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Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Mon Dec 24, 2012 1:01 pm
The cast of characters:
Hyena - WS
Squirrel - LW
Leopard - Lai
Cheetah - Doogs
Kookaburra - GR
Once upon a time, there was a kookaburra who lived in the land of Oz. The less said about this bird probably the better, but for the purposes of our story I shall give you some background on this cookie character. The bird was an avid admirer of the WAA forum, and frequented it...frequently.
Kookaburra’s like to laugh - as we all know - but this bird also had a serious side. So when he stumbled across news of horrific killings of the South African Rhino, he just had to do something. Fortunately he had wings. So he took to the skies.
He arrived at South Africa’s Cookieburra Airport early one December morning. And it just so happened that there to greet him was a leopard, cheetah and hyena. The kookaburra quite liked the look of this crowd and approached for a chit-chat, whilst understandably still kinda keeping its distance.
Check out the jaws on those furries!
“Oh look. It’s a Pied Kingfisher. PK, come this way.”
The bird looked a little flustered. “Who me?”
“But I’m a kookaburra!” His feathers had been a little ruffled.
“It’s not that much of a lookalikey,” added the cheetah. “At least not to the PK’s I’ve seen.”
“Well it must be one of those lesser species then,” concluded the leopard.
Kookaburra mentioned why he has come; the rhino massacres.
They haven’t heard of this. It’s understandable, given that they each lead their own busy lives. Also, the rhino is seen as fat and ugly! But Kookaburra points out that if they are not saved, than Leopardy will be in trouble next. “The poachers will have spare time to be able to consider their need for a lovely coat.”
A squirrel - Mrs Squirrel as she is affectionately known – overhears all of this news and wants in on the action. The three predators lick their lips at the sight of the scrumdidillyumptious furball, but Mrs Squirrel insists that she is too important to be made lunch; “I will break their nuts!” she declares, in reference to the rhino poachers. She also drums up further anti poacher feeling by explaining the stupidity of their ways. “These humans think that these horns increase their worth as people, and that they even cure sickness. That’s sick!” She says this in a disgusted way, not as a cool term like a teenager might do.
Mrs Squirrel’s anti poacher enthusiasm was intoxicating, and she was helping to get everyone else in on the act. “I will lurk in the shadows and then blitz them!” cried Leopard. “My jaws shall grab them by the jugular!” insisted Hyena. “No poacher will ever run away from me, as I’m the fastest cat on the saf!” declared Cheetah emphatically. She was also rather snappy.
The kookaburra immediately befriended the hyena, because he loved to laugh, and well, the hyena was constantly telling jokes. He appreciated the arrival of the bird, for the ladies rarely laughed at him. This wasn't because they didn't think him funny. They just knew that he didn't need any encouragement. Oh yes indeedy.
He must have become such a master joke teller partly out of self survival, because well, he had to have been the butt of some jokes himself. For this hyena was hairless! I know, it must be difficult to imagine, but he really was. Yet the main thingy was, was that it didn’t detract one iota from his character.
Usually at sunset, the five would gather around for a chat, in a kinda forum. There was always much mirth and magic with the conversing. Leopard would speak of her love of hares. Nom nom nom. She spoke of them like a child might do chocolate easter eggs. Cheetah would discuss the long working hours required just to make ends meet, and she was right; for it wasn’t easy. Speed isn’t everything you know. Leopard even reluctantly offered up some hare for Cheetah to perhaps put off any greys, but she wouldn’t have a bar of it. Anyhoo, one can’t help their taste buds, and it was Thompson gazelle that really got Cheetah’s eyes wide. Then there was Mrs Squirrel, talking of her passion for site-seeing; anything and everything goes. She was quite the eagle eye; still, she modestly claimed to be an amateur. Hyena spoke of some ‘talent’ that he kept on the side. I don’t mean as a mistress my dear reader, but on the side of these ‘forum’ activities. Nevertheless, I’m sure that Hyena could find another if required, for he was easy to take a shine too, this hairless hunk. Hence he was given a nickname of ‘Pledge’. But none of that mattered, for he was very much in love with this ‘Mrs H’. Sometimes he would also spread joy throughout the gang with story tales of wonder; stories that would have each buddy smiling from ear to ear as they shut themselves off to the rest of the world at the close of another day. Kookaburra especially admired his imagination, given that he came from the country of the aborigines, and their ‘dream time’.
And what did the Kookaburra add to the chit chat himself? He was expected to inform the ground crew of all the thingys in the sky. “Tell us more, tell us more,” his friends would chant. And he would, though he himself was much more interested in the creatures on the land. “But you guys are soooo much more interesting,” he’d insist.
If you think it strange that a leopard, cheetah, squirrel, hyena and kookaburra were gathered in a group, then I think you need to get your head out of the Big Cat Diary/Live/Week sand. Jonathan Scott doesn’t see everything you know.
Then again, it is rather easy to get attached to a Bella, feline or canine. Big or small.
The Leopard was rather taken by Mrs Squirrel, and so one day the mischievous little one decided to take advantage of this. Horrified at the sight of a python eating a wildebeest, she told Leopard all about it. Well, not exactly. She just didn’t like pythons, if the truth be known.
“Oh Leopardy,” she cried sweetly in an almost cooing fashion, “I have spotted your next meal.”
The leopard jumped up from its afternoon nap with great interest. “What is it?! A zebra?! An antelope?!” She paused briefly. “A hare?!!” She was bristling with excitement. She licked her lips in anticipation.
“It’s a python,” Mrs Squirrel answered with a grin. “Pretty cool huh?”
“A python?! That’s a little pathetic. Here I am, the grandest big cat around, and I am being offered a python?” The leopard’s pride had been given a prick.
“But you’re critically endangered! You must eat everything that you can get your paws on!”
“No I’m not. I am not an Amur leopard.” Kookaburra, listening from a nearby tree, giggled.
“But it’s a very long feed.” Mrs Squirrel wasn’t the greatest of saleswoman. Yet the answer was right there. All she had to do was go with her gut feeling. Or more precisely, go with that of the pythons.
“All skin and no substance,” Leopard declared.
“Oh but it’s not! Not this particular python.” Mrs Squirrel had clicked. “For it has just consumed a wildebeest! So it is fat now. Like a pet dog might be if it got its paws onto an entire packet of scooby snacks!”
The leopard had tuned out after ‘wildebeest’. “Nom nom nom,” she cried, “wildebeest are full of scrumdidillyumptiousness!” And off she went to devour the python. It was a pretty easy kill. The snake couldn’t move much after a feed like that, as we all know.
And then there was the boyishness of the hyena and kookaburra. Males…I do shake my head sometimes.
At one time the hyena had struck a cool pose, whilst disposing of a cigarette. “Shouldn’t you be the butt of all jokes,” quipped the kookaburra. The comment received resounding laughter from the gang, which he was now very much a part of by the way.
But the hyena was not to be out done. It cleverly set up a trap, planting various worms of deliciousness to attract the Australian. And when all was said and done, the kook was indeed hooked. Biting off more than he could chew, the bird had become stuck in some vines, or so I heard on the grapes. And boy, was it quite a sight to see first thing in the morning!
Merry merry king of the bush was he? Hardly.
But enough of the fun and games. After weeks of planning it was time to go all leopard blitz on these horrible rhino poachers. They had stalked out their place of residence, and now they had the place surrounded. But once inside it all went awry. The human hunters had them cornered. Disaster appeared imminent. Talk about doom and gloom!
But then it happened. Suddenly a big shadow emerged.
Could it be? Yes it was!
It was four legged. It was furry. It was huge.
She had horns that could kill a man. She had feet that were webbed. Not only was she an expert swimmer, but she had a grand balance, due to the sticky nature of her footware. And nobody dared diss her shoes, unless they had a death wish. She let out an enormous bark. It sounded more terrifying than a lions roar.
The Great Tamu was here.
The poachers turned as white as the horns that they so craved. But this was no ghost. This wasn't merely a myth, as had been assumed by the unimaginative humans. She was real, and here she was in the flesh, having travelled south of Rhodesia to prove it.
And to right a horrible wrong.
So with that, everything turned right.
And with the happy hornies up and about, it surely wouldn’t be long until all the ‘Jimmys’ of SA would be free.
“Let’s have a celebratory dance!” suggested our favourite jokester.
And so it was that the happy hyena led his friends into the merriest of foxtrots.
The following week there appeared a piece in the ever popular South African Savannah. It reported that rhino’s were now wild and free on the plains; that the poachers had quit with their skulduggery and had left with their tail between their legs.
Also included, at the bottom of the article, was a photograph. It was of two rhinoceroses, smoozing under a mistletoe. Like the journalist said, a mistletoe isn’t just for the human animals, and a rhino should always be able to smell the roses. See.
And who was the reporter? Apparently a mysterious Foxrobin.
One who had quite clearly, progressed from tweeter.
Hyena - WS
Squirrel - LW
Leopard - Lai
Cheetah - Doogs
Kookaburra - GR
Once upon a time, there was a kookaburra who lived in the land of Oz. The less said about this bird probably the better, but for the purposes of our story I shall give you some background on this cookie character. The bird was an avid admirer of the WAA forum, and frequented it...frequently.
Kookaburra’s like to laugh - as we all know - but this bird also had a serious side. So when he stumbled across news of horrific killings of the South African Rhino, he just had to do something. Fortunately he had wings. So he took to the skies.
He arrived at South Africa’s Cookieburra Airport early one December morning. And it just so happened that there to greet him was a leopard, cheetah and hyena. The kookaburra quite liked the look of this crowd and approached for a chit-chat, whilst understandably still kinda keeping its distance.
Check out the jaws on those furries!
“Oh look. It’s a Pied Kingfisher. PK, come this way.”
The bird looked a little flustered. “Who me?”
“But I’m a kookaburra!” His feathers had been a little ruffled.
“It’s not that much of a lookalikey,” added the cheetah. “At least not to the PK’s I’ve seen.”
“Well it must be one of those lesser species then,” concluded the leopard.
Kookaburra mentioned why he has come; the rhino massacres.
They haven’t heard of this. It’s understandable, given that they each lead their own busy lives. Also, the rhino is seen as fat and ugly! But Kookaburra points out that if they are not saved, than Leopardy will be in trouble next. “The poachers will have spare time to be able to consider their need for a lovely coat.”
A squirrel - Mrs Squirrel as she is affectionately known – overhears all of this news and wants in on the action. The three predators lick their lips at the sight of the scrumdidillyumptious furball, but Mrs Squirrel insists that she is too important to be made lunch; “I will break their nuts!” she declares, in reference to the rhino poachers. She also drums up further anti poacher feeling by explaining the stupidity of their ways. “These humans think that these horns increase their worth as people, and that they even cure sickness. That’s sick!” She says this in a disgusted way, not as a cool term like a teenager might do.
Mrs Squirrel’s anti poacher enthusiasm was intoxicating, and she was helping to get everyone else in on the act. “I will lurk in the shadows and then blitz them!” cried Leopard. “My jaws shall grab them by the jugular!” insisted Hyena. “No poacher will ever run away from me, as I’m the fastest cat on the saf!” declared Cheetah emphatically. She was also rather snappy.
The kookaburra immediately befriended the hyena, because he loved to laugh, and well, the hyena was constantly telling jokes. He appreciated the arrival of the bird, for the ladies rarely laughed at him. This wasn't because they didn't think him funny. They just knew that he didn't need any encouragement. Oh yes indeedy.
He must have become such a master joke teller partly out of self survival, because well, he had to have been the butt of some jokes himself. For this hyena was hairless! I know, it must be difficult to imagine, but he really was. Yet the main thingy was, was that it didn’t detract one iota from his character.
Usually at sunset, the five would gather around for a chat, in a kinda forum. There was always much mirth and magic with the conversing. Leopard would speak of her love of hares. Nom nom nom. She spoke of them like a child might do chocolate easter eggs. Cheetah would discuss the long working hours required just to make ends meet, and she was right; for it wasn’t easy. Speed isn’t everything you know. Leopard even reluctantly offered up some hare for Cheetah to perhaps put off any greys, but she wouldn’t have a bar of it. Anyhoo, one can’t help their taste buds, and it was Thompson gazelle that really got Cheetah’s eyes wide. Then there was Mrs Squirrel, talking of her passion for site-seeing; anything and everything goes. She was quite the eagle eye; still, she modestly claimed to be an amateur. Hyena spoke of some ‘talent’ that he kept on the side. I don’t mean as a mistress my dear reader, but on the side of these ‘forum’ activities. Nevertheless, I’m sure that Hyena could find another if required, for he was easy to take a shine too, this hairless hunk. Hence he was given a nickname of ‘Pledge’. But none of that mattered, for he was very much in love with this ‘Mrs H’. Sometimes he would also spread joy throughout the gang with story tales of wonder; stories that would have each buddy smiling from ear to ear as they shut themselves off to the rest of the world at the close of another day. Kookaburra especially admired his imagination, given that he came from the country of the aborigines, and their ‘dream time’.
And what did the Kookaburra add to the chit chat himself? He was expected to inform the ground crew of all the thingys in the sky. “Tell us more, tell us more,” his friends would chant. And he would, though he himself was much more interested in the creatures on the land. “But you guys are soooo much more interesting,” he’d insist.
If you think it strange that a leopard, cheetah, squirrel, hyena and kookaburra were gathered in a group, then I think you need to get your head out of the Big Cat Diary/Live/Week sand. Jonathan Scott doesn’t see everything you know.
Then again, it is rather easy to get attached to a Bella, feline or canine. Big or small.
The Leopard was rather taken by Mrs Squirrel, and so one day the mischievous little one decided to take advantage of this. Horrified at the sight of a python eating a wildebeest, she told Leopard all about it. Well, not exactly. She just didn’t like pythons, if the truth be known.
“Oh Leopardy,” she cried sweetly in an almost cooing fashion, “I have spotted your next meal.”
The leopard jumped up from its afternoon nap with great interest. “What is it?! A zebra?! An antelope?!” She paused briefly. “A hare?!!” She was bristling with excitement. She licked her lips in anticipation.
“It’s a python,” Mrs Squirrel answered with a grin. “Pretty cool huh?”
“A python?! That’s a little pathetic. Here I am, the grandest big cat around, and I am being offered a python?” The leopard’s pride had been given a prick.
“But you’re critically endangered! You must eat everything that you can get your paws on!”
“No I’m not. I am not an Amur leopard.” Kookaburra, listening from a nearby tree, giggled.
“But it’s a very long feed.” Mrs Squirrel wasn’t the greatest of saleswoman. Yet the answer was right there. All she had to do was go with her gut feeling. Or more precisely, go with that of the pythons.
“All skin and no substance,” Leopard declared.
“Oh but it’s not! Not this particular python.” Mrs Squirrel had clicked. “For it has just consumed a wildebeest! So it is fat now. Like a pet dog might be if it got its paws onto an entire packet of scooby snacks!”
The leopard had tuned out after ‘wildebeest’. “Nom nom nom,” she cried, “wildebeest are full of scrumdidillyumptiousness!” And off she went to devour the python. It was a pretty easy kill. The snake couldn’t move much after a feed like that, as we all know.
And then there was the boyishness of the hyena and kookaburra. Males…I do shake my head sometimes.
At one time the hyena had struck a cool pose, whilst disposing of a cigarette. “Shouldn’t you be the butt of all jokes,” quipped the kookaburra. The comment received resounding laughter from the gang, which he was now very much a part of by the way.
But the hyena was not to be out done. It cleverly set up a trap, planting various worms of deliciousness to attract the Australian. And when all was said and done, the kook was indeed hooked. Biting off more than he could chew, the bird had become stuck in some vines, or so I heard on the grapes. And boy, was it quite a sight to see first thing in the morning!
Merry merry king of the bush was he? Hardly.
But enough of the fun and games. After weeks of planning it was time to go all leopard blitz on these horrible rhino poachers. They had stalked out their place of residence, and now they had the place surrounded. But once inside it all went awry. The human hunters had them cornered. Disaster appeared imminent. Talk about doom and gloom!
But then it happened. Suddenly a big shadow emerged.
Could it be? Yes it was!
It was four legged. It was furry. It was huge.
She had horns that could kill a man. She had feet that were webbed. Not only was she an expert swimmer, but she had a grand balance, due to the sticky nature of her footware. And nobody dared diss her shoes, unless they had a death wish. She let out an enormous bark. It sounded more terrifying than a lions roar.
The Great Tamu was here.
The poachers turned as white as the horns that they so craved. But this was no ghost. This wasn't merely a myth, as had been assumed by the unimaginative humans. She was real, and here she was in the flesh, having travelled south of Rhodesia to prove it.
And to right a horrible wrong.
So with that, everything turned right.
And with the happy hornies up and about, it surely wouldn’t be long until all the ‘Jimmys’ of SA would be free.
“Let’s have a celebratory dance!” suggested our favourite jokester.
And so it was that the happy hyena led his friends into the merriest of foxtrots.
The following week there appeared a piece in the ever popular South African Savannah. It reported that rhino’s were now wild and free on the plains; that the poachers had quit with their skulduggery and had left with their tail between their legs.
Also included, at the bottom of the article, was a photograph. It was of two rhinoceroses, smoozing under a mistletoe. Like the journalist said, a mistletoe isn’t just for the human animals, and a rhino should always be able to smell the roses. See.
And who was the reporter? Apparently a mysterious Foxrobin.
One who had quite clearly, progressed from tweeter.
gregrowlerson- Posts : 1733
Join date : 2012-11-22
Age : 43
Location : Melbourne
Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Laikipia Mon Dec 24, 2012 2:08 pm
GR aka Kookaburra. I love it, what a great story. I'm going to read it again this afternoon so I can enjoy it a second time.Definitely
prize for story telling, imagination and of course great wit.Lai
ps I love being a leopard
Laikipia- Moderator
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Join date : 2010-05-13
Age : 64
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Doogs Mon Dec 24, 2012 3:18 pm
GR that is absolutely fantastic,
It's extremely well written, funny, very topical, it must have taken you ages to do that.
Loved being the
- me snappy, never 
11 out of 10 for that GR, really really good and thanks so much for all your efforts
Doogs- Moderator
- Posts : 10734
Join date : 2010-05-14
Age : 54
Location : Aberdeen
Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
littlewid Mon Dec 24, 2012 5:41 pm
Just Brilliant That was amazing GR AKA Kookaburra, Doogs is right, that must have taken forever to write and it's soooooooo impressive......can we have one of those every week please
So much has been remembered and you have a great talent for story telling and I have just had the hugest of smiles reading that, it so so clever.
The day that Kookaburra met his new found friends was a great day for those new friends for sure
littlewid-x- AKA Mrs
littlewid- Admin
- Posts : 10464
Join date : 2009-12-28
Location : West Sussex
Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
whitestarling Mon Dec 24, 2012 5:59 pm
Just Brilliant GR Absolutely fantastics story, and you clearly have spent a lot of time looking round the forum, and it shows. Certainly the best forum story ever. You really get 1st Prize for that, and giving us all a great
on Christmas EveWS
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Mon Dec 24, 2012 8:52 pm
Thank-you so much guys for the grand compliments about my story. I can't describe how much it means to me. Appreciation of any creative writing I do is just about what I get the most kick out of life with; well apart from the putting together of a story itself!
For all four of you.With the animals I wasn't sure if the hyena was the best fit for you WS, but I was looking at the joke telling angle given their famous laugh. And I know that you love your tigers LW, but there were already enough predators in the story
The leopard and cheetah were no-brainers
It did take me quite a long time. Sometimes with short stories I can write something up in a day or two; this was a different tack. Basically I got the original idea for an anti rhino poacher story about three weeks ago, and the main characters were formed straight away. After a couple of days there was about 30% of the content there, and then I just added bits and pieces when ideas came to me via awesome forum interactions! The last thingy to be included was the rhino picture, which came as a result of WS posting the funny link to the giraffes 'necking it'. The article continued on to talking of rhinos being all lovey dovey at night. Funnily I had just gotten the idea for the article of them kissing under the mistletoe, so that picture really was a perfect fit and find.
I really like the snappy comment Doogs! You may remember that I called you the fastest snap on the saf (at least if my memory serves me correctly) in regards to expert camera work, but then I realised that there were multiple possible meanings to the term. You could be super dooper hot and/or a 'snappy' dresser, or you could just be bad tempered. Well, like a lot of literature, it's open to interpretation
Another story? I don't have any more ideas at the moment
But with this stuff I cannot predict when something will come to me, but I presume that I wouldn't be able to do one monthly or anything, though I am very free with my mind, and ready to jump onto anything that creates a spark. Like a 
I am forever the opportunist "The day that Kookaburra met his new found friends was a great day for those new friends for sure" - that is very sweet LW
gregrowlerson- Posts : 1733
Join date : 2012-11-22
Age : 43
Location : Melbourne
Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
whitestarling Mon Dec 24, 2012 10:10 pm
You tell em GR, us fellows need to get our creative juices flowing, you cant dash odd stories off just like that. It takes a few cans of Boddies 
Love your choice of Animal characters, all very apt
especialy LW as the Squirrel, she is nuts . I know I'm hairless, but I've got my all in one PJs on 
WS
Love your choice of Animal characters, all very apt
especialy LW as the Squirrel, she is nuts . I know I'm hairless, but I've got my all in one PJs on WS
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Laikipia Tue Dec 25, 2012 7:33 am
Well Kookaburra aka GR - it's wonderful and I love it second time round too so keep on with those creative juices, no rush and no pressure but whenever you feel the urge I know we'll all appreciate it. What talent you have.
Lai
Lai
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:59 am
Too right WS! Us boys may be brilliant, but we can't just click our fingers and come up with pulitzer material
LW is nuts alright; she approached a hyena, leopard and cheetah!
Lai, I'd better get back into the
again
LW is nuts alright; she approached a hyena, leopard and cheetah!
Lai, I'd better get back into the
again
gregrowlerson- Posts : 1733
Join date : 2012-11-22
Age : 43
Location : Melbourne
Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Mon Jan 28, 2013 1:35 am
I'm back!
The most important hobby to this profound
at present, is a book he is working on. The original title is The Seriousness Police; Summer The Soldier & Weggy The Warrior, though if it ever gets published (possibly as an e-book which is just an electronic version later this year) it will probably just be as The Seriousness Police, which will be more reader friendly.
I am not sure if anyone will like it here, but I wanted to post the first chapter and get some attention (any positive or negative feedback would be
)! It is a kinda fantasy/futuristic story, with a strong theme of the importance of being childish, even in adulthood (which I find really fits in with the good folk on this site ). It has a mixture of human and animal characters (this includes a talking sparrow and squirrel!) and is directed at a youth audience (or those young at heart, so Grandfather Clock can still read it ), but also contains metaphorical messages for the adult crowd.
Only yesterday I created a new beginning for the story, so the first few paragraphs you see here have just been added. I am not 100% sure if this makes for a better opening, but see-saws are one of the themes that run through the book. Anyhoo, happy reading.
GR 
NOTHING MUCH TO YEA ABOUT
Summer sat on one side of the see-saw and wondered when it had all gone wrong. Just when had all the play gone away?
There was a time, not too long ago, when any kid would join her on the other side, and together they would feel joy in their ride. But at some point this freedom had disappeared. Now everyone needed a reason to do anything, even to play. “What am I going to get out of it?” seemed to be the world’s consensus on all matters grown up.
There were other kids littered around the playground where Summer sat. There was even a group of girls approximately her age – though they were apparently going on twenty – whom resided nearby. They noticed Summer on the see-saw, but never did the thought even enter one of their minds that they might care to join her, even if it was obvious that it would provide some balance. Sure, their uniform showed that they were from a different school, but that had never seemed to matter. You never used to have to be friends to be friendly and to be happy.
Pondering profoundly about this episode later, Summer realised that it wasn’t just the see-saw. The world seemed so foreign now. Everything that everyone did appeared to be done through a desire to be cool and popular. Hence in many cases, her peers were no longer being themselves. And then there were the bodies. Our bodies. We were all changing so quickly. People said that change was good, but these changes felt anything but.
Summer was a most appropriately named child, given that she resided in the most summery of places; that of Australia. It was the land of beach and desert. Lately though, Summer had felt much more barren than swimmingly, as she questioned when she’d get her desserts again. For the ice-cream in her life – or her childhood – seemed to have arrived at an end. The fun and games had become extinct, lost in a sea of seriousness.
Or supposedly so, for most of the recent adult behaviour that her friends carried on with appeared to be rather silly indeed.
Or indeedy, as Summer liked to say.
Based in the Victorian country town of Yea, Summer was not yet quite twelve years of age, and still very much desired to participate in a game of hopscotch, or swapsies, or have you ever, or to face paint and so forth. But it was as if a switch had been flicked inside her friends in the last year or so, and now all they ever did was talk about boys – yuck, Summer thought – and the latest ‘in’ fashion of their favourite celebrities. Many desired to become Miranda Kerr – the Friday free dress day when two of the girls arrived wearing their Victoria’s Secret swimsuit best didn’t go down too well – or Princess Kate. For Summer, it was one face palm moment after another.
And there had been hurtful moments too, which I guess are aptly termed growing pains. Chatting with her best friend ‘Brighton’ Bella, Summer said joyously, “Let’s do some story writing. We haven’t done that in a while.” Her ‘friend’ looked at her blankly as if she had gone mad. “Summer,” she said in a most adult, high-horse tone, “such activities were for when we were mere children. Are you still a child?” Summer was too shocked to even cry, though she felt like doing so. It was as if her friend really had suddenly been married into royalty.
Or become an alien. And not one of those nice ET ones.
The girls had started to hang out at the local football ground to watch the boys, and embarrassing screaming could be heard from quite a distance away. Summer tried her best to not be so silly, and while she acknowledged that some of the boys were indeed cute, she stated; “I don’t see Johnny Depp anywhere, so what are you all getting carried away over?”
And as any intelligent girl could tell you, if he’s not Johnny Depp then he probably isn’t worth screaming at.
Sometimes it was even worse at the skate park. And Summer wasn’t particularly into skater boys, a little like Avril.
It became so bad – or soooo bad as Summer liked to say – that one day she decided to hang out with a bunch of grade three girls – Summer was a grade sixer - who were playing bat tennis. She enjoyed herself, much more than she would have hanging out with her ‘adult’ friends, but she was much derided for it all obviously. And well, girls – and boys for that matter too – can be so mean, and they kept calling Summer a baby (and other things best not mentioned here) until she cried. And for the next week she sat in a corner of the playground and didn’t speak to anyone. She had been made to feel like an alien.
But then on one sunny day, the nicest of the grade three children approached Summer and kindly asked her to be a part of their games again. It was an awfully lovely gesture by this girl named Holly, and Summer accepted, whilst still feeling a little sheepish about the older girls seeing her playing again with the youngsters. But quickly this sheepishness subsided, and she thought of how silly she had been. For there was all this fun to be had, yet she had been too scared to come out of her corner. But now she was one of the clever sheep. Not one of those ones that just follows.
After more games of bat tennis amongst many children, Holly and Summer then left the arena for a private game of Snap. It had been some years since Summer had played this supposedly highly childish game, but she had a wonderful time playing, and really felt that she learned something from her younger compatriot. In one instance Holly won a big pack, and in her jubilation let out an enormous yell of “yay!” She dragged it out, so that it sounded more like “yaaaay!” Summer was very much taken aback by the show of happiness in front of her, and it made her smirk a lot, and then shortly afterwards she even let out a few giggles. Holly smiled. She could see that she was making Summer happy. Such a thing – or thingy as Summer likes to say – isn’t necessarily easy to do, and is often underappreciated when it does occur.
And then came the moment. It was one of those many little moments in life that make it all so grand. A few of her classmates wandered by. A few sniggers were heard, while one obnoxious twerp even pointed at the playful pair. Things happen for a reason, and the negativity of the girls distracted the suddenly more sheepish Holly momentarily, leading to a winning pack for Summer. And what was her reaction?
“Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. She smiled the most fullest of smiles, and felt as free as a bird. The girls walked away, and never gave her any further grief. Summer reached across and engulfed Holly in a huge hippo hug. It was her natural reaction. After moving back she said to her true friend, “Thank-you Holly. Thank-you heaps for being such a good friend. You’re my little Bat-kiddy.”
And she stopped. And she smirked. “A call name,” she thought. “It’s been a while since I’ve used one of those. But isn’t it fun!”
Her childishness was not cactus.
The most important hobby to this profound
at present, is a book he is working on. The original title is The Seriousness Police; Summer The Soldier & Weggy The Warrior, though if it ever gets published (possibly as an e-book which is just an electronic version later this year) it will probably just be as The Seriousness Police, which will be more reader friendly.I am not sure if anyone will like it here, but I wanted to post the first chapter and get some attention (any positive or negative feedback would be
)! It is a kinda fantasy/futuristic story, with a strong theme of the importance of being childish, even in adulthood (which I find really fits in with the good folk on this site ). It has a mixture of human and animal characters (this includes a talking sparrow and squirrel!) and is directed at a youth audience (or those young at heart, so Grandfather Clock can still read it ), but also contains metaphorical messages for the adult crowd. Only yesterday I created a new beginning for the story, so the first few paragraphs you see here have just been added. I am not 100% sure if this makes for a better opening, but see-saws are one of the themes that run through the book. Anyhoo, happy reading.
GR
NOTHING MUCH TO YEA ABOUT
Summer sat on one side of the see-saw and wondered when it had all gone wrong. Just when had all the play gone away?
There was a time, not too long ago, when any kid would join her on the other side, and together they would feel joy in their ride. But at some point this freedom had disappeared. Now everyone needed a reason to do anything, even to play. “What am I going to get out of it?” seemed to be the world’s consensus on all matters grown up.
There were other kids littered around the playground where Summer sat. There was even a group of girls approximately her age – though they were apparently going on twenty – whom resided nearby. They noticed Summer on the see-saw, but never did the thought even enter one of their minds that they might care to join her, even if it was obvious that it would provide some balance. Sure, their uniform showed that they were from a different school, but that had never seemed to matter. You never used to have to be friends to be friendly and to be happy.
Pondering profoundly about this episode later, Summer realised that it wasn’t just the see-saw. The world seemed so foreign now. Everything that everyone did appeared to be done through a desire to be cool and popular. Hence in many cases, her peers were no longer being themselves. And then there were the bodies. Our bodies. We were all changing so quickly. People said that change was good, but these changes felt anything but.
Summer was a most appropriately named child, given that she resided in the most summery of places; that of Australia. It was the land of beach and desert. Lately though, Summer had felt much more barren than swimmingly, as she questioned when she’d get her desserts again. For the ice-cream in her life – or her childhood – seemed to have arrived at an end. The fun and games had become extinct, lost in a sea of seriousness.
Or supposedly so, for most of the recent adult behaviour that her friends carried on with appeared to be rather silly indeed.
Or indeedy, as Summer liked to say.
Based in the Victorian country town of Yea, Summer was not yet quite twelve years of age, and still very much desired to participate in a game of hopscotch, or swapsies, or have you ever, or to face paint and so forth. But it was as if a switch had been flicked inside her friends in the last year or so, and now all they ever did was talk about boys – yuck, Summer thought – and the latest ‘in’ fashion of their favourite celebrities. Many desired to become Miranda Kerr – the Friday free dress day when two of the girls arrived wearing their Victoria’s Secret swimsuit best didn’t go down too well – or Princess Kate. For Summer, it was one face palm moment after another.
And there had been hurtful moments too, which I guess are aptly termed growing pains. Chatting with her best friend ‘Brighton’ Bella, Summer said joyously, “Let’s do some story writing. We haven’t done that in a while.” Her ‘friend’ looked at her blankly as if she had gone mad. “Summer,” she said in a most adult, high-horse tone, “such activities were for when we were mere children. Are you still a child?” Summer was too shocked to even cry, though she felt like doing so. It was as if her friend really had suddenly been married into royalty.
Or become an alien. And not one of those nice ET ones.
The girls had started to hang out at the local football ground to watch the boys, and embarrassing screaming could be heard from quite a distance away. Summer tried her best to not be so silly, and while she acknowledged that some of the boys were indeed cute, she stated; “I don’t see Johnny Depp anywhere, so what are you all getting carried away over?”
And as any intelligent girl could tell you, if he’s not Johnny Depp then he probably isn’t worth screaming at.
Sometimes it was even worse at the skate park. And Summer wasn’t particularly into skater boys, a little like Avril.
It became so bad – or soooo bad as Summer liked to say – that one day she decided to hang out with a bunch of grade three girls – Summer was a grade sixer - who were playing bat tennis. She enjoyed herself, much more than she would have hanging out with her ‘adult’ friends, but she was much derided for it all obviously. And well, girls – and boys for that matter too – can be so mean, and they kept calling Summer a baby (and other things best not mentioned here) until she cried. And for the next week she sat in a corner of the playground and didn’t speak to anyone. She had been made to feel like an alien.
But then on one sunny day, the nicest of the grade three children approached Summer and kindly asked her to be a part of their games again. It was an awfully lovely gesture by this girl named Holly, and Summer accepted, whilst still feeling a little sheepish about the older girls seeing her playing again with the youngsters. But quickly this sheepishness subsided, and she thought of how silly she had been. For there was all this fun to be had, yet she had been too scared to come out of her corner. But now she was one of the clever sheep. Not one of those ones that just follows.
After more games of bat tennis amongst many children, Holly and Summer then left the arena for a private game of Snap. It had been some years since Summer had played this supposedly highly childish game, but she had a wonderful time playing, and really felt that she learned something from her younger compatriot. In one instance Holly won a big pack, and in her jubilation let out an enormous yell of “yay!” She dragged it out, so that it sounded more like “yaaaay!” Summer was very much taken aback by the show of happiness in front of her, and it made her smirk a lot, and then shortly afterwards she even let out a few giggles. Holly smiled. She could see that she was making Summer happy. Such a thing – or thingy as Summer likes to say – isn’t necessarily easy to do, and is often underappreciated when it does occur.
And then came the moment. It was one of those many little moments in life that make it all so grand. A few of her classmates wandered by. A few sniggers were heard, while one obnoxious twerp even pointed at the playful pair. Things happen for a reason, and the negativity of the girls distracted the suddenly more sheepish Holly momentarily, leading to a winning pack for Summer. And what was her reaction?
“Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. She smiled the most fullest of smiles, and felt as free as a bird. The girls walked away, and never gave her any further grief. Summer reached across and engulfed Holly in a huge hippo hug. It was her natural reaction. After moving back she said to her true friend, “Thank-you Holly. Thank-you heaps for being such a good friend. You’re my little Bat-kiddy.”
And she stopped. And she smirked. “A call name,” she thought. “It’s been a while since I’ve used one of those. But isn’t it fun!”
Her childishness was not cactus.
gregrowlerson- Posts : 1733
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Laikipia Mon Jan 28, 2013 3:50 pm
Onesie Man - I am going to read this when I get home tonight ................Lai
Mrs Kipia
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
littlewid Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:41 pm
Very cleverly written Mr Profound . It actually says quite a lot and I think it would be good for kids to read.......as well as a lot of adults. I think most of us on here still have retained our childish, silly,fun loving side and work on the fact that age is just a number, you don't always have to live up to that number. Basically I take that (even though there are numerous life statements in there) as life is for living, so grab it by the balls, go with it and have fun and don't wish your life away and those that can laugh and have fun, ultimately stay younger and have more fun.
You are a clever man PP.
littlewid-x-
. It actually says quite a lot and I think it would be good for kids to read.......as well as a lot of adults. I think most of us on here still have retained our childish, silly,fun loving side and work on the fact that age is just a number, you don't always have to live up to that number. Basically I take that (even though there are numerous life statements in there) as life is for living, so grab it by the balls, go with it and have fun and don't wish your life away and those that can laugh and have fun, ultimately stay younger and have more fun.You are a clever man PP.
littlewid-x-
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Laikipia Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:53 pm
and for sharing P. - I really enjoyed that and hope you'll carry on. Thought provoking and well written and fun too.Lai :study:
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Tue Jan 29, 2013 7:30 am
heaps dudets!LW, I agree pretty much with your sentiments. Age is definitely just a number, and it can be an overused phrase, but often you are only as young as you feel. I hope that I can stay childish for a very long time yet; maybe forever! Well, if I stay on this forum then I ought to be able too
An important theme of the book also is one of being pro non self-conscious. I think that's a very important aspect of society; it needs to allow people to be themselves, to not be afraid to be themselves, unless that being themselves is causing an obvious and logical harm to others. So a big part of the book is the desire not to be too sheepish.
I have more than carried on; it's about 85% completed! I started it at the beginning of last year.
"Thought provoking and fun" - yep, that's pretty much what I'm aiming for. Oh yes indeedy
gregrowlerson- Posts : 1733
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Laikipia Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:08 am
That's great that you're 85% done - do we get more installments? 
Lai
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:18 am
I thought you'd never ask
CHAPTER TWO - BEAUTIFUL BEARS
Still, as a whole, Summer’s existence wasn’t quite as fulfilling as she might have wished. And that was despite the impact of her two loving parents. Her mum and dad did all they could to try to stimulate and excite her, but all kids reach that age when it just isn’t their parents that can provide this for them, and that was a juncture in life which Summer had arrived at.
Being as caring for her as they were, they came upon the idea to give her a little overseas trip. For they had a relative living in Canada, and well, it’s not just a stereotype that an overseas adventure can greatly develop a person in all sorts of positive ways. And so, kind of as a birthday present - she was to turn twelve shortly on September 7 - she was shipped off to Canada to reside with her grandpa. “It will do her good to spend a little time away from us, away from technology, while seeing more of the nature side of things,” her father said.
He was spot on. For children should be always encouraged to play outside and expand their mind. Too much time indoors can spell the death of one’s imagination, and an imagination should always be cherished. If kept intact, it can be the best aspect of one’s adulthood.
Summer was rather excited about the holiday, but became a little fearful when she heard that her grandpa lived in a hut without internet access, miles from anybody else. “But how can I survive without being online for two whole weeks?” she questioned. “Just imagine all the status updates I will miss.” Well, you know kids these days and their facebooking.
Summer would be just fine. Oh yes indeedy.
Her Grandpa lived in an area of the maple country called the Northwest Territories, whose capital was Yellowknife (he lived about two hour’s drive from there). Just so you know, this was all a little north of the northern part of the Saskatchewan province. Most of the territory was made up of boreal forest, and this was rather typical of granddad’s neighbouring area.
Her parents were so great that what they did were fly to Canada with her – they couldn’t responsibly allow their child to fly alone – and then after seeing pa for a couple of days they went off and did their own thing. This was because they were adamant that Summer needed and deserved some alone time for her own growth. And being such a responsible girl, they could rely on her not to go too silly with all the independence.
The main activity that the family did together in Canada was to journey way out into the wilderness – even further out than where their grandpa was based – and take in the beauty of numerous polar bears. There was something about them that immediately attracted Summer. Perhaps it was their pure white as snow coat, or the fact that they looked so warm and could give one a happy hug, like she had given Holly.
“These bears are soooo cool,” she said with a gregarious childishness. “They are so cool that I shall call them ice bears. Yep, that is their call name.”
Continuing on from the Bat-kiddy obviously.
The bears so captivated the girl that they took her mind off the taste of her grandpa’s dark chocolate, which to Summer was in one word: Yuck. Because the best kind of chocolate is light, as we all know.
Bears and chocolate aside, the best thing about the whole Canadian excursion was always going to be Summer’s own personal hiking. For one she liked to hike, and two she liked to do her own thing; on occasion. She wasn’t always anti-social, though in saying that she did also enjoy playing anti-social freak sometimes. You should give it a go, yo. It’s a very worthwhile game.
Well, being the kinda girl who could go to the shops alone, Summer simply delighted in being out and about amongst the green things. By that I mean the grass and trees obviously. And the birds. She absolutely loved the birds. And cute as they were, it wasn’t so much their physical appearance that left her in awe. It was their voices. Oh those sweet sounds of song! It always bought a smirk to her face and a smile to her heart to hear them.
As a Yea girl Summer made regular ventures to the towns wetlands, the place where the residents could lay their claim to fame, of having historically the oldest known plant life found anywhere. It wasn’t that which she cared much for though; rather the many birds that lived in the trees, and chirped away in harmony. Although really just a tiny town, Summer was very much lucky to grow up in a place where so much natural beauty sat on her doorstep.
Whilst venturing through the grass it was common for Summer to stumble upon huge pockets of butterflies. Summer wasn’t exactly sure of why so many lived here – it was especially a quandary given their supposedly very short life span – but she reasoned that a butterfly was as smirk-inducing as anything else, and would thus encourage one to say or feel ‘yay’ as much as anything else. Trust me, this actually made a lot of sense, as Summer tended to do.
It always made her smile as she waltzed through the terrain with the orange wings dancing about her. Often her walks were in the evening, as this was the perfect antidote to a bad day at school.
In the morning the area would often be rather cold, and so Summer would give gracious thanks to Mr Yellow when he made an appearance and warmed her. But also in the mornings was when the birds sang at their finest, so it was worth putting up with a little bit of a freeze. An added bonus was when the frogs sang. Sang? Yeah I hear you; you don’t call that singing. Well it is, regardless of lack of high notes reached, and Summer always got a giggle out of their calls. She also wondered what it would be like to have a frog as a pet, assuming it would be a particularly smirk-inducing experience to have a slimy creature bouncing around her bed, but mother refused. I have no idea why.
Speaking of bouncing, one of the bridges amongst the wetlands was supported by cables, and one day when walking on it Summer realised that the structure was moving. She placed her hands on both sides of the skinny walkway and began to jump. It really was a jumping bridge! She thought it was a scream and a lot of fun, but when she told some friends most of them didn’t even bother to raise a smirk. Geez, some people are hard to impress.
Another venue that her friends showed little interest in was the railway park, another town attraction. Despite it being traditionally liked by an older audience, Summer felt comfortable around these forms of transport. For her, trains were always close to her heart.
The animals which were most talked about in Yea were the bats and owls, though Summer thought them overrated, since they appeared to be mythical creatures, such were the lack of sightings. “Those bats are batty,” she thought, “and as for those owls, they are simply outrageous! These animals seem to play no importance in my life whatsoever.”
But anyhoo, back to Canada, and so it was that the birds could be heard in full voice as Summer ventured out into the early morning light. It was not long since dawn, and Summer loved to take in the fresh air that was always in abundance at this time of day. The autumn air she would sometimes call it. When it was autumn obviously, and now in Canada it actually was.
She didn’t track too far from the hut in this instance, for she wasn’t really allowed too. At least her parents didn’t wish for their girl to hike her way into too much trouble. Summer felt a combination of annoyance at their concerns, as well as an understanding. Despite being a child she could often think like an adult. Hence, she could also see things from another’s perspective.
There was a small creek about 2kms from the hut, and it was here that Summer’s parents lay down their barrier, to not go any further away alone. Summer thought this far too extreme, and very much wanted to hike to and into the Mayday woodlands, an area that was poles apart really from the relatively open spaces that circled grandpa’s place. This was 4kms from her current home. As a compromise, Summer would go a little beyond the creek, but no further.
Summer was the kinda girl who didn’t want to be stuck inside for long, but there was one particular occasion when she enjoyed an unexpected worthwhile time with grandpa. As a special thingy for her trip Summer had decided to keep a diary. This was her entry on September 3:
For a little while my Grandpa had been telling me that he was going to make up a list. A hit list of the best songs. I wasn’t particularly excited about it. For let’s face it; older people just don’t know music (just like they don’t know Lego). Well, not like us younger folk. And so I kinda expected a selection of songs that was, if not quite meh, than a little bit merely okay. I suppose that I expected it to be mistake ridden.
And so it proved to be the case. Apparently. Grandpa would make a great list when….when….pigs fly.
Don’t get me wrong. I still liked the songs – there were clearly some stars there. But how could one make that list, when there were soooo many better songs to choose from?
Very few of them jumped out at me when Grandpa first showed me his list, and so I said something rather silly and insensitive – after going and getting my bottle of white-out at the ready, obviously.
“Pa, it wouldn’t matter how much laminate you put on this list; it still wouldn’t be all that shiny.”
Grandpa simply muttered something under his breath. Probably about me being an arrogant upstart.
But then after a brief pause he spoke up. And he was rather positive about the whole thing.
“My dear granddaughter. Please just have a think about this. Because these are really good songs. Don’t you remember them?”
I had heard them all before – he had played them all to me when he’d visited us in Yea a couple of years earlier - but either I didn’t remember them much via the titles or I wasn’t greatly impressed by them in the first place. At least not as much as I was with some of the other mind and heart blowing songs.
“Yeah, I think so,” I said quietly. “And I love them all in a way, for I just absolutely love this music. You’ve certainly picked out a few instant classics. I just think that you’ve left out some bloody obvious options.”
“Well may we have a listen then? It will not take too long,” encouraged my grandfather. “To listen to a song tends to only take about four minutes you know, and then maybe you will feel a little differently. Because trust me, I’ve thought very hard about this recently, and really these songs are bloody marvellous!”
And so we sat and listened.
And quite quickly I was transformed.
It was a remarkable reminder of not just how songs can grow on you, but of how you can take different thingys from them at different times. And this was what I did now. Previously some of these songs may have been just good, yet now they were great.
And ridiculously awesomey. Oh yes indeedy.
“So you see,” he said at the conclusion of the listening. “Like I said; these are the goat!”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The greatest of all time,” explained grandpa.
“That’s rather cool terminology pop. Where did you learn that?”
“Don’t be so surprised my girl. For old people can be cool too. And I want to let you in on a little secret.”
“What is it grandpa? Gimme gimme gimme!”
“The key to happiness is to find someone who will always remind you that you are cool, even when you are old. That my child, is love.”
“That’s truly sweet,” I whispered. I was a little taken aback by this, but felt a wonderful warmness inside.
“I’m sorry grandpa, but I really must be going.” I stood up and gave him a hug. A hippo hugey one of course. “I need to google someone online.”
“Oh Summer! We have no internet around here. As we all know.”
“Damn that big black web hole!” I cried. But it really wasn’t so bad. Because now we listened to my favourite songs too.
I had thought that a grandpa revealing to the world his musical tastes was about as useful as him having a hair cut.
But I was wrong. His taste was delicious. He just didn’t choose the most obvious songs.
Or perhaps not. For they were obviously obvious. Obvious to him.
As you can probably tell, Summer was quite the English expert. And here we have further proof that she can see things from another perspective.
Anyhoo, her parents had only travelled elsewhere for five days, returning for their daughters birthday on September 7.
It was all going as all birthdays should, as in that everything and everyone was rather cheery. That was until it was cake time. Strange, I know. Cakes are usually very smirk-inducing. Especially ice-cream ones.
Just before the twelve candles were lit, mother made an announcement.
“My darling daughter. How quickly you are growing up! I hope that you are making the very most of this day, because this is the last time that you will be having a birthday as a child. Next year you shall begin your first steps towards womanhood. Next year you will be turning adult!”
She emphasised “last time” and Summer’s heart sunk, fearing that this would indeed be the last year that she would be ‘turning’ childish. She shivered at her mother’s words.
So dear reader, I am sure that you can guess what her three wishes were as she blew out those candles. They were each for the same thingy.
And after making them she felt a little better, and thus proclaimed, “and now it’s all mine!” But her claims on ‘her’ cake were surprisingly rejected.
“Oh it’s not very ladylike to pig-out my dear,” declared mother, “plus you have your running, and well, a girl must always watch her figure.”
“But I am not fat!” Summer screamed. “And I wasn’t going to actually eat the whole cake. Don’t be so ridiculous! Besides, why can’t you just let me be?” She paused for effect. “Me!”
In an emotional panic, Summer raced out of there in hast and with tears, and once she found a comforting tree to sit at, she cried even more deeply. “I just wish that I could be loved greatly for who I am,” she pleaded in her head. “For everything that I am. I don’t want a love that is somewhat forced, like with that from my parents. I want a true love. Please?”
She may have felt down, but she was most certainly not out. She knew that it was time for Mayday.
She had been oh so longing to reach this forbidden patch of turf, but even before entering these woods, there was a pleasant surprise. For there was a playground. And even though it was getting a little late in the day there were four children playing joyously. Summer was perhaps getting a little biggish to go on these swings and slides now, but she was still able to understand the basic happiness that these children derived from their play, and she smiled further as she entered the terrain of the green things.
There wasn’t much to speak about when it came to the woods. Well, apart from the trees. Tall, landmark style ones dominated the landscape, providing the hiker with a rather homely feel. These were pine trees actually, and they were littered throughout the area, it was only that closer to grandpa’s hut there weren’t so many of them. But here in Mayday they were everywhere, almost as common as grass. Most of them acted as a canopy, and the little sunlight that did cut through looked positively splendid against the forest floor. Perhaps that’s why the capital of this territory was called Yellowknife. Mr Yellow had to knife his way through the thick forestry to reach the earth’s surface. Anyhoo, to Summer it was all relatively quiet, with just the odd chirping bird to be heard. It gave off the atmosphere of life; it felt healthy to be here, as if one breath bought in as much oxygen as what five would in the big smoke, which probably means the equivalent of about three in Yea!
With Summer’s hometown being a sort of in-between.
It was a peaceful stroll for around ten minutes for our hero until anything of note occurred. It was a bird. One who decided to be seen as well as heard. It flew towards Summer and approached to within an arms length, carrying with it a twig. It didn’t appear to have any fear. And this bird my friends ought to be admired, because if there is one thing that we could do with removing from the world, it is fear.
Without hesitation it let go of the tiny twig, danced delightfully into the face of the girl, and planted kisses on her.
Then as quickly as it arrived it flew away. Nevertheless, Summer felt more emboldened by the up close experience. And more loved. The sparrow had most definitely warmed her.
And this was just as well, for suddenly what little sunlight existed disappeared, and the entire forest took on a different feel. For many twelve year old girls it would have been a scary situation, especially when she became swamped by bats. Funnily enough she giggled at it all, imagining herself as bat-girl as well as thinking fondly of Holly. So when two bats sat on either one of her shoulders she considered them to be friends, and even spoke aloud to the flying nocturnals. “My Outrageous Owly’s,” she said with pride. “I shall name each of you chip. Because I never have just a chip on my shoulder, for I am a well balanced individual.” One of the bats seemed to let out its own chirp, and Summer replied with “absolutely!”
There is no need to worry. She wasn’t going batty at all.
“I wonder what the time is?” Summer asked aloud, though not necessarily to the bats. Immediately she heard the comforting howl of a nearby wolf. “Comforting?” I hear you ask. Well wolves are majestic creatures. Certainly not ones for humans to fear. If you fear them it’s possibly because of C.S. Lewis; that man has a lot to answer to. Everyone knows that the dog is man’s best friend, and dogs my dear reader, came from the wolf.
Anyhoo, the two bats that had been given a free ride now flew off ahead of Summer, and encouraged her to give chase. They led her into a more closed area, and now it was pitch black.
Unbeknown to Summer, there lay an apparent obstacle in her path. A big hole existed on her forest pathway which would put pay to her planned journey. But often we don’t know what is the right path for us, so it can be rather nice to have an outside influence.
The hole was not deep, so when Summer fell she was never in any grave danger. This safety was emphasised further by a net that ran across the hole, kinda like a trampoline. Though in actual fact, it was a spider web. You could even call it another big black web hole.
Summer didn’t react much following her initial trip – she was a brave girl of course. But as she lay stuck to the sticky web, and saw an eight-legged creature waiting in the wings, she freaked out. And with that, she fainted.
CHAPTER TWO - BEAUTIFUL BEARS
Still, as a whole, Summer’s existence wasn’t quite as fulfilling as she might have wished. And that was despite the impact of her two loving parents. Her mum and dad did all they could to try to stimulate and excite her, but all kids reach that age when it just isn’t their parents that can provide this for them, and that was a juncture in life which Summer had arrived at.
Being as caring for her as they were, they came upon the idea to give her a little overseas trip. For they had a relative living in Canada, and well, it’s not just a stereotype that an overseas adventure can greatly develop a person in all sorts of positive ways. And so, kind of as a birthday present - she was to turn twelve shortly on September 7 - she was shipped off to Canada to reside with her grandpa. “It will do her good to spend a little time away from us, away from technology, while seeing more of the nature side of things,” her father said.
He was spot on. For children should be always encouraged to play outside and expand their mind. Too much time indoors can spell the death of one’s imagination, and an imagination should always be cherished. If kept intact, it can be the best aspect of one’s adulthood.
Summer was rather excited about the holiday, but became a little fearful when she heard that her grandpa lived in a hut without internet access, miles from anybody else. “But how can I survive without being online for two whole weeks?” she questioned. “Just imagine all the status updates I will miss.” Well, you know kids these days and their facebooking.
Summer would be just fine. Oh yes indeedy.
Her Grandpa lived in an area of the maple country called the Northwest Territories, whose capital was Yellowknife (he lived about two hour’s drive from there). Just so you know, this was all a little north of the northern part of the Saskatchewan province. Most of the territory was made up of boreal forest, and this was rather typical of granddad’s neighbouring area.
Her parents were so great that what they did were fly to Canada with her – they couldn’t responsibly allow their child to fly alone – and then after seeing pa for a couple of days they went off and did their own thing. This was because they were adamant that Summer needed and deserved some alone time for her own growth. And being such a responsible girl, they could rely on her not to go too silly with all the independence.
The main activity that the family did together in Canada was to journey way out into the wilderness – even further out than where their grandpa was based – and take in the beauty of numerous polar bears. There was something about them that immediately attracted Summer. Perhaps it was their pure white as snow coat, or the fact that they looked so warm and could give one a happy hug, like she had given Holly.
“These bears are soooo cool,” she said with a gregarious childishness. “They are so cool that I shall call them ice bears. Yep, that is their call name.”
Continuing on from the Bat-kiddy obviously.
The bears so captivated the girl that they took her mind off the taste of her grandpa’s dark chocolate, which to Summer was in one word: Yuck. Because the best kind of chocolate is light, as we all know.
Bears and chocolate aside, the best thing about the whole Canadian excursion was always going to be Summer’s own personal hiking. For one she liked to hike, and two she liked to do her own thing; on occasion. She wasn’t always anti-social, though in saying that she did also enjoy playing anti-social freak sometimes. You should give it a go, yo. It’s a very worthwhile game.
Well, being the kinda girl who could go to the shops alone, Summer simply delighted in being out and about amongst the green things. By that I mean the grass and trees obviously. And the birds. She absolutely loved the birds. And cute as they were, it wasn’t so much their physical appearance that left her in awe. It was their voices. Oh those sweet sounds of song! It always bought a smirk to her face and a smile to her heart to hear them.
As a Yea girl Summer made regular ventures to the towns wetlands, the place where the residents could lay their claim to fame, of having historically the oldest known plant life found anywhere. It wasn’t that which she cared much for though; rather the many birds that lived in the trees, and chirped away in harmony. Although really just a tiny town, Summer was very much lucky to grow up in a place where so much natural beauty sat on her doorstep.
Whilst venturing through the grass it was common for Summer to stumble upon huge pockets of butterflies. Summer wasn’t exactly sure of why so many lived here – it was especially a quandary given their supposedly very short life span – but she reasoned that a butterfly was as smirk-inducing as anything else, and would thus encourage one to say or feel ‘yay’ as much as anything else. Trust me, this actually made a lot of sense, as Summer tended to do.
It always made her smile as she waltzed through the terrain with the orange wings dancing about her. Often her walks were in the evening, as this was the perfect antidote to a bad day at school.
In the morning the area would often be rather cold, and so Summer would give gracious thanks to Mr Yellow when he made an appearance and warmed her. But also in the mornings was when the birds sang at their finest, so it was worth putting up with a little bit of a freeze. An added bonus was when the frogs sang. Sang? Yeah I hear you; you don’t call that singing. Well it is, regardless of lack of high notes reached, and Summer always got a giggle out of their calls. She also wondered what it would be like to have a frog as a pet, assuming it would be a particularly smirk-inducing experience to have a slimy creature bouncing around her bed, but mother refused. I have no idea why.
Speaking of bouncing, one of the bridges amongst the wetlands was supported by cables, and one day when walking on it Summer realised that the structure was moving. She placed her hands on both sides of the skinny walkway and began to jump. It really was a jumping bridge! She thought it was a scream and a lot of fun, but when she told some friends most of them didn’t even bother to raise a smirk. Geez, some people are hard to impress.
Another venue that her friends showed little interest in was the railway park, another town attraction. Despite it being traditionally liked by an older audience, Summer felt comfortable around these forms of transport. For her, trains were always close to her heart.
The animals which were most talked about in Yea were the bats and owls, though Summer thought them overrated, since they appeared to be mythical creatures, such were the lack of sightings. “Those bats are batty,” she thought, “and as for those owls, they are simply outrageous! These animals seem to play no importance in my life whatsoever.”
But anyhoo, back to Canada, and so it was that the birds could be heard in full voice as Summer ventured out into the early morning light. It was not long since dawn, and Summer loved to take in the fresh air that was always in abundance at this time of day. The autumn air she would sometimes call it. When it was autumn obviously, and now in Canada it actually was.
She didn’t track too far from the hut in this instance, for she wasn’t really allowed too. At least her parents didn’t wish for their girl to hike her way into too much trouble. Summer felt a combination of annoyance at their concerns, as well as an understanding. Despite being a child she could often think like an adult. Hence, she could also see things from another’s perspective.
There was a small creek about 2kms from the hut, and it was here that Summer’s parents lay down their barrier, to not go any further away alone. Summer thought this far too extreme, and very much wanted to hike to and into the Mayday woodlands, an area that was poles apart really from the relatively open spaces that circled grandpa’s place. This was 4kms from her current home. As a compromise, Summer would go a little beyond the creek, but no further.
Summer was the kinda girl who didn’t want to be stuck inside for long, but there was one particular occasion when she enjoyed an unexpected worthwhile time with grandpa. As a special thingy for her trip Summer had decided to keep a diary. This was her entry on September 3:
For a little while my Grandpa had been telling me that he was going to make up a list. A hit list of the best songs. I wasn’t particularly excited about it. For let’s face it; older people just don’t know music (just like they don’t know Lego). Well, not like us younger folk. And so I kinda expected a selection of songs that was, if not quite meh, than a little bit merely okay. I suppose that I expected it to be mistake ridden.
And so it proved to be the case. Apparently. Grandpa would make a great list when….when….pigs fly.
Don’t get me wrong. I still liked the songs – there were clearly some stars there. But how could one make that list, when there were soooo many better songs to choose from?
Very few of them jumped out at me when Grandpa first showed me his list, and so I said something rather silly and insensitive – after going and getting my bottle of white-out at the ready, obviously.
“Pa, it wouldn’t matter how much laminate you put on this list; it still wouldn’t be all that shiny.”
Grandpa simply muttered something under his breath. Probably about me being an arrogant upstart.
But then after a brief pause he spoke up. And he was rather positive about the whole thing.
“My dear granddaughter. Please just have a think about this. Because these are really good songs. Don’t you remember them?”
I had heard them all before – he had played them all to me when he’d visited us in Yea a couple of years earlier - but either I didn’t remember them much via the titles or I wasn’t greatly impressed by them in the first place. At least not as much as I was with some of the other mind and heart blowing songs.
“Yeah, I think so,” I said quietly. “And I love them all in a way, for I just absolutely love this music. You’ve certainly picked out a few instant classics. I just think that you’ve left out some bloody obvious options.”
“Well may we have a listen then? It will not take too long,” encouraged my grandfather. “To listen to a song tends to only take about four minutes you know, and then maybe you will feel a little differently. Because trust me, I’ve thought very hard about this recently, and really these songs are bloody marvellous!”
And so we sat and listened.
And quite quickly I was transformed.
It was a remarkable reminder of not just how songs can grow on you, but of how you can take different thingys from them at different times. And this was what I did now. Previously some of these songs may have been just good, yet now they were great.
And ridiculously awesomey. Oh yes indeedy.
“So you see,” he said at the conclusion of the listening. “Like I said; these are the goat!”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The greatest of all time,” explained grandpa.
“That’s rather cool terminology pop. Where did you learn that?”
“Don’t be so surprised my girl. For old people can be cool too. And I want to let you in on a little secret.”
“What is it grandpa? Gimme gimme gimme!”
“The key to happiness is to find someone who will always remind you that you are cool, even when you are old. That my child, is love.”
“That’s truly sweet,” I whispered. I was a little taken aback by this, but felt a wonderful warmness inside.
“I’m sorry grandpa, but I really must be going.” I stood up and gave him a hug. A hippo hugey one of course. “I need to google someone online.”
“Oh Summer! We have no internet around here. As we all know.”
“Damn that big black web hole!” I cried. But it really wasn’t so bad. Because now we listened to my favourite songs too.
I had thought that a grandpa revealing to the world his musical tastes was about as useful as him having a hair cut.
But I was wrong. His taste was delicious. He just didn’t choose the most obvious songs.
Or perhaps not. For they were obviously obvious. Obvious to him.
As you can probably tell, Summer was quite the English expert. And here we have further proof that she can see things from another perspective.
Anyhoo, her parents had only travelled elsewhere for five days, returning for their daughters birthday on September 7.
It was all going as all birthdays should, as in that everything and everyone was rather cheery. That was until it was cake time. Strange, I know. Cakes are usually very smirk-inducing. Especially ice-cream ones.
Just before the twelve candles were lit, mother made an announcement.
“My darling daughter. How quickly you are growing up! I hope that you are making the very most of this day, because this is the last time that you will be having a birthday as a child. Next year you shall begin your first steps towards womanhood. Next year you will be turning adult!”
She emphasised “last time” and Summer’s heart sunk, fearing that this would indeed be the last year that she would be ‘turning’ childish. She shivered at her mother’s words.
So dear reader, I am sure that you can guess what her three wishes were as she blew out those candles. They were each for the same thingy.
And after making them she felt a little better, and thus proclaimed, “and now it’s all mine!” But her claims on ‘her’ cake were surprisingly rejected.
“Oh it’s not very ladylike to pig-out my dear,” declared mother, “plus you have your running, and well, a girl must always watch her figure.”
“But I am not fat!” Summer screamed. “And I wasn’t going to actually eat the whole cake. Don’t be so ridiculous! Besides, why can’t you just let me be?” She paused for effect. “Me!”
In an emotional panic, Summer raced out of there in hast and with tears, and once she found a comforting tree to sit at, she cried even more deeply. “I just wish that I could be loved greatly for who I am,” she pleaded in her head. “For everything that I am. I don’t want a love that is somewhat forced, like with that from my parents. I want a true love. Please?”
She may have felt down, but she was most certainly not out. She knew that it was time for Mayday.
She had been oh so longing to reach this forbidden patch of turf, but even before entering these woods, there was a pleasant surprise. For there was a playground. And even though it was getting a little late in the day there were four children playing joyously. Summer was perhaps getting a little biggish to go on these swings and slides now, but she was still able to understand the basic happiness that these children derived from their play, and she smiled further as she entered the terrain of the green things.
There wasn’t much to speak about when it came to the woods. Well, apart from the trees. Tall, landmark style ones dominated the landscape, providing the hiker with a rather homely feel. These were pine trees actually, and they were littered throughout the area, it was only that closer to grandpa’s hut there weren’t so many of them. But here in Mayday they were everywhere, almost as common as grass. Most of them acted as a canopy, and the little sunlight that did cut through looked positively splendid against the forest floor. Perhaps that’s why the capital of this territory was called Yellowknife. Mr Yellow had to knife his way through the thick forestry to reach the earth’s surface. Anyhoo, to Summer it was all relatively quiet, with just the odd chirping bird to be heard. It gave off the atmosphere of life; it felt healthy to be here, as if one breath bought in as much oxygen as what five would in the big smoke, which probably means the equivalent of about three in Yea!
With Summer’s hometown being a sort of in-between.
It was a peaceful stroll for around ten minutes for our hero until anything of note occurred. It was a bird. One who decided to be seen as well as heard. It flew towards Summer and approached to within an arms length, carrying with it a twig. It didn’t appear to have any fear. And this bird my friends ought to be admired, because if there is one thing that we could do with removing from the world, it is fear.
Without hesitation it let go of the tiny twig, danced delightfully into the face of the girl, and planted kisses on her.
Then as quickly as it arrived it flew away. Nevertheless, Summer felt more emboldened by the up close experience. And more loved. The sparrow had most definitely warmed her.
And this was just as well, for suddenly what little sunlight existed disappeared, and the entire forest took on a different feel. For many twelve year old girls it would have been a scary situation, especially when she became swamped by bats. Funnily enough she giggled at it all, imagining herself as bat-girl as well as thinking fondly of Holly. So when two bats sat on either one of her shoulders she considered them to be friends, and even spoke aloud to the flying nocturnals. “My Outrageous Owly’s,” she said with pride. “I shall name each of you chip. Because I never have just a chip on my shoulder, for I am a well balanced individual.” One of the bats seemed to let out its own chirp, and Summer replied with “absolutely!”
There is no need to worry. She wasn’t going batty at all.
“I wonder what the time is?” Summer asked aloud, though not necessarily to the bats. Immediately she heard the comforting howl of a nearby wolf. “Comforting?” I hear you ask. Well wolves are majestic creatures. Certainly not ones for humans to fear. If you fear them it’s possibly because of C.S. Lewis; that man has a lot to answer to. Everyone knows that the dog is man’s best friend, and dogs my dear reader, came from the wolf.
Anyhoo, the two bats that had been given a free ride now flew off ahead of Summer, and encouraged her to give chase. They led her into a more closed area, and now it was pitch black.
Unbeknown to Summer, there lay an apparent obstacle in her path. A big hole existed on her forest pathway which would put pay to her planned journey. But often we don’t know what is the right path for us, so it can be rather nice to have an outside influence.
The hole was not deep, so when Summer fell she was never in any grave danger. This safety was emphasised further by a net that ran across the hole, kinda like a trampoline. Though in actual fact, it was a spider web. You could even call it another big black web hole.
Summer didn’t react much following her initial trip – she was a brave girl of course. But as she lay stuck to the sticky web, and saw an eight-legged creature waiting in the wings, she freaked out. And with that, she fainted.
gregrowlerson- Posts : 1733
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Doogs Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:57 pm
Oooh missed this and now I don't have enough time left on my lunch to read it all . . . . will catch up on this later GR
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Laikipia Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:48 pm
..................... you can't leave us hanging there like that I am feeling a bit like Alice in Wonderland - waiting to know what will happen next ????
Lai
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
littlewid Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:20 pm
Well I am hooked and waiting for the next chapter littlewid-x-
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
whitestarling Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:52 pm
Just read Part 1, and I have to say Yaaaah. It gave me a really good feeling, I agree never lose your childhood sense of fun, carry it with you through life it not only keeps you young it bathes those around you, and who know you well in a feeling of happiness. Never wish your life away as LW says, but always look forward to tomorrow, and the fun it will bring, at the same time as holding on to fun of the past you, and others around you have experienced.I think my motto really sums it all up for me, so thats why your story has rang a bell with me.
Thanks Gr looking forward to catching up on the rest.
WS
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:43 am
That's how I feel about you guys.
I will keep you hanging - upside down like a bat - but only for a little bit and not for long
It was a nice suspenseful way to end a chapter! But I guess you know that Summer isn't going to die, given that she is in the working title. But still, it will be difficult to guess what shall happen next!
I just realised something today; that chapter four finishers in a very similar fashion to chapter two!
Love your motto 'dad'; you have a great balance of looking forward to the future, but never forgetting your past. The past is what makes us who we are, and the future is who we shall become. Not necessarily majorly different, but hopefully we can make further growth on our present self. Add - or awaken - further characters from inside of us. That is a another book theme.
For me story writing helps to keep me young. I hope to be doing it still when I'm fifty-one.
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Laikipia Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:47 am
okay we'll hang for a bit but don't forget us please 
Does that mean you'll have to change chapter 4 ? I have never tried writing and couldn't begin to imagine how to start!Very Profound PLove your motto 'dad'; you have a great balance of looking forward to the future, but never forgetting your past. The past is what makes us who we are, and the future is who we shall become. Not necessarily majorly different, but hopefully we can make further growth on our present self. Add - or awaken - further characters from inside of us. That is a another book theme.
and thought provoking for a Wednesday morning.Lai
aka Mrs Kipia
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:22 am
I will knot be changing chapter four; it's possibly the best chapter!
Well, an upgrade on the first three anyhoo
Just remember that I only get my profoundness from my dad
Well, an upgrade on the first three anyhoo
Just remember that I only get my profoundness from my dad
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
Laikipia Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:18 pm
So if the chapter end is the same or similar to chapter 2 it will be like Ground Hog day?
Wise words Mr P
Lai
Wise words Mr P
Lai
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Re: Forum Fiction - Merry Xmas!
gregrowlerson Thu Jan 31, 2013 2:44 am
Not like groundhog day in that sense, but it is a little like groundhog day with the repeated language/words!
Good thinking
Absolutely, oh yes indeedy, your WAA posting is faster than a breezyweezy!
Not that I've introduced you to that character...yet
Good thinking
Absolutely, oh yes indeedy, your WAA posting is faster than a breezyweezy!
Not that I've introduced you to that character...yet
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