Manhattan Mannequins

It was a cold, rainy spring day in Manhattan where Angela Moretti woke up to her 5:45 am alarm buzzing next to her ear. She quickly shut off the alarm and sat up looking through her window out onto the busy street that lay hundreds of feet below her. She checked her phone and groaned when she saw all the messages she received from her boss. As she was flipping through all her text messages, the date on her phone caught her eye. It dawned on her that a year ago today she had graduated from college. Angela flashed back to that day and remembered how excited she was. She was so proud of graduating near top of her class from FIT with a highly coveted internship lined up at a top fashion magazine. Angela’s phone buzzed and she quickly snapped out of her trance. Her boss texted her again for the third time, this one was her breakfast order. Angela thought back to her graduation day and thought about how naïve she was about her future. Everything was so glamorous to her then. Now, she looked around her shabby 350 square foot studio apartment, her life was anything but. The internship that Angela couldn’t wait to begin had now become the thing she dreaded most. She had hoped that they would have offered her a job by now but she still remained their gofer. Instead of working with clothing she was fetching coffee at the crack of dawn. She finally dragged herself out of bed and started her daily grind.

            After Angela brought her boss coffee, she received her list of things that needed to be fetched for the day. Her boss, Anna, practically threw the list at her without even looking in her general direction. Anna then returned to the models she was working with and weeded through outfits. Before Angela embarked on her scavenger hunt across the city, she paused to look at the models. They were all so tall, thin, with flawless complexions and facial features. They didn’t even look real to her. Angela caught herself wishing that she were more like them. The way that the clothes hung on them so perfectly made Angela rage with envy. She was a size eight, on a good day, and the clothes that Angela dreamed about owning are ones that she couldn’t even fit into. She began to wonder if the reason she hadn’t received a job yet was because she didn’t have the double zero waist. “Angela?” Anna snapped her fingers in front of Angela’s face. “Hello?” Anna insultingly questioned. “Yes?” Angela replied, trying to mask her rage. “I need you to get moving on that list. Everything has to be here by noon for the photo shoot. No exceptions.” Anna said curtly. Angela nodded and quickly moved out the door.

            After moving from borough to borough, Angela was exhausted, but she just had one shop left on her list with an hour to spare. Angela always loved going to this last shop because the shop owner was always kind to her. She was an older Italian lady named Magdalena. Magdalena reminded Angela of her grandmother who like Magdalena, grew up in Italy. Angela had been very close with her grandmother before she died a few years ago so visiting with Magdalena was somewhat bittersweet. As soon as Angela set one foot into the shop she heard “Angie! I was wondering when I was going to see you again.” Magdalena said smiling from ear to ear. She was standing behind a counter that was almost as tall as she was Angela almost didn’t see her. “Hi Magda. It’s been too long. I saw your new collection in the window and it looks beautiful.” She said as she bent over to give Magdalena a hug. Magdalena laughed while she sets a bag onto the counter, “Well I’m glad you like it. I have your order all ready to go because I’m sure you’re in a hurry.” Angela rolled her eyes, “Yeah, well, actually, this is my last stop and I have about an hour to kill. I’ve been doing this job long enough that I could do it in my sleep.” Magdalena gives a sympathetic look, “Oh honey, that boss of yours is running you ragged. You are too smart and talented to be doing this for her.” It’s times like these that Angela felt like she was talking to her grandmother. It broke her heart a little that she wasn’t able to. Her grandmother always knew how make her feel better and point her in the right direction when she was lost. Angela forced a smile, “Thanks.” Magdalena moved out from behind the counter, “Come downstairs with me, I have to get something I made for you.”

Angela followed the little woman through the hallway and down the steps of some rickety old stairs. “Magda you didn’t have to make something for me” Angela said feeling guilty and undeservingly. Magdalena’s clothing was beautiful and had been featured on some of the most well-known models. Magdalena scrambled around in the basement of her shop looking for Angela’s gift. When she found it, Angela couldn’t believe it was for her. It was the most beautiful green scarf that she had ever seen. “Magda this is too beautiful. I can’t take this.” “Oh stop. You will take it. The color matches your eyes. It will look perfect on you.”  Magdalena said smiling. Angela felt like wearing the scarf would disgrace Magdalena’s work. “Magda, something this beautiful should be worn on someone equally as beautiful.” Angie said sadly thinking about the models she had seen earlier in the day. “Well, then I gave it to the right person” Magdalena replied. “Magdalena?” One of the workers asked at the top of the stairs. “Will you excuse me, hon?” Magdalena said as started walking up the stairs. Angela was left in the basement alone with the perfect green scarf around her neck. She wandered around the basement and found a door cracked open. She opened up the door and slid her hand up against the wall to find a light switch. When the room became flooded with light, she saw life like mannequins staring back at her. “Oh my God” Angela said clutching her chest. The mannequins looked so real. There were at least ten of them crammed into this little storage room. She went up to them and inspected them one by one. They weren’t like the mannequins you would normally see in department stores. These ones actually looked like real people that you would see walking on the street. They looked…normal. Some were black, some were white, and some were even on the larger size. Angela thought about the ones that are typically in department stores, they were usually all white, thin, and with perfect facial features. Just like models. Angela continued to inspect the mannequins and looked at one’s hand. It was carved with “Master…” she couldn’t make out the rest. “Oh, there you are. I’m sorry. I had to help a customer.” Magdalena said sounding out of breath. “Magda” Angela said, “Where did you get these?” Magdalena couldn’t help but laugh, “These were left here, honey. I didn’t know what to do with them but didn’t have the heart to throw them away. They are beautiful though, aren’t they?” Magdalena asked while admiring the mannequins. “How come you don’t use them for your shop?” Angela pressed. “Oh, you know how people are. They want to see clothes on something that most people look nothing like. That’s the only way to sell things in this country.” That struck a chord with Angela. How could she have been so stupid, she thought. Here she was admiring how beautiful and different these mannequins were yet hours ago she was wishing she looked like a model from the magazine. Angela smiled and shook her head, “Magda, I have to get going. Thank you so much for this scarf. It is beautiful and I love it.” Angela took her time heading back to the magazine. Processing everything that she had just come to realize.

            Back at the magazine, Angela was greeted by Anna’s scowling face. “I made myself clear that this shoot started at noon and I needed everything by then. You are fifteen minutes late. This is unacceptable. And where did you get that scarf? I hope that isn’t one of the items for the models that you are wearing.” Angela smiled, “No this was a gift from a friend.” She proceeded to hand over all of the bags to Anna. “I know one of Magdalena’s scarves when I see one. Hand it over. It should be worn by one of the models not by some intern.” Anna snapped. Angela kept her calm, “Like I said, this was a gift from a friend. I’m not giving you my scarf but I will give you this instead”. Angela took off the magazine photo I.D. that was hanging around her neck and handed it to Anna. Anna looked at Angela like she was crazy, “Do you realize what you are doing? You are giving up an opportunity that most women would kill for.” “What I am giving up is working for a place and in an industry that brainwashing us into believing that, that” as she points to a model “that is what we are supposed to look like. That is what we should strive to be. That is what is perfect and beautiful, people who look like gaunt skeletons with no expression on their faces. They probably haven’t even eaten in days.” She pauses for a second. “So yes, to answer your question, I realize exactly what I am doing now. I realize that, that isn’t what beautiful is. I don’t want to look like that and I especially don’t want to work for a place that tells other people to strive to look like that.” Angela backs away from Anna and heads for the door. She walked outside onto the busy New York City street with the green scarf around her neck, feeling like she can breathe for the first time in a year.

ThruWay to Doom! (Based off Southern Thruway)

  

Thruway to Doom

Paris is supposed to be somewhere travelers love to tour, many sights to see and friendly people to meet. Traveling with others always seems like the better way to go by car and by plane. There are a group of college students who always like to travel together in the summer time. They agreed that usually when they travel further away they have a better time so the decision was made to travel to Paris for their next trip.  The oldest out of the group was named Bailey who just turned 23 and is looked at as the “mother” of the group because of her protective instincts on each trip. Then there was a guy who is the most adventurous out the group and often liked to explore outside in dangerous places, his name is Kyle.  Daniel is very aware of his surroundings and very careful when traveling because his worst fear is getting lost or taken in a foreign place.  Krystal is the baby of the group. She is 19 and also blind but doesn’t let that stop her from being ambitious. She uses being bling to motivate her to live life to the fullest.  These four are Very excited to see what this trip to Paris is going to bring them.

            The start of their adventure started on a Friday night, they arrived to bright lights and busy streets that they needed to try to get used to for the time being. They got into a car and started heading toward there hotel. Then Daniel noticed a sign stating that the thruway was called the thruway to doom. Daniel then remembered reading about this thruway in his tour guide and advised the group to turn around and get a new hotel. Of course with Kyle being curious of what the “thruway of doom” really meant he kept trying to peer pressure everyone into an adventure that he didn’t realize would eventually ruin their plans in Paris. At the end of the road was an old building with food and supplies that was hidden behind deep woods. The group didn’t realize what they were getting their self into. After looking at dusty building they heard people screaming but couldn’t understand what they were saying then heard a big BANG! When the sound struck the impact threw them to the floor. Not only was it a mystery of what happened but now it was also a worry to how they were going to get back towards the airport because now the land separated them from everyone. No one had a clue what to do or say, Bailey found the strength to calm everyone down so they could think positive and come up with an idea to remain safe and sheltered. There were two options for them to choose from, sleep in the car or in the old building they found. Bailey took the decision in her hands and decided chance of sleeping in the car but using some old supplies she found earlier in the building. 

            When everyone got settled in the car they began to see things as the lights got dimmer. Krystal began to become frantic since she already didn’t have a clue what was out there besides what people were saying. Kyle thought it would be a god idea for him to check out what he was seeing and for everyone else to try to stay safe in the car. While everyone sat and waited they also tried to figure out how they were going to make this place somewhere they had to stay a while and to make it as comfortable as possible. Everyone had to come up with things they were responsible for daily because they had no clue when their time was going to come to leave.

Kyle still did not return so everyone became worried. They yelled out the window waiting for a response from Kyle he never answered them. After staying up all night waiting everyone decided to get out and look from him but was very careful so nothing else happened to the rest of them.  Daniel quickly got lost from the group, tried calling Bailey and Krystal’s name for help but it didn’t work. His voice started to fade quickly as he was being taken further into the woods by something he couldn’t describe. Bailey and Krystal found it a good idea to head back to the car where it was safe after grabbing some food from the building. Long after returning back to the car they spotted someone trying to cross the section that isolated them from everyone. These rescue men and women didn’t speak much English but they knew exactly what they were trying to say. By working together and listening to positive things that would help them overcome the tragic trip, Bailey and Krystal were able to make it home safely after several days of horror. (Five days later) No one was ever able to locate the bodies of Kyle or Daniel which made both Krystal and Bailey stop traveling for a while. Paris was not the vacation they dreamed of after all.

The Billfold that wasn't his

 After Thanasis had passed he had told him that he had taken it from under his pillow so that he wouldn’t have to worry the family wouldn’t take it from him. Stathis did this so he could help his own brother so that everyone else wouldn’t strip Thanasis of everything that he had. But when he took not too much longer after Thanasis had passed on he took the Billfold and went to America just like his brother had done. He took it with him so his mother-in-law and wife couldn’t take it and he just had to make sure that he got it away from them. But lets look back when all of Stathis’s jealousy started. When Thanasis left for America all for all the years Stathis became very jealous because his brother was enjoying the good life over in America while he stayed back in Greece and watched over his brothers soon to be wife. Stathis just wanted to live like his brother. The good life. He didn’t want to live like he was and he wanted to just do whatever he wanted to without worrying about anything at home. Everything around him just made him think of how much more his life would be better if he would have followed in his footsteps.

            Every single time he turned a corner he would always think how would my life be if I went to America. All of these years passed and he had wondered if he would ever see his brother again. He would always tell the soon to be bride that he will be back soon enough to marry you and not to worry so much.  More time passed by, day by day, month-by-month, year-by-year. Before they knew it so many years have gone by and they were starting to loose faith that Thanasis was not going to come back to see anyone or to even to get married. Stathis was still so jealous the whole time his brother had been gone every day he thought of his brother and how he would love to live the life in America. Everyone who knew Thanasis well knew that he was in America and they didn’t think that he was going to come back to the area.

            Once people heard that Thanasis was going to come back to finally get married after all of these years’ people started to become really excited. Once he returned and got settled Stathis noticed his big billfold that he had been carrying around. The whole time while his brother was home he wanted to take it all for himself. Once Thanasis had died and knew that Stathis had taken the billfold he knew that he was in the clear. He had taken the billfold for himself. He had successfully taken what he wanted since his brother had returned. After a little time of grieving after his brothers’ death and helping the family members get over the death of Thanasis, Stathis soon followed in his brothers footsteps and traveled to America with his brothers’ billfold. Everyone was shocked when he left for America. They all wanted him to stay back with them just so that they could get their hands on the billfold. He couldn’t let that happen he wanted it all to himself and he would be damned if he would give it up.

            Once he moved and got away from everyone who was trying to get at Thanasis billfold he became happier and liked the fact that he didn’t have to worry about who would try and steal it next or what would happened if he just stayed over there with everyone who was still grieving a little bit over the death of his brother. But one day about a year later while he was walking to the market for food things really started to seep in. It was just about the time of his brothers’ death anniversary and he felt a strange wind coming through the town and he started to think about his brother and everyone back home. He started to think about how he had taken the billfold from his dying brother, which wasn’t rightfully his. He thought about how the family wanted to have it for their own. He didn’t think he did right to his brother because he had taken it to America after his brother had died. He started to go crazy over if he had done the right thing to his brother. Yes his brother was dead but he just went crazy thinking if he should have kept it back at home.

            Slowly but surely he started to loose his mind over this little thing and a couple days went bye, a few months went bye and Stathis had officially lost his mind. Not too much longer after he died from all the madness he just couldn’t take it anymore. After Stathis had passed the billfold was lost. No one knows what happened to it. Some say it was buried due to seeing how Stathis went mad. Others say a thief stole it. No one will ever know what truly happened to the billfold. There will always be that little mystery of what happened to the billfold.

A Knight in the Big City

A Knight in the Big City

            It was just a normal Friday night as Gabriel Thompson was driving home from his double shift at the office in the glamorous New York City. Mr. Thompson wasn't just an ordinary office drone in the corporate world, he actually had an interesting job as a children’s book writer focusing on adventures of a different time and land. Little did he know, that night as his overtired body and mind were focusing on the fact that his body was deprived of sleep, he was going to fall asleep at the wheel and cause an accident that would alter the rest of his life. Once recovered by the first responding EMT’s, Gabriel awoke with a head wound altering his perception of reality. Left inside the hospital he was alone, for his wife was on a business trip and his family estranged.  But Gab didn’t know he was in a hospital, after the crash it led him to believe he was back in medieval times, like in the story he was just working hard that evening to finish for the approaching deadline. Gabriel glanced around astonished at the new world around him, he wasn’t just writing about a knight, but he was a knight himself, Sir Gabriel.  

            He believed he was in a dungeon and he must get out at all costs. Gabriel grabbed his suit of amour and swiftly started walking out of the room. A doctor started to chase after him telling him he hasn’t been discharged, Gabriel swiftly turned around pushed the doctor down and told him that “A dungeon keeper cannot stop him not even the King himself can stop a knight from fulfilling their destiny”. Once that happened security was called, he took this as an opportunity for him to test his skills in stealth and agility. Ducking and dashing Gab went from room to room staying out of sight from the guards. After several minutes of this cat and mouse game he emerged from the dungeon of a building we call a hospital.

Now alone in a place like New York City the only thing Gabriel knew to do was to search for his princess, for he believed she would know what to do. Wondering aimlessly Gabriel asked everyone on the street and every car on the road if they have seen the beautiful Princess Malinda. With receiving nothing but dirty looks, and the light growing dimmer his search was at a dead end. Gabriel decided the best thing to do was to get a goods nights rest under this large bridge nearby. Underneath this bridge he found a group of beggars huddling around a fire in tattered clothing and dirty faces. In his mind they looked like villagers in need of rescuing, they must be save he thought. “I shall help all ye if it be my last breath, to make your lives better is my mission but first I need help finding my maiden, princess Malinda, will anyone assist me on my quest?”. Of course these were no villagers, they were hobos huddling under a bridge seeking a place to rest their heads and most did not pay any attention to any of the nonsense Gab was muttering. They all believed he was crazy, yet one man by the name Edward stepped up and talked to Gabriel about helping him, believing that although his request was outlandish he would truly help them. After a night of sleeping on a trash bag and soda bottles Gabriel had decided to allow Edward to come with him on this journey. They set off that day but neither knew where to even go. Edward had to teach Gab about streets, cars and technology (though he wasn’t educated himself). They didn’t know how to get money for food and water and they were in need of resources. As a knight Gabriel wouldn’t beg for that is a poor man’s doings so Edward begged for a while and got enough money for some drinks and sandwiches. After a day of wondering about Gabriel decided if they were going to find the princess they needed a swift steed. For the princess was far away and the men wouldn’t be able to get there on foot anytime soon. Realizing that he couldn’t just take these creatures on leashes called “dogs” he must find another way of transportation. Edward and Gabriel found two bikes unchained outside a grocery store and took off with them. But there was a problem, Gabriel did not know how to ride one so he rode atop Edwards handlebars. A funny sight to see they rode off as the sun started to go down once more. After finding an empty lot the two men conversed about their lives and Edward realized that there was no way Gab could actually help when he needed help himself. When awaking the next morning Gabriel was left alone, Edward was gone and so was the bike, it seemed to him he had lost his helper. On his own, Gabriel just wandered towards the direction he believed the princess would be found. Gabriel passed an alley where he heard a women yelling and in distress. A maiden was being robbed by a thief, trying only to help he attacked the robber and tried to save the women. She ran off screaming and the robber ran too leaving him standing there in the alleyway. . Seeing the women fleeing a police car stopped to investigate what Gabriel was doing. The policeman asked what Gabriel was doing and he said fulfilling my duty as a knight and saving the damsel in distress. The cop found this explanation absurd and started to approach him figuring he was the robber himself. Gabriel started to run away from this unknown man and the police officer caught up and shoved him to the ground. Unknowing to what would happen to him he fought back with all his strength but it was no good. Next thing Gabriel knew he was being shoved into a larger moving chamber, with bright lights and fast wheels. The whole way back to the station he asked questions like “where am I?” “Where are we going?” and “Who are you?”. The cop stayed silent due to him not wishing to alert and upset him anymore. Once at the station Gabriel was put into a cell while the cops tried to figure out who this man was. After sitting there for hours in silence, a cop finally came up to him and said he has been released. At the end of the hallway was his princess, his wife Malinda. Now calm and relaxed that his princess had been found Gabriel was taken back to the hospital and tests were run to figure out the severity of the brain damage.  It was found that the damage caused by his accident was irreversible and he would be stuck in that state for the remainder of his life. Next, as found to be too much of a burden on his family Gabriel was then then placed into a mental institution. Malinda visits him every day and even helped the homeless people under the bridge by giving them food, water and money one day. The story he wrote that one night he crashed actually became a big hit with families and it was called A Knight in the Big City. So that one book provided for his family the rest of their lives, so that knight was both a blessing and a curse.   

The Interesting Experience of Anthony and Ross

Anthony and Ross have been best friends all throughout their school careers, grammar school, high school, college, you name it and they were there together. Anthony was the star and head captain of his high school’s lacrosse team, while Ross was the high tough wrestler. They both always had a smile on their faces and their classmates and teachers adored them both. Once the time came around for high school graduation and applying for college both Anthony and Ross decided to apply to a very elite University in Brooklyn New York where they both wanted to study and purse engineering. This is where Anthony and Ross discover something they have never been exposed to before.

            College started September 6^th for both the grown college men, both studying engineering while still maintaining their sports titles of captain of the lacrosse team and all-star wrestler. As college went on Anthony and Ross only had one class together and that class was American Culture. They did not mind it at all; they actually found it pretty interesting. They had a project that they had to complete by the second to last week of the semester in which they had to go to an old dusty basement in an old apartment building where a man by the man of Scott Jones once lived who adored mannequins that Master Bedii used to create. When Anthony and Ross found out what they had to do they were a little terrified that they had to go to some random old basement in order to write a paper for their American Culture class, but they sucked it up and did it anyways.

            On October 25^th right around Halloween, Anthony and Ross both decided to go to the old basement and get this project started. They brought along with them a camera, note pad, pen and wore old clothes in case they got dirty. Anthony and Ross got lost on the way to the old apartment because it was so run down and sat further back from the street so it was hard to notice. Finally, Ross pulled over in front of the old apartment it was around 7:30pm. When they walked up to the front door, they unlocked the old beat up wooden door with the key their professor provided them with and stood at the door step for a few seconds starring at the stairs leading to the dark quiet basement. Anthony whispered to Ross “You go first,” Ross replied, “Uhhhh bahhh uhhhh okayyyy,” with a long straight face as if he just saw a ghost. Ross crept down the stairs slowly and once he got to the bottom he flicked on the light which flickered a few times before actually staying on, and took a peek around. Ross shouted to Anthony who was shaking scared in his boots at the tops of the stairs that the basement was not bad at all, and that he can come on down. Anthony walked slowly down the steps and was shocked at what he saw, if not 100 then at least 200 tall mannequins that looked exactly like real people. Ross was in the corner amazed. Anthony said to Ross, “Dude, let’s get out of here, this is way too creepy!” Ross replied, “Relax man we need this for class and this really is not too bad. Let’s just examine these mannequins, figure out why they’re here then we will leave.” Anthony replied, “Okay, but hurry this is weird!” They both started to look around at each mannequin and all of them had such different features to them. Some represented culture and heritage while others were dressed in modern business attire and others as Turkish people. There were two mannequins in particular that Anthony was examining, it was of two Indians, a father who was tall with a very straight and serious look on his face and his son holding his hand looking up at his father as if something was not right. They both wore a feathered skirt around there waist, topless and each had a headband around their head with feathers pointing up from the back. Anthony thought these mannequins looked somewhat lost as if they were hunting for food and could not find any. He wondered why the artist would make such mannequins such as the Indian father and son. “How do you think these got here?” Ross asked. “I don’t know but this one is kind of cute” Anthony said with a joking chuckle. Ross found a little note on the ground that read “These were once Master Bedii’s Mannequins; I can no longer care for them, keep them safe down here and please don’t rough handle them.” “Who is Master Bedii?” Ross said. Anthony pulled out his iPhone and tried googling Master Bedii but no service was available. Both Anthony and Ross decided they would take a few pictures of some of the mannequins and type up a brief report on what they saw as well as add in the note they found and try to see if any of their classmates have heard of Master Bedii. They knew they would get an A+ with all the helpful information they acquired.

            As they drove away Anthony said, “Hey I guess that was not too bad, kind of interesting actually.” Ross replied, “Yeah, you’re right even though you were scared.” They both laughed then headed to a coffee shop so they could organize their final findings for their project. Anthony said, “I wonder if mannequins were ever an “American Culture” is that why our professor sent us?” Ross replied, “Good question, we can bring that up in our findings as well.”

            The due date finally arrived, right before the end of the semester; December 4^th finally was here for Anthony and Ross. They were relieved to finally be handing in this project. As they presented, their classmates were amazed with the mannequins in the photos and learned so much about this apartment basement and Master Bedii himself. The boys ended up receiving an A+ just like they hoped and there professor even let them keep the keys to the apartment basement where the mannequins stand alone in case they ever want to go back down into the basement and explore the mannequins more. The boys laughed, handed the keys back and said, “We will pass but thanks for the offer.”

            Both Anthony and Ross never went back to the old basement ever again. Three years later Anthony and Ross both graduated and successfully became engineers as they wanted, but also, believe it or not they started their own hobby of making their own mannequins themselves. They opened a museum in Brooklyn N.Y. and it was really a success and interest that attracts a lot of people. 

The Mannequins (based on Master Bedii's Children)- Pat McGuire

                

 Photo courtesy of manex-usa.com



Sarphan led me to the basement of his apartment in New York City, where he kept his six mannequins. In the dark, spacious room stood six life-like bodies; their facial expressions blank and serious, as if waiting for an exciting or active moment. Dressed in modern American clothing, one would think these were actual people living in the apartment.  He called the mannequins his family.

            “It took me nearly twenty years to make these,” Sarphan said. “They represent various stages of life and the specific emotions associated with these stages.”

            He pointed each one of them out to me individually like a museum tour guide sharing his knowledge of the finest sculptures. The first mannequin he showed me was a little boy dressed in overalls and a baseball cap carrying a toy car. The little boy represented the innocence of a child and the curiosity towards the world around him. To the right of this mannequin was another boy, somewhat taller than the little boy. This boy was dressed in a basketball jersey and jeans and his left hand was making the “gang sign”. He represented the rebelliousness and the insecurity of the teenage years.

            “Did you feel those exact same emotions growing up?” I ask Sarphan.

            “I built these mannequins as a means of getting these emotions out,” he replied. “I feel like I can relate to each one of them.”

            He then went on to show me his next mannequin; a military soldier in his twenties saluting, which represented emancipation and strength while becoming an adult. Next to that was a somewhat older man wearing a business suit and holding a briefcase, symbolizing knowledge and confidence within a career. Then, I saw a mannequin of a father holding his son, symbolizing love and responsibility for family. Finally, I was shown a mannequin dressed as an old man holding a cane, symbolizing reflection and pride towards a worthwhile life.

            “I can tell your father inspired you to do this,” I said. “Do these mannequins give some kind of message?”

            “My father always said to pay attention to the gestures that make us who we are,” Sarphan replied. “I think it’s especially important to see those gestures as a person matures.”

            A few weeks after I visited Sarphan, his mannequins were chosen to be displayed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He invited me to the opening day of his exhibit. Afterwards, we went back to his apartment for coffee. We found his 14-year-old son Baysan starting to build his own mannequin in the basement.

            “I see he’s taking after your talent,” I said to Sarphan with a laugh.

            “Oh, it’s a family tradition,” he replied. “Not only are the men taught how to build mannequins, but they’re also taught the importance of studying people and their gestures.”

Carny Games & Spray String

Carny Games & Spray String

  This story was written by "Norio .C", based from the "Anansi Stories".

                                  
                             It was a seventy degree day at the Cattlesburg Carnival, this was a day for this carnival to open.  Families had waited for a long time to enjoy this carnival.  There was a girl named Lee, who was around twelv. She seemed upset at times that day.  Lee had friends who were named Jamie and Ruben.  Ruben was about the same age as Lee was, and Jamie was nine.  Jamie's mom and dad were there with the three friends.  The carnival finally opened and the many families entered with great excitement.

                             For the twenty minutes, Lee, her friends and the parents went on some of the popular rides.  There was the spinning swing ride, which Jamie seemed to enjoy the most, but Ruben, however got sick and needed a doggybag afterwards.  Later on, they headed towards the game section.  Jamie was eating cotton candy while Ruben was walking along recovering.  Lee was being as arrogant as her friends knew she usually was, telling her friends how much better she was at winning the carnival games.


                             In a matter of seconds, Ruben was sprayed by aerosol string on his back, and the back of his head, out of nowhere.  Confused, Ruben and the others looked around to see where it came from.  Lee was focusing on Ruben cleaning the stuff off his back.  Jamie told Lee to look behind her.  Lee turned, then was sprayed by the web-like string, then she quickly recognized the person doing this to them.  It was an eleven year old kid named Anthony, who was known to be odd and mischevious.  He came towards them wearing a gray shirt with different types of aracnids on it.

                             Anthony had a hardy laugh and explained how hysterical it was to see Ruben's face while he was cleaning his self off.  Lee,in an annoyed matter, told him to get lost.  Anthony said jokingly, that his feelings were hurt.  Lee grugingly took the string off and threw it at Anthony, but he dodged her throw.  Ruben asked Anthony why he was here. Anthony said the same reason you three are here.  Jamie seemed to like his humorous, yet cunning personality.  Lee still wanted Anthony to leave her and her friends alone.  Anthony came towards Lee and told her, while holding on to her shoulder to relax, he was just having fun.  Then he walked a few steps and shouted that a spider was on her shoulder.  Lee jumped and wiped the fake spider off.  Anthony laughed while Jamie giggled a little.


                             Lee gave Anthony a glare and wanted to give him a piece of her mind.  Anthony then looked towards a gam. Knowing Lee for a long time, and how she was, he said "Oh my gosh!  Is that a giant parrot stuffed animal in that game over there?!"  Lee looked where the game was and immediately adored it.  Anthony had known Lee for 5 years and knew that Lee was into parrots.  Jamie adored it too.  Suddenly Lee got moody again and said, that she didn't need it, with hidden regret.  She said that the game over there was too easy for her skills, and she would not want to waste her time.  Anthony said "Are you sure?  You think your that good?  Maybe your right, you might lose anyway."  She snapped back and said that she would not lose.  Anthony said to her that she was bluffing.  "You are just scared that you might lose."  He said to her that she was overestimating her skills, and that she was not ready.  Lee gave in, and then told Anthony that she will prove to him that she had the skills to win.  Jamie then cheerfully said, that she wanted to compete against Lee in getting that prize.  Lee then told her to bring it on.  Then Anthony said that he will play too.  Lee then said "Fine!!!  I will show you two what I'm really made of!!"


                             Jamie and Lee ran towards the game with Anthony, Ruben, and Jamie's parents following.  Ruben said under his breath, "Here we go again."  Lee paid the young man who was the game keeper for the balloon and darts game, three bucks, then Anthony did and Jamie's dad paid for Jamie to play.  The goal was to hit four balloons to win, winning depended on which balloons were hit.  The light green balloons were 2 points, and were the biggest.  The yellow were 10, the orange were 15, the red were 20, which were the smallest.  The giant parrot was 50 points.  Lee, Jamie, and Anthony were all set to play.  It was Lee's turn and she got 2 yellows, 1 orange and 1 light green, which equalled 37 points.  Jamie was next and she got 34 points, and Anthony was able to get 45 points, enough points to get a new pair of earphones for 40 points.  He was quietly delighted.  Lee, however took it the wrong way and said "Oh, no! Don't even think that was the best that I could do!  I will show you two that my skills are over the top!"  Jamie's mother wanted Lee to settle down.  She explained to Lee that you cannot always win the first time.  Lee sat down, while looking down, catching her breath.


                              Anthony said to her that winning a game is really not that important.  He gave her advice and told her to remember to have fun.  Jamie, then sat next to her and told her to relax.  Then Lee looked at Jamie and told her that she would settle down and that she would try not to take the game so seriously anymore.  Lee got up and started to play again with Jamie.  Lee wondered where Anthony went to.  Ruben said that Anthony was just there and that he seemed to have dissappeared in a matter of moments.  In a minute, Lee and Jamie played again, but now Rubin decided to play.  Lee was able to get 42 points, Ruben got 32 points, and Jamie got exactly 50 points.  She was able to win the giant parrot.  Lee was disappointed, but had learned not to take things so seriously, not to overestimate herself and not to be so hard on herself.  It was enough for her to see her friend win that parrot anyway - to see her happy.  Maybe, she thought, that Anthony isn't so mischievous, after all, while she remembered his advice.