Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Overheard at Chipperfield's ... part XV ...

Two of the regulars were sitting at the table, neither had said much, they were just sort of sitting. Suddenly one of them, the younger of the two spoke.

"The world needs more tree forts," he announced, smiling slightly.

"What?" asked the other regular, bewildered.

"The world needs more tree forts," repeated the first regular, "with all the troubles in our world, all the violence, all the wars and conflicts, we just need to have more tree forts."

"How will tree forts solve anything?" asked the second, sounding more then a little skeptical.

"Well, didn't you have a tree fort when you were a kid?"

"Yeah," the second regular answered tentatively, "I'm still not making a connection here ..."

"What do you remember about it?" asked the first.

"It was in a tree," ventured the second, becoming more hesitant.

"Did you play in it?" pressed the first.

"For hours and hours and hours," answered the second, smiling at the memories that were being replayed in his mind, "my friends and I even slept in our tree forts on warm summer evenings."

"That's just what I mean," offered the first, "if we had more tree forts, I mean real tree forts people wouldn't be so serious all the time, and we'd have less violence and conflict ..."

"I'm really not following you," the second regular lifted his coffee mug up and took a sip, "I don't see how you can connect these things ..."

"Well," the first leaned in slightly, cupping his mug in his hands, "when I was a kid, my best frined and I built a tree fort in one of the trees in my back yard. It wasn't anything special, it was just a couple of two by fours nailed in, with some sheets of scavenged plywood put on top of that. But man ... we travelled the world in that tree fort."

He paused for a moment to glance out the front window and take a drink of coffee before continuing with his recollections, "One week the tree fort would be the control tower of an air craft carrier in the south Pacific, then the next week it would be a space craft hurtling through time and space on a voyage to Mars, then the week after it was a jet flying through the clouds, and the next week it was the tower of a castle under seige ... it took us everywhere, and we were always home in time for lunch ..."

"How would a kids' tree fort solve the problems of the world?" asked his now thoroughly confused companion.

"Easy," replied the first regular, "when you spend time using your imagination you feel calmer and more relaxed. When you climbe a tree and sit in a tree fort and imagine yourself travelling the world in a huge sailing vessel, visiting far flung corners, you can't get angry with anyone ... you just start to relax and unwind ... In a tree fort you can just sit and enjoy the sunshine, or the stars at night, you can listen to the wind, you can watch the storm clouds gather on the horizon, and if your careful you can sleep away the day ... tree forts are just a good way of living ..."

"I'm sorry," offered the second, "I'm still not making the connection here ..."

"Imagine if you put some of politicians up in a tree fort ..."

The second regular interupted, "I'd like to put them up in a tree, but not necessarily in a fort ..."

"IN A TREE FORT," continued the regular, emphasising each syllable, "You tell them they can't come down until they remember how to play like they were 8 years old ... Give them some plastic swords, and some costumes and TELL them to just play ... use their imagination ... remember what it was like to be a kid ..."

"Right," offered the second, the implication of his companion's idea suddenly dawning on him, "when you're a kid you don't have time for all the conflict and strife ..."

"Exactly," replied the first, smiling broadly, "you're too busy playing and being a kid, and doing kid things to worry about hating other people and wanting to blow them up, and trying to exploit them and so forth ... you just play ..."

"The guy in the other tree fort in the next yard ..."

"Is just another kid to play with ..." the first interupted, but continued, "You haven't got time for silly things like war and killing people ... you're too busy using your imagination ..."

"Hmm," snorted the second, "that's crazy enough it just might work ..."

"And with what it costs to equip a modern army," the first took a sip of his coffee, "you could build every kid on the planet a tree fort or two ..."

"You could likely educate and feed them too ... with money left over," mused the second regular, "yup, it's just crazy enough that it just might work ..."

The two men grew silent for a moment, neither speaking ...

"Too bad we couldn't get any of the politicians to listen to us ..." the first one reflected quietly.

"Not just them," offered the second regular, "the insurance people would get into the act with the lawyers and everyone would be afraid of people falling out and suing, and there would be law suits and fights and ... well, the whole mess would start all over ..."

"Life was simpler when I was eight," sighed the first regular.

"And a whole lot more fun," observed the second regular.

The two of them again fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

Kirss interupted them by asking from the counter: "Would either of you like a refill?"

They both shook their heads ...

"No thanks," answered the first, "my Grandson is coming tomorrow and I think I need to stop by the hardware store ..."

"Need some help?" asked the second looking hopeful.

"Know how to build a tree fort?" asked the first, a broad smile crossing his face.

"Absolutely," answered the second, "that's one skill you never forget."

"Well, let's go," the first regular stood as he spoke, "we might not be able to convince our politician to use a tree fort, but a couple of grandfathers and their grandkids won't take much to convince ..."

"Our wives might be different story," laughed the second regular as he stood and carried the mugs to the counter, "we'll just tell them that we're trying to change the world one tree fort at a time."

"Have fun," offered Kriss, "and be careful."

"Oh we will ..." they both answered as they left the store laughing ...

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