LJ Idol - Season 9ish - Home Game "Cardboard"
I've been keeping an eye on Season 9 of therealljidol for the past few months and every now and again, there's a topic that I feel a need to write about. This is one such week.
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Thumpety Thump Thump
Winter was over. All that was left of the snowman was an old silk hat. Millie held it in her hands and pondered the cycle of life. The snowman hadn't seemed to mind melting away. He laughed and played until his snow-skin was the complexion of a strip mall parking lot. The last sound he'd made before completely melting away was a cross between a laugh and a gurgle. Millie already knew she'd have nightmares about that sound for the rest of spring.
Millie turned the hat over and around in her hands. This was the first time since she'd placed it on the snowman's head that she'd handled it. It had blown into her yard as if from heaven. Nobody wore silk hats anymore! Remembering the Frosty song, she'd promptly placed it on her snowman's head and the next thing she knew she had a new friend. She felt a little like Elsa from Frozen.
She pondered what she should do with the hat. Obviously it wasn't a normal hat. The snowman didn't have a clue as to how the hat had brought him to life. Or he claimed not to have a clue. Millie suspected he knew more than he let on. You don't just go from being an inanimate object to being a goofy living creature in an instant. She figured the personality of her snowman probably lived in the hat.
For a moment, she pondered putting the hat on her head just to see what would happen. As she slowly lowered it towards her head, she thought she heard voices - maybe thousands of voices. Happy, angry, pleasant, evil all echoing in her brain, pleading for her to just put the hat on for one moment. She quickly moved it away from her head. Millie might have only been 8, but she could recognize a terrible idea on her own.
Millie decided she'd better put the hat somewhere where nobody else might accidentally put it on. She headed down to the basement. That's where she found the boxes.
Her mom had just had a new washer and dryer delivered to the house. After the workers had installed them, they left several large cardboard boxes sitting next to them.
"I shall build a cardboard robot and put the hat on that!" Millie decided.
She figured (correctly) that cardboard was at least as harmless as snow (perhaps more so - snow could be pretty thick and dangerous) so she used scissors, markers and tape to make a cardboard creature with short little legs and arms (so it could move fast or reach anybody) and a big, goofy triangle shaped head - perfect for wearing a hat.
Millie placed the hat carefully on her creation's head.
"Merry Christmas," shouted the robot, "Millie! I'm back! I'm... uh... is this cardboard?"
"Yes! Now we can play all the time and you don't have to worry about melting!"
"You're so clever! Say, you did such a good job making this body out of cardboard! What do you say about building something out of wood... or maybe metal..."
Millie smiled.
"Sorry! I don't know how to work those materials."
"Clay? Maybe mud or dirt? Like a golem... Not the Lord of the Rings character, I mean... uh..."
"Cardboard is perfect. Here, look at your face!"
Millie held up a mirror to the hat-thing and showed him his big, goofy face.
"Oh, gee, that's just swell. I... uh... Hey, maybe its time you told your mom about me! I know I told you not to tell adults... but maybe she'd like a nice hat... I mean..."
"Great idea!" Millie said, snatching the hat off the robot's head.
When Millie's mom came home from work, the first thing she said was "Millie, its 68 degrees outside. Why did you start a fire in the fireplace?"
"I was cold," she shrugged.
"Well don't add anymore wood to it. Let it burn out."
"Mom, if a hat had a bunch of souls trapped in it, would burning it to ash be considered murder?"
"Don't be silly, dear. Hats don't have souls."
Millie nodded. She'd been careful to put the hat into the flames top end down so she didn't accidentally create some sort of fire monster but she swore she'd heard screams coming from it as the flames consumed it.
She sighed. She knew that was another thing she'd have nightmares about all spring.
---
Thumpety Thump Thump
Winter was over. All that was left of the snowman was an old silk hat. Millie held it in her hands and pondered the cycle of life. The snowman hadn't seemed to mind melting away. He laughed and played until his snow-skin was the complexion of a strip mall parking lot. The last sound he'd made before completely melting away was a cross between a laugh and a gurgle. Millie already knew she'd have nightmares about that sound for the rest of spring.
Millie turned the hat over and around in her hands. This was the first time since she'd placed it on the snowman's head that she'd handled it. It had blown into her yard as if from heaven. Nobody wore silk hats anymore! Remembering the Frosty song, she'd promptly placed it on her snowman's head and the next thing she knew she had a new friend. She felt a little like Elsa from Frozen.
She pondered what she should do with the hat. Obviously it wasn't a normal hat. The snowman didn't have a clue as to how the hat had brought him to life. Or he claimed not to have a clue. Millie suspected he knew more than he let on. You don't just go from being an inanimate object to being a goofy living creature in an instant. She figured the personality of her snowman probably lived in the hat.
For a moment, she pondered putting the hat on her head just to see what would happen. As she slowly lowered it towards her head, she thought she heard voices - maybe thousands of voices. Happy, angry, pleasant, evil all echoing in her brain, pleading for her to just put the hat on for one moment. She quickly moved it away from her head. Millie might have only been 8, but she could recognize a terrible idea on her own.
Millie decided she'd better put the hat somewhere where nobody else might accidentally put it on. She headed down to the basement. That's where she found the boxes.
Her mom had just had a new washer and dryer delivered to the house. After the workers had installed them, they left several large cardboard boxes sitting next to them.
"I shall build a cardboard robot and put the hat on that!" Millie decided.
She figured (correctly) that cardboard was at least as harmless as snow (perhaps more so - snow could be pretty thick and dangerous) so she used scissors, markers and tape to make a cardboard creature with short little legs and arms (so it could move fast or reach anybody) and a big, goofy triangle shaped head - perfect for wearing a hat.
Millie placed the hat carefully on her creation's head.
"Merry Christmas," shouted the robot, "Millie! I'm back! I'm... uh... is this cardboard?"
"Yes! Now we can play all the time and you don't have to worry about melting!"
"You're so clever! Say, you did such a good job making this body out of cardboard! What do you say about building something out of wood... or maybe metal..."
Millie smiled.
"Sorry! I don't know how to work those materials."
"Clay? Maybe mud or dirt? Like a golem... Not the Lord of the Rings character, I mean... uh..."
"Cardboard is perfect. Here, look at your face!"
Millie held up a mirror to the hat-thing and showed him his big, goofy face.
"Oh, gee, that's just swell. I... uh... Hey, maybe its time you told your mom about me! I know I told you not to tell adults... but maybe she'd like a nice hat... I mean..."
"Great idea!" Millie said, snatching the hat off the robot's head.
When Millie's mom came home from work, the first thing she said was "Millie, its 68 degrees outside. Why did you start a fire in the fireplace?"
"I was cold," she shrugged.
"Well don't add anymore wood to it. Let it burn out."
"Mom, if a hat had a bunch of souls trapped in it, would burning it to ash be considered murder?"
"Don't be silly, dear. Hats don't have souls."
Millie nodded. She'd been careful to put the hat into the flames top end down so she didn't accidentally create some sort of fire monster but she swore she'd heard screams coming from it as the flames consumed it.
She sighed. She knew that was another thing she'd have nightmares about all spring.