A Fairytale

This is a story about a little monkey who lived in a really big green jungle. Now everybody knew that this little monkey would grow up to be something special in his little corner of the world. Why?

Well, it seems this little fellow was able to zip in and out of different dimensions...one minute you would see him and one minute you would not! But that was not the best of it... if you were to touch this little monkey while he was "transporting" you'd be taken along for a wild ride.

Too many of his monkey cousins had fallen victim to his shenanigans only to return to normal space totally confused.  As a result, our little monkey was a pretty lonely little fellow, until one day a Prince appeared in the Jungle needing help.  It seemed that a really evil Ogre, with the help of a magic stone had spirited the Prince's true love into another realm.  That magic place was in another dimension and the prince hearing about this special talent that this little monkey possessed hoped that he would help him recover his lost love.

Now those of us in the present must remember that milleniums ago animals and humans could speak and understand each other quite well.  The little monkey, whose name was Zap, happily told the Prince that he would most assuredly assist him with the mission to save a Princess!  Zap was so happy to have someone that needed his "special" talent that he would of followed the Prince to the ends of the earth.

Well, they needed to put their heads together to come up with a plan to rescue the Princess.  The Prince was not quite sure which magic realm the Ogre had spirited the Princess Rose to...so they needed to do a search.   Zap told the Prince, whose name was Jack, to hold onto his hand and whoosh!!! there they went!!!   Jack felt his whole body transform into a fluid state similiar to a raging river moving so quickly....but so cold....all of a sudden he felt beyond heavy...dropping like a stone.  They came to a sudden stop on the other side....Zap said "well, it takes some getting used to, doesn't it?"  The Prince didn't want to admit he was shaken to his core...."Yes, it sure does, but we must for her sake".

This particular dimensional world didn't appear too different except the colors...everything was reversed the sky was green, the grass was blue and flowers were all shades of grey.  They walked a bit trying to find some sign of intelligent life....they came upon a little turtle like creature sitting upright on a grey log.  Zap said "Hello little one can you understand me?" The little creature looked up and said in a clear voice "Of course I can understand you, I'm not stupid!"  The Prince jumped in not wanting to offend anyone just yet and said "Oh, we know that you are very intelligent, we are looking for an Ogre who has a beautiful princess as a prisoner. Have you seen anyone like that?" 

The little turtle stood up on two legs and said quite loudly "I never know about you offlanders! You flit in and out of our space so easily, now you want my help?"  Jack was beside himself with worry over his princess, he said "Oh, please just let us know if you have seen anything or know anyone who might be able to help us. This is all being done in the name of love and it's a fight against evil."   The little turtle's heart turned a little and he said "Ok, yes I have seen something strange recently....but you'll have to come to the black crystal cave to get the whole answer."

So off the trio went...heading for the black crystal cave looking for clues.    When they approached the opening the little turtle hung back, fear showed on his face.  Zap asked "What's wrong this is where you said right?"  The little turtle said "Yes, a great Wizard lives in this cave and he would have all your answers I do believe. But this wizard and I have a bad history...I played a trick on him years ago and he has a long memory."  So it was decided that Zap and the Prince would enter the cave without the turtle. 

The first thing they both noticed as the entered the cave was a beautiful erie glow that appeared to grow lighter the deeper they moved into the cave.  Looking up they saw wonderous stalagmites growing down from the roof of the cavern...it was from these beautiful crystals that the glow was emanating from.  They reached a deeper point where the cave branched out into two separate corridors....they did not want to separate themselves so they opted to go to the left.   It was a good choice.  They heard a humming....and as they moved closer they could see a wizened old man hunched over a steaming cauldron.

The man looked up with a slight surprise on his face..."Oh, didn't know I was to have company tonight!"  Well, well don't just stand there gaping..you are here for a reason...get on with it!"  The little monkey and the Prince gingerly made their way toward the old man..."We are sorry to disturb you, but I am on a quest...my lady love has been stolen by an evil Ogre and we are hoping that you will help us" said the Prince.  The old man stared at the monkey and slapped his hand to his knee.."You! you are the one from the other world that flits in and out of our world!  I've always thought you were just up to mischief! Not on a quest, he said."

Zap pulled himself tall and said in his loudest voice.."I'm never up to mischief! I try to help everybody all the time!"  Laughter started to bellow from the old wizard, he laughed with a rolling thunder that resonated throughout the caves.  "oh, OH! my, my...a monkey who causes no mischief!" He laughed.  The Prince stepped in and said in a quiet voice "Please help us find my stolen love, please." The wizard sighed and said "ah love, nothing like it exists anywhere in magic because it's a magic all it's own.  I have a special heart shaped crystal that glows a crimson red when you are in close proximity to your heart's desire...which in your case, my Prince, would be your lady love."

The wizard explained that they could use the crystal to track the trail that the Ogre took because it would feel the vibrations from the Princess.  It was a good plan because the Ogre would not know that they had magical powers on their side too.  Jack asked the wizard if he knew who had helped the Ogre in his plot to steal the Princess.  The wizard sighed a really deep heavy sigh and said "I'll tell you this with heavy heart, it is my very own half-brother that has his hand in this.  He is not a full blown wizard because it was not his birthright, it was mine....but behind our backs he practiced the art of black witchery and cast many an evil spell before we caught him."  The little monkey felt sorry for the wizard and said so...he felt that family should always depend on one another and love one another...Jack agreed.

The wizard said "the past is the past, but this is for your future..I will try to cast a spell that will reverse anything that he throws at you - so that it will come back at him full force!  Come into my inner chambers I have a vision crystal that may prove interesting. " They followed him into the inner chamber and found themselves standing in front of a very large clear crystal...it was so perfectly clear almost with a diamond like quality to it.  As the wizard approached he mumbled some words, waving his hand at the same time and the surface of the crystal started to slowly change.  An image of a small town, rather quaint, appeared on the crystal's surface.  All of a sudden, Jack yelled "there! there she is!"  An image of a dark haired beauty floated on the crystal, one could see tears were running down the girl's face...but it did nothing to detract from her absolute beauty.  She was in a room, but it looked more like a prison with bars on the windows & door than anything else.   The wizard exclaimed "I know where that is...it's only a few hours from here as the crow flies".  The prince turned to Zap and "said we must get there really fast..can you jump side to side in this place?"  Zap replied "I don't know I've never tried except to from us to here...I'm willing to try".

The wizard said " Well using the locating crystal that I gave you will help you concentrate on reaching her and since it's my own brother behind this I shall accompany you on your quest!"  So they formed a little circle and the Wizard held one of monkey's hands and the Prince the other...and off they went...all concentrating on the Princesses location.  Again, they felt like flowing water going with the tide of time...liquid in nature, fluid...icy cold...coming to a sudden stop....heaviness decending back to reality.

As luck would have it, they materialzed right inside the room where the princess was.  The shock of having them appear so suddenly caused the princess to cry out and swoon...luckily Jack managed to get to her before she hit the floor.  She looked up into his face and asked "Oh, Jack is it really you? Or is this yet another terrible trick that the evil Ogre is playing on me?"  Jack assured her that he was her own true love come to rescue her from the evil Ogre.  Just at that moment the door unlocks and in walks a younger version of the old wizard...followed closely behind by a brutally ugly Ogre. "Oh, I see we have a would be escape together with a group of heroes.  He turned to the Ogre and said "Dagnar..we are being remiss in welcoming these gentlemen...please toss them into some chains for me."

The old wizard had had his back to the door and his younger brother had not realized who he had in his clutches...he turned with glowing eyes, mumbling an incantation and the Ogre turned into a small mouse...who scampered quickly away.  The wizard's younger half brother stared in disbelief, he tried to do an incantation back at him but it was no use.  The next thing he knew he was writhing on the floor and turning slowly into a snake...and not a dangerous snake either - just the common garden garter snake variety that get eaten by birds all the time.  His future looked bleak.

The Prince explained to his Princess how the rescue came to be, especially the little monkey's part in it.  She was extremely grateful to them all for rescuing her from their evil clutches.  The little monkey looked sad....his adventure was all over...now, once again, he would be the loneliest creature in the jungle because of his "special" powers.  Once again everyone would be afraid to touch him for fear of being sent into the "nowhere".  The wizard took the monkey aside and said "I know it's hard to be different from others. especially when you want to help everyone too...I think I have a special crystal for you that might help you."

They all stood in a small circle The Prince, The Princess, The Wizard and the little Monkey....they all put their hands in the middle of the circle and the monkey placed one hand on  top and one hand on the bottom so they all were touching and they zapped back into the cold...fluid time....back to the wizard's cave.   The wizard was rummaging around a bit, rooting as it were..searching for a special crystal.  "Ahah! he shouted I foundit!!" said the wizard, with that he opened his hand and in it was a lovely azure blue crystal that glowed...it had a natural hole through it..the wizard put it on a piece of leather and placed it around the little monkey's neck.   "Now, you will be able to control your jumping between the dimensions...no one will be afraid to touch you anymore...everything will be under your power to jump or not". said the Wizard.

Oh the little monkey jumped up and down with glee...he could run, jump & play with his cousins, he could swing from tree to tree and not worry about "bumping" into anybody...oh joy!  He was so happy...The Prince was happy too as was his beloved.  Even the grumpy Wizard had to smile at the monkey's antics....which just goes to prove all's well that end's well......

This fairytale has been done for an entry into Judith Heartsong's story contest at the following link:

http://journals.aol.com/judithheartsong/newbeginning

 

 

 

 

 

6 Degrees of Separation

This has been a little strange...I keep on remembering that movie the one where everyone is connected to someone by degrees..I think it was six (6) degrees of separation.  Kevin Bacon was in it or doing it.

See the two pictures of the flowing river?  One was painted by a good friend of mine, Riichiro Kawashima, a Japanese gentleman who had attended art school in Chicago and spoke excellent English.  I've written about him in my other journal on Japan.

I've always felt that my unborn child, Kenji, absorbed some of this man's tremendous talent as I sat watching him paint and listened to him speaking about his life.

Well, as many of you know, I have a store on Ebay...I wanted to list some small oil paintings that I no longer want...so I was roaming through the listings trying to gauge a price.

Oh, of a sudden I see a painting that strikes a familiar cord!  It's a painting almost of the same view...maybe 60 years later in Paris on the Seine River....I felt looking at these two that the artist must of stood within feet of each other to be able to paint it so.

I was amazed.  I had located my friends painting in a museum and was able to copy it to my computer...lord knows how much the original is.  Kawashima-sensei had for my wedding given my husband & I paintings, sketched & water colors for different rooms in our house....they were beautiful and much appreciated.  My mother-in-law who was Mrs. Kawashima's friend did not want the art to leave Japan when Tom & I were transferred back to the States.  So with heavy heart, the artwork was left in her care for us to retrieve upon our return to Japan. 

Well, not to bore anyone ... we never made that return trip together.   It's a common tale of separation & divorce....I would have been happy to pull a "Shirley Maclaine" but he needed someone there - he dreaded being "alone".....not realizing how "alone" he had made me during the last years of us.

But when I think of the time watching Kawashima-san paint..it makes me remember the happier times so filled with hope & promise.

So I really, really want that second picture.....I think I'm going to bid.....

PS. The reason I put the other picture of an artist wearing his little french cap sitting in front of an easel painting Irises....That's exactly my memory of watching him......one of the paintings that he had given us was a huge beautiful oil of blue. purple Irises with vibrant green hued stalks rising amid the flowers....his style was very impressionistic, colorful like his idols Van Gogh, Monet and Picasso....

Journal Jar Question #13

 

What cherished heirlooms do I have from relatives who have passed over?

From my Southern Grandmother Lee I received a great deal of love that is still with me today together with a handmade crocheted bedspread made by her "grandmother"...my great-great grandmother.  They owned a Tobacco farm in South Carolina and her Grandmother used the white cotton twine that they used to tie the tobacco with in bunches - that's what she made this beautiful quilt out of.  Everytime I touch it, I feel a connection to all those women who have gone before.

From my wonderful Greek Grandfather who loved Lee with every fiber in his being....Lee collected statues..years & years of statues, made in Japan, big ones little ones.....we, children, on the other hand would , not intentionally, break them.  Nick would sit for hours and glue & paste the pieces back together....and tell Lee "see if you don't move it - no one would know!" I have several of the pieces that he lovingly pieced back together....they are worth more to me than if they were made of gold.

I also have paintings & sketches  that were done by my Japanese MotherInLaw, a very talented painter.  So many pictures that jar my memory of my time spent in Japan.

My paternal Grandmother Sophie lived to 103 with full mental facilities intact, other than a few pieces of jewerly I don't have too much from her....what I learned from her is invaluable - strength, love, caring - a dogged stick-to-it-ness that has stayed with me all these years.

I do miss these people...and I know in my heart we will meet again.....

Killed In Cold Blood

Maybe writing this in red will make the horror clearer in the eyes of the beholder.

I didn't know this woman, our paths would of never crossed in this lifetime.....but I know her story, I can imagine her struggle to want the best for her children, to build a free secure future for them at any cost.

Well, the cost was her life.

Raiedah Mohammed Wageh Wazan was a young mother of three boys and one daughter...working for Niveveh TV in Iraq.  She wanted the truth shown, she refused to quit when "they" threatened and "they" killed her in cold blood...four shots to the head.

"They" are like the lice of humanity, sneaking out of the shadows to do their dirty deeds and hiding like the scum that they are...afraid to show their faces, they hide behind their masks but they cannot hide from God. 

They declare war on their own people, spilling the blood of other moslems without a thought or care....not following what is in the Koran...do they actually believe that "they" will be rewarded by Allah?  More likely he will spit in their faces and call them dogs and pigs!

I have no way of knowing what the future will bring...hopefully, the majority of the people will exercise control through democratic means and achieve a bit of harmony in that region.

I wish that the people over there would turn against these self-made terrorist pigs...once that would happen they would not be able to hide anywhere or strike with impunity as they have done.

I'm trying to let the anger go...but man I really, really detest these people with every fiber of my being.

Ten Things That I Have Done That Maybe You Haven't

Interesting prospect, list ten things that you have done that others might not of...hmmm...ok...here goes....

1. My dad, Charles Schick, was the only person to "break" both Seabiscuit and War Admiral.  My sisters and I participated in arranging interviews, and meetings at which our Dad spoke about his memories of the early days of horse racing. It was neat to see him get his "15" minutes of fame after all these years.  Check out Google....Charles Schick...Link to Legends, St. Petersburg story.

2. I "married" my boss and went to live in Japan in 1965.

3. In sixteen years of working within the bridal industry I helped over 450 brides get married.

4.In 1965 I sat in his Shibuya apartment and watched a Japanese artist paint, this interesting gentleman had rubbed paintbrushes with Matisse & Picasso...in France many years before. That's one of his pictures the river scene above...his name was Riichiro Kawashima.  An extremely interesting man. 

5. I worked at 30 Church St. NYC which was torn down to make room for the World Trade Center.  I was actually in Tower I before it was completed, because I had a close friend involved in the building of the tower....I saw how the floors were stacked and the center shaft like a wind tunnel...it just howled.

6. I'm growing plants and selling them on Ebay...it's fun.

7. Years ago I rescued a young girl who was a runaway..convinced her to call home...arranged for her to get to her Dad......everything was successful...but I had to listen to the police tell me that I should not of gotten involved.  Would still do the same darn thing..

8. I was in a dark blue Volkswagon Van driving in the city, the engine lost power and we had to coast into a one=way street going the wrong way right by a small park (we pulled in there because of no traffic) Well!  We were surrounded by police, plain clothesmen guns drawn etc...taken out of the van ... questioned..it seems we broke up a "sting" operation.  They were expecting a "dark blue Volkswagon Van" to be filled with drugs and we blew their entire thing....of course we were totally clean, had nothing wrong except a rotten engine.  We got ticketed, but quite a few of the police were gnashing their teeth that day.

9. I catered backstage for Paul Anka, he asked for something special, strawberries to go....I was able to do it...he tipped me $20.00 - I was told that he rarely tips. 

10. I was the youngest person ever hired by American Airlines..barely 17, worked in "Seat Assignments" in Idlewild Airport in Queens...now known as Kennedy Airport..worked there for a year.

Wow..that was trip down memory lane........

10.

9. I

Homework Assignment

Oh, this is a fun assignment.  Boy, growing up in the late 50's early 60's what a time it was...especially with the music...you had such a litany of teen actors...Sandra Dee, Carol Lynley, Tuesday Weld, Connie Stevens, Annette, Ricky Nelson, James Darren, Tab Hunter, Fabian, Sal Mineo and lord above ELVIS!

I drove my parents nuts!  I had to have the latest 45, the latest movie rag out and had to go see my favorite movies over & over.

I had huge albums (the type you could put a whole newspaper in) and faithfully gathered any & all pictures of the ones I loved..I wish I still had that album!  Errr...Mom, I know you ditched it as soon as I put my foot out the door.  Oh, well....I think my favorite one was Sal Mineo...first of all he was a New York boy, born in Brooklyn not too far from where I was in Queens. I felt a connection.

He was about 5 years older than me...but I did the teenage thing and fantasized about him all the time.  His part in Rebel Without A Cause was so good, his acting was over the top...he should of gotten an award but got passed over - I think because of his age, the older actors felt he had time and would further improve..it wasn't fair.

I never got to see him in person, I would of loved to...but I did get to sit on a couch where he had sat and been photographed.

How?  Well, even in grade school I loved acting, I had made up my mind that I wanted to act, so I joined drama..  I was in plays, I took acting lessons outside.   In one of my movie magazines a famous acting coach ran an article on breaking into acting....I wrote to her.  My letter impressed her and she interviewed me..it turned out that she was the coach that was going to go to Israel to coach Sal Mineo & others for the film Exodus.

So I found myself sitting in a white living room, white rug, white couch...everything tone on tone white - for the life of me now I cannot remember her name..but she was very gracious to this 16 year old girl.   She said she would be willing to coach me, she thought that I did have "something".  However, she was going to be out of the country for several months because of the film and I still had almost one year left before I could graduate...so she suggested that I come back after school was over and we'd talk then.   I do believe that I "floated" all the way back to Queens from the city.

Unfortunately, the plans of mice & men - you know the way it goes.....life is full of surprises and sometimes it twists. When I graduated I had to go to work...my dreams were left behind.

Well, almost all of the ones that I went ga-ga over are gone..passed from this mortal coil....although there is that rumor about Elvis???

 

STUFF, STUFF & MORE STUFF

Stuff....stuff....it just appears out of nowhere - all of a sudden you have stuff!   It's funny too, cause you can't seem to get enough stuff even when you haven't anymore room for the stuff!

It's like, you know, that one drawer in the kitchen that really wasn't designated for any particular item....just STUFF!  How many times do you dig through that stuff drawer...looking for God knows what....but you are sure that it's in there.

I know I have many a time told the hubby, when he was "rooting" that whatever he was looking for was in the STUFF drawer....and he normally would find whatever...so it may not of been what he was originally going for but it filled the void!

I have a huge STUFF drawer...the thought of clearing that out is scarey.  I mean, at this point, I don't know what's really in there.

The whole reason I'm worrying about stuff is that hubby has decided we need to downsize what we have and I have to agree the almost twenty years that we are here..stuff, stuff & more stuff have piled up.

My biggest problem is that I'm a compulsive saver, I look at it, figure out a use for it and decide to save it for a "later time" to be put to use.  I envy the people who can take one look and toss it.....somehow, along the way I have raised three kids who can toss with the best of them.

Oh, sure I have "stuff" that I put up on my Ebay Store but most of that is "stuff" that I got with the intention of doing that.  I made myself go into my China cabinet, take out something I've had for years and put it up on Ebay...oh the pain.....

I have to say goodbye to Engelbert's autographed picture, signed in person to me and his red hankerchief..embroidered with his first name!  I think I keep things because of the memories.. that's why I like old antiquey things too.  Old things have a feeling of a full life to them, containing alot of special memories.

Baby steps, Sandi....baby steps......