The Show that never ends

Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine you are sitting in a high school auditorium: front row. It is completely dark. You can feel the presence of the other drama goers. Whispers sneak from backstage. Then the curtain rattles into the wings and the lights glow on the stage. Strangers prance about cardboard structures which strangely resemble walls or bookshelves. It is drama. The plot thickens. Characters are developed. Ultimately the events climate and resolve.

Then you blink. The glow of the TV flickers on the wall behind you. Your butt sinks into the same spot on your worn out couch. Bed time is past, but the lure of your friends is strong. They only talk from 11:00 to 11:30. Their set resembles the everyday living room, and their life is so funny! The laughter of people comes through their windows and through your TV. You laugh too, you like watching them.

Then you blink. The set has changed. The laughter and the cardboard sets are gone, everything looks real. The characters are genuine. The lighting is hidden somewhere beyond a total surround sound system. It is almost as if you are Lucy and have pushed past the last coat discovering Narnia. The cold wind rattles the trees. Snow flurries drift across the set. Or is it a set?

This is what I watch while I stump sitting. It is a show that never stops. The main character is a squirrel named “Quick-Toes”. The plot centers around his quest to visit neighbors and maintain the security of the nuts he has stored in Pine Tree #8, a high security nut storage area. His theatre has certain etiquette. The show only starts after everyone is seated and quiet. I didn’t have a good seat today. The show moved down the hill to Half-tail’s hollow log. (Half-Tail is the uncle of Quick-Toes named after a mishap with a hawk) I couldn’t quite see what was going on, but there was a great deal of noise and a pine cone. This isn’t the first time Half-Tail and Quick-Toes have gone at…..well, you really need to see the show to understand.