Lines of mourners gathered in the street and in the courtyard where the statue of grandma once stood. All were silent. Some dressed in black, some in flamboyant costumes, many arriving on horseback. Horatio attempted to play his toy trumpet, but his face was swollen from tears of sadness. The Troubadours stopped their foolish antics to lead those gathered in a hymn of sorrow. The opera star’s voice cracked, something that had never happened, as she attempted to sing. All gazed upon the old worn suitcase and recalled the treasures it once held. Now it was closed and silent. Just a cold remembrance of that windswept rainy evening the old man arrived at the Asylum at Slumberland. His beard, now long and white from age. His button encrusted robe was torn and frayed. The soles of his shoes were worn thin and his ancient fez stained and bent. The Mystic Button Man was dead.
I am so excited! I can’t think of anything except our trip to Coney Island for a family wedding. Grandma and I are invited and the guests are coming from all over the whole wide world! This is going to be, without a doubt, the best day of my pathetic life! Grandma has been awake since dawn preparing for our journey. Bathing suits, inflatable tubes, beach shoes and a box lunch are all ready. Grandma always makes square cheese on white bread with mustard so our lunch doesn’t spoil in the hot sun. Sweet gherkins and a giant raisin cookie for dessert. Limeade in a big thermos with an attached cup! I always bring my aluminum collapsible cup which always seems to collapse while I’m drinking! I’m taking my rubber alligator. I like to toss it way out into the ocean and watch it float back on the waves. Bathers scream and run at the site of my alligator washing up on the shore. It’s a riot!
He could see his reflection in the window of the bus. He always chose the window seat beneath the escape hatch. Recalling a TV show called “People are Great” and he longed to be great. He figured sitting under the hatch he could raise passengers up and out of the bus in case of an emergency. That he thought, would certainly make him great. The chatter in the bus reminded him of chickens in a coop. Folks pecking away at each other in squeaky and shrill sounds. Staring out the window, he saw a truck carrying bamboo as the driver yelled “Heights Town Next Stop”. He had relatives from Heights Town. They all suffered from a strange nervous disorder for which there was no cure. The bus rolled over a bridge crossing the river to 92nd street, then left on 7th at the Polly Prep School. On he traveled to 86th passing the houses that looked like little castles. The bus goes under the El and makes a left on Stillwell. He made it! He is home. He at Coney Island! Coney Island! There will never be anything better than today! The very best day of his whole, entire life!
I have everything I need for the day. Paint set, microscope, shell identification guide, miniature spy camera, detective notepad and my special pencil that can write in a zillion colors. I often see passengers that bear resemblance to the most wanted posters in the post office. I sketch the particulars in my detective notes for future reference. We arrive and are greeted by old friends and relatives. The Reptile Queen with her long pelt of leopard, the Dart Thrower waving his signature frying pan and the Snake Charmer who carries her trumpet. Dart Thrower and Snake Charmer used to have real jobs and real names but I’ll save that for later. Everyone is so excited! We can hear music and singing in the distance. Grandma and I are here for the wedding of folks I don’t even know but who cares! I think they are from the “Old Country” wherever that is. I’m going to the bathhouse to get ready for the beach. It smells like old lady dusting powder.
He ate the last piece of fruit from the crumbled bag. He was saving his appetite for the clams and fried fish at Ruby’s. Won’t a cold beer taste good listening to the sounds of the Troubadours? They aren’t very good but when the opera star chimes in it kind of drowns them out! He’s going to get some popcorn and peanuts on the way over to share. He knows Pathetico will have a new puppet show and Electro will light up the place with his electrifying skills! The sun isn’t as bright as it was on that first day he arrived. But today is not the same for sure. There is no one. No Oxygen Twins or Sword Swallower. And where is the Blind Knife Thrower! The Alligator priest is always on hand to cast a blessing on something or someone. And music and singing?
The switchboard operator sat all day just waiting. She was connected to every room at Slumberland. She was always at the ready. Ready? Yes ready! Ready to rescue, preside at a wedding, attend a performance, or help with a costume change. Everyday brought a new challenge for her. She knew all the residents. They lived, they died, some thought they died. Some imagining great feats and some imagining humble lives. There were days she thought she might just be one of them. After all she did sort of resemble an alligator!
Room 1: This is the room of a young child. He loves to tell his tale of a trip to Coney Island and how his grandma almost drowned! He regales with descriptions of her lost head and red shoes! He believes Grandma is with him!
Room 2: The Troubadours, all 5 of them, live here. They claim to hail from Alamogordo, New Mexico. They took the name of “Troubadours” from a box of nylon stockings found in the switchboard operator’s office and had it painted on the side of a tour bus they believe is parked outside the walls. They practice daily prepping for a gig.
Room 3: The conductor and his wife claim to be from a foreign land where he conducted a grand orchestra using a sword. She plays the ukulele. Their clothing is made of a rare species of a climbing vine.
Room 4: Horatio, as he likes to be called, plays the trumpet in the slumberland band. He carries a knife just in case. Noone has the nerve to tell him his bagpipes are made broken piano parts. He has beady yellow eyes.
Rooms 5: Ester once occupied this room but sadly drowned as she thought she was a mermaid. This room is now occupied by a former schoolteacher named Arnold. He prefers to be called “The Strong Man” dressing in leopard skin and lifting heavy awkward objects.
Room 6: Last on this floor is the opera star. Her real name unknown dependent upon the she that she has currently cast herself in. Today, she is Norma.
Room 7: Nails lives a very secluded life. He believes he is a Nkondi figure and is constantly heard hammering nails into himself. He drags a pelt of fur claiming it is from an ancestor. Not a sole living or working at Slumberland questions him.
Rooms 8 and 9: This is a joyful family of six. One child walks on four legs in high heeled boots. Her arms are very small. Another only one foot. The family dresses in fancy formal attire and performs skits when called upon.
Room 10: “Keep Out” reads the sign on the knife throwers room. Cursed with 10 arms, he claims he is a sideshow performer and just returned from Poughkeepsie. He covers his face to hide his true identity.
Room 11: The sword swallower hangs out with the knife thrower. She steals all the cutlery from the dining room.
