Sunday, August 20, 2006
short short "Jonah and the Whale"
8/17/06 Writing exercise #3, randomly selected: place a Bible metaphor
in a different setting...
Jonah and the Whale
by Carl Johann Schroeder, copyright 2006
"Jesus fucking booger tuna! Hep hep hep!"
We waited patiently for Jonah to stop cursing, then we looked to our singer for advice. John Christy would know what to do, he always does.
But John just pulled on his beer and gazed heavenward. It had been a long day's night in the practice basement of the ever so glorious, soon to be famous, neighborhood heroes of the J. Christy band.
Finally I broke the anxious reverie. "Jonah's the best drummer anyone could ask for! It's divine justice that no one else would have him. I don't care if the talent scouts are coming, Jonah just can't take his meds. We'll sink like a stone if he hasn't got his edge!"
We all nodded but Jonah, who wailed "But Darlene is going to be there!"
Tim looked shocked. "Jonah, don't tell me you still haven't told her about your condition?"
Jonah shook his head, which just kept shaking harder and harder, until finally it stopped. He said, "It's like I'm swallowed up in her presence. All I can do is stare and play. It's so beautiful the way she dances alone and just keeps smiling back at me. Afterwards, I slip out as fast as I can."
John counseled, "When you get around to explaining, I'm sure she'll understand. She loves you as much as she loves your playing, that much is evident."
But Tim complained, "It's the press that won't understand! You know they're going to interview the winners on live TV, and you know we're going to win. It's a Christian Battle of the Bands for chrissakes! How's it going to look when Jonah... I mean, when Jonah hasn't got his drums to keep him busy?" Then he leaned toward Jonah. "Buddy boy, you've been practicing with your anti-seizure pills like I told you to, right?"
Jonah sighed with defeat.
I spoke in his defense. "Look, Jonah is Tourette syndrome powered. He was honest with us in the auditions, and he blew everyone else all away. So what if he curses like a sailor, so what if he tics. The music is what matters, all else will be forgiven."
John raised himself to standing, with that special dramatic flair that always commands everyone's attention. But then that's why he's the leader of the band.
Holding out his hands to the drummer, he said, "Jonah, we've come this far together. How do you feel about the contest?"
Jonah look so pained, and it wasn't just the twitches. "You can't imagine what it's like, every day wondering which side of life to be on. Do I give this to my illness or the medication? Which is better, which is worse, how can I be two different people?"
"Then you must decide based on the situation. What does your gut say about tomorrow night?"
Jonah jerked and spat and bleeped before he replied. "My gut says go ahead, Tourette's will steal the show. If I pop a pill on the last song -- if I time it right and you guys cover for me -- I can keep the tics to a minimum while the judges are deciding. After that, I'll be ok."
I reminded him gently, "And Darlene?"
"She'll learn sooner or later, I can't hide it forever." He smiled at me. "Thanks again for the astrology readings man, you gave me confidence."
I patted his knee. "She's gonna marry you someday, it's written in the stars."
Then the great John Hieronymus Christy raised his arms to give the benediction. "It is decided. Give unto seizure what belongs to seizure, and give unto gut what belongs to gut. Bless us this and every hour, we're going to win that recording contract."
Then rehearsal was over, and the next night we did.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Author Notes: I didn't read the Bible in detail until recently, when I discovered that there's actually really weird stuff in there that no one understands, so I'm
developing occult theories about Jesus and his dealings with aliens and his
use of time travel. However, “Jonah and the Whale” references nothing too obscure, because that was the writer’s group exercise which Kate in the group picked at random, and everyone said oh Carl will like that, and I said pick another if you want, and they tried two more and preferred the first exercise. Basically, in about one page, set a familiar Bible story in a different setting for similar metaphor.
On one level “Jonah and the Whale” is a setup for a pun, but on a
deeper level the pun is actually psychologically valid and spiritually symbolic. In the Gospels, when they tried to entrap Jesus by asking him who should we pay taxes to, they hoped he would be an arrestable radical who would oppose the government. So the story goes that Jesus asked, who's face is on the coin? Ceasar, came the answer. Therefore give to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar, and give to God what belongs to God. Ceasar is symbolic here of the worldly ego, our limited and often hoarding frightened controlling personality in the material world. God is not an opposite, God is not an anti-Ceasar that would oppose paying taxes, God is God who can guide the safe course through life.
So my story "Jonah and the Whale" is not really about the story of Jonah and the Whale. That's a bit of a red herring, except for some
symbiotic word play like: Jonah wailing, Jonah feeling swallowed by love
and tourette's, and Jonah slipping out of the night club to avoid love's
threatening consuming nature. But the story is mostly a setup for the pun
"Give unto seizure what belongs to seizure, give unto gut what belongs to
gut." This works because the seizure is Jonah's tourette's syndrome, a
neurological spasming condition which artists and musicians, especially
drummers, actually do have to choose between medicating to fit into society,
or letting loose to empower their art. The seizure is like the worldly ego:
wild, offensive, kinetic, useful in situations and capable of serving
expression. There's nothing wrong with ego tools of governments or money,
it's all in how you use them, whether you let their crasser forms run your
life. Listening to your gut, trusting your gut, is an idiom for considering
intuition. Intuition is a spiritual phenomenon, a gestalt sense for what is
right and where we belong. Intuition can be consulted to know the limits of
any situation, for how much to let loose our baser selves in the world, and
how much to be ego-suppressed in an altered state which can facilitate
growth, especially as grounded in society.
So a fundamental duality of the human condition is living on the ego limited
self-serving side of life, versus living on the ego-less altered
trans-personal God side. Victims of tourette syndrome, or masters of
tourette syndrome, have a remarkably apparent challenge to balance a
personal duality, but we can all notice dualistic options for being in our
daily lives. Let your gut advise, let yourself be seized and immersed in
life when appropriate, and rise above competition to trust your unique
excellence in life. That's the moral of my story "Jonah and the Whale",
which I guess can take longer to explain than just read and find a level to
enjoy.
in a different setting...
Jonah and the Whale
by Carl Johann Schroeder, copyright 2006
"Jesus fucking booger tuna! Hep hep hep!"
We waited patiently for Jonah to stop cursing, then we looked to our singer for advice. John Christy would know what to do, he always does.
But John just pulled on his beer and gazed heavenward. It had been a long day's night in the practice basement of the ever so glorious, soon to be famous, neighborhood heroes of the J. Christy band.
Finally I broke the anxious reverie. "Jonah's the best drummer anyone could ask for! It's divine justice that no one else would have him. I don't care if the talent scouts are coming, Jonah just can't take his meds. We'll sink like a stone if he hasn't got his edge!"
We all nodded but Jonah, who wailed "But Darlene is going to be there!"
Tim looked shocked. "Jonah, don't tell me you still haven't told her about your condition?"
Jonah shook his head, which just kept shaking harder and harder, until finally it stopped. He said, "It's like I'm swallowed up in her presence. All I can do is stare and play. It's so beautiful the way she dances alone and just keeps smiling back at me. Afterwards, I slip out as fast as I can."
John counseled, "When you get around to explaining, I'm sure she'll understand. She loves you as much as she loves your playing, that much is evident."
But Tim complained, "It's the press that won't understand! You know they're going to interview the winners on live TV, and you know we're going to win. It's a Christian Battle of the Bands for chrissakes! How's it going to look when Jonah... I mean, when Jonah hasn't got his drums to keep him busy?" Then he leaned toward Jonah. "Buddy boy, you've been practicing with your anti-seizure pills like I told you to, right?"
Jonah sighed with defeat.
I spoke in his defense. "Look, Jonah is Tourette syndrome powered. He was honest with us in the auditions, and he blew everyone else all away. So what if he curses like a sailor, so what if he tics. The music is what matters, all else will be forgiven."
John raised himself to standing, with that special dramatic flair that always commands everyone's attention. But then that's why he's the leader of the band.
Holding out his hands to the drummer, he said, "Jonah, we've come this far together. How do you feel about the contest?"
Jonah look so pained, and it wasn't just the twitches. "You can't imagine what it's like, every day wondering which side of life to be on. Do I give this to my illness or the medication? Which is better, which is worse, how can I be two different people?"
"Then you must decide based on the situation. What does your gut say about tomorrow night?"
Jonah jerked and spat and bleeped before he replied. "My gut says go ahead, Tourette's will steal the show. If I pop a pill on the last song -- if I time it right and you guys cover for me -- I can keep the tics to a minimum while the judges are deciding. After that, I'll be ok."
I reminded him gently, "And Darlene?"
"She'll learn sooner or later, I can't hide it forever." He smiled at me. "Thanks again for the astrology readings man, you gave me confidence."
I patted his knee. "She's gonna marry you someday, it's written in the stars."
Then the great John Hieronymus Christy raised his arms to give the benediction. "It is decided. Give unto seizure what belongs to seizure, and give unto gut what belongs to gut. Bless us this and every hour, we're going to win that recording contract."
Then rehearsal was over, and the next night we did.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Author Notes: I didn't read the Bible in detail until recently, when I discovered that there's actually really weird stuff in there that no one understands, so I'm
developing occult theories about Jesus and his dealings with aliens and his
use of time travel. However, “Jonah and the Whale” references nothing too obscure, because that was the writer’s group exercise which Kate in the group picked at random, and everyone said oh Carl will like that, and I said pick another if you want, and they tried two more and preferred the first exercise. Basically, in about one page, set a familiar Bible story in a different setting for similar metaphor.
On one level “Jonah and the Whale” is a setup for a pun, but on a
deeper level the pun is actually psychologically valid and spiritually symbolic. In the Gospels, when they tried to entrap Jesus by asking him who should we pay taxes to, they hoped he would be an arrestable radical who would oppose the government. So the story goes that Jesus asked, who's face is on the coin? Ceasar, came the answer. Therefore give to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar, and give to God what belongs to God. Ceasar is symbolic here of the worldly ego, our limited and often hoarding frightened controlling personality in the material world. God is not an opposite, God is not an anti-Ceasar that would oppose paying taxes, God is God who can guide the safe course through life.
So my story "Jonah and the Whale" is not really about the story of Jonah and the Whale. That's a bit of a red herring, except for some
symbiotic word play like: Jonah wailing, Jonah feeling swallowed by love
and tourette's, and Jonah slipping out of the night club to avoid love's
threatening consuming nature. But the story is mostly a setup for the pun
"Give unto seizure what belongs to seizure, give unto gut what belongs to
gut." This works because the seizure is Jonah's tourette's syndrome, a
neurological spasming condition which artists and musicians, especially
drummers, actually do have to choose between medicating to fit into society,
or letting loose to empower their art. The seizure is like the worldly ego:
wild, offensive, kinetic, useful in situations and capable of serving
expression. There's nothing wrong with ego tools of governments or money,
it's all in how you use them, whether you let their crasser forms run your
life. Listening to your gut, trusting your gut, is an idiom for considering
intuition. Intuition is a spiritual phenomenon, a gestalt sense for what is
right and where we belong. Intuition can be consulted to know the limits of
any situation, for how much to let loose our baser selves in the world, and
how much to be ego-suppressed in an altered state which can facilitate
growth, especially as grounded in society.
So a fundamental duality of the human condition is living on the ego limited
self-serving side of life, versus living on the ego-less altered
trans-personal God side. Victims of tourette syndrome, or masters of
tourette syndrome, have a remarkably apparent challenge to balance a
personal duality, but we can all notice dualistic options for being in our
daily lives. Let your gut advise, let yourself be seized and immersed in
life when appropriate, and rise above competition to trust your unique
excellence in life. That's the moral of my story "Jonah and the Whale",
which I guess can take longer to explain than just read and find a level to
enjoy.
Comments:
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Actually,the first time I read the story I did so without reading the explanation, and missed the pun completely (duh). I thought I'd let my thoughts become more cohesive si before posting my thoughts. When I reread the story several days later, the pun popped right out, and although it purports to form the nucleus for this story, it actually distracted me from my thoughts about the two issues that were most salient for me.
First, that of the influence of Psychopharmacology on Creativity, and second, the balance between the use of intuition/divination and living a "grounded" life.
First, I'll address the medicated personality operating in "the world" vs. that same person in an unmedicated state. I mean this on an individual level. Each individual is a complicated interaction of genetic heritage, environmental support or lack thereof, (e.g. nutrition), and the karmic baggage with which they enter this lifetime. There have been some discussions in the press such as Prozac Nation, that look at our dependence on psychopharmacology as a societal weakness, none of which, however, look at this issue from a karmic or multiple-lifetime perspective. If one has spent any time living with a life-altering condition such as Tourette's, or ADD, or a life-threatening condition such as depression or bi-polar disorder, other people's opinions as to whether or not it is "right" or "unnatural" to be on a particular medication are unwarrented and perhaps harmful. In an ideal world, this decision would be made by the individual experiencing the symptoms and his/her health practitioner. Of course, our lives are not lived in a vacuum, in that our behavior, and our ability or inability to support ourselves financially, does have an impact on the lives of our parents, siblings, partners and/or children. They sometimes will lobby on our behalf for or against medication, or influence the decision by a completely neglecting our need for such.
In this story, the drummer character is loathe to tell the love interest about his seizure disorder. His choice seems to be dualistic. He can remain drug-free and be effective as a drummer, (perhaps the drumming itself is a form of self-medication?) or he can medicate himself so his disorder is not quite as apparent, but sacrifice the quality of his artistic expression. He makes an interesting choice, that of taking the anti-seizure medication after most of the performance is over, but before the interview time, so that his foul-mouthed outbursts don't offend the Christians in this Christian Battle of the Bands.
One hopes that "Christians", of all people, would have compassion for his situation. This reminds me of the time my church congregation was visited by a young man who was apparently manic; who had left his home in the neighborhood and dropped in for the service. His being well-dressed and well-groomed testified to the fact that he had not wandered in accidently, but had meant to attend. His restlessness, however, was distracting to many members of the congregation, and the welcoming attitude for which we are known was indeed tested.
So in the story, one has compassion for the fellow who must choose an impossible middle ground, balancing precariously somewhere between his art and his love.
Why doesn't he want her to know of his condition? What is his fear, that she will not love him? That she will only love him when he is on medication? That she cannot love him unconditionally, including when he is tic-ing or cursing? What about him? Can he love her when she's PMS-ing, when she's screaming and crying and overreacting to things which on any other day or for any other person would hardly cause a raised eyebrow? Is he afraid of losing control? Is he afraid of being IN control; not seizing, and living a less artistic or more boring life? These are all questions that I would like to know the answers to in this (very) short story. Perhaps the author could flesh out the character in a longer format.
The second idea that caught my attention in this story was the idea that the character might be open to using tools of divination (astrology, for one) to help provide structure to his intuitions. The friend has provided a chart which purports to show that it is "fate" that the drummer and the woman he likes will eventually wind up together.
What if he does tell her about his condition, and she doesn't want to be with him. Where does the "fate" aspect come in, and how does it balance out with the free will of the characters? What if reality doesn't mesh with the prognostications? What does one do if one's intuition and all the divining in the world match, yet the facts of reality do oppose both? How much faith does one put in the results of divination, of intuition, when they utterly contradict the current paradigm? Does one live in a world of faith, of believing that the scenario provided by one's intuition will eventually come to pass or does having this amount of faith in a divine plan prevent one from living fully in the present? And that divine plan: is it pre-destination, or something chosen by the higher selves of all involved? Where does the individual's free will come to bear on all of this?
So now, this commentary has probably exceeded the word count of the original short story. Mystical Carl should at least be aware that his readers take his philosophical musings/fictional forays seriously.
Write on!
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First, that of the influence of Psychopharmacology on Creativity, and second, the balance between the use of intuition/divination and living a "grounded" life.
First, I'll address the medicated personality operating in "the world" vs. that same person in an unmedicated state. I mean this on an individual level. Each individual is a complicated interaction of genetic heritage, environmental support or lack thereof, (e.g. nutrition), and the karmic baggage with which they enter this lifetime. There have been some discussions in the press such as Prozac Nation, that look at our dependence on psychopharmacology as a societal weakness, none of which, however, look at this issue from a karmic or multiple-lifetime perspective. If one has spent any time living with a life-altering condition such as Tourette's, or ADD, or a life-threatening condition such as depression or bi-polar disorder, other people's opinions as to whether or not it is "right" or "unnatural" to be on a particular medication are unwarrented and perhaps harmful. In an ideal world, this decision would be made by the individual experiencing the symptoms and his/her health practitioner. Of course, our lives are not lived in a vacuum, in that our behavior, and our ability or inability to support ourselves financially, does have an impact on the lives of our parents, siblings, partners and/or children. They sometimes will lobby on our behalf for or against medication, or influence the decision by a completely neglecting our need for such.
In this story, the drummer character is loathe to tell the love interest about his seizure disorder. His choice seems to be dualistic. He can remain drug-free and be effective as a drummer, (perhaps the drumming itself is a form of self-medication?) or he can medicate himself so his disorder is not quite as apparent, but sacrifice the quality of his artistic expression. He makes an interesting choice, that of taking the anti-seizure medication after most of the performance is over, but before the interview time, so that his foul-mouthed outbursts don't offend the Christians in this Christian Battle of the Bands.
One hopes that "Christians", of all people, would have compassion for his situation. This reminds me of the time my church congregation was visited by a young man who was apparently manic; who had left his home in the neighborhood and dropped in for the service. His being well-dressed and well-groomed testified to the fact that he had not wandered in accidently, but had meant to attend. His restlessness, however, was distracting to many members of the congregation, and the welcoming attitude for which we are known was indeed tested.
So in the story, one has compassion for the fellow who must choose an impossible middle ground, balancing precariously somewhere between his art and his love.
Why doesn't he want her to know of his condition? What is his fear, that she will not love him? That she will only love him when he is on medication? That she cannot love him unconditionally, including when he is tic-ing or cursing? What about him? Can he love her when she's PMS-ing, when she's screaming and crying and overreacting to things which on any other day or for any other person would hardly cause a raised eyebrow? Is he afraid of losing control? Is he afraid of being IN control; not seizing, and living a less artistic or more boring life? These are all questions that I would like to know the answers to in this (very) short story. Perhaps the author could flesh out the character in a longer format.
The second idea that caught my attention in this story was the idea that the character might be open to using tools of divination (astrology, for one) to help provide structure to his intuitions. The friend has provided a chart which purports to show that it is "fate" that the drummer and the woman he likes will eventually wind up together.
What if he does tell her about his condition, and she doesn't want to be with him. Where does the "fate" aspect come in, and how does it balance out with the free will of the characters? What if reality doesn't mesh with the prognostications? What does one do if one's intuition and all the divining in the world match, yet the facts of reality do oppose both? How much faith does one put in the results of divination, of intuition, when they utterly contradict the current paradigm? Does one live in a world of faith, of believing that the scenario provided by one's intuition will eventually come to pass or does having this amount of faith in a divine plan prevent one from living fully in the present? And that divine plan: is it pre-destination, or something chosen by the higher selves of all involved? Where does the individual's free will come to bear on all of this?
So now, this commentary has probably exceeded the word count of the original short story. Mystical Carl should at least be aware that his readers take his philosophical musings/fictional forays seriously.
Write on!
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