The ride

I was driving when I heard a loud clang. Out of my back window I saw the car’s muffler roll to a stop in the middle of the road. I noticed that the car had become a lot louder. I turned up the radio.

I heard a much louder clang and noticed the back bumper had fallen off my car and rolled into a ditch behind me.

This was followed by both sides of the car falling off and flipping away in different directions. I kept driving.

Next the hood popped off, followed by the front bumper, and then the roof. I had the thought that my car was now just wearing its underwear.

Not long after this, various parts shot out of the engine, landing and bouncing on the road behind, until there was no engine left. Then the wheels popped off the car with tires intact, and they followed, rolling behind the car for a while.

By this time the car was still moving forward due to the momentum. The car was sliding roughly on the asphalt. I was grateful the gas tank wasn’t catching fire from all the sparks that were shooting off. The bottom of the car finally wore away. Now it was just me, the seat, and the driving wheel going forward.

The seat tore up, and I was just holding the driving wheel. I was sliding on my pants by now, but luckily I was only going a few miles an hour. I came to a stop in front of a bus stop. I got up, stood at the stop, and waited.

In about a half hour, the bus came. I got on the bus, paid the fare and took a seat. The bus took off.

I noticed a kid staring at me in the seat across the aisle. He asked if he could have the steering wheel, which I was still holding. I gave the kid the steering wheel. The kid gripped the steering wheel and pretended he was driving the bus.

The baby in the desert

I was out walking through the desert in the hot mid-day sun when I came across a baby sitting on a rock. I looked around to see if a parent was nearby, but there wasn’t.

I picked up the baby, held it in my arms, and rocked it. The baby made cooing sounds.

I looked around again for a parent. Nothing.

I noticed crawling marks in the sand that led up to the rock the baby had been sitting on. With the baby, I began tracing the crawling marks back to where they came from. I walked for nine hours.

I came upon a house at the edge of the desert. I knocked on the door but no one answered. I opened the door and went in. There were over twenty babies crawling around on the floor. I looked around for an adult or parent and found none. I set the baby down and she began crawling with the other babies.

Rowing across the Atlantic

I remember the time I was attempting to row boat across the Atlantic Ocean. I really wanted to make it all the way from the USA to England. And I’d almost completed my journey and was an hour or so from the city of Cornwall in England when a whale stuck its head out of the water and said, “Can I ride with you?” I can’t say no, so the whale climbed into my rowboat. It was a tight fit.

I tried really hard to row, but with the extra weight, we weren’t going anywhere. The whale got impatient and said, “Can’t you make this go any faster?” I said I would try, but after a few minutes struggle the whale lost it and took the oars away from me and began rowing.

I said, “You’re going in the wrong direction.” The whale said, “I know what I’m doing!!” After a week I could see the coast of Virginia in the distance. The whale said, “I’m done” and went back in the water.

I rowed the rest of the way to Norfolk. I parked my boat in the dock. I got my car and loaded my boat to the top of my car. I went back home, put the boat away and sat in my living room. On the wall was my list of Things To Do. I erased Rowing across the Atlantic.

The Sun’s dilemma

The Sun and I held hands as we walked around the lake.

The Sun said, “Nothing seems to be working out. I shine my light, things grow, but then they die. What’s the point?”

I said, “I don’t know. I’d rather not get into these deep things. Can’t we just enjoy our walk?”

The Sun said, “I’m sorry.”

We walked in silence for a while.

The Sun finally said, “Seriously, why should I even shine?”

I said, “Don’t shine then.

The Sun held its breath and its light went out. Everything was swallowed up in the pitch black. It got so cold that my teeth chattered and I began to shiver and shake.

The Sun breathed out and its light was back. The Sun put its arm around me, rubbing my back up and down vigorously to warm me up.

The Sun said, “I’m so sorry. Is this helping?”

I said, “Yes.”

Brooks’ well deserved day on the lake.

I lay on the air mattress on the lake. I looked up at the sky. The sky was smiling at me. A breeze lightly pushed me around the lake. Birds flew near me, singing beautiful melodies made up for my pleasure. A cloud was about to block the sunlight, then noticed me and said, “Oops, sorry. I’ll just go the other way.” A mermaid occasionally flew out of the water and did a flip in mid-air, calling out my name in ecstasy.

A fish stuck its head out of the water and said, “Not bad, my friend. The world seems to think you’re the special one.”

I said, “Yes. Finally. It’s about time.”

The fish said, “I wish I had that kind of support in my life.”

I said, “Well, if you try really hard to be your best self, and accept that you deserve goodness, then you too may be lucky enough to be like me.”

Just then, the fish and game warden came by in his motor-boat and scoped up the fish. He said, “I’m sorry, Brooks, that you had to endure the impudent fish. It won’t happen again. I have a grill on board my boat, and I’m going to cook up this fish with some delicious spices and a garnish and serve it to you for lunch.

I nodded a thanks to the warden. I let my hands dangle in the water. The water made me relax. I cupped water and sprinkled it on my chest and head, cooling me down. I smelled the fish being grilled and felt the excitement of anticipation in my stomach.