Story 473: When the Child You Raise Is You

(In a tiny apartment, Parent Self is stirring a pot of stew on the stove while loud music is blaring in the background)

Parent Self: You know, it hasn’t been easy.  You try to teach yourself right; you tell yourself, “This is what you have to do to get somewhere in life; this is what you need to sacrifice; this is how hard you have to work to make something of yourself.”  And, it’s as if I haven’t said a single word.  To myself.

Child Self: (Slumps in from the living room, appearing exactly the same as Parent Self but much shabbier) Oh hey – (Gestures to the pot) don’t bother with that; already ordered takeout.

Parent Self: (Stares at Child Self) This stew is extremely better for us than takeout.

Child Self: I know, but that’s also, you know, work.  Pay someone else to do it.  (Slumps back into the living room)

Parent Self: (Sighs as the pot disappears) I sometimes wonder why I still bother trying.

(That evening, Child Self is sprawled across the living room couch watching a movie and eating messily from a takeout container when Parent Self starts vacuuming)

Child Self: (With mouth full, pausing the video) Do you have to do that now?!

Parent Self: (Shuts off the vacuum cleaner; says sweetly) I’m sorry, was I interrupting something important?

Child Self: (Sheepishly) No….

Parent Self: Well then.  (Resumes vacuuming)

Child Self: But why now?!

Parent Self: (Turns off the vacuum again) The time scheduled to clean this place appears to be “Never,” so “Now” is as good a time as any at this point.

Child Self: I was gonna get around to it!  Eventually!

Parent Self: (Nods) Yeah, that method tends to result in you actually doing the chore, or project, or promise an average of two years after the thought first enters our head.  (Sets aside the vacuum cleaner and begins wiping dust off everything)

Child Self: (Grumbles while fumbling with the video controls) Nag.

Parent Self: (Whirls around) Excuse me?!

Child Self: Your expectations for our behavior are ridiculously high!  We actually work at an actual job all day, and commute almost an hour each way surrounded by horrible horribles, so when we finally do get home from that soul-sucking experience, I wanna relax!  It’s only fair – what more do you want from our life?!

Parent Self: Listen: I didn’t bust our butt through all those years of school and all those extracurricular activities trying to make some kind of a success of our life, just to watch you spectacularly fail to launch ever since and instead spend hours and hours uselessly prone upon the couch watching drivel and eating garbage!

Child Self: Well, what else am I supposed to do 9:00 at night?!

Parent Self: …Find the cure to cancer!  (Begins vacuuming again as Child Self rolls eyes and resumes the video)

(At a restaurant, Child Self and Parent Self sit at a table across from Date)

Date: So, I had a great time tonight!  This was fun; I haven’t gone out on one of these in a long while.

Child Self: Me neither; guess life got in the way, huh?

Parent Self: (Turns slightly away) Hmf!

Child Self: (Mutters) What was that?

Parent Self: Oh, nothing.  Just mildly surprised to hear the implication that we’ve been too busy for something, that’s all.

Server: (Places the bill on the middle of the table) Whenever you’re ready, but we close in 20 minutes.  (Immediately leaves)

Parent Self: (Snatches the bill) Now let’s see what we can’t afford tonight….

Child Self: (Snatches the bill and addresses Date) Actually, I was thinking just for tonight we could split it –

Parent Self: (Snatches the bill back) Actually, you know better that since we were the one who invited this charming individual out tonight, we should be the one to pay the entire bill.

Child Self: (Tries to snatch the bill back but Parent Self holds on this time; they begin to tug-of-war it) It was a mutual ask-out, not an invite, and we can’t exactly pay the entire bill right now!

Parent Self: Well maybe that wouldn’t be an issue if you hadn’t kept ordering things we don’t need!

Date: It’s OK, I don’t mind treating you to dinner tonight –

Parent and Child Self: You stay out of this!

Date: (Blows air through cheeks, takes out a wallet, and places money on the table as the others’ struggle continues) Here: this should cover the tip; thanks for dinner and see you – whenever.  (Hustles out the door)

Child Self: (As both let the bill drop onto the table) Oh.  I think we just got dumped before we were even officially dating.

Parent Self: Sounds about par for our course.

(Back at the apartment on a weeknight, Parent Self is folding laundry while sitting on the couch next to Child Self; the latter is sprawled out again while scrolling through a phone, forever falling down the Internet rabbit hole)

Parent Self: I try, and I try – and I really don’t like what we’ve become.

Child Self: (Laughs hysterically at the screen) Genius!  Another dopamine rush to the brain – whoosh!  (To Parent Self) Oh, you can just throw all that stuff in the closet – just gonna wear `em out again anyway, what’s the point?

Parent Self: (As the laundry basket disappears) I was thinking it would be a good idea to take up running again, maybe early in the morning or after work, like when we did track in high school?

Child Self: (Thinks for a few moments) Yeah, those were fun times; we were in the best shape of our life then.

Parent Self: Yes.  Yes we were.

Child Self: (Thinks for a few seconds more, then turns off the phone) Nah: don’t feel like it; too much effort.  Sleepy now.  (Rolls over and falls asleep)

Parent Self: (Stares at Child Self) The struggle is ongoing, but a parent never gives up on a child.  Even when that child is yourself.

Story 399: Extreme Facial

 In a spa’s waiting room, the Receptionist looked up as the Customer entered with a blast of outside oven air; the welcoming smile was maintained as the former realized the latter was glistening.

“Hello,” the Receptionist said while trying to breathe only through the mouth, “you have an appointment?”

“Yeah,” the Customer said while patting various body parts with a suddenly-produced towel.  “Last name’s -----; I’d made a 3:00 appointment for a facial, not knowing at the time that today would be Summer with a capital ‘S.’”

The Receptionist navigated through the computer: “Oh yes, here you are.  There’re few forms to fill out – would you like to… freshen up first?”

“Would I ever!  It’s 105° Celsius outside, and as you’ve undoubtedly noticed, I’m a bit drippy.”

“Heh-heh, you mean it’s actually 105°… Fahrenheit?”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you.”

“Bathroom’s down the hall.”

After the Customer washed up/dried off and completed the questionnaire, the Aesthetician unobtrusively appeared to take the forms and lead the way to the treatment room. There was dim lighting, a narrow bed piled up with comfy blankets, and soothing wind chime music playing softly.

“Aaaaaaahhhh….” the Customer sighed, “this is the mood setting I forgot to anticipate in my rush to get here.”

“Hm?”  The Aesthetician was distracted in the routine of preparing for the session.  “Oh, yes, completely relax and let your cares fade away for the next hour.  Now please strip off your top and put this wrap on.”  Said wrap was pointed out on the bed.

The Customer stared at it.  “Oh.  Right.  Also forgot about the near-nudity required at these things.”

The Aesthetician left the room for a few minutes to give the Customer privacy and time to change, and also to review the skin issues selected on the forms: “Oh my: we have our work cut out for us today.”

Knocking when re-entering the room, the Aesthetician saw the Customer lying on the bed under the blankets, eyes closed, slightly snoring: “Ahem!”

The Customer blinked rapidly: “Oh hey, what’s up?”

The Aesthetician moved behind the bed and placed a towel around the Customer’s hair: “So, I’m going to start with some exfoliators: you indicated on the forms you have issues with acne, eczema, rosacea, dry skin, and oily skin?”

“Yeah, it’s a big ol’ mess in there.”

“Right – here we go.”

The Aesthetician rubbed various products onto the Customer’s face that gently removed a mini-layer of epidermis while the latter increasingly relaxed.

“This is great….”

“Uh-huh.”  The Aesthetician pulled down a face shield and swung a bright light over the Customer’s head: “And now, we begin The Extraction.”

The Customer’s eyes flew wide open: “Huh?”

The Aesthetician produced a mini-jackhammer and began drilling away at all the pesky acne pustules that covered the Customer’s face.  After five minutes, the Aesthetician turned off the jackhammer and swapped it out for an electric prod: “And now, time for us to teach those ingrown hairs who’s boss.”

“Wait a sec – ” ZAP!  ZAP-ZAP-ZAP!

“Ooh,” the Aesthetician muttered while peering closer, “we’ve got a stubborn one on your right cheek.”

“Oh, that’s been there for ages; it’s an ongoing battle.”

“Let’s settle this once and for all, shall we?”  ZAAAAAAAP!!!!

When the electricity stopped, the Customer wearily asked, “Is that my face that’s smoking?”

“Not at all – just need to let our friend here cool off a minute so as not to overheat.  Aaaaand here we go!”  ZAP-ZAP-ZAP –

“You know, I think I’ll start wearing a moustache – ”

“Nonsense: no one with any sense of current Western fashion trends wears moustaches without some kind of complementary beard anymore; it just looks incomplete.  Now, let us resume removing the inflammation.”  Jackhammer again.

Sometime later, the Aesthetician set that tool aside and whipped out a sander: “And now, this should eradicate the rest of the flesh that’s the source of most of your facial discomfort.”

“Wait – ” scrape – “I’m confused – ” scrape – “are you an aesthetician – ” scrape-scrape – “or an intense dermatologist?!”  Scrape-scrape-scraaaaaaape….

“Now!”  The Aesthetician flung down the sander and briskly rubbed some oil between the hands.  “Time for the massage.”

“Oh thank goodness – ” the Aesthetician proceeded to compress the Customer’s skull.  Shoulders, arms, and hands then were dislocated and reinserted back into their sockets; there was one final smoothing out of muscles, and then the Aesthetician sat back, exhausted.

“Right!  All done.  I’ll leave you some water to replace the moisture you’ve lost as you get dressed before you come back to the front desk and give me my tip.”  The Aesthetician left the room and washed off the detritus from the session.

The Customer shakily returned to the front desk and was greeted by the Receptionist: “Hi there!  Feel nice and refreshed?”

“You have a mirror?”

“Sure!”  The Receptionist held up a small one.

“Huh.”  The Customer turned this way and that while looking at the reflection.  “It’s still there.”

“What, a blemish you wanted to get rid of?”

“No: my face.”

The Aesthetician emerged from the back expectantly: “Hello-hello-hello!”

The Customer handed over a bill: “Here you go, everything was great, I never want to see you again, thanks.”

“You’re welcome, come back soon, bye!”  The Aesthetician left to prepare for the next appointment: a deep-tissue, deep-nail pedicure.

The Customer turned back to the Receptionist: “I have a gift certificate.”

“Sure, I’ll take that for you!”  While processing the transaction, the Receptionist made a last-ditch effort for repeat business: “You know, we offer 25% off sales throughout the year – one’s even coming up in about two weeks!”

The Customer gingerly touched the right cheek, wincing: “I’ll have to think about it; this was a little more… intense than I expected for a spa visit.”

“Well, that’s because this is actually a medical spa – here, we don’t fool around.”

Story 320: Driving Accident-Free During the Holidays Through the Power of Music

            (Commercial)

          Narrator: (Voiceover) Ah, December.  The most wonderful time of the year, as the saying goes.  Do you spend most of it like this?  (Cut to five-lane bumper-to-bumper traffic, both directions) Or like this?  (Cut to a line of cars stuck behind one very slow car) Or like this?  (Cut to two cars simultaneously reversing out of spots in a strip mall parking lot and rear-ending each other)

            Driver 1: (Shaking fist out of the window) Look where you’re going, moron!

            Driver 2: (Shaking middle finger out of the window while driving away, leaving behind a trail of car parts) Merry Christmas, ------!

            Driver 1: I don’t think that season’s greeting was entirely genuine.

         Narrator: (Voiceover) Or like this?  (Cut to cars swerving in and out of the lane during a blizzard)

            Driver 3: (Sticking head out of the window) On Dasher!  On Dancer!  On all the rest, whee!

            Driver 4: (Veering off the road) Weirdo!

           Narrator: (Appears on-screen) Well, fret no more, my children: we here at radio station WNAP are here to answer your previously unknown prayers.  Granted, we can’t take away the traffic – or the snow – or the black ice – or the never-ending construction – or the messed-up roads – or the terrible drivers who should have their licenses taken away – BUT, we can make all those things basically irrelevant.  Allow me to demonstrate.  (Walks over to a car, which has an actor simulating driving)

          Actor Driver: (Speaking to an invisible car in front) Press the gas, I know you can do it, I believe in you, gaaarrggghhh!!!  (Slams head onto the steering wheel)

           Narrator: Now, observe the same subject as the environment is altered.  (Leans in through the passenger side window and turns on the radio; gentle Beethoven is heard)

        Actor Driver: (Blaring the horn) Move over, for the love of – oooooohhhhhh….. (Immediately relaxes, eyes glazing over a bit; the grip on the steering wheel lets up)

          Narrator: That’s right, folks: it isn’t medication, it’s not magic, just plain old sympathetic resonance.  Let’s try this out in the field, hm? 

            (Footage from a dashboard cam that is facing the driver)

            Driver 5: (Steering erratically) Grrrr…. (Jabs a button on the center console; soft sitar music is heard) Sighhhh…. (Leans back and begins steering serenely, smoothly and safely changing lanes and then stopping with patience as a crash, car horns, and yelling voices are heard) What a beautiful day.

            Narrator: (In an empty room) But don’t take my word for it: try it yourself the next time you feel your blood boiling as every vehicle on the road seems to go out of its way to torment you.  And almost any musical genre will do, as long as it’s around 60 beats per minute.  Go ahead: feel your heart literally slow down to match as the chaos besieging you on every side no longer seems to matter!  And to top it all off, your driving actually IMPROVES because there’s something running interference between you and the world, and you are now able to take everything in rather than focus on just your own stress and the jerk in front of you.  It truly is the Season of Miracles!

            (Cut to Driver 6, talking to the camera soothingly while driving breezily; Buddhist chants are playing over the speakers]

            Driver 6: I used to dread this time of year, averaging one accident per every five trips – now, I simply glide on and off highways, swim through parking lots, and plow over inches of snow, and I owe it all to the car radio.  Thanks, WNAP!

            Narrator: Thanks to you, our loyal listeners.  And don’t forget: subscribe to us online, and you can then take us wherever you go!  This will come in especially handy as you stand on the hour-long line waiting to buy that one gift for an unappreciative recipient.  Happy Holidays from all of us at WNAP, and keep on gently listening all year long!

           (Cut to a customer standing on line and wearing headphones, listening to string music, and sporting a beatific smile – the camera pulls back to show they are surrounded by people yelling, kids making messes all over with the store’s own merchandise, babies crying, and employees holding their heads and screaming, all of which gradually is drowned out by the swelling strings and the fade to black)

Story 303: I Wish I Had Known It Was National Lazy Day

            “Hello everyone, you’re listening to Generic Radio Show, broadcasting live on W@!$ 1234.5, and in case you missed the announcement earlier, today is that greatest of holidays, National Lazy Day!  Yes folks, for one day only, everyone has carte blanche to do absolutely nothing, zip, zilch, nil, nada, niente, and, my personal favorite, bupkis.  Aside from the poor saps who have to work to save lives or care for loved ones or earn a living or whatever, today is also Saturday so the rest of you have the permission of the nebulous ‘They’ out there to lie around and not stir a single muscle for a solid 24 hours!  Unless you have a medical condition where you already have limited-to-zero mobility, in which case, my condolences.  For everyone else, revel in your best impersonation of a lump on a log!  I myself am broadcasting this show lounging on a float in the middle of my in-ground pool, soaking up the rays, watching the gently lapping waves, and being extra, extra careful with the equipment.  So laze on, my people, laze on!  And now, a word from our sponsors.”

            She hauled the vacuum, mop, broom, and bottles and bottles of cleaner from out of the seldom-opened supply closet.  It was a mild summer morning that threatened to evolve into a sweltering summer afternoon, so she started early enough at one end of the house, spraying, wiping, dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, and wiping again as she methodically advanced, room by room.

            Air conditioning and fans were turned on by Hour Two, but they could not keep up with her overworked sweat glands so she opened all the windows.  Alas, not a breeze stirred, and the sweat continued to pour.

            In the laundry room by Hour Three, she turned on the radio to distract from her battle with the dust bunnies and long-lost clothing, at last recovered from underneath the washing machine and dryer where they had mischievously hidden themselves untold ages ago.

            “– Day, continuing onward into the afternoon now, so I hope you’re all having a great time doing ab-so-bloomin’-lute-ly noth-”

            “What the blazes is this?!”  Using a clothes hanger, she pulled out what appeared to be a long string of dust-connected clothes from underneath the dryer.  She tried shaking it off into a garbage can, but the dust clung on mightily: “Ew, ew, ewwww!!!”

            By Hour Five, she had reached the last room and vacuumed the carpet nearly off the floor, having to stop twice to empty the dirt canister. 

Finally finished, she slumped into the living room and belly-flopped onto the couch: “That’s the last time I wait two years to clean the house.”

She heard a distant noise and realized she had forgotten to turn off the radio before vacuuming the last room.

“Well folks, that about wraps up this segment of the station’s programming.  I’ve been on the air almost thrice as many hours as I am normally, just to be with you all during this wonderful, fantabulous, majestic day of days.  About two hours ago I moved on from the pool and am now ensconced in my soft, cushy hammock, watching the clouds drifting by, the butterflies fluttering by, the bees buzzing along, the birds eating them all, and the grass growing.  I’m also breathing in the pleasant scent of lavender as a mild breeze wafts this way every so often, breaking up the comforting heat just a bit.  I also-also have a nice cool glass of not-too-sour, not-too-sweet lemonade that I’m going to set down right now, since I feel a nap coming on.  Welp, I see it’s almost 4:00, so this show is over, <yawwwwwnnnn>, I’ll be back on Monday with our regularly scheduled programming, but in the meantime, I hope you all continue to relax with me on this, National Lazy Day.  Bye, bye, bye, <snoooorrrreeee>.”

Her eyes flew open: “WHAT?!”