The Night-time is the Write Time Part One

 

 

When I was a kid, I was told that I could do whatever I wanted with my future. I could be a doctor or fireman and save lives. I could be a policeman and put the bad people away. I could tell stories to people. Cheerful, sad, whatever. I could do anything. I always had trouble with the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I didn’t want to grow up. If I could just take my Legos and make a shelter, I could survive on imagination. “There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.” Willy Wonka said that. I believed it. I still do and will for the rest of my life. But I did grow up. My body grew. My intelligence reached out. My imagination changed. It remains to this day, but I can’t still build a fort from Legos and be content with that. Aha! But why not? Is it socially unacceptable to be a Lego fort resident? If a twenty year old man pulls out a GI Joe and begins playing with it, where will it take him?  Away. To a land of joy. To the hospital, because he isn’t right in the head. He must be fixed. Or so they say. If he learns to drop that GI Joe and pick up a suitcase, he can leave the hospital. If he puts down that PB&J sandwich and picks up a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a highly dosed caffeine drink, he can be free. Free to be depressed? Free to start a family? Free. I want to be free. You want to be free. We must acquire those briefcases immediately. No? Next month, I will be twenty years old. I’m not a twenty year old.   I’m doing good to be fifteen. Twenty year olds play golf. They get fake I.D.s so they can grab a beer with the homecoming queen. They don’t believe in Santa. They don’t believe in the Easter Bunny. They don’t care whether or not they get the right color Power Ranger for Christmas. They care about money. They care about sex. They care about drugs that make them happy, sad, and wacky. They care about the material and not the ridiculous. Not anymore they don’t. I’m about to be twenty and I finally think that I have the answer to the childhood question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” How about nothing? What if I grab some friends and start creating things again? Like when I was a child and I could build the most badass and sturdy house out of blocks. What if I sculpt words into structures sturdy enough to grab your attention? What if a friend grabs a canvas and paints the world that you want to live in? What if you take these words and pictures and you build on them? What if you start using your imagination again? You can be anything you want to be. If you try. That’s what I always heard. That’s what they always say. I thank them for that.

 

Reviews

[Kristin]

This is actually really beautiful.

[roarke]

Imagination needs a willing curiosity, a firm self belief and a positive intent. And all of it is in jeopardy today in developed western worlds. Literal perception of profits and control attack and infringe upon the individual nature to seek this freedom of creativity and imagination. You have a strong individual voice, an intact imagination and a will to express yourself. Keep spreading the seeds.

[Angelheaded Hipster]

You know. I want a lego fort. Im 32...Im "old"...but I wont go gently into the night....no f*****g thank you. Give me the legos, give me the sandbox...I cant draw, but I can write, and I have an imagination, and I love Willy Wonka.

Sam...just because youre 20 doesnt mean you have to be all adult all the time. Thats boring. I still go to the park, I still play on the playground. I laugh. Laugh as much as humanly possible every single day.

And drink kool aid. Drink a juice box. Put something in the world that wasnt there before...like you put...well...you know what you put into it...Love ya Sam.

[Coyote Poetry]

A amazing story. We need to dream and keep our hope alive. Your story took me on a journey with you. I still hold a baseball card and feel like a kid still. Thank you for sharing the story.
Coyote

[Hello, Goodbye]

Very personal in nature.. I like it..

[Mercedes]

Brilliant. I agree with what you're saying. This is a great work. It speaks volumes and makes such perfect sense. It really grips you and makes you want to re-evaluate everything you've ever thought because you want to go back and make things be the way you said. I love it. Great job!