In which I emulate the grasshopper, which is maybe a good choice

I'm having one of those weeks that seems to be full of the word "should.


I should be writing more words on my NaNoWriMo novel (25,068 so far, but not a single word for the past two days!)

I should rake the leaves before they blow all over the yard again.

I should tidy the kitchen before I leave for work.

And yet...

In the same way that other people listen to "inner messages" via their recurring dreams, my inner messenger often communicates through stories that get stuck in my head. For example:

When I was job hunting years ago, I couldn't stop telling the story of Cinderella, especially the part about how the stepsisters were urged to mutilate their own feet in order to make the shoe fit. When I accepted a really great job (which I still hold), I abruptly stopped needing to tell Cinderella's story.

Another time when my neighbors were making me crazy, I kept finding myself telling the story of the Old Woman who lived in a Vinager Bottle--she who kept wishing for a bigger and fancier house, but was never happy with what she had. When I took a box of apples to the neighbors, thereby appeasing their weirdness, I stopped being so unhappy at home and I moved on to a different story.

Hmmm. My storytelling subconscious isn't very subtle.

The story in my head today begins like the Aesop fable about the Ant who works hard all the year to plant and prepare and store away supplies for the winter, and the Grasshopper who sings and dances and tells stories all year.

You would think that a farmer like me would empathize with the Ant. But that's not how this version of the story goes:

The Ant and the Grasshopper : a story you thought you already knew:



If the embedded player above doesn't work for you, try listening on the source page, located here.

Enjoy!