Saturday, October 24, 2009

Story time....

A Noble Journey

On a calm mid-after noon, in the southern northeast, is where we find Jonathan, your typical all American boy who finds himself at a crossroads in his life. Jonathan, while lounging in his favorite plush orange beanbag chair, realizes his instinctive cravings for a cheeseburger, creamy shake, and the gooey goodness of golden cheese french-fries. As Jonathan sits, he contemplates how delightful he would feel after eating such tasty morsels of food. He reaches into the back pocket of his black denim shorts and retrieves his light blue Velcro-clasped wallet. Upon opening the wallet, his eye gazed the vast emptiness and he realizes his quest had begun.

As Jonathan’s quest began, he reluctantly climbed out of his warm Styrofoam-bean filed sanctuary and made his way to the plush carpeted Family Room. As he entered to tan walls with the corresponding white crown molding, he spotted the white with blue pinstriped sofa. He automatically was drawn in to the crevasses of the couch and began foraging under the spotless seat cushions, in search for his treasure. Scavenging over lint and small food particles, Jonathan was one by one multiplying his net worth, silver, copper, all shapes, and sizes, yet this was not enough. While Jonathan was taking a momentary break from his quest, his mind was still racing toward accomplishing his savory satisfaction.

As if it were a bolt of lightening striking his mind, Jonathan’s memory of a long forgotten card that was given in celebration for the day of his birth, shocked him back into service. He again sprung to life with the vigor of a young child on Christmas morning awaiting their chance to catch a glance of old St. Nick. Jonathan burst into his dimly lit bedroom and through a mass of clutter found the infamous greeting card. With quivering anticipation, he opens the blue envelope, removed the green card with a picture of a yellow dog which had the handwritten inscription inside “Happy Birthday, Son.” Looking past this with a determination, he saw the crisp green and white American twenty-dollar bill, which was screaming at him to release it back into circulation. Jonathan wasted no time as he scrambled for his maroon Chevy Citation. As the engine began its bitter struggle to start, it eventually overcame the struggle and roared to life. Jonathan immediately forced the Citation into gear; the vehicle lurched forwarded like a beast that had just awakened from a long slumber. The aged mechanical monster attacked the pavement with the fervor that matched Jonathon’s need to quench his biological hunger.

With his quests completion almost insight, Jonathan’s drive was slowly building. He makes the final change in his course of direction, and in his view is the rainbow colored, multi-choice menu of delight. On his final approach, he hears a magical voice welcoming him to his ultimate destination. As Jonathan slowly makes his way, the time seems to slow to an almost frightening pace. All he can think about is the tantalizing morsels he has prepared all his life to consume. He stops the vehicle, as a figure appears in a rectangle framed opening; a small exchange is made with no outside interference. Jonathan is focused on a medium brown and white paper bag, with small patches of dark areas from the preparation of its contents. In that moment, the air causes a small chill to run up Jonathan’s spine as his prize is lowered to his waiting hands. Jonathan drives only a short distance before he finally gives into his animal instincts, when faced with starvation. As his taste buds are enticed by the multitudes of flavors as they entertained his pallet, Jonathan basks in the satisfaction of knowing that he will survive to live another day.

By Keith Pears