A Grandpa's Notebook Part 12

Stobey doesn't wait. She enters the narrow pa.s.sageway, followed by the others. They advance only a short distance and, again, the weird screech bursts out, this time from up ahead and much louder. A booming, rasping noise follows the screech. It sounds like heavy chains being dragged across rocks.

'Be careful,' s.l.u.tter warns from behind Stobey.

'Yes,' Chug says, 'let's all be careful.'

'Light up ahead,' Stobey announces.

The light is far off, but as they get close it brightens. The pa.s.sageway by now is well lit. Up ahead the pa.s.sageway bends.

They turn the bend. They're in a large cavern. The floor is covered with dust and stones, and in the center is what appears to be an enormous black boulder.

Suddenly, from above, erupts the same screech they heard before, wild and shrill. Our friends leap back away as their eyes dart up.

There, standing on top of the rock, looking down at them is an eye, round and staring. Around the eye are spikes, long and sharp, and directly above the eye is a mouth, wide and open, and from out of the mouth, bursts another screech. And another screech. The screeches become words that hiss and whistle and puff and roar.

'Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you want?' The screeching fills the room with echoes that bounce from one wall to another and back again.

Stobey, leaning her head back to look at the enormous eye. She places her hands on her hips and says, 'Now, look here, whatever and whoever you are, you just quit that screeching, hissing, whistling, puffing and roaring and talk to us properly and politely, and we'll do the same. We're visitors here, and I'll introduce myself and my friends. Then you tell us who you are and we'll have a nice chat. OK?'

'Well, OK.' The eye blinks a couple of times and speaks in a gentle hiss; the whistle, puff and roar are gone.

Stobey introduces herself and her friends. 'Now it's your turn,' she says.

'My name is Bingbang Babbaloo,' the eye says, 'and I am the guardian of this Great Rock.'

'We saw strange-looking smoke go down and then come back up the chimney,' says s.l.u.tter. 'What was that all about?'

'Oh, that's my robo-a.s.sistant, Bizz Bazz. He goes on errands for me and uses the chimney as his way in and out of the house. I sent him for a couple of hamburgers a little while ago. I hope he doesn't forget the French Fries and the catsup. I love French Fries and catsup, don't you?'

'Oh, I love French Fries and catsup, too.' Chug grins.

'Me, too,' from Sir Lumpalot. Kick-Pow paws the ground and tosses his head in agreement. It's close to his mealtime.

'Let's get back to my questions, Bingbang Babbaloo,' says Stobey. 'What is this Great Rock and why do you guard it?

'What is this Great Rock?' Bingbang voice is almost back to a screech. 'Why do I guard it? The Great Rock holds the treasure.'

'What treasure? I don't see treasure.'

'Of course you don't, the treasure is inside. Would you like to see it?

'Yes, I would,' says Stobey and everyone with her nods.

Bingbang blinks three times. The huge rock shakes violently and the cavern fills with the sound of heavy dragging chains. A crack appears in the rock. The crack widens, lengthens, and curves along the top and forms into a door. The door opens and they look into a lighted vault.

On the floor, in the center of the vault is an enormous chest, and filling the chest and hanging over its edges are hundreds of loops of bracelets and pearls. Alongside the chest and scattered about are casks and buckets of brilliant diamonds, rubies and emeralds. Along the walls are rows of gold and silver bars and mounds of gold nuggets, and still more boxes overflowing with precious gems.

'My goodness, Bingbang Babbaloo,' exclaims Stobey, 'Where did you get all of this treasure?'

'Would you really like to know?' Bingbang blinks.

Everyone nods again.

'Good. Sit, and I will tell you of my adventure on a strange planet that circles a distant star.'

Bingbang Babbaloo Battles Burpers Why does Bingbang Babbaloo guard the treasure in the Great Rock under the Stranger's House in Super Rock Playground? Where did the treasure come from? Why are the treasure and Bingbang Babbaloo in this old house in the Super-Rock Playground? Everyone wants to know.

Stobey and s.l.u.tter, Chug-a-lug and Sir Lumpalot, Suzanne and Roger, and of course, Kick-Pow, the Unicorn, gather before Bingbang, whose strange body rests on top of the Great Rock in which the treasure is stored. Bingbang's single, spike-rimmed eye blinks slowly down at them as he speaks in a soft hiss.

'I have traveled to this place from a distant star,' he begins, 'and my journey has been full of adventures and dangers. Many times I had no food and I was often so tired I could barely see. But I had a job to do.'

'Where were you going?' asks Stobey.

'Yes,' adds s.l.u.tter, 'and what was your job?'

Bingbang's single eye glares at Stobey and s.l.u.tter. 'Now, listen here, you two.' His voice rises to an exasperated screech, changes to a wheeze, and winds up as a whistle. 'If you want to hear this story you'll just have to be quiet and just listen, instead of interrupting. Mind your manners and your questions will be answered. OK?'

'Well, OK,' says Stobey.

'Hmph,' says s.l.u.tter.

Bingbang's voice returns to a low hiss, but its sound fills the cavern.

'My voyage begins long ago and far away on Planet Boomboom, which is my home. In the green sky above Planet Boomboom is our Sun, Blooper. That's how we a.s.sign names where I come from. So, you see, I am Bingbang Babbaloo from Boomboom near Blooper. Got it?'

No one answers. They're curious to hear more.

'Ah, yes, well, to get on with it,' Bingbang continues, 'one breezy afternoon on Boomboom I am browsing among the books in my bas.e.m.e.nt. A messenger arrives with a letter from Boogie-woogie Boomer, King of Boomboom.

'Bingbang Babbaloo,' the letter says, 'I, King Boogie-woogie Boomer of Boomboom, command you to leave immediately for Planet Boppo which is near the Sun Bippo. Boppo is the home of the evil Burpers who stole my treasure of gold, diamonds and jewels. When you get to Boppo, I command you to recover my treasures from the Burpers, and return it to me here on Boomboom.'

'That, Stobey and s.l.u.tter, should answer some of your questions. I was going from the Sun Blooper to the Sun Bippo, from the Planet Boomboom to the Planet Boppo. I, Bingbang Babbaloo was to do battle with the bad Burpers for a batch of King Boogie-woogie Boomer's baubles. Now, do you get it?' They all nod slowly, and mumble ,'Hmm ahh. Yep. Got it, I think. Hmm.'

'I run to my s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, Boomerang, and blast off for Boppo. It's a b.u.mpy voyage. On the way I pa.s.s suns and planets, many with strange names on my maps, instead of the sensible ones we have where I come from.

'After many months I see Bippo up ahead. Bippo is a funny looking sun with purple stripes and round green spots. I search the area and there, off to one side, is the planet Boppo. It's also funny looking: green stripes and purple spots, just the opposite colors of its sun.

'So here I am at last, ready to land my Boomerang among a lot of Boppoian Burpers near Bippo to do battle for a batch of baubles for my Boomboomaranian King Boogie-woogie Boomer.'

'Now just a minute, Bingbang Babbaloo.' Stobey jumps up from where she's sitting and shakes her finger at the Eye. 'Now just a minute,' she repeats. 'I want to hear your story, and I'm sure my friends also want to hear it, but I would appreciate it very much if you told the story without using so many words that begin with B. It's confusing.'

'Well,' says Bingbang, 'all right, but that's the way we talk at home. Anyhow, back to my story. I scout the planet of the Burpers from far above, and see a castle on a hill. I land my s.h.i.+p in a forest clearing nearby and sneak around and over rocks and along gullies toward the castle that I saw from the sky. Finally, up close, I see that the drawbridge is down. A truck without a driver is the side of the road, that's careless of them, I must say. I climb into the truck, switch on the motor, and drive across the drawbridge.'

Bingbang's huge round eye blinks slowly.

He continues, 'I stop the truck in an alley and wait until night. In the darkness I drive the truck out of the alley and into another and then still another and another, searching for the place where the treasure is hidden. Soon it will be daylight, but no luck. I know that in the morning light I'll be seen and captured. I have very little time.

'I turn a corner and up ahead I see the outline of a large blockhouse. I drive closer and see bars across its windows and doors.

'Aha, I think. This must be the place. I sneak to one of the doors and peek through the bars. Nothing. I slip around to the windows and peek through. Again, nothing. I circle around to another side of the blockhouse and to another, looking through the bars of doorways and windows. Finally, through one of the windows I see my King's stolen chest of diamonds, jewels, gold and silver.

'I look around carefully. No guards. The Burpers must think that the blockhouse is safe in their castle-fortress. They didn't stop to think that I, Bingbang Babbaloo, would come to rescue my King's treasure.

'I drive the truck close to the window behind which the stolen treasure is stored. Drawing my heavy blaster I rake the beam across the doorway. The door dissolves. I enter the blockhouse and load the treasure into the truck. With all the treasure on board, I slip behind the wheel, turn the motor on and race along one narrow, twisty alley after another and soon am at the drawbridge. I'm across the drawbridge and head for my s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p.

'Behind me I hear the noise of sirens and whistles. The alarm. The Burpers are after me. I slam my foot on to the speed pedal. The truck engine races, faster and faster. I must get to my s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p in time. The sirens and whistles are louder. They're close behind me; I mean, lots of them, one Burper after another.

'I drive the truck around tight turns in the road. The enemy is closing in. Luckily, I have an emergency escape plan. It's time to put my plan into action.

'Bingbang Babbaloo to Boomerang,' I call through my radio transmitter. 'Come in, Boomerang, old buddy.'

'Boomerang is in my plan for escape. My s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p Boomerang is also a robot that can follow my orders even when I'm a great distance from it.

'Yes, master,' Boomerang's metallic voice sounds in my ear.

'Zero in on me,' I order, 'and hover just above this truck.'

'Will do.'

'A moment later Boomerang is directly above the truck.

'Lift this truck on the s.h.i.+p's crane,' I order, 'and draw it into the s.h.i.+p's hold.'

'Just as the Burpers are ready to cast a chain around my rear b.u.mper, I feel the truck being lifted from the road. Seconds later, I and the truck and the King's treasure are safely inside my s.h.i.+p. I blast away from Boppo.

'The Boppoian Burpers blast away at Boomerang. My s.h.i.+p dodges one way and then the other. Bam! Bam! Boomerang is caught in a barrage. I barrel roll the s.h.i.+p into s.p.a.ce to get away. The barrage follows, but I'm not beaten yet. I give Boomerang all the power it can take.

'The Burpers take after me in their s.p.a.ce fighters, firing all their beamers. I keep dodging.

'I release a blockbuster bomb. The Boppoian Burpers see it and blast themselves in another direction to get away from the bomb. This gives me the time I need to escape.

'I do get away, but my s.h.i.+p is damaged. I will not be able to make the long flight home.

'After many weeks of limping along, and wandering a long distance from the flight paths shown on my maps, I find myself here at Super-Rock, only part of my way home. I have brought my s.h.i.+p with its treasure here to this cavern. Since my arrival it's been known as the Stranger's House.

'Now I am waiting.'

'Waiting? Waiting for what?' asks Stobey.

'I am waiting for rescue,' Bingbang hisses softly. 'I have sent a message to my king, telling him where I am. He is sending a s.h.i.+p for me. The loud booming and the other sounds you heard when you came near the Stranger's House were the messages between my rescuers and me. They should be here at any moment.'

Bingbang pauses, and they see his eye blinking in concentration. 'Aha,' he says, 'I hear them.'

They listen. A hum fills the air. It gets louder and louder and the cavern walls shake from the deep vibrations.

Without warning, there is a sudden whoosh, and the roof of the cavern above the huge black rock lifts away. Above is a waffle-shaped s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p with thousands of flas.h.i.+ng lights all across its underside and along its edges. It is much larger than the s.p.a.ce liner on which Suzanne and Roger were traveling.

A wide opening appears in the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p's underside and a long cable with many nets and hooks lower from it through the opening above the black rock. The hooks and nets wrap around the rock in which the treasure is stored. The cables tighten. Slowly, the rock breaks away from the surface and rises.

Bingbang Babbaloo, standing on the rock, rises with it. Bizz Bazz floats beside him. Bingbang's round, spikey eye blinks.

'Good-bye, good-bye,' he says. I wish you well. Perhaps we will meet again some day.'

'Good-bye, Bingbang Babbaloo,' Stobey cups her hands near her mouth so that her voice carries. 'I hope we do meet again some day.'

Stobey sees Bingbang Babbaloo's eye blink at her. She knows he heard.

The black rock disappears into the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. With a deep roar, the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p blasts away, heading for planet Boomboom near the sun Blooper with the treasure for King Boogie-woogie Boomer. *** Our friends leave the Stranger's House and head for the parking block. Arriving, they see that the s.p.a.ce liner is signaling Suzanne and Roger to return. The two Earthlings hug Stobey and s.l.u.tter, and Chug-a-lug and Sir Lumpalot. They rub Kick-pow's nose and board the flitter.

The flitter rises in a long curve toward the s.p.a.ce liner and disappears through an open panel. The panel closes and the huge s.h.i.+p's powerful motors glow and hum. The s.p.a.cer rises up and away.

Stobey and s.l.u.tter hug Chug-a-lug and Sir Lumpalot and also rub Kick- pow's nose. It is time for them to return home. They board Coconut and Banana and blast into s.p.a.ce. Chug-a-lug, Sir Lumpalot and Kick- Pow watch the two tiny s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps until they disappear into the background of stars.

'Hope they come back soon,' says Chug-a-lug, the Hooten-Nanny, as he, Sir Lumpalot the Knight and Kick-Pow the Unicorn head back through the gate into Super-Rock Playground.

(Grandpa's get away with a lot when it comes to imaginative stories.)

PART FIVE

LORE, MYTHS AND MEMOIRS.

Lore adapts to altered circ.u.mstances and lifestyles, and to cultures and environments other than the times and places where it had its roots. The familiar may be comfortable, but youngsters also listen eagerly to new twists in a myth, another version of a familiar legend, the results of experiments, and of trials as well as the joys in the human experience.

In storytelling, a culture's traditions, mythology and values offer opportunities to insert a sense of history into the tale, and add context to interactions among the family's const.i.tuents and the continuity to its generations. Excessively repeated, they might appear as frayed and corny plat.i.tudes. Yet, within the majority of families, a culture's mythology, traditions and values retain their relevancy and often, their majesty.

Tradition pa.s.ses history to a new generation on what happened to the family over the years, and, to the extent possible, the reasons. Grandparents' stories and lore convey facts and interpretations about customs, events and personalities and how they became part of the family's structure. Tradition supports the family's sense of generational continuity.

Social and cultural awareness can provide sanctuary for education, law enforcement, science, sports, health care, religion, and more. They encourage the evolution of concepts, principles and systems that civilizations need to make life livable and enjoyable. Awareness includes what is wrong with the way things are, as well as what is right.

Values are what it's about: the bottom line. Values, however, are a mixed bag, and pa.s.sing them along through stories, lore and memoirs is a matter of memory, selection, circ.u.mstances, and emphasis. Values might include: stimulating a sense of self-esteem in others; consideration for another's sensitivities; respect for life; repairing Planet Earth; knowing the differences between pity, sympathy, compa.s.sion, and empathy; striving to be honest and fair; and respect for inst.i.tutions and laws but being willing to act within the law to change those no longer suitable for the common good. Grandparents (and parents) often prefer to stress personal proclivities and biases in pa.s.sing along family values. Values add substance to awareness and tradition.

If, at first, you have qualms about striking out with your own memoir or family history, try giving your version of a well-known myth, legend or folk story. They already have a well-defined plot, characters, and settings. You can replace and rephrase parts with how you would like the story to appear. Use the stories and essays in this book or the public library as models or points of departure for your storytelling letters and experiments.

Stories to the World.

One way to get into storytelling is by giving your own version of a well- known folk tale, a popular myth, or even one of Aesop's fables. The plots, characters, and structures of these stories have been handed along from one generation to the next for centuries, and have already pa.s.sed the test of time. As soon as you start your story you join a historical procession and launch yourself into the new and wondrous world of imagination.

Storytellers are occasionally asked how the story just told to them, came to be. Here are a few paragraphs from my version of an old West African folk tale about the source of all stories and how they came to be. The folk tale relates one of the adventures of Anansi, the Spider-man, a mythical trickster among the Ashanti, the Wolofs, and other peoples of Ghana and West Africa.

Anansi's fame has spread throughout the world, and generally depicts him as a conniver and full of deviltry. In the well-known story Spider and the Box of Stories, Nyami, the Lord of the Sky, keeps a box beside him in which are all the world's stories. Spider asks Nyami for the box so that he can release the stories. Nyami agrees to give him the box if he will first bring a python, a leopard, a hornet, and a creature that none can see. Spider does so by first misleading his victims with falsehoods and then capturing them with trickery and pain.

Nyami, nevertheless true to his word, gives Spider the box of stories and Spider releases them to the world. The myth, told in this fas.h.i.+on, depicts how a n.o.ble gift from the Lord of the Sky enters the world through dishonesty and the abuse of creatures who are also under Nyami's care. In Stories To The World I tried to replace deception and entrapment with respect for life. *** Alamander, whose name was arbitrarily shortened from Salamander by my grandson during a story conference, has a parrot Aringabella; my grandson merely added an 'a' to each end of 'ring a bell.' The problem is the same as in the Spider story: long, long ago the people of the world had no stories.