CAPTAIN WHENEVER
CAPTAIN WHENEVER
Preface: This is my short story about a child who fell in love with the silver screen.
CAPTAIN WHENEVER
by Joe T. Sroufe
Mom made me wear shoes. I would rather travel into space barefooted. She said, “Not today.”
Could a small ten year old, blonde-haired boy from Oklahoma make it into the space program? NASA needed me to guide their great silver needle through the vast quilt of stars to weave a journey that would change the fabric of society. They just didn’t know it yet. But one day my small dreams of space travel ended when I discovered that going beyond the Milky Way was nothing compared to the journey I was about to experience.
I discovered inner-space travel early one shiny Saturday morning in spring. My parents dropped me off on the wind swept street around the corner from space headquarters. (I mean, how would it look if my parents drove me to work?)
A tumbleweed ambled lazily across Main Street, the only movement other than mine. I quickly approached the silver haired, crabby faced woman in a shiny glass box that seemed to extend to the top of the four story building. She accepted an approved green photo of George Washington centered amidst numbers and other official seals. For this I received my pass for travel, and some change. Next stop, the supply store. No trip was worth making without food and water.
Moments later I entered the cockpit that smelled of dusty old maroon carpet and stale buttery popcorn drenched in coconut oil. With my cola in one hand and my chocolate covered raisins in the other, I was about to start on a mission from which I would not want to return.
I climbed into the middle seat of the first row, the captain’s chair. The faded red velvet seat extended way above my head and my feet dangled in the air once I fully settled in. No seat belt was required as the journey itself would keep me glued to my seat. I stared into the gigantic silvery white viewing window and checked the round neon purple clock that was mounted just to its right. Any moment now. I counted down the seconds.
Suddenly the absorbing darkness was illuminated with a shaft of bright light that signaled that I had left the ground and was entering shallow orbit around the earth. A black-and-white news reel allowed me to see various parts of the earth and let me know I was gaining altitude. Soon, previews of near and distant lands appeared before my widening eyes. A vast, colorful horizon was filled with choices for future inner-space travel. And then, the final signal that I was leaving earth’s domain: the cartoon had begun. Nothing on earth compared to the animated life performing its evolution before my eyes. Yet this too told me the real journey was still ahead.
Ever twisting rays of clear light speckled with dust danced above my head as a vibrant symphony of music and a parade of galactic voices filled my ears signaling that I was now fully on my inner voyage. Earth was gone. I kicked off my shoes. I was a true astronaut of inner-space and no one could stop me now. Not even mom.
Time does not allow me to tell of all my journeys. I was in an old ship once called a 20th Century Fox. Now it was simply mine and the name no longer mattered. From here I traveled to a planet ruled by apes and met families like the Montagues and Capulets. I explored Wuthering Heights in a Yellow Submarine and saved the world alongside of James Bond. The real world was far behind. My problems had spun away. I stayed in my inner-space for hours, often taking several voyages for the price of one. It didn’t matter. The pains suffered at home were millions of miles away, and for me, it was a brighter day.
I don’t live in Oklahoma anymore. I’m not ten years old either. But one thing is sure. The captain’s chair still calls me from the first row.
Oh, it is time for me to put my shoes on now. They have turned on the lights and the projector is silent. The credits have ended and my journey is complete. Until next Saturday. . .or whenever.
COPYRIGHT Lailah Tov, Yossi! Productions and Yossi J. T. Sroufe, DPhil, 2005, 2009
Preface: This is my short story about a child who fell in love with the silver screen.
CAPTAIN WHENEVER
by Joe T. Sroufe
Mom made me wear shoes. I would rather travel into space barefooted. She said, “Not today.”
Could a small ten year old, blonde-haired boy from Oklahoma make it into the space program? NASA needed me to guide their great silver needle through the vast quilt of stars to weave a journey that would change the fabric of society. They just didn’t know it yet. But one day my small dreams of space travel ended when I discovered that going beyond the Milky Way was nothing compared to the journey I was about to experience.
I discovered inner-space travel early one shiny Saturday morning in spring. My parents dropped me off on the wind swept street around the corner from space headquarters. (I mean, how would it look if my parents drove me to work?)
A tumbleweed ambled lazily across Main Street, the only movement other than mine. I quickly approached the silver haired, crabby faced woman in a shiny glass box that seemed to extend to the top of the four story building. She accepted an approved green photo of George Washington centered amidst numbers and other official seals. For this I received my pass for travel, and some change. Next stop, the supply store. No trip was worth making without food and water.
Moments later I entered the cockpit that smelled of dusty old maroon carpet and stale buttery popcorn drenched in coconut oil. With my cola in one hand and my chocolate covered raisins in the other, I was about to start on a mission from which I would not want to return.
I climbed into the middle seat of the first row, the captain’s chair. The faded red velvet seat extended way above my head and my feet dangled in the air once I fully settled in. No seat belt was required as the journey itself would keep me glued to my seat. I stared into the gigantic silvery white viewing window and checked the round neon purple clock that was mounted just to its right. Any moment now. I counted down the seconds.
Suddenly the absorbing darkness was illuminated with a shaft of bright light that signaled that I had left the ground and was entering shallow orbit around the earth. A black-and-white news reel allowed me to see various parts of the earth and let me know I was gaining altitude. Soon, previews of near and distant lands appeared before my widening eyes. A vast, colorful horizon was filled with choices for future inner-space travel. And then, the final signal that I was leaving earth’s domain: the cartoon had begun. Nothing on earth compared to the animated life performing its evolution before my eyes. Yet this too told me the real journey was still ahead.
Ever twisting rays of clear light speckled with dust danced above my head as a vibrant symphony of music and a parade of galactic voices filled my ears signaling that I was now fully on my inner voyage. Earth was gone. I kicked off my shoes. I was a true astronaut of inner-space and no one could stop me now. Not even mom.
Time does not allow me to tell of all my journeys. I was in an old ship once called a 20th Century Fox. Now it was simply mine and the name no longer mattered. From here I traveled to a planet ruled by apes and met families like the Montagues and Capulets. I explored Wuthering Heights in a Yellow Submarine and saved the world alongside of James Bond. The real world was far behind. My problems had spun away. I stayed in my inner-space for hours, often taking several voyages for the price of one. It didn’t matter. The pains suffered at home were millions of miles away, and for me, it was a brighter day.
I don’t live in Oklahoma anymore. I’m not ten years old either. But one thing is sure. The captain’s chair still calls me from the first row.
Oh, it is time for me to put my shoes on now. They have turned on the lights and the projector is silent. The credits have ended and my journey is complete. Until next Saturday. . .or whenever.
COPYRIGHT Lailah Tov, Yossi! Productions and Yossi J. T. Sroufe, DPhil, 2005, 2009