where i'd like to go

After I asked the group to write about where they came from, I asked them to write about where they'd like to go. Specifically, I asked them to imagine the place they'd like to live if they could live anywhere. Here is one creative response by Dilly Scott:

Dear Aunt Daisy,

Hope you survived your last adventure with flying colors. Sometimes I miss your face and "the knight's face."

I wish I could see you once in awhile. Haven't given up on having my own place. It should have a picture window, room for pets and a two car garage, just far enough from the wind and the waves to be safe. This way I could have a vehicle with fog lamps so I could help if it were necessary. I'm pretty squeamish, but I'd be there.

I'd like to find a new job soon, enjoy the rest of the summer and stock up on fake fur and a supply of cat food. There'd be cupboards all over, tables, two couches, bright colors, electric heat, stereo, writing paper and Bibles. There'd always be coffee and a microwave for a hot sandwich or tea and jelly, extra stuff. It wouldn't be too fancy, just clean.

Y'all come.

Love,

Dilly Scott

where i'm from

Awhile back, I asked people to write stories about the place they grew up. This is a story that came from one member of the group:

Where I'm From, by: Anonymous Woman

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, in the ghetto. It's hot there in the summertime and the teenagers used to undo the fire hydrants and get us wet to cool us off. One time, they threw me in and I thought I was drowning.

This guy came around once with a merry go round and other rides. Mom would have my sister babysit and we would climb out off the roof of the saw dust mill. It was easy to get up and down on. A man from the mill had get me down once though. We played on the roof and jumped roof to roof.

One time this guy gave us a free watermelon off the back of a train and me and my brother told everybody that they were giving watermelons out at the train tracks. Everyone and their uncle came to get one and by the time they came back from lunch the train was empty!

You'd see people pushing carts down the streets with hot dogs, pretzles and cotton candy -- all kinds of stuff. My mom always took us to Coney Island, that's the coast in New York. We'd swim in the water. My brother always ended up at the police station eating ice cream. One day he went by himself -- it was a long way with lots of subways. He was going to take me with him and we snuck under the fence but there was a police officer there so we snuck back home and hide under beds.

My older brother was in the airforce. We always waited for him to come home. He let us play with his shaving cream. When I got back out there to visit again, I went out with my two brothers, Barney and Barney. They took me to the trade center where they were serving Italian. We went inside the twin towers -- the inside of that building was like glass imagery. It was the most beautiful building I ever saw. Then they showed me a boat that looked like the love boat cruise ship.

New York is like being in another world. In every section of town you see every kind of people there is. It really is interesting.

in which the captain apologizes

Sorry the updates have been few and far between. The captain has been busy here on the island and hasn't had a chance to sneak off to the computer to post new work. A further apology: the captain is getting off the island for a week's vacation back east to visit family, so this little blog will remain un-updated until I'm back on the 18th, at which time I hope to put up some new stuff. Please check back then for more awesome writing from the Oasis.

two birds in a boat

One day I brought in a picture of a sculpture made of carved and painted wood by an artist named Stan Peterson. It was printed on a post-card from the beppa wiardu gallery which was showing this among other sculptures in July. The picture showed a wooden boat with two very short men on either side and one very tall man at the prow, all standing outside the boat, seeming to guide it. Inside the boat, however, were two enormous white birds with long, pointed yellow beaks.

Two birds in a boat being pushed by three men. I thought it was an interesting picture and it raised, for me, a lot of questions. What were those birds doing in the boat? Why were the men pushing them? The birds sit side by side with peaceful faces, almost regal, as though they are the king and queen bird and the men are their servants.

I passed this picture around group one day and encouraged everyone to tell a story about the birds and the boat and the three little men. Here's what they all came up with:

Any Decent Contraption, By: Dilly Scott

Mr. and Mrs. Noah Waylon recieved their inheritance and after a brief vacation in Holland, they adopted four keeshounds, 18 birds, two cats and took up residence somewhere on the Oregon coast and then adopted three horses and a deodorized skunk. They do occasional animal rescues and are always there to help. They and three friends have been transporting injured birds in any decent contraption to the heated barns and they're planning on doing some quiet filming to promote peace and joy between the church, temple, animals, people and this environment.

Stuffed animals are made at the White Cap Inn Bed and Breakfast for the birds in the boat's benefit and any souvineer hunters of the local variety. There are also other sculptures of museum quality. The birds' release after healing is not publicized and happens only at the birds' convenience, however well wishes are always welcome.

The Birds' Boat, By: Anonymous Woman

The picture is of birds in a boat with men surrounding it. They aren't touching the birds, just the boat. I think maybe the birds don't want to leave and the men are getting ready to put the boat in the water. Maybe they'll share the boat with the birds. The birds seem very comfortable. It makes me think that the men are thinking "Hey, these birds won't get out of my boat." They do look prepared to go in the water with the birds in the boat. Or maybe they took the boat out of the water already and the birds went sailing. Maybe they feel it's the birds' boat now. It appears they have taken ownership and will not leave. It almost looks as though it were actual and somehow got turned to wood.

Love Boat, By: Myriah

A couple months ago, I decided to take a trip to an island off the keys. While I was there, I saw the most bizarre thing. Three young men were pushing two birds in a boat! Being the curious woman I am, I stopped to inquire what was happening.

The boys said that the birds were almost extinct. The two in the boat were the last two in all the world. They figured that since their parents took a trip on a boat and gave them a little sister nine months later, maybe if the birds took a little trip on a boat, they might reproduce too.