1. Preface: " The Role of the Individual in Contemporary Society"
2. " A diversion for the evening "
3. " Well, well how are you? "
4. " Watch out for the waterfall beads "
5. " The sun had just smiled "
6. " Night-time twinkled down "
Preface
"The Role of the Individual in Contemporary Society"
Individual missivities wihin endeloquent socio-homoenities have not been allowed their blossomrnies. This prinacious colloquialotoreal floating within the essential Loritorials of celtominimal interweavels has too magnifortical extentigent - been proned to be a staionist staegorical non- beingtorium. Songtoriums of Bill Bailey, Roads to Home et ceterac have perniciously, like pigweed, overgrown the fields of objectivity with their stereoscopic prodigesis. This what I would like to alleviorate within the lintorials of this short statemorial. In addictorivian presumptuate the logasity of the true homogaseous - human
Within the phenomenological theosis there is a waltz of thoughtological sweemeat which permitz the individual to objectivenesis the paretorials of any senstorial datae which comes within his grasptiviness This does not excudiate any of the memorable affectiviness to which homin ab opportunes to emotive. But does by its nocturnal presambial a certain contollum schyzoidial proclivity. Which in itself to be considetorial a positivity relativistic to the proevolucation of that whichorious being human as technivity make's its inroadalities uppon the relatorium of human and naturisity. But, Bacalist to the primist pointquist. Homogasious because he does not allow this evolutional to take effectuse, has closet extremistial ineffectualisty. Thereby, throwing ingestial compenitaceous effectuates steregolistic attitudinals. Pertualioning missivities that can only argalatate becondidicon determentalism, argualting Arglulatingium! Now, phenomenological scepticism scorgotesis a multiplustrium whichtorious of setyricodid of datae, existentially squeezed in a bellowing of preticmusicoly with straitesis beyond normonal levels of experiencing. Not to sound prosetizing to anygratuim extendruim, I will ceasist and hope that I have effected comprehensitorial communifuctuation with at least a smallest, parceliality of leadership.
Thankyou
"A diversion for the evening"
The beginning being the beginning the night time twinkled down like a rag-time piano player in the corner of the smoke filled hall of the interactive - my eyes were somewhat distorted as I suppose was the rest of me. It was a difficult time to be made aware of myself. I had been seeking that place of easy fulfilment to belong to and had just been snapped back too quickly. But, it was... I was sure as certainly (the beguiling nemesis) King Alligator.
"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen ", the lights flashed - bathing - low and behold my good friend King Alligator, in iridescent light. He was clad in diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. Together they radiated the glow of colours between intersecting rainbows that many cool showers and rich vegetation of Jester evenings summertime brings. His tail curled about the hogline of reason, swinging in time to the rag time player, after wiping his forehead and cooling his throat embarked upon a tale of song's comedy as introduction to the baton twirling, boot snapping dance of King Alligator. The King whirled about the stage, spinning into its very center as the music faded to the distance.
"The patient went into the doctors office, after going through the arrangements with the wide eyed, sultry receptionist, I sat down and drummed a hundred or so songs upon the arm of the old wooden chair, and re-living many Geo-historical times of man and cultures waited (at this time the audience began to twitter cheers of nervous laughter, for this struck through to their common experience and expectancy had begun to the caress and tickle in many parts of their bodies). The nurse came out "the doctor is ready for you now," the last word ringing with a finality and warning.
The patient stood up; his legs soft as butter and quivering like jelly. But he made it through the door. A large stuffed vinyl covered couch of buttons and bulges was situated along one wall, diverse papers were framed and hung about the room, a large desk completely bare, but for a stand up calendar caught streaks of light that came through lattice curtain windows behind. The patient slithered to the couch and laid down, his eyes closed and he began talking to a parrot in a brass cage, which had dropped from about somewhere above, as he lay down. The parrot listened, cocking its head from side to side as in attentive listening, clucking every once in a while at the important points. After 15 or 20 minutes the patient had begun to slowdown and waiver in its resolve to reveal all that the parrot asked, "excuse me, but could you tell me what you consider to be a night light?" The patient scratched his bed and tentatively replied, "it would, I suppose it would be something that was absent when present-like ignorance"
Well, this drew the cords of laughter and thought. The curtain across stage, leaving in the dimly lit hall a warmness of friendship for the common shared experience on everyone's face including my own, reflected the mirthful laughing face of King Alligator who had slipped through the curtains onto the lip of the stage.
" This has all the making of being one very fine evening, I see." King Alligator clapped his claws, tossed his hat in to the air, sprang up on the tale, caught and twirled it on the end of his tail, until the whole room was covered in white doves, which joined together like snow flakes as they settle down upon all.
The laughter grew and grew, the balloons of its containment spreading ever outward, until there was room for nothing else, including its source, so it gently dwindled to a chuckle or two which moved with a few drifts about the hall.
" I'm extremely pleased to see my old friend out there." King Alligator pointed his microphone towards me, his tail signalled the light technicians and a spotlight flashed upon the curtain, ran down like syrup, over the edge of the stage out onto the dance floor over the heads of movement until it centred upon me. " You are going to like this show, stand up and take a bow - the audience make the show!"
I stood up, bowed stately and simply, slightly turning blushing red, due to the warmth of the light I reassured myself.
The King Alligator thanked me while he walked to the side of the stage, where red velvet cords with gold-spun tassels dropped from out of sight above.
"As I pull this cord, I welcome you to the night light show," a hush fell over the hall, the smoke cleared, and an almost brittle clarity laid all in suspension .
The curtain folded back cascading into itself like a waterfall. The stage was black, but only apparently so, for as change became less, as our eyes adapted, a row of distant lights dissolved the black with tiny whiskers of light, which moved, then spun, leaping and falling, spiralling together into inter-weaving memory trails of their motion-colour light flooding the stage as the interlacing exploded - revealing King Alligator dressed in a robe of such splendour that there was a wave of colour light thrown about the whole hall. We tugged and we pulled at Fred Astair strands, which stuck, and clung to our fingers until it crystallised into a toffee, we could eat in strands of musical pleasure.
Yes, it was a mirthful time for all. There were colours dancing Fred Astair about the walls and floors. Laughter, oh the laughter, it spun like a tornado about the room gathering us all into the center of its safety, where Queen Butterfly and all her entourage played with the veils of confusion as a dance of order. A thousand myriad colours of wings-oranges, pink and purple, satin whites and velvet blacks, mossy prairie browns to brilliant blues and greens. The smiles of all the throng thus gathered drew threads of movement throughout the space joining together them all into a tapestry of delight.
"Are you enjoying it? " Asked King Alligator.
I looked to my left, and there all studded like a diamond sparkling waterfall dream and bowed and clicking his button laced red thigh high boots danced my good friend King Alligator.
"Yes" I screamed.
"Then it's probably enough", he took off his hat and the nighttime returned, a great deal less serious than before.
"Well, well how are you?'
I spun, wheeled around scattering the silences about me, King Alligator!
" My gawd it's been sometime since last we spoke." I gasped and wheezed at the magnificent sight before me, dressed in robes of ermine fur dandelion balls striped with bands of autumn leaf - already begun their transmigration. King Alligator glowed with purpose and presuppose until we seemed to stand in an umbrella of pattern future dispersions. King Alligator put out his claw in brotherhood greetings of the time and place and length of separation, a ritual most precise and beautiful to both take part in and observe in it's many forms and attitudes of discernment and expression.
" It is a mistake to take the future and past from the present, for one without the other, leaves all without." King alligator, smiled his most winning smile, the one that gleams moisture drop diamonds into the air for transference into friendship and understanding between He and I.
My mind somewhat wandering between decisions made and formed by actions made in the unknown regions of the extra-parameter, communications breaking down in their ability and power to carry the intimate touches of feeling and self to anyone…
" Arf, Malard, Kacthuie. That's a mouthful of self preoccupation of little importance, what of the worlds of imagination just down a little from the beacons of hope and expectations…!" King Alligator guawffed.
" I knew there was a reason to think of coming to you, hopefully Queen Butterfly and a group will come by to amuse you with thoughts of the good life - a small country of earth, the home-mother of humanity, an unusual development of self-consciousness in the primitive animal. Onetime palace questions of debate throughout the kingdom." King Alligator added.
King Alligator caught himself, knocking over a fine deep ruby red glass with his tail - the glass disintegrated to dust collected itself and returned to the table plane again as it was before the passing tail.
This was quite a change to me from there to here a travelline in space and time causing a painful twisting of self. - a form not to far from roots in rock, but I started getting into the mood of what expected to be a promising evening, the entrance steps of pleasure.
" I see by your smile that the atmosphere has taken you into its gentle arms." King Alligator sighed as he swung his arms wide to the side in an expansive gesture of abstract expressionist proportions.
As he did this I felt a thousand fingers eccentrically about me and then they closed upon me, a hundred hands upholding me, wrapping and spinning and rolling and rocking to a crescendo of touchsongs upon my body. A dim, hazy, nebulous, floating sensation of rejuvenation and taken me over - to my surprise.
" You are, now, perhaps ready for the pleasures of the myriad's, conversations of erudition and sharing - the evening begins, with that he began to spin. A spray of fluff and leaves covering the entire region with a carpet of crispy marshmallow softness.
" Now, let us see what may come!!!" King Alligator spun his cane as treacle began outpouring from the stage.
The boughs of the trees interlacing with pearl snow lettuce leaf reaching toward each to each in such manner as to create a common bond of strength and design, which curved over the pathways, splashing the rays of light into many patterns and rhythms. Their tempo changing to suit the flow of the fellow guests gathering together now for the awaiting of the event - a constant directed movement around itself - the time of event - learning of and about those who have gathered for expectancy. I turned to a smile that seemed to be bubbling with delightful sea caps bursting off the rocks and into the air, but she faded and I turned a full circle about the area.
Area: a large glowing orb of pulsating light and sound at the center of a web of crystal tunnels.
The event: the rain was about to begin this would turn to sleet that by the end would turn everything to a frozen moment. But, as in all these life situations, there was a chance - though not much in fact, a highly improbable touch of hope from expectancy, which would make it temporarily a fairly safe problem to think about.
But, the tea-steeped magic, bobbing apples of fiction and a close-knit sweater of inter-connectiveness illustrating the many moment propensities. Each image describing itself to you, the past, present and future amalgamating into a cohesive self - contained form of open giving which took on meaning from the form, beauty and graciousness she possessed. She approached from my right, whirling in ethereal wisps of color that slowed to a soft flow of colour tones upon her body - which had no compare.
"Watch out for the waterfall beads"
" Watch out for the waterfall beads that touch the heart, and the trout fish dreams that come in a kiss." The words cascaded down the rocks.
Imagine: with the closed eyes of one in a trance I watched…
A hawk upon a rabbit enclawed soaring off into the sky, the heavy weight of greed slowing its heaven directed flight, only to be trapped in the misty web of cotton clouds. Where, they thus entwined in common chord were wrapped and spun inside a cocoon that was it’s all. To emerge a butterfly sheathed in colour rampant, which flutters to the waters of the lake, whistles, and calls to the royal alligator, who laughs as he splashes the lemon-cherry Jell-O palace in which he lives. Conversations sweeping through chocolate halls like a thousand buzzing bees in incomprehensible song. But simply stood there humming and shining like the vibrant sun itself. Then from within the folds and spaces of his royal cloak - all filled with designs of colour that captured my spell - bound mind inside the story of it all - matter moving, flowing and forming all visions possible, mysteries that turned like spinning tops threw about me a thousand diamond drop tears of joy. The Alligator king produced a largely sparkling tiny crown which he placed upon the head of Queen Butterfly who about his head was beamingly smiling at the dancing fish that flew upon ivory feathers through the air.
Well, any way, I stood transfixed as a child in bewilderment by the revelry of it all. For what a sight I beheld - King Alligator seated upon a throne of fountain clouds that splashed and sung. He laid a scepter across the crossing of his legs, as his tail twitched back and forth, stirring the vapors of my tea, which a trio of humming birds had served me.
Madame Butterfly fluttered becrowned upon the tip of King Alligator's nose, crossing his eyes into spirals of laughter, began to sing to me. Even unto I was transposed to fields of ecstasy.
But the words he spake!! Jesting me with the pearly truth of wisdom, I largely learned many truths of the why’s of all things. But, now in retrospective memory trails I find that a shower of forgetfulness had come to me. And I cannot remember them - just as the buttercup beneath the snow last winter. But on the scene we watched a show as I have never seen or heard of in all my days, which are many.
There were four elephants spin-wheeling upon the back of one mouse that giggled and squeaked in merriment. Oh, what laughter! For the spinning twirling tails and trunks did tickle the funny bones of a too closely seated regent beaver who clapped and laughed until he had to build a dam of twigs to keep us all from drowning in the river of his tears of happiness, in which all manner of strange sorts of beasts of pleasure did swim in orchestrated patterns of musical delights.
Good King Alligator clapped me upon the shoulder portion of my back and cried." What do you think of that/"
Well here were tears of laughter upon my eyes and hiccups in my throat, but I smiled the wider and yelled above the din of cymbals that started, I don't believe it!!"
My eyes then did widen the more - I became as exquisite sculpture of joy. From behind a curtain of mountain rushes there paraded a field of squirrels all bushy tailed - banging their cymbal pairs in rhythms of passion, as out and out and out still they stretched before me in pyramids of sound and still they stretched, and still they did come until the very magnitude of their coming gave overflow ranks to their going, and thus reinforced did the going outnumbered the coming until there were none. I could make no sense of the magic of it all. Yet another act stranger it seemed than all before began to unroll before my eyes - As parchment curls and cracks through the hands time and those elements of rain, sun, cold and heat do tell its story. So, a crane upon one leg began a tale, which wafted into the visions of it's medium so there were no words to describe the essence of it's wisdom and humor.
At this point not being able to endure the mirth of feeling which rolled me upon he majestic carpet, I begged the King to break it off and return to speaking with me, for I had many questions to put to his kingship. At that he ordered two soup, which arriving with the immediacy of a lightning bug was before us steaming. Then he reached out and grasped the scene in his claws, broke it up, and crumpled it into his soup, which seem to come alive with all manner of things just beyond the edge knowing.
" This is much like the dreams and hopes of the best in thought." He said with such an air of solemnity that I grew quite chilled with the breeze of fear until I allowed it to touch me apart to see he humor of it all.
" All things are most serious and most frivolous at the same time?" I asked. Thinking perhaps that was an understudying of it.
" In the same way that nothing can have meaning…" The look upon his face as he said these words, gave me the knowing of my understanding to be not.
But in a smile he said, " That is not of importance for dreams and hopes are not of things we don't have, but perhaps of things we have just not yet realized."
There was a fading of my sights, a wavering indistinctiveness, a lengthening, until King Alligator with Madame Butterfly crowned upon his nose, became but a telescoped fly upon a mountain side in my vision. And yet, I could see and hear the singing and merriment long after the mountain became a listening drop in the web that the window sun found in the corner of my seldom used drawer.
The sun had just smiled its first portent of the day's laughter, when my eyes first fluttered with the early lines of wakefulness. Shadow reflections of stellar depth swam within the enduring visions.
" Tyme to get up," a sparkling bubble of speech tickled the ears of my hearing, like a thousand feathers upon the nipples of my chest, " the day approaches with alacrity the nexus of all the possibilities.
" Just a minute. " The words softly squirted out from between my watermelon lips.
" Just a moment, a minute, a passing life-time experiences passing by you like mouse size view of a spinning top up close, get yourself up." The voice began to rise in timbre, from a leaf-wind whisper to a cowbell call of a nearby field.
" Throw back those covers, reflex your knees, unbend those fingers, uncurl those leaf-lips already turning color with the autumn of the morning."
For indeed, the voice rising now to the heavenly orchestra of melting butter in a maple syrup lake in the land of sizzling pancakes was pitching aromas into the air, assailling my nose, had taken hold of me and acted upon me unknown deeds. I sat cross-legged now upon my bed so soft and warm each evening time with memory fur and so growingly hard each baking smile of he morning sun. There was a fountain of tears in my eyes, which made all that I saw blurred, upside down and collaged. I thought I could see, just barely able to discern the form imagined being the likeness of my good friend king Alligator.
" It is, it is!" I yelped like a faithful, tail-wagging dog dream and fantasy folly that I am in so often.
" Good King, it is good to see you." I leapt from the bed, a cross-bow arrow of glee."
We embraced most copiously, with the continued waterfall tears of memory mountains we have shared. Then we stood most quiet, regarding each other with questions of all the days since last we met and journeyed to the lakeshore edge of many manners of things.
" Come. Take my tail, I have invited you to a breakfast treat that be-dwindles the most highly virtues of bacon and eggs, to the Red River cereal Crispy Critters."
Well you my dear reader must try to picture deep in the vision of your imagination, for the words I possess and so very few and used clumsily - do not nearly capture the lines of this morning time writing of the events by any stretch of the pen. What could this breakfast be? My mind spread out like a cluster of vines upon the lattice of my imagination, oh thoughts of many things, both small and large, good and bad, profound and simple, but could not name the one.
" I bet its shark fin soup and cabbage rolls with dill pickles, ice cream, pie and cake." I said desperately.
" With guesses as such, no divination, front-page, good word, chance of understanding the possible secret squares of correctness will come to you." King Alligator jested and teased with the sun sky gleam of his teeth.
" Well, then it's probably something simple, like sunflower cakes and almonds." I used this answer because it tasted good, and memory connections most pleasurable were contained by it.
" Well that is getting closer to the form it might have been." He replied most enigmatically, with a grizzled turn of his nose towards the center seed of my mind."
The Alligator King had grown most serious, " I thought for the game wakening time of the morning."
" The most simple and the best…." An understanding was coming forth to me waving silken greetings of butterfly wings, " sometimes to begin imagining the possibilities of each time moment, without desire and aim for any one, reveals a constant deja vu sense of surprise and prophesy." The words fairly tripped from my mouth before my thoughts could remember them.
" Yea, you could be right, but here, look over there, we've almost arrived." The King Alligator pointed to a small hilltop clearing in a valley of trees.
" Mmmmh.." I thought to myself, this is my first realization of the flying we have been doing and the distance we had covered - it seems as if it was but a dotted moment of time.
We began to descend towards the hilltop. There was a table spread out upon two rythymn drums of dance. Upon the oak board table, there was a red and white tablecloth - checkered in chess game fancy with many sides of factions of games before and after. We swooped down above and over the heads of the assembled seven with such speed and daring I the joy of arriving that I could see no more.
" We'll land over there, by an arch of trees which make a natural yet more enthralling entrance than feet in a mustard jar." The King Alligator said this with such a smile that I could see the falling mustard seeds in field after field. He had hit a most well hidden chord of unrevealed truth about me, that my pleasure gave one last gasp of reticence, then recharged, surged forward into the unknown coming of day with laughter of delight.
Night-time twinkled down like a rag-time piano player playing in the corner of the stage.
" Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" a voice boomed out. The lights flashed, showering my dear friend King Alligator with beams of light. He was clad in diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. All radiating a glow between the colours of the rainbow jester time evenings. His tail curled and swayed, flashing sometimes in tune with the ragtime piano still banging away in the corner of the stage, swirling in spirals of smoke. He raised his top hat, twirled his baton and sprang into the air, clicking his heels together in piano note time. The king Alligator approached the microphone, picked it from its cradle and began with his stand-up routine, " joke ".
" The patient went into the doctor's office one day, sat down and waited, each dock of the clock in present space extending the interminable length of a life-time waiting (twitters of from the audience, for this struck to their true heart experience in such things). The nurse came out.
" The doctor's ready for you now."
The patient followed her to the door and walked through as she waited with it open with a smile.
" The doctor will be with you in a moment."
The patient lay down on the paper covered cart and closed his eyes with anxious tremors.
" You can begin to recount the sources and nature of your complaints now." With that the parrot in the gold-guided cage and cocked his head with a listening motion - ready to make sense and reason from the blubbering's of the patient, which increasing to overflow formed cataracts of confusion.
" Excuse me, but what could you tell me about nightlight?" The parrot interjected to slow the flow.
Well, this sent the patient searching the paper creases of mental research crinkling about him to access the question's counterpart.
" It would have to be something that was within and without at the same time." The patient pulled out of a valley crease fecund in completion questions.
The punch line drew a startled chord, opening the curtains of thought and laughter throughout the dimly lit room. A warmness of friendship for the common - shared experience radiated from the mirthful faces of he audience.
" Well, well, well… It has the makings of being one very fine evening, I see." King Alligator clapped his clapped his claws together, tossing his hat into air, sprang up on his tail, caught an twirled his hat on his snout while spinning on his tail, droplets of mirth flying off him into the audience. " Yes, Yes, Yes.. " The words were music of glee."
The laughter grew and grew, the balloons of its containment spreading ever outward, until they're being no room for is source twindled to a chuckle or two.
" I'm very happy to see my old friend out there." King Alligator spoke into his microphone, back in its cradle and pointed me out with a gesture of his tail. Opening a spotlight upon me. " I can promise, you will enjoy the show - stand up and take a bow."
I stood up, bowed - turning red about the ears, then quickly sat down before the centering forces of attention could draw me out of myself, flashing with scenes of deja vue with my past.
The King alligator thanked me, while walking over to the edge of the stage, where a red velvet cord with gold-spun tassels dangled from up out of sight.
" As I pull this cord, I welcome you all to the nightlight-show." And with a flourish…
The curtain folded back, cascading into itself, until the stage was black, but for a glowing in the distance, which broke into sparkling motes of light which dissolved the space of darkness with whiskers of delight - they danced and spun, leapt and fell, spiralling and interweaving with memory trails of their motion. Colour light flooded the stage and there stood good King Alligator dressed in a robe of spun colour light which wove the audience in into a web of pleasure. We tugged and we pulled until the strands of colour crystallised into toffee of delight.
" Yes, it was a mirthful time for all. There were colours dancing fred astair upon the walls and ceiling. Laughter, oh the laughter. It spun like a tornado sucking us up into the calm and peace of its centre where butterflies are Queen.
Oh, yes butterfly queens, a thousand myriad colours of wing - oranges, pinks, and purples, satin whites, blacks and browns, brilliant dashes of yellows, blues and greens. The smiles drew miles of threads of movement throughout the air. Each one crossing each other with infinite designs of mandala forms spinning each into each.
A soft music, thin bands of strings in mobius spirals of complexities spun within the dance of colours, all reaching out and wrapping us together into the one that is the whole of our parts.
" Are you enjoying it yet?" King Alligator had appeared at the near and whispered in my ear.
I looked to the my left and there all diamond sparkling like a waterfall dream danced and bowed and clicking his button red top brown suede thigh high boots was my good friend king Alligator.
" It's fantastic, my mind is reeling and boggling with it all." I laughed.
" Yes, she does put on a show. " he replied.
King Alligator reached out and we gone.
My eyes were closed and sleep was wrapping me in a dream…. Of Butterfly Queens.
In our night we change, in the day we remain the same.
" As King Alligator said the other day…"
As the good King Alligator said the other day, " A butterfly is beautiful, she has but one purpose. "
He was in especially good form that day, let me see now...Mmmmm…. Saturday last, I think, oh yes, I was out driving around Galt, up North of here, by the race track, circling Guelph several times, a long slow curve southward and up over the 401 down towards Lake Ontario. A much polluted lake, but improving due to the environmentally concerned endeavours - already capable of carrying life to frutation, but not able to produce an edible life form as of yet. And in the middle of these musings a dream began with the rays of sunlight cutting through the jagged storm clouds streaming in glowing and pulsating electric strands. Well, by Gawd!! I slammed on the brakes, pulled to the shoulder, slipping along the grassy muddling particles to a stop.
" Nice, eh…? "
I looked over at King Alligator sporting a bright red beard.
" Want to go sucker fishing? " Butterfly and I pulled logs out of the beaver dam, so the stream should be running along fairly well by now.
" Sucker fishing?".. With what? " I asked.
King Alligator lifted up his claws, showed them to me palm out and flicked his tail, " that answer your question? "
I paused, rubbed my chin and scratched my head; " The water will be a little cold won't it? "
" Oh no, I was swimming last week. It was a little cool, but you will get used to it quickly.
" Sounds good, let's go." My enthusiasm was growing.
" Drive straight ahead and I'll tell you when to turn off... no, not this one.. Yep, that's the one, it leads to the home of an old recluse friend of mine - the Freddie Mole beetle, but he's not around much, we might be lucky to catch him at home. He is very unpredictable and you can't be too sure of him. He and his fellows are those moments of magic, where all energies harmonise and surge. Freddie once told me a story about how the world was once occupied by energy states in total chaos, but a young human-god, the name we know no longer, came along and repositioned reality in a kind of calligraphic design in which he wrote down the meaning of it all. Supposedly this was meant to be read by whoever came in contact with it. But there was a nasty turn of events and the universe was shifted in a catastrophic manner by a passing black hole and the designs became disguised by a multi-dimensional lattice. Well, anyhow the jest of it all, is that when humans came along they hadn't developed the awareness to see beneath it, except in a few cases where the odd human being developed various levels of ability in discerning the meanings living in this calligraphy of time. Sadly, these few were confused as gods, prophets, witches or insane and seldom given proper attention…oh, don't worry you won't get stuck…. There's a rock bottom. Go up over the hill there...ah we are here."
We climbed out of the truck, to my right there was a beaver dam, holding back a twenty-acre pond with hills and bush surrounding it, several large weeping willows crowding its shore in places. The beaver dam was about nine and half feet high and stretched across one end for three hundred feet. The log cabin belonging to Freddie Mole beetle was nestled half way up the hill to our left.
" There is no smoke coming from the chimney, so if Freddie is at home there is no hot coffee." King Alligator said as he led me up to the crest of the dam.
" This is where we pulled out a couple logs to let some of the water into stream bed, look at the size of some of them! " King Alligator pointed at four logs that were a good thirty inches in diameter and ten feet long.
This had produced a tumbling cataract of water with swirling with silver black suckers.
" I'm impressed. " I said lightly, knowing that this would raise the shackles of good King Alligator whose self-esteem was largely based on the good impression he makes on others with his humour and apparently magical feats.
" Well its no CN tower, but the dam will provide suckers which are not only edible, but delicious especially prepared with my own secret recipe. Speaking of which I'd say it was time to try for a few. " King Alligator preened abit.
" Still, cool to cold thoughts sent shivers up and down me as I watched the light bouncing off the flying bubbles riding the froth of the stream pouring out the hole in the dam.
" Still somewhat hesitant, eh? Well, why don't I go on in and check the waters and chase them up to the falls while you get used to the idea of getting barefoot and rolling up your trouser legs and getting your feet wet." King Alligator said as he pulled off his ruby red sweater, rolled up the sleeves of his blue pin-stripped shirt, threw off shoes, socks, rolled up the legs of his denim jeans and jumped in. One smooth motion- comfortably shuffling along the slippery carpet bed of rock and stone - darting shadows gliding in front of him.
A snapping noise drew my attention to the hill. A large beetle was walking along, seemingly oblivious to all that was around it, an other world aura shimmering about him. He passed from sight just as a black streak came flying up out of the water, bounced on a rock, and flopped around in the underbrush.
" Did you see it? It was a beauty. I couldn't tell the head from the tail so I just swiped at it and out it came." King Alligator came out of the water. " Let me see it."
I picked it up and held it up for him.
" Looks good. A grand one... Well I better get back in there. There are scads more just awaiting. Are you ready to join in yet? "
I was still not ready, the beetle had intrigued me and despite King Alligator's bravado I still held the opinion that the water was cold to the extreme, so I declined abstractly.
" OK. I'll round up a bunch more and bring them up to the falls and prepare them for scooping out. You get ready to catch them when they come flying out. " King Alligator said as he rentered the water.
I was disappointed in my lack of adventure. So what if the water was cold, wasn't that part of the pleasure - to shock and surprise yourself with possibilities and sensations not yet experienced, thus expanding self knowledge and understanding of the meanings to it... then I noticed Freddie coming up, over and down the green and white, pink bespeckled silvertone face of the rock face that jutted out through the tangled weave of cedar vines.
" That is a delicious looking sucker. " he smiled as he came up to me. He was large, at least seven feet tall.
" Mind if the good King Alligator gets the next few for me?" he asked as he sidled up to watch with me.
" No problem." I replied.
" They are a treat well prepared, but then most things are, life would also be a treat if one spends the time to properly prepare for its living." Freddie Mole beetle added.
(This seemed to be in opposition to good King Alligator's philosophy of immediacy, but for some reason when the two were juxtapositioned near to each they gestalted into a holism that appeared to be of positive consequence.) I was thinking to myself…
" My name is Freddie." He said as he offered an appendage as black and scraggly as an old dead oak on a black storm lit night.
But I sensed a friendship inherent in the offer and reached out and took it in my hand. "It is my pleasure"
" You must be the human friend that good King Alligator as told me about. It sometimes takes a lot of nerve to take my appendage in hand - the bristles are necessary to my studies in contemporary archaeology - an anomalous term I suppose, but easily explained." Freddie continued with a smile. " Watch it here some come! "
The suckers were flying out of the water towards us. The good King Alligator gave forth a triumphant series of yells as he whipped his tail in circular victories. Meanwhile I was still turning, taking measure of the commotion, my eyes were quite abit ahead of the rest of me, but my hand leapt to the for and nimbly captured a flying sucker of it's own accord and I casually handed the sucker to Freddie, while reaching out with my other hand for the next.
" Tell me more. " I said to Freddie while handing him another one, while catching another one as it whipped by my head.
" Sure, just as all the rivers shrink and leave the history of their birth, life and death of ice age tomes, so society does the same. Each leaving the most at its peak. When next you visit me, perhaps we shall speak further into it, but now I want to begin preparing these suckers - the pile having grown to a seething mass about as we were talking. I'll prepare them in a lemon-orange sauce with nutmeg and secret things." With that he smiled, nodded, turned and left, walking straight between two rocks, which had appeared as one just a moment before.
I returned my attention to good king Alligator. He was still stalking the suckers and swiping them from the stream onto the shore. He stopped and stood with a perplexed look upon his face. " It is time, for two are better than one if their purposes are in conjunction."
So off came my shoes and socks, up went my trouser legs and I plunged into the icy water t give him a hand - the sharp crystals cutting at the very roots of my teeth, turning everything spinning. But this soon passed and we worked together to trap and throw dozens more up on the bank.
The sun had begun to turn golden when we stopped, straightened up and stood there looking at each other.
" Should be enough. That feels real good." He said as we climbed out of the stream and shivered on the mantle of leaves while we redressed ourselves. I dried and warmed my feet with a vigorous massage, which left them tingling in pulsating harmony with the gold rays of sunlight bouncing off the waters cataracts and our seething mess of suckers. King Alligator pulled out a large burlap sack and began tossing the suckers in. " Looks like I made myself a little work when I get home." When he had tied up the mouth, we sat there for awhile, each to each lost in the intermingling of thoughts of common shared experience.
" To give form to this language of life would be to be within it. A purpose not without merit. " King Alligator stood up and held up his tail. A swarming spiral of butterfly attendants and Queen Butterfly came down and they all spun off into the falling darkness.
I got back in the truck and began the long drive home.