The Wanderings and Thoughts of Kip Kellogg

by Vincent Spada #7

At first Kip wasn't even going to go out that night, because it was raining very hard, but then, he figured he should, because he didn't want to miss something important that he might see. So he got out a yellow raincoat and went wandering as usual. As he walked he felt the rain splash down, and it made him think of something he once heard. It was an old saying, and it said that the rain falls on both the just and the unjust.

Kip thought about what it meant for a minute, and he figured that what they were saying is that bad things happen to all people. That no one has it completely easy, and that all people get soaked at least once in a while. Kip figured that was fair, and then he wondered what he was. Was he a just person or an unjust person? Kip actually even stopped walking for a moment, and looked up at the sky, almost expecting an answer. But nothing happened, except more rain falling down, so he continued on his way. Kip figured that no one could really answer that question, except the guy who makes the rain. And, as usual, that guy was keeping real quiet.

It kept right on raining, but Kip kept right on wandering. He found his way to the park again, and when he did he saw a statue the city had recently erected. It was of this soldier who had died in World War II, and had received a medal for his service. Kip looked at the statue in the darkness, and wondered about that soldier. He must have been very frightened all those years ago, when he headed off to fight.

Kip thought about all the other soldiers in all the other wars, who had vanished and never ever been found. So many young people sacrificed, for something that could have been avoided. Kip looked at the statue again, and it made him feel pretty low. That soldier was a brave man, but he had to die just to prove it. It seemed a real shame to Kip. It was an awful sad way to get a statue.

Kip walked across the park and then passed the city college. Years ago he had thought about going to college, but had finally just gotten a job. Kip knew it was probably better to have a diploma, but he was never good at school because he just couldn't concentrate. While the teacher was talking, he would always be looking out the window, thinking about something else that had nothing to do with the class. But it didn't really bother Kip. He figured it didn't matter whether or not you went to college. After all, it was just a piece of paper. It didn't make you smarter or better than anyone else.

Kip went to a convenience store after that and bought himself a soda. It was still raining out, so he leaned up against a dumpster and waited for it to slow down. When he did his shoulder touched something, and when he turned around he could see that it was a bow and arrow set. Not a kid's set, but an adult one, used for hunting. Kip was surprised to see something like that in a dumpster, and his first thought was that maybe it had been used in a murder or something, and had been tossed out just to get rid of evidence. But when he looked at it again, he could see that it was just old and worn out.

Kip thought about hunting, and figured that it wasn't really a bad thing. He figured that as long as the person ate the animal, it wasn't any different than someone buying a hamburger or a hot dog. But Kip didn't agree with hunting only for sport. He figured that was wrong. He thought that if you were going to take a creature's life, you could at least use it for food. Kip thought about the way the Indians used to hunt, and he really agreed with that. When they hunted a deer and killed it, they would explain to the deer that they were sorry they had to kill it, and that they only did it because they needed to keep their family alive. Kip could see that the Indians really respected nature, and that they did things the right way. Kip really admired them for that. The way the Indians used to live was beautiful.

Kip finished his soda and wandered over to a bus stop. When he did he saw this old lady sitting on a bench, feeding popcorn to a bunch of pigeons. Kip wondered why the pigeons were up so late at night, and then he laughed as he watched them running around after the popcorn as the old lady threw it. It was a good deal, thought Kip. The pigeons got something to eat, and the old lady had some friends to sit with. It didn't matter that they couldn't speak, or that they were just there to get the popcorn. What mattered was that they were there, and they made her feel better.

Kip kept watching the old lady feeding the pigeons, and secretly wished he had a camera so he could take a snapshot. It wasn't an extraordinary scene or anything like that, but it was simple and had a lot of dignity. Kip always looked for things like that in life. Plain, simple moments that made real sense to him.

Finally Kip went home, undressed and went to bed. He closed his eyes against his pillow, and tried to sleep like the rest of the world.

But sadly, Kip couldn't sleep. Like always, he was wide awake.

You can contact Vincent Spada at cemetery76@yahoo.com. He is interested in further publishing of his work.