20.6.19

A Collection of Absurdist Bedtime Stories (Vol. 1)

One Day there was a little kitten who went on a trip with her mommy.  The mommy kitten didn't know how I work, so she asked me and I turned into an airplane.   (Isaiah; age 2)

A long time ago there was a frog. This frog wanted to fly, but not like a bird or a bug, for they needed to use so much energy; the frog did not want to fly like an airplane, either, because they make too much noise.  The frog, who was named Jemimah, wanted to fly like a cloud.
She thought that clouds flew so gracefully, in part, at least, because it seemed so effortless and inconsequential.  In order to fly like a cloud, though, Jemimah realized that she would have to tum into water first, so she jumped into the pond.
(Gabriel; age 33)



There was a forest right here.  It went for a walk one day and it stepped on mornrny, but it didn't have any feet.  Then I came and helped mornrny up because I wanted to play.  I wanted to play a Frisbee game right in this house, but not on the bed.
 (Isaiah; age 2) 

As the moon rose in the east and the wind blew down from the north and the birds flew south to roost, there they were.  Just west of Humphrey's House of Blues, which was a jazz house, like there were in the 40's, and not far from the east side, there was a lot of conspicuous size. Nothing was supposed to be that big in the city; at least not these days, according to most who lived around there.  Even if it was small compared to most lots, it was still something that was hard to ignore: you couldn't walk past it without noticing how long it took to get from one side to the other, to the dark side.  "Dark" might make it sound sinister, and that's unfair: it as also on the right side of some, and it never meant to do things, right or wrong, left or right.  Heck, it was a lot, it couldn't be said to do anything of its own...except occupy space, maybe.  But, I guess it would be fair to say that there are enough people out there, in the same area, even, who never did much more than take up space, so maybe it could be said that it was "on the level." You definitely couldn't sled there, or roll anything down it, so it all fits, in that level sort of way.

There was that time, a few weeks ago, when the cats and the birds finally came together and made sweet music, in the grass, under the light of the moon (the very same one that had just risen--however much fuller she seemed), and it was beautiful.  Even the drummer took a beat to dig it, deeply, before tapping back into time.

But that was so long ago that hardly anyone cared any more...or maybe they never did, which would explain the apparent difference. Maybe not; I guess I don't care either, really, even though it was a lot. It was just a lot.
(Gabriel; age 33)


Once upon a time there was a cave that was so dark no one could get out.  But there was a little bear in the cave and he cried because his family was not there.  His family was coming to give him hugs, which he really wanted, but they were not there yet.  He waited for his family in the dark and he thought about a pillow. He thought about the pillow because he was tired of waiting.
The cave was so dark, but the bear just went right out and asked himself, "what happened to me?"
(Isaiah; age 2)



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(In collaboration with The Garfinkles: Isaiah (age 2), Nathaniel (age 27), Gabriel (age 33) and Adam (age 63); Berlin, 2015)