spacecraft. I was bored of this slug lifestyle. I jumped out of bed ignoring the fact that when I landed it made a cracking sound. I warmed up the second can of soup while I watched the television. It flipped to a skydiving channel and I started to watch it. The show reminded me of my younger days when I would skydive. I used to like to push myself to the extreme. Thing is I don’t think my body could even withstand the adrenaline rush now days. I called up an old buddy that I used to skydive with. “Hey Joe, it’s Bob. I was wondering if you could help set me up with a skydiving round at some point today.” “Hey Bob so yea I can set you up with a skydiving round, but are you sure your up for it, you should get some advise from a doctor first.” “I saw a doctor a few days ago and he said I’m doing fine, I think I can manage.” “Ok, so how does 3:30 sound?” “That would be great.” “Ok see you there.”
I pulled my old skydiving suit out of the closet. It had been many years since I had even looked at it. That suit and I had been through a lot of air time together. In only a few hours I would be flying through the sky. I decided that I would savor my last hours on the ground. I turned on the television and drank some cold orange juice. I was enjoying all the little things that I usually take for granted. When you don’t have much mobility, sitting around watching a movie isn’t all that special. The further something is away from you, the more you want it, the closer it is, the less meaning it has. Just like how those youngsters take their youth for granted. Sitting on my couch, pondering life, I began to think how great it is just to make it to my age. Memories are by far the best part of your life. When that moment in time that you call memory occurred, it was so close to you that it meant nothing, but then looking back on that moment, you appreciate every little bit of it. You glorify every little aspect of your recollection.
The phone rang. It was Joe; it was 3:00PM. I pulled out my old skydiving suit and got suited up. I wished I could maintain the same resilience the suit had; it looked as if I had put it away yesterday. The suit still fit me for the most part, although it was a stretch getting it over my stomach. Waiting to get picked up by Joe, the last 15 minutes felt longer than the previous two hours. At last Joe’s truck pulled up in my driveway. As I walked out to his truck, I tried my best to hide my condition. I got in the passengers seat huffing and puffing. “Are you alright?” said Joe. “Oh yea.” I said.
Upon our arrival to the airport, I realized what I was about to do. I got out of the car and grabbed my jump suit. We walked towards the plane at a rapid pace. I needed to slow down and catch my breath. My heart was pounding. I didn’t want Joe to suspect anything, so I tried my best to keep up at his pace. My legs were wobbling; once I got in that plane I would be home free. I climbed up into the plane and nearly collapsed on the floor. “Could I have some water” I asked. The Pilot pointed to a cooler towards the back of the plane. I sat there still catching my breath while the pilot looked at me as if I hadn’t heard him. I staggered towards the back of the plane and guzzled down a bottle of water.
We took off and were rising in elevation steadily. I felt the calm before the storm. I was still; in a situation where I once felt adrenaline I now felt an eerily calm sensation. All I felt was silence; I couldn’t hear the engine or people talking, only dead silence. I looked out the window to see that we were pretty far up, about where you want to jump from. Joe handed me a parachute, despite feeling like it was unnecessary I strapped it on. There were five of us jumping; a man and his wife went first, then some other fellow, and then us. When it was time for us to jump I looked at Joe and nodded. We dropped out of the plane backwards and before I knew it I was in the middle of it all. The wind rushed past my body; I felt like I was flying downwards.
I took a visit to the sky. Life lasts only so long, so don’t live in fear and then die. Age is the gravity that takes you down. So live while you can because only birds can fly.
I felt a deep hunger in my belly, down to the core of my soul. My withered legs made me feel like I was standing on jello. I opened the fridge to find nothing but a bottle of ketchup that had been there as long as I can remember. I realized that my life was in my hands. I needed to go to the store and buy food or else I would surely perish. I looked around the room for my coat. I bundled up as best I could, it would be a long trek through the storm. I opened the front door, the car was about fifteen feet away, I felt the weight crashing down on my legs, would I be able to make it all the way to the car? I took a step. I took another one. I was now in the middle of it all, there was no turning back. I carefully watched my footing. I watched as some little whippersnapper carelessly bombed down the street unaware of the danger. The kids these days think they can do anything. Huffing and puffing, I finally made it to the car. I had to give myself a second, I felt as if I was about to pass out. My heart was pounding. The lightheadedness got worse and worse till all I could hear was a loud ringing sound; my vision was turning dark and fuzzy.
I woke up to find I was sitting in my car. It was late, I was still hungry. My heart was tired, my head was sore, it was the after effect of passing out. I tried to start up the car. The old car gave a huff and a puff and then died down with a wheeze. My watch read 9:20. If I wanted to eat I would have to make it within the hour. I thought of all the relatives I could call. Aunt Janine was pretty close and she has a car. I struggled to hit all the right numbers with my brittle hands. On the third try I got all the numbers punched in correctly. As I waited for the dial tone I felt like I was going to puke. I was thirsty, but water only made me feel hungrier. Water puts all the weight of food in your stomach without actually making you feel nourished. Aunt Janine answered the phone, “ehem… hello Walters’s residence.” “Hey Jan, it’s Bob.” “Oh how are you today?” “It’s alright, what about you?” “I’m good; I just finished baking a cake for Cousin Jim’s family fun party. Will you be joining us?” “I wish I could that sounds like a really swell time but I have just been so snowed with work around the house and you know…..I called to see If I could get a ride to the grocery store. My car broke down and I have no food in the house.” “Oh of course, I haven’t seen you in such a long time, we need to catch up.” “Ok, thanks Jan.” “Bye.”
It wasn’t that I hated my family, don’t get me wrong, they are all nice people, but I always felt like those family fun nights were so fake. It was more of a forced meeting then a fun family time. I mean come on “family fun night.” It’s like some sort of mask they put on to show to the outside world. It’s kind of like an insurance to make it appear that they are normal. I have always been on the outer ring of the family, although they all try to make it seem like I’m not. It’s just another mask. There was a knock at the door. Jan was at the door with her bunt cake and overblown lipstick. She stumbled through the snow in her high heels as I slowly trudged through what felt like a mountain pass in a blizzard. We had twenty five minutes to make it to the store, the store was about ten minutes away; I was in the clear. “Bob did you see that doctor?” “Uh…Yea.” I said.
As we drove I drifted into another world. The snowflakes played tricks on my eyes in the dark night air. We were a ship racing through the universe. Stars of frozen water rushed past us. I thought back to when I was a child; you take everything for granted as a child. You don’t appreciate being able to bounce around the room as if nothing can stop you. Now I would do anything just to be able to walk at a normal pace.
The car came to a stop; we were in the parking lot of stopnshop. I had a good ten minutes to browse through the aisles. I decided to start at the soup aisle. I looked at a can of Dinty Moore beef stew, it was $4.50. Western family was $4.00. It was a hard choice, Dinty Moore was better but it would cost me a whole extra 50 cents. I bought two cans of Dinty Moore and a little bottle of orange juice. Jan dropped me off and went off to the family fun night. I closed the front door behind me and collapsed on the couch. Now my only task was to make the food.
I used the last of my energy to pour the soup into a pot on the oven. The soup I was about to eat would be the best tasting food I would ever eat in my life. Satisfied, I dragged myself over to my bed and passed out. Lying in bed, I felt complete relaxation; I would have the best sleep of my life.
When I awoke, it was 12. I felt like I wanted to do something on this day. I wanted to feel alive, like a kid in a spacecraft. I was bored of this slug lifestyle. I jumped out of bed ignoring the fact that when I landed it made a cracking sound. I warmed up the second can of soup while I watched the television. It flipped to a skydiving channel and I started to watch it. The show reminded me of my younger days when I would skydive. I used to like to push myself to the extreme. Thing is I don’t think my body could even withstand the adrenaline rush now days. I called up an old buddy that I used to skydive with. “Hey Joe, it’s Bob. I was wondering if you could help set me up with a skydiving round at some point today.” “Hey Bob so yea I can set you up with a skydiving round, but are you sure your up for it, you should get some advise from a doctor first.” “I saw a doctor a few days ago and he said I’m doing fine, I think I can manage.” “Ok, so how does 3:30 sound?” “That would be great.” “Ok see you there.”
I pulled my old skydiving suit out of the closet. It had been many years since I had even looked at it. That suit and I had been through a lot of air time together. In only a few hours I would be flying through the sky. I decided that I would savor my last hours on the ground. I turned on the television and drank some cold orange juice. I was enjoying all the little things that I usually take for granted. When you don’t have much mobility, sitting around watching a movie isn’t all that special. The further something is away from you, the more you want it, the closer it is, the less meaning it has. Just like how those youngsters take their youth for granted. Sitting on my couch, pondering life, I began to think how great it is just to make it to my age. Memories are by far the best part of your life. When that moment in time that you call memory occurred, it was so close to you that it meant nothing, but then looking back on that moment, you appreciate every little bit of it. You glorify every little aspect of your recollection.
The phone rang. It was Joe; it was 3:00PM. I pulled out my old skydiving suit and got suited up. I wished I could maintain the same resilience the suit had; it looked as if I had put it away yesterday. The suit still fit me for the most part, although it was a stretch getting it over my stomach. Waiting to get picked up by Joe, the last 15 minutes felt longer than the previous two hours. At last Joe’s truck pulled up in my driveway. As I walked out to his truck, I tried my best to hide my condition. I got in the passengers seat huffing and puffing. “Are you alright?” said Joe. “Oh yea.” I said.
Upon our arrival to the airport, I realized what I was about to do. I got out of the car and grabbed my jump suit. We walked towards the plane at a rapid pace. I needed to slow down and catch my breath. My heart was pounding. I didn’t want Joe to suspect anything, so I tried my best to keep up at his pace. My legs were wobbling; once I got in that plane I would be home free. I climbed up into the plane and nearly collapsed on the floor. “Could I have some water” I asked. The Pilot pointed to a cooler towards the back of the plane. I sat there still catching my breath while the pilot looked at me as if I hadn’t heard him. I staggered towards the back of the plane and guzzled down a bottle of water.
We took off and were rising in elevation steadily. I felt the calm before the storm. I was still; in a situation where I once felt adrenaline I now felt an eerily calm sensation. All I felt was silence; I couldn’t hear the engine or people talking, only dead silence. I looked out the window to see that we were pretty far up, about where you want to jump from. Joe handed me a parachute, despite feeling like it was unnecessary I strapped it on. There were five of us jumping; a man and his wife went first, then some other fellow, and then us. When it was time for us to jump I looked at Joe and nodded. We dropped out of the plane backwards and before I knew it I was in the middle of it all. The wind rushed past my body; I felt like I was flying downwards.
I took a visit to the sky. Life lasts only so long, so don’t live in fear and then die. Age is the gravity that takes you down. So live while you can because only birds can fly.
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