The following is a new story that suddenly came to me. It is the first chapter of a work in progress that I hope will one day turn into a fun story for my nieces and nephews. And the picture to the left is a picture of me on crazy hair night. Hope you enjoy both the picture and the story.
The Curious Life of Marlo T. Brandersnuff
Have you ever tried to read a sentence backwards? Here, try it with this sentence. backwards sentence a read to tried ever you Have? Did you read the word backwards differently with it at the front than you did with it at the back? Did you find it hard to read the words in that order? As if your brain knew everything was jumbled up? It’s not very easy to read a sentence backwards is it? At least if it’s written you can start at the end and work your way back to read it like normal, but what if it was spoken? Do you think you could work it out? This is a story about a man named Marlo T. Brandersnuff who lived every day of his life hearing sentence spoken out backwards!
I first met Marlo the summer after I turned 27. I had just graduated college, and was excited to get out into the world and find a job. I had recently moved and was enjoying a peaceful cup of coffee in a quiet little corner café I found. As I sat there drinking my coffee and enjoying a newspaper, a strange man about my age sat down next to me and said, “Well, I suppose that’s everything then. Thanks for being such a good friend to me all these years and be sure to remember to give the book back to me when I’m 71.” I barely had time to look up from the newspaper before the man had up and left, leaving behind a curious, small, leather-bound book.
Intrigued, I picked up the book and examined it. It was a simple book. It had no fancy picture on the cover nor a summary of the book on the back cover. A utilitarian, magnetic clasp reached around the right side to keep the book shut tight and the leather cover was worn from frequent use. It was, in fact, similar in every way to the book you are now holding. Including the titled that spread across the front cover, which read, (as I’m sure you already know) “The Curious Life of Marlo T. Brandersnuff.”
It was the title that gave the otherwise plain little book such an air of mystery to me. I sat there and wondered what adventures lay within the pages of this book. What mystery was held bottled up by the magnetic clasp. What action lay waiting to burst out for whoever dared to open it?
“Return the book to him?” I muttered to myself. “What on earth could he have meant?” Despite the intrigue the book seemed to promise me, I was determined to enjoy my day of getting to know this new city I found myself in. I quickly finished off my coffee, placed the book in my backpack, and began my grand tour of this new city on my bike.
Whenever I moved somewhere new, I would get on my bike and head off in any given direction. I would follow side rides and rabbit trails just to see where they led and to see if I could find my way back home. It was great fun as well as a great way to learn the area. Once I was done exploring, I would know 5 different ways to get from my house to anywhere in town.
Today, however, my mind just wouldn’t focus on where I was. Three times, I almost ran into a tree or a person, twice I ran through stop signs without stopping, and once I even rode my bike right into a pond! It was a small miracle that I didn’t ruin that curious, leather-bound book right then and there, but fortunately when I ran into the pond, I fell off my bike and landed in shallow water keeping my backpack nice and dry.
“Alright,” I said to myself with a laugh. “I know when to stop fighting my own curiosity. It’s time to read that book!” With a broad grin, I carried my bike out of the pond and found a nice spot under a giant oak tree. Even though I had spent the whole day exploring points of interest and biking around town, I couldn’t help but feel energized with excitement as I laid out a small sheet to sit on.
Sitting down, with my back to the tree, I took a moment to enjoy the view. The pond was located in a small park on the west side of town. The tree I had chosen let me face the sunset as it slipped down and gently kissed the horizon. It was summer time and I knew that even with the sun setting, I had another good hour of sunlight left. Plenty of time to start the book and bike back home before dark.
I removed the magnetic clasp and chose to indulge myself in one of my few bad habits. Rather than start at the front of the book and be surprised by the ending, I chose to skip straight to the last page and see what was written. What I read there was what I consider the beginning of my strange and amazing friendship with Marlo T. Brandersnuff.
1 comment:
Very good! I was intrigued the whole time -- do write more!
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