From September 22, 2018
It is not the usual thing for boys to be afraid of dolls. Nevertheless, I knew a boy, who grew up to be a star athlete and a model citizen, who had a dreadful experience with a certain doll. I must not reveal his name, lest he be embarrassed by this anecdote. For the sake of convenience, I’ll call him Ariobarzanes.
As he was a new boy in the neighborhood, my friends and I decided to introduce him to our local wilderness, preparing him with lurid tales of Hangman’s Tree, which stood at the very heart of it. To this day, we whispered to him, as we followed the trail beside the creek, some evil force continued to string up people from that tree. But it ought to be safe to go there in the daytime. Probably.
Meanwhile, my friend Ellen, a very good tree climber, went on ahead to set the stage.
We had poor Ario pretty well pumped up by the time we entered the clearing where the tree glowered down on all of Middlesex County. And there Bobby and I stopped short, pointing and crying out, “Oh, no, not again! Oh, no!”
A hapless little doll hung from the lowest branch, swaying dismally in the wind.
With a great cry, Ariobarzanes turned and ran all the way back home without stopping even once, showing great promise of the track star he would one day be. He didn’t even need to use the path: he made one of his own.
I admit that this was a naughty prank, but Ario soon laughed it off and he and I became great friends. Best freakin’ shortstop we ever had, too.
But now you see, I’m sure, that under the right circumstances, a boy can be scared by a doll.
I have to admit, when I was a kid, something like that would have freaked me out to no end.
Everyone would be scared of that, I mean it looks like Pennywise just look at that forehead.
The other pictures I had to choose from were much worse. They scared me.
Oh my goodness, why do they make scary dolls.
I mean the last time I checked they’re made for children or do they make dolls for Horror movies now, like this doll was specifically made for a movie?
Oh, I could have used a picture of an ordinary-looking doll, but that wouldn’t have been right for the post, so I looked for scary dolls–and the one I chose was the least awful.
Of course little children should have cozy, lovable dolls.
Wasn’t there an awful Chucky doll awhile back with stitches all over his face? Talk about scary!
Poor Ariobarzanes never got anywhere near close enough to the doll to see its face.
Yeah–Chucky and Bride of Chucky. Good grief.
It’s good to see your post, friend.
Thanks, my friend. It’s great to be back. I’ve missed everyone. Hopefully, God willing, strength will build.
I’ll keep you in my prayers.
If I find one of these in my bed when I go to bed tonight, I’d probably freak out, like “EEEEEK!!!!!” 😱
In all likelihood, you’ve already had a couple of them in your bed. The biggest ones are less than a quarter of an inch long, and most are only half that size.
Totally harmless and beneficial–be glad they’re around.
I was actually referring to the dolls. But I am happy to know about the pseudo-scorpion, and I’m glad they play a good role in helping us. The evidence of a mighty Creator.
The good news is that, where I live, there aren’t many trees tall enough to serve as a gallows. There is a huge mesquite in my front yard, and it is an evil trees, as all mesquite are, but I don’t think it’s ever been used in such a manner. 🙂
That tree, alas, has gone the way of most trees around here. Cut down for more highways.
I remember watching an old tree go from flourishing to dying, back in Denver. I had seen 30 years of this tree’s history, and when it died, I couldn’t help but be struck with a sense of loss. That tree had seen a lot of history; from marking the edge of farm fields, to marking the edge of the Denver-Boulder Turnpike, to dominating a tiny, mostly useless triangle of land while the surrounding land turned into a housing development.
I’m not one to believe that trees are conscious, or have feelings and memories, but to me, it stood as a marker that harkened back to another era, and provided a sense of continuity to the historical use of that land. Just up the road was a grain elevator, which now served as a picturesque gift shop, instead of the economic driver of the area.
We’ve gained a lot, over the last 100 years, but we’ve lost most of our connection to the land.
Indeed we have. This is going on all over as well. My friend and her husband moved to Florida 15 years ago. (Lord, has it been 15 years already?) And she said all the woods that surrounded their town have been cut down for more houses. All of the deer and other wild life are now displaced.
What can we do? People need a place to live, and on this fallen earth, development isn’t always so well executed.
Everything gets trashed. They do it the quickest way, rather than a way that might cost a little more and save some of the wildlife’s places.
Hoo boy, now ya got me started. I admire the Amish, not for religious reasons, but I appreciate how they live close to the land and that they keep up their homes and businesses. I’m not a Luddite and I’m not suggesting that we have to return to 18th century pevels of technology, but I think that the Amish prove that you can develop, yet keep your surroundings beautiful.
Contrast that with development in Colorado, where they built numerous homes in an area between Denver and Boulder, famed for very high winds. In late 2021 a wildfire destroyed over 1000 structures, mostly nice homes. I used to live less than ten miles from there, but importantly, there was a mesa between my neighborhood and the worst of the winds. When we would have gale force gusts, that area might experience winds over 100 MPH, which is to say that any fire would be impossible to control. My neighborhood was near the limit, but Marshall, CO was begging for disaster. Im not a civic planner, but anyone with any sense whatsoever should have known better than to have built there.
About 15 years ago, my daughters ex husband was in construction. He told us about a large development in North Carolina that was made up of frame homes with styrofoam blocks between the frame pieces. Then the homes were covered with vinyl siding. He said anyone could break into those homes with a box cutter. How’s that for quickie construction?
It doesn’t surprise me, in the slightest. With all of the developments in materials, there is still a lot to be said for wood, which literally grows on trees.
There was no excuse to make those homes (which were not cheap) so shoddily and so unsafe.
It’s unbelievable.
How much money do they need to make?
How much is there to make? 🙂