Old Dog V
Back to: The Children Of God 2
The Children Of God 3
Bob Neumann, 11/2007
{looking back, I realize I started THE CHILDREN OF GOD on Monday Nov 13. At the time it was only one part of what I knew would be more than 4-5-6??? installments. But I did not realize I would not finish and post PART 1 until Friday the 16th. By this time I have traveled through 5 very different groupings of images and patterns and songs and some very strange stuff in general. Part 2 went out on Saturday the 17th and since that time I have basically been sleepless…. my mind is foggy, my spirit is weary, and my body aches. I have not felt anything so difficult since the THIRD THUNDER…. for 3 days now I have struggled in relating what followed after getting the SONG…about one “LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD….it seems many are confused by the first 2 PARTS…for which I am sorry….and I regret to say that if I do finish and post this 3rd part, you may not like where and how it ends.
I did not.…}
I WAS STANDING IN THE WOODS…..CHILDREN OF GOD, PART 3……
And yes… I was standing under some trees in what some might call a “FOREST” .… “WOODS” is a generalized term that could mean almost anything. Right in front of me were several “cottages”. Definitely 15th century rustic.
As I found myself just standing and waiting with the old SAM the SHAM song floating freely through my noggin I wondered if this “version” of the classic fairytale would be up beat. At which point that STILL SMALL VOICE commented…”AT YOUR AGE…”.
Let’s say that I was “dui” at the moment… DISCERNING UNDER the INFLUENCE of a 1960’s song…. but the song really did not tell me what would be coming out of the door of one of these huts. Said song does not paint a picture beyond a “pretty girl”….and the issue of male hormones. Yet people are reading in to it just what I was thinking at the time.
Looking back I really did not know whether I was “telling” a story, or maybe was the story. Was I to just watch or to interact. The song said that there was interaction between one wolf…and one girl. I really, really did not think I was going to be wearing a RED CAPE, her head covered by a HOOD…..so I was content to see I was in the old familiar brown. So if the story played out “the wolf” would be waiting somewhere down the “path”.
So I stood there watching and doing too much thinking. So when a door briefly opened and a child in RED stepped out and started walking away from where I stood. So I made my first decision and walked quickly towards the child. No stealth, and no subtlety at all.
“Hello young lady”, I greeted her. She briefly looked back and up at me. “I do not speak to strangers.”, she stated and walked away. So I just followed thinking “solid advice” to be given when walking to GRANDMA’S HOUSE. I also noticed she was a blond with blue eyes, and thought it appropriate for a German fairy tale. I also noticed that she was lugging one “HUGE PICNIC BASKET”….and my mind wandering as it will…was that the only real danger we had en route to GRANNY’S PLACE is if “YOGI BEAR” showed up.
The one thing I did notice as we walked quickly was that “THE PATH” was clear of any bushes or scrub. Either it was very well traveled, or the county “BUSH-HOGGED” it regularly. Thankfully I saw a “cottage” sitting all alone. And as expected RED RIDING HOOD made a bee line up two steps and went right to the door that was partially opened. It was then that I realized we had seen no “wolf” on our trek. So I assumed said “wolf” was waiting….and RED was obviously not happy I was following her. But I figured if I saved her from the wolf, things would work out…whatever I was thinking…I was way off….
Red went through an inner door and I followed. I found her standing at the foot of a classic 4 poster bed….and in said bed was a typical wolf….in nightgown, cap and “granny glasses”. As Red anchored herself at the foot of the bed, I walked up the left side of the bed and looked down at a not to happy wolf. And the look the wolf gave me told me my “visit” was not expected. But before I could say or do anything RED went right into her lines…
“Oh GRANDMOTHER, WHAT BIG EARS YOU HAVE.” At that point I had to jump in… “Listen RED, does this look like your GRANDMOTHER?”, I asked pointing at the wolf, taking the simple direct approach. “My GRANDMOTHER has been ill and I have come to take care of her.” Seeing that the original story had that as a major part of the plot, I could not argue. So I followed up on my original question. “Has your GRANDMOTHER always had big hairy ears?”
But the wolf jumped in, “SO I CAN HEAR YOU BETTER, MY DEAR.” I thought the gravelly baritone voice made my argument.
“Has your GRANDMA always talked like that, child?”, I asked. Again the wolf got in first. “I’ve been sick…”…and both RED and the wolf were looking at me awaiting my response. And I said, “SHUT UP WOLF!”.
“Don’t you dare tell my GRANDMOTHER to SHUT UP in HER OWN HOUSE?”, RED shouted at me. And we were off….
“Listen RED,” I began and got cut off…
“NO! I WON’T LISTEN TO YOU! YOU WERE WAITING FOR ME TO COME TO MY GRANDMOTHER IN HER TIME OF NEED….”
“OPPORTUNISTIC!”, exclaimed the WOLF. “And you followed me all the way here…”, spoke up RED. “YOU CONCEALED YOURSELF AND SET AN AMBUSH FOR THE CHILD”, stated the WOLF and RED NODDED IN AGREEMENT. “THEN YOU STALKED HER HERE….” stated THE WOLF.
“I did not stalk her”, I answered.
“THE EVIDENCE POINTS DIRECTLY AT YOU….PERVERT!”. On that I snapped and grabbed the wolf’s snout holding it closed. At that RED SCREAMED and dropped the PICNIC BASKET and ran up the opposite side of the bed to face across from me. And I was deafened by her blood curdling scream. “DON’T hurt my GRANDMOTHER!” she shrieked over and over.
At that point I thought…this is not going very well. Seeing I was holding THE WOLF WITH MY LEFT HAND, I raised my right hand to get RED’S attention only to have her jump away from the bed anticipating an impending act of violence by me. So I lowered my right hand and she came back to the bed. She also had stopped the lousy screaming, so I figured “GOOD ENOUGH”.
So I started to talk in a quiet, controlled voice… “Listen Red…”….”NO!”… “Please… “….”NO!”….. “I’LL LET THE WOLF GO….”, and I was answered with silence. As I released the snout LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD sniffed twice and said, “SHE IS NOT A WOLF”… to which I replied, “YES HE IS!”.
At that THE WOLF LOOKED UP at me and very indignantly said…”JUST WHO ARE YOU CALLING ‘HE’ , MISTER STALKER?”. And that stopped me. COLD.
The quiet that followed was interesting. So, as calmly as I could I looked at the girl and asked. “Are you telling me that you do not see a wolf wearing your Granny’s nightgown and glassed in this bed?”. “Of course not! That is my GRANDMOTHER!”
I had no response….except the thought ran through my mind….”this is not working”.
“I came because I wanted to save you from THE WOLF…” I started and immediately got cut off… “WHAT WOLF?” RED SHOUTED with the new hint of anger in her voice. And THE WOLF TURNED toward me and GRINNED.
“YOU CAME HERE TO HURT MY GRANDMOTHER!”, was her declaration, “YOU ARE A BAD MAN!”. “YES HE IS!”, agreed THE WOLF, and then added “A SICK OLD MAN…”. To which RED SHOUTED “I HATE YOU” with more venom than any 5 year old should have. “YOU ARE A VERY BAD AND EVIL MAN!”, and I realized RED’S VOICE was different. And as she repeated that line several times, each time it felt worse in my spirit.
“SEEMS you have made things worse than you intended”, said THE WOLF in almost a conversational tone. “YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT “NO GOOD DEED EVER GOES UNPUNISHED”?”. At this point RED was into a MANTRA of “I HATE YOU…I HATE YOU”.
With a strange lilt in “her” voice, THE WOLF SAID, “AND YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT THE ONLY DANGER YOU FACED WAS A FICTITIOUS BEAR”. With that I looked at THE WOLF and said, “GO AHEAD AND EAT HER…”.
As I turned away from the bed and took one step I found myself in that strange “place” of BEING out of both time and place. And I stopped and stood thinking many thoughts. After a short while I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder and heard HIS VOICE…. “YOU REALLY MUCKED UP A GRIMM’S FAIRY TALE…”.
I sure did…
selah
bob Neumann
Marion, NC