Fun fact. Did you know as a kid I debated on joining the circus and becoming a clown? No joke. I even learned how to do card tricks and make balloon animals. Why was did I want this? I was intrigued from my own family history. Turns out I came from a line of circus clowns from my grandfather’s side. They specialized in unicycle acts which amused the crowd with their antics. I learned this history when I was asked if I wanted to join a visiting circus. The ringmaster knew my grandfather and knew of my interest. I, being young, declined the offer at the time since I wanted to finish school with my friends. (What a silly decision in hindsight… so much opportunity for my future. Then again…) When I returned to my seat, I asked my grandfather why we weren’t part of it anymore. He pointed at the high wire and shook his head. In his strange way, he told me he was afraid of heights… this was shared by his children. I shook my head at the twist of fate. After all I was already known as a clown… might as well made it official.
Tag: KCJHutchins
Family Storytime: My Brother’s Title
Those who didn’t read my other story about my cousin’s title might not understand what this means. If you want the explanation, click here (https://kcjhutchins.com/2023/06/13/video-game-storytime-my-cousins-title/). Otherwise, I’m continuing on. So, I grew up playing video games with my younger brother. This, of course, meant we played a lot of co-op games since competitions would occasionally end badly. For those who’ve never played a game with someone, you might find people think very differently from you. For instance, boulders are blocking your path and your thought is to blow them up to clear the path. However, your partner thinks to jump over the rocks instead. When he was a kid, he’d always head straight to the treasure… often at my expense. There would be hordes of enemies after us, but the glitter of gold would pull him away… leaving me with the enemies.
Barely scraping by, I’d annoyingly yell for him to come back… which he’d often respond with, “We need the treasure.”
I’d remind him by saying, “We could grab it afterwards. You know once the enemies aren’t trying to kill us?”
“Oh, I’ll remember next time.” He’d always say.
While I was in high school, we played this dragon game (The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon) where we were linked. Try to pull too far away and you’d pull your partner. Surrounded, my brother went straight for the treasure. I, unable to stand my ground or really fight, soon fainted and this causes us both to lose.
He asks, “What the heck? How did you die?”
Which I responded, “I was a victim of greed.”
He laughed realizing what happened at which I joined in the revelry. However, it gets worse. Since he’d left me to fight on my own so often, I was a considerable high level… while he wasn’t. We ended up playing the stupid siege level sooooo many times due to this little hiccup. But, oh no, this isn’t what gave him his title. After all, this was too soon before the idea came to my head.
Fast forward to around myself starting college. My brother convinced me to play this Zelda game where we fight on a battlefield (I don’t remember the name). At one point in the game, you need to face three boss fighters at once. Now, they are quite far from one another at first… so you could take them down one at a time. I mean the only way they’d come together is if you lured them over. No one in the right mind would do this… right? Can you tell what happened? That’s correct… my brother purposedly lured them over to me as he went to swipe the treasures. An act of betrayal while he laughed and watched me take these down by myself. Which was working… until a boss noticed and rolled after him. The fight was much easier at that point.
When it was all over and done, I turned to him and exclaimed, “You are officially known as the Treasure Seeker, and I will remember that!”
We both were laughing our butts off from the whole thing. To this day, he continues to hunt for the treasure to stay true to his title.
School Storytime: 2-3 Storey Drop
Yes, you read the title right. Let me explain. Back in my early middle school days, I used to go to a private school. By any means, this wasn’t a rich school (Though according to my parents they were paid well enough to be). So, don’t ask if I got caviar and stuff because I didn’t. In fact, we needed to bring our own lunch. Why am I telling you this? Field trips were rare, and we didn’t possess basic facilities like a gym. You can imagine how excited we were when a local indoor rock-climbing place offered the school free use of their place for a gym course. We bounced off the walls in excitement to try our hands at it. When we first arrived, we were told exactly what we were learning… and some of us weren’t excited anymore. We were going to both climb and belay fellow classmates. For those who don’t know, belaying is the person holding the rope for the climber. It’s their job to pace and keep up with the climber so the rope doesn’t slack. Thus, preventing said person from falling, flipping over, tied up, etc. They claimed anyone could partner up with each other since the belayer is attach to the ground by a hook and harness. Meaning, someone five feet tall could belay someone a foot taller than them and weighed considerably more. Do you see the potential disaster yet?
Anyways, we pair up for the day. My partner was someone half my size/weight and I got a bad feeling. Didn’t matter though… we weren’t allowed to say no, or our grade would suffer. I took my feet off the safe padded ground and ascended the wall. The entire way I could feel the line was loose; saying this a couple times and slowing down for them to catch up. Once at the top and slapping the bar, I looked down and asked them to gently lower me down. I felt the line go slack and I fell straight down to the floor. My life flashed before my eyes… a good thing too since it reminded me how to fall without hurting myself. As the free-falling sensation tingled my skin and wind blew passed my ears, I steadied my feet to land. When I smacked the ground, my body vibrated and fell backwards. Suspended slightly off the ground for one of the adults noticed the incident. Looking over, I saw my fellow student off the ground and in the air… only stopped by the hook. I shook a bit from the shock while crowded by everyone. I don’t think anyone checked me for injury. Just asked if I was ok, I said yes, and that was that. The kicker is this happened three more times afterwards… with no punishment, retelling the rules, or redemonstrating to prevent it from happening again. Can you imagine why left this school in that year? Oh, the irresponsibility of that school (You’ll hear more about it)… Funny enough I did see the appropriate response from a teacher when this happened while in high school… something I’ll save for another day.
Work Storytime: Ice Cream Cone
So, this was my first job with taxes involved. A bit more pressure to do things correctly. My boss was a very angry man who talked with his hands. It wasn’t abnormal to hear him shouting and knocking stuff over. This came from his desire to sell the business for the past couple years; thinking about it more as a way to make money rather than a passion. Given this added stress level, it made it all the more imperative to succeed… especially for a kid in high school. However, he owned a very mixed business… a combination of a deli, convenient store, restaurant (And I use that term lightly), and ice cream stand. This gave me a lot to learn in little time. Thankfully, he was rarely there. Doubly so since I could never do one simple task… swirl an ice cream cone. No matter what I tried I couldn’t make a soft serve stay on a cone… To the point where my managers wouldn’t let me try anymore. Laughing at the fact I could do anything else, but this one easy task. Now, this was happening for months, and it was a well-known fact by all members of staff. In comes my boss on one of his rare visits. Customer orders a twist soft serve cone. My manager says he’ll be there in a minute to do it.
Overhearing this, my boss says, “KC can do it.”
Without missing a beat, he responds, “No, he really can’t make one.”
The most bewildered and angry face went on my boss’s face. Growling he commands, “Show me.”
First attempt was too small.
“Come on!” He says.
Second time, too big and uneven. Now, I’m hearing laughter.
In between I hear, “One more time.”
This time it was just plain deformed. They both were trying to catch their breath, my manager grabbing the cone for the customer.
Finally, my boss was able to squeeze out, “I guess it’s fine you can’t do one thing. Easier on my wallet too if I don’t let you try anymore.”
After they recovered from on the floor laughing, the three of us sat at one of the tables. Each of us ate one of the messed-up cones with a smile on our faces.
Depths of Depression
Down, down I go
To the cold I know…
Sinking faster below the surface
Wishing I knew a service…
All I see is misery and woe
It’s what one sees down below…
The glimmer of lights fading
No hope for wading…
It ends in darkness
Seeing the light less…
You’ll never claw yourself out
Just sink and mope about!
Forget what makes life worth living
And embrace the end of forgiving!
Yet there may still reside a voice
Giving us a glimmer of choice.
Hold your breath and you’ll get through
After all you know it’s true!
Use the tools to ask for help
Before you start eating the kelp!
From my side I pull the pouch
A handful of items which don’t slouch,
Helpful for some days
But not for today,
Yet there was one among the rest
A glass bottle to write to the best.
With pen in hand I scribble away
Hoping the ink will stay!
A last bit of effort I release
My final act please get it! Please!
Fading away I almost didn’t find
The lifeline I thought a trick of my mind!
Two hands wrap tightly on the rope
As I was rewarding for my belief in hope!
She pulls me on deck with a hug and kiss
Telling me how much she loves me and would miss!
The happiness we found together
And how we could storm any weather!
Slowly, happiness returns
To the point it burns.
Yet I feel the icy depths call
And I know again I’ll fall…
So, keep her close and near
Or you’ll lose it all I fear…
KC J. Hutchins' Blog- A Journal of a Creative Creature 