Island Friends - The End | Empty Beanie Blog

Island Friends - The End

Posted by JMD - 03/29/09 at 04:03:37 pm

“And that, children, is the story of the strength of a bond of friendship between two men,” said Jeffery Sloss. He was sitting in front of a row of children during story hour at the pediatric ward of Oschner Medical Clinic in New Orleans, LA.

“But wait a minute Mr. Sloss,” said little Danny Phife. “That story doesn’t make any sense. If they were flying from Ohio to California then how did they end up on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean?”

“Hmm,” said Sloss. “I think the pilot was taking a detour to Hawaii. But that’s not really what’s important in the story.”

“Why did the pilot want to go to Hawaii?” asked little Sally Lambert.

“I think he left his keys there. You’re really missing the point here, kids. It’s about a life time bond between…”

“And you never explained why the plane crashed,” injected little Mike Bradbury. “Isn’t that important? And also why were there goats on a tropical island in the Pacific? Did the goats swim there or something? And who the heck counts jelly beans for a living?”

“Ah, you crazy kids with your AIDS and your chemotherapy,” said Sloss smiling. “The story is about friendship and discovering yourself. You can’t read into the details so literally.”

Just then a nurse came into the reading room and stopped in shock when she saw Sloss there reading to the children.

“What the hell are you doing here, Sloss?” the nurse almost screamed, to the delight of the children. “The judge told you after your last pedophilia conviction that you can’t come in here anymore. Why don’t you go home and molest your own kids. Either that or take it up to the geriatrics on the eighth floor.”

“Oh Miss Claudia,” said Sloss. “You know my children are already dead.” They both had a good laugh at that as the other children glared at each other nervously. Jeffrey waved to the kids one final time and walked out the door, never to return. Nurse Claudia sat down in the red plastic chair previously occupied by Jeffrey and grimaced.

“Ah gross, it’s all sticky,” she whispered. She settled in reluctantly and the children looked up at her soft yet imposing frame. “Alright kids, now who wants to hear a real story?”

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