Friday, July 29, 2005

Bumper Boats on the Sea of the Fourth Dimension

(taking the baton from hermes and running with it... and actually, this could also tie in a bit with what chris wrote)

Singing to an ocean, I can hear the ocean's roar, oooh
Play for free, I play for me and I play a whole lot more, more!
Singing about good things and the sun that lights the day
I used to sing on the mountains, has the ocean lost it's way?


(Led Zeppelin, "The Ocean")

Here we are. We all have our tickets and are getting into our little motor floats. I pick a pink one. Someone else chooses a green one, and yet another gets into a white one. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines. When the light turns green, go!

We all putter along trying to gain control over our boats. No one is too concerned with bumping into others until we figure out how these darn things work. Oh, oops, I just bumped into you while I wasn't watching where I was going. Hey, like your boat! Yeah, yours is cool too! So we try to keep up and play along bumping each other every so often and then Bam! We bump into others in these fun games of tag. Somehow we all ended up on the same ride at the same time.

This is a magical place. Have we ended up here by some Design? Or is it just random Chaos? How long will our boats stay afloat? Will the whistle blow and end our fun? What about the Water on which we play? Are there Monsters just waiting for one of us to tumble overboard? And what about the sky above? Are there Deities engaged in their own games with us as their pawns? Does a game of tag ever have an ending?*

Down by the seaside.
See the boats go sailin'
Can the people hear, oh,
What the little fish are sayin'?


Oh, oh, the people turned away
Oh, the people turned away...


...Sing loud for the sunshine, pray hard for the rain
And show your love for Lady Nature and she will come back again
The people turned away
The people turned away
Don't they know that they're going?


(Led Zeppelin, "Down By The Seaside")


*I started on this post yesterday afternoon. Last night my 9 year old son asked me a question, "Does a game of tag have an ending?" I was stunned. I told him that I guess it could go on forever as long as everyone still wanted to play. Then I asked him what made him think of that question and he said, "Oh, nothing, I just thought of it."

11 comments:

ghartstein said...

I love kids questions. They're so real!

Rae Ann said...

Yeah, my 9 year old is full of great questions! Sometimes I don't have an answer for him though.

ghartstein said...

It's ok to tell them you don't know the answer. The trick is getting them excited about finding it!

Anonymous said...

Our boats bumped for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I had been lurking (I hate that expression!) at another blog that linked yours, among others. I decided I didn't really enjoy that blog (which shall remain nameless so as not to offend), but had tried some of the links. Yours was one that intrigued me. We've occasionally bumped boats ever since. I like this game of tag. :-)

Rae Ann said...

mr g, spoken like a teacher! Yeah, we try to look things up a lot. I collect interesting reference books.

d hammett, wow, I feel special! lol We all lurk sometimes, but yeah it does sound kind of dirty or something even though it's not. I like this game of tag/bumper boats too! Hey, as long as you're not Tom Cruise you're alright by me. I'm just kidding! Even Tom Cruise is welcome here (as long as he doesn't start talking about sci-fientology).

Anonymous said...

Yep, me and Tom Cruise, identical twins separated at birth. I'd post a picture to prove it, but the digital camera's not working. Er, yeah, that's it. Well, the resemblance ends with looks. We don't run with the same metaphysical crowd. Gotta go...Katie Holmes is wearing some Victoria's Secret garb, sipping champagne and motioning to me ever so seductively. :P

Rae Ann said...

I sure as hell can't compete with Katie Holmes! lol Well, I'm smarter than she is anyway.

Anonymous said...

Well, OK, you really don't have to. I guess I'm not really a Tom Cruise lookalike. More like Vigo Mortensen. Well, er, would you believe Dennis Hopper? *blushes with mortification after being caught in a bald-faced stretching of the truth* Anyway, I'd rather hang out here than any blog she might have because you're right. You're smarter. And more fun.

Rae Ann said...

Flattery gets you everywhere! lol It's a good thing to not be a Tom Cruise look-a-like. Never saw the appeal there myself. Poor Katie.

Hermes said...

Ah so we are all children and this blogging thang is just a game? Would that make the monsters that dwell far below in the deep ocean mere figments of our overactive imaginations?

I couldn't have phrased it better myself.

Rae Ann said...

madman, chris is a great writer, don't you think? And no tag with 9 year olds. I'd never keep up!

hermes, I don't know. It's just something that came to me, the bumper boat thing. I wasn't really thinking of us as children though, but more as frustrated adults trying to play like kids. I think I'm playing out of my league with you. You're much better! But I do think the monsters could be real. I fear deep, dark, unknown water. You never know what might be there waiting.