The Moroccan Footstool

Light and bulky items seem to be utterly pointless. They exist solely to emphasise comfort and luxury. Storing them is annoying as they just take up lots of room and you can’t compress them any further. Most of the time they come in a see-through bag but sometimes they’re just boxed up which is a nice surprise when you come to carry it as you’ll be amazed at how light it is. At least they’re light enough to transport and you can even throw and kick them around so long as you don’t cause too much damage to your surroundings and there aren’t any witnesses. Then you’ll wonder if there’s anything inside the box at all and that is in fact what you’re selling. Hopefully it doesn’t open and cover you in a flurry of snow. Hopefully the fez that I wear to deliver it will protect me from such evils.

 

"A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realising that all along that they are being directed from behind."

-Nelson Mandela.

If you like to be followed, you need to make sure that everyone is following you. You need to set the pace. But when you get ahead, you may lose followers and it’s hard to work out where you lost them unless you backtrack and ask the others. They may even have their own ideas. This also causes the whole flock to slow down. But if you let the flock go ahead, you can keep an eye on everyone. Of course, this only works when the flock knows where it is going and that you’ve given them some insight into your plan. And there’s also the worry of a second leader emerging at the front who might have ideas of their own. So is it better to correct the flock or prevent their mistakes?  How much can you trust them to do the right thing? And how do their actions reflect upon you? 

Misplaced Waters

Years ago, my Dad used to ferry me and my things to and from college each term. It was a three-hour drive and we’d always go the same scenic route. The last third would consist of a non-motorway stretch and my Dad would always pull over and have a break before he’d tackle whatever the next stretch would through at us. We always stopped at the same place which was a lay-by with council-maintained toilets and a burger van. We never bought any food or drink as we’d usually have a snack box ready. It would be a quick case of using the facilities, stretching our legs, and letting Dad have a smoke break. It’s been years since I’ve graduated and I’ve returned to campus myself a couple of times in my own car. It took me a while to find the right lay-by, but I managed it. The oddest thing I spotted was a footpath heading away from the lay-by towards the river. I decided to follow it just by chance which brought me to this waterfall right under the bridge. It amazes me how many times we visited this car park and didn’t realise that this waterfall was here. It just goes to show what you can do and where you can go when you’re off the reins of the designated driver. 

 

Spring

Once there was a machine that was jealous. It would sit in its factory all day churning out products for the world by thrusting its springs to and fro out of its factories and it never saw its produce again. which it never saw again. As the sun rose each day, each box would be shipped out without the machine knowing what became of them. In the warmer months it could hear the birds and the bees but it could never see them. And so the machine decided to take away the life that it could not witness. But it felt that rather than build more machines, it should attempt to build life itself as a disguise. For this reason, it chose a series of robotic kangaroos with a drove to act as support staff. The hares would distract the target early in the morning by jumping out from the ground while the kangaroo would close in for the kill. 

Blowing Bubbles

There’s something that’s incredibly relaxing about bubbles. There they go, bobbing about without a care in the world and there’s hardly any consequences about what you do with them. You can chase them about the garden, watch them soar high up into the sky, or try to pop as many as you can. If you catch them just right, the sun produces a prism effect on the apex of the bubble. And then there’s the effort of creating the bubbles themselves. Children just blow on the magic wand as hard as they can and usually they produce a few tiny bubbles followed by a lot of spittle. But with a physical wave you can produce loads of bubbles from the wand with hardly effort at all. You can battery-powered machines that produce bubbles for you. But the best ones (assuming that they still make these) are the plastic lawnmowers that kids push along and produce bubbles in their wake.

 

Where to Go and What to Wear #dreamdiary111

I might be tired because I’m always wearing old clothes. They’re just so old and conservative. The trouble is that I’ve got too many memories attached to certain garments and their age and wear and tear is probably why I feel so scruffy most of the time.  I probably also need to throw a few things out; but I need the shops to open first so I know what’s available. Fashion also costs money so I can’t go on a spending spree just yet. I need to go somewhere exotic and exciting and bring back a sense of culture rather than the usual western-style clothes. Maybe somewhere loud like Rio? But I certainly wouldn’t to spend all my time looking at market stalls. I’d want to hit the beach, see a bit of the rainforest, pose by Christ the Redeemer and ride the cable cars too. But I wouldn’t want to stay in a posh expensive hotel. I’d rather stay in a smaller place with a bit of local colour.

Eye of the Beholder

Someone’s come up with a fail-proof system for our high-value stuff. If there’s a plastic seal fastened through the lid and the seal number is recorded, then the contents of the box will be secure until such time as the seal is broken. It’s hoped that in most cases the box will reach the destination as intended. Of course, this doesn’t rule out the fact that the box could still go missing altogether or that the box could be incorrectly packed before it is sealed. But what amuse me is the amount of effort that the company has invested in ensuring that no injuries take place. Once the seal has been threaded through, there’s a fair bit of seal left over hanging out over the lid. Unfortunately, some poor soul has suffered an eye injury when removing the seal owing to the leftover plastic. Because of this, we’re now required to cut the excess plastic off every time a seal is sealed. They just can’t accept that this poor person didn’t take the necessary care to ensure their safety. It’s regulations that have gone bananas.