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THE ART AND THE STORY
WHERE THE WILD THINGS BE
the Story of Mirror 1604

Alan The Aviator

Alan had tried, he really had tried, to be content in his lion-ness (he was, after all, rumored to be King Of The Jungle, and that should be enough for anyone), but every time he looked up towards the endless blue sky, and saw the Petrel and the Egret, and even the Albatross, flying so free and unfettered and beautiful, he wanted to fly, too.

One day in the Jungle, he came across the skeleton of an aeroplane, the bones of three Humans dry and white inside. and he knew it was there just for him. Alan’s first flight was on the day of the night of the Giraffe Moon months and months later (after three proper burials and very much work), and, looking down on Home, the world felt right and true.

Pete The Protector

Pete watched his friend’s first flight from just exactly where he wanted to be - out on the edge of the Pride, with one eye on the sky, but all his considerable focus dedicated, as always, to keeping the lionesses and the cubs safe.

He guessed that he admired that Alan’s desire to fly was great enough that he had found a way, but it wasn’t something that he really understood. It seemed to him that the greatest possible purpose of a life was just exactly what he was doing.

William The Wanderer

William watched the sky for a very long while, and then went back to walking. He had heard some good time back that there would be something worth seeing in the sky on the day of the night of the Giraffe Moon, and he thought that tonight the moon would be full and it should be time. Or tomorrow, maybe - William had a bit of difficulty keeping track of the days and the years, but that suited him fine.

Sometime on the far side of lunch, when the sun was almost to down, he heard a noise in the near distance above, and he sat down on a cooling stone to wait.
 

Scotty The Terrier

Scotty was getting old now, and while he had spent his younger days roaming, he was glad enough now to have a warm spot next to the Girl on the bed. She needed him and she loved him, and he thought that freedom might have a bit different definition than he had thought in his youth. There was something to be said for warmth and care and a meal you could count on without having to negotiate with the lions.

He laid his head in the Girl’s lap under the big tree they liked the very best, and let the warm sun and her sweet hand lull him to sleep.

Melvin The Monster Under The Bed

Melvin was always a bit lonely during the day, with Scotty and the Girl outside, and on the day of the night of the Giraffe Moon, he thought he had perhaps had enough of pretending not to exist. Melvin peeked out the window at Scotty and the Girl dozing in the sun, and he wished that he could sit with them and that, maybe, the Girl might hold his hand or pat his big head or something.

There was a glint in the distance, and, as he watched, it got bigger and bigger and then seemed to be falling from the sky right towards Scotty and the Girl, and Melvin didn’t think for even a minute about pretending not to exist. He went right out through the window and gathered Scotty and the Girl into his great furry self and made them safe. The Girl squealed just a bit, and Scotty glared at him for just a minute until he saw the aeroplane landing just almost right where they just had been.

The Girl went in and got cookies and lemonade for everyone, and then Alan told them all about flying free and unfettered with the Petrel and the Egret and even the Albatross, and how different everything looked from up there, and how even the blue blue sky was more blue, and how the world went on forever.

They listened until the Giraffe Moon was rising in the sky, and then Scotty laid his head in the Girl’s lap, and the Girl laid her head on Melvin’s great furry self, and, sometime in the night, her hand crept into his, and Melvin slept too.

~THE END~

Mirror 1604_Where The Wild Things Be

In 2012, I spent a week at a business conference in Medford, Oregon.  

At the end of every long day of relational exercises and uncomfortable chairs, everyone adjourned for Happy Hour socializing.

Except me. I went to Table Rock and spent three glorious hours hiking in the sun.  And then went again.  And two more times.

The brilliant color of Mirror 1604 is exactly what was there.  This Mirror was created from an unedited source image.  I hope it gives you some of the joy it has given me for years.
Loree