vicarious. (991 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: uberbook
Rating: 1.8 on 23 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by iddqd (View user info) at 2003-10-31 03:10:23 EST
they got out of the car, mum, dad and jimmy. heading for the hobby shop, jimmy could barely restrain himself from running and yeeling at the top of his lungs for joy. a brief pause at the window, to have one last longing look at it before it was his. jimmy felt the same old tightening in his his chest as he stared at it, this tine savouring the pain he felt, as he knew it would be the last time he would feel it. his mum took his hand, led him into the shop. the half-hearted grumble at the cost from his dad killed dead by one glance at the look on his boys face. 3 months of yearning had ended.
the model airplane was his.
the drive back to the farm was spent poring over the box, even though he knew it better than anything in the world. warnings and instructions on the back, in english and some funny words that he couldnt understand. one end of the box red, the other, a picture of the plane soaring majestically over the earth, wings as red as the box. the plane soared in the picture, but not like it soared in his mind, in his dreams. in the picture the plane flew eternally over the same patch of ground. in his dreams it glided over hills and streams, rivers and mountains, out to the golden margin of the sea. as his childs imagination wandered, always it was accompanied by the plane.
an eternity later, they arrived home, at the farm.
he marched solemnly indoors, into his bedroom and placed the box down onto his bed. ran outside to the shed, found the bit of plywood he had been saving special. ran back inside with it, placed it down onto his floor. turned to the box. carefully, carefully, opened one edge, reached in and removed each item one by one onto his bed. some glue, a roll of red plastic, a large elastic band, some fine sanding paper, some angular lines of delicate, feather-light balsawood, the instructions; though he felt he could put it together blind-folded, the ritual had to be followed.
he took the instructions, unrolled them and pinned the sheet down onto the plywood. jimmy smiled with satisfaction as the sheet fit the plywood exactly. as he somehow knew it would. he placed the balsa and began the construction. a few hours later he was called out for dinner. after dinner, he ran straight back to his room. just as it was bed-time he had finished putting together the main arts and sanding them down. now all was left was to cover them with the plastic and fit them together. then it would be finished then all would be complete.
the next day he had school again. the agony. he briefly considered acting sick in the morning, but he knew that wouldnt fly with his mum, so he got dressed and dragged himself to school, away from the plane, and its lofty promise, into the mundane world of multiplication and reading, football and lunchtime. minute after minute dragged as all he could think about was the plane. he looked out the window and could see the plane easliy croosing the playground, as it passed over the fence, over the road, over the nearby houses, over everyting, nothing could stop it. a bell sounded. freedom. the weekend beckoned.
time blurred on the long ride home. the tilled fields and wild scrub a brown and green mess as the bus sped him home. when he got home he ached to be back in his room, finishing the plane, but the farm called, chores had to be done. animals fed, stalls cleaned. but as much as he wanted to go to it, he could wait - it was saturday tomorrow. he had all day to himself.
chorse finished, baths had, bedtime, and sleep! tomorrow would be a big day.
he woke up before the sun, before the birds, before everything. the world was still night, but who could sleep? got out of bed, pulled mums iron out of the cupboard and set to affixing the plastic to thier respective parts. white plastic for the body. red, bright, shiny red for the wings. he wrapped it around and then ironed it in place, the heat shinking the plastic to the shape, making it smooth, making it sleek. he got the stickers of windows and numbers and carefully placed them where they should be. it was complete.
he was ready to fly.
he wolfed down some breakfast and ran outside, over and up to the top of the nearby hill that his house sat in the lee of. a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. his dads fields, and animals. the bush surrounding them, dwarfing them. he looked at the plane, it was perfect, it was ready. he was ready. he got a run-up, took a few steps, and heaved it into the air, as hard as his young stick-arms could muster. the plane wobbled a moment, caught a draft, and was away. he ran after it, underneath it for awhile, but it stadily grew faster, and faster. soon it was too fast to catch.
onward it sailed throught the air, over jimmys dads fields, over jimmys fathers animals. toward the scrub, toward the vast bushland. behind jimmy ran, shouting rapturously after it, willing it faster, willing it higher. higher the plane flew. faster the plane went. toward the wilderness, toward the eventual ocean.
soon it was out of sight.
this had taken no longer than 3 minutes.
jimmy walked back to the house, hands in his pockets, eyes on the ground. his mind somewhere else entirely. it was out, over the trees and scrub, over the creeks and rivers, over the waves and sea. over everything. his father was waiting for him when he got back. he had seen it happen, and had stern words for jimmy, at losing his (expensive) new toy already. jimmy just stood and listened, but did not hear. he turned and walked toward the house. his mother came to him, hugged him, tried to soothe, like mothers do. rubbed his back and said im sorry. we'll get another plane. im so sorry.
jimmy just smiled. he didnt need another plane. he already had one.
the plane sailed out over the ocean, out towards foriegn lands and foreign people.
jimmy smiled.
User Reviews
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2004-05-26 15:11:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
very good! the title is aptly fitting.
Submitted by JacksUp <shaverson29.at.hotmail.com> at 2004-05-26 14:56:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
That sucked donkey dick.
I almost fell asleep.
Submitted by iddqd (user info) at 2004-05-24 23:20:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
ill put my eye out!? wtf?/???/??slash?
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2004-05-24 21:29:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
you'll put your eye out
Submitted by disgruntled (user info) at 2004-05-22 22:14:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Great post.
Bad for the airplane. Btw, another cheap alternative to radio control flying would be control line. That's fun too...although it kinda makes you dizzy.
Submitted by indigogecko (user info) at 2004-05-22 04:28:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
wow. very well written, great sentiment. Just, wow.
Submitted by polyamorousaj (user info) at 2004-05-21 21:06:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Best I've read by you.
Submitted by MOssiah (user info) at 2003-11-06 23:09:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
...wow
Epic post.
====================================
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2003-10-31 05:07:14 (#)
Ranking: 2
I bet you have like five pens in your shirt pocket don't you?
Nice one apollo!
Submitted by Awko (user info) at 2003-11-01 08:48:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Brilliant
Submitted by MickGinny (user info) at 2003-11-01 08:31:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
cool id.
freedom.
Coincidentally, I just wrote something similar that I was considering posting when I felt it was complete. Now I definitely will as you have finished it for me.
Submitted by K.M (user info) at 2003-10-31 17:05:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Well, he can live vicariously through the plane, soaring high when life gets mundane.
Submitted by K.M (user info) at 2003-10-31 17:04:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome.
Submitted by Natophelia (user info) at 2003-10-31 16:53:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by GodChicken (user info) at 2003-10-31 16:39:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
excellent.
http://www.whitewings.com/
I had some of these as a kid. quite complex, some of them.
Submitted by xLisaCatx (user info) at 2003-10-31 10:37:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
What's wrong with analyzing the physics of Star Trek?
Warp Theory turns me on.
Submitted by Samover (user info) at 2003-10-31 10:26:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1067613204403829459
look at this Iddqd
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2003-10-31 08:48:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
It's a nice title iddqd. And a nice story.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2003-10-31 07:23:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I can honestly say without a doubt that this story is one of the greatest things I have ever read on this site.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2003-10-31 05:07:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
""""Submitted by PizzaEagle (user info) at 2003-10-31 03:16:38 (#)
Ranking: 0
If the plane was rubber band powered like most model airplanes are, then I sincerely doubt it went for 3 minutes... If it was gas powered, then the kid was an idiot for not buying a radio control system. I mean, they're not even that expensive. You can buy a 2 or 3 channel one for like 50 bucks. """
Are you some kind of freak or something?
Its a child.
In rural Oz. (?).
With a balsa wood plane.
It's called imagination.
I bet you have like five pens in your shirt pocket don't you?
Submitted by Otter (user info) at 2003-10-31 03:43:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Not to very bad id.
Only thing is you are usually better about spell checking on your stuff.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2003-10-31 03:31:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I like this.
I like Jimmy's imagination still soaring over the fields, towards the sea.
Is Jimmy still with the plane?
I think so.
I think whenever he wants he can tune in and see where his creation is, whenever he is lonely or bored, stuck in school or doing his chores, the freedom of the plane will be his
Nice imagery.
Submitted by iddqd (user info) at 2003-10-31 03:26:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
dude, you suck.
do you have NO imagination?
read it again.
either that or go pick holes in the physics in some star-trek next generation episode.
Submitted by PizzaEagle (user info) at 2003-10-31 03:16:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
If the plane was rubber band powered like most model airplanes are, then I sincerely doubt it went for 3 minutes... If it was gas powered, then the kid was an idiot for not buying a radio control system. I mean, they're not even that expensive. You can buy a 2 or 3 channel one for like 50 bucks.