Wacky Dates With My Imagination - Shirley S. Tye

It doesn’t take much to set my imagination running wild. I have several little journals filled with descriptions of what I’ve seen, heard, and read in my daily travels. Some of it is serious, some is descriptive, and some is just plain silly talk. Just getting out of the house is a great start to firing up my sleepy head; a walk, a short car trip, a break at a coffee shop. Yup, I’m a cheap date.

On one of my outings, I saw a road sign that announced “Bug Hats for Sale”. Well, there went my wacky imagination off to entertain me. Imagine trying to get a little hat on a bug. I wondered if a magnifying glass came with each hat or maybe it was considered an accessory that had its own price tag. Those tiny hats ought to be equipped with chin straps for flying bugs. Otherwise the poor little guys would loose their hats. The picture was vivid in my mind and I laughed out loud as I thought about a funny children’s story; little bugs struggling to keep their hats on while flying. One day a smart bug develops a unique way to secure the hats. But why did they need or want hats in the first place?

At a coffee shop which sold kitchen items, decorative blankets, candles, cups, coffee makers, et cetera, there was a little sculpture of an old tree stump with a smug looking frog sitting on top waiting patiently for a kiss. There was a sign posted at the bottom of the trunk which stated ‘kisses for 5¢’. Well, there went my imagination again. I began wondering about his love life. Perhaps he wasn’t getting any kisses because he had set the price too low. Anything that cheap surely couldn’t be of value or importance. Or was that what he was paying others to kiss him? What was he looking for; a cheap thrill or a happy ending to his sad life as a frog?

Wasn’t he content living as a frog? Or perhaps he just wanted a giggle or to make someone giggle. From that little figurine a story sprung up about a prince, who was next in line to be king, runs away from his responsibilities. Since his father was very ill the day of crowning would be soon. And so he ran away deep into the woods where he found an old lady who turned him into a frog. He lived a quiet comfortable life in a large pond until one day his sister tracked him down.

She announced that their father had recently succumbed to his illness. She begged him to return and claim the crown and fight for his kingdom which was under attack by an evil king. Since he couldn’t return to the castle as a frog, his sister had to plant a big kiss on his mouth to turn him back into a human. But catching the slippery frog was not easy. He often sat on a lily pad looking smugly at his sister from the centre of the pond. He knew she wouldn’t venture far into the water because she couldn’t swim. So how does she win her brother back and save the kingdom?

Well, that’s a couple of examples of what my dates with my imagination are like. Wacky.