Everyday Canvas

Celebrities and Chocolate

Prompt: A lot of celebrities, actors, musicians, and otherwise famous people died in 2016.   died in 2016. Is there one you'll miss the most, or one who had any particular influence on any of your writing?

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I checked the link and among those on that list there was nobody among actors, although I preferred some to others and liked all of them just fine, but on the other sections, I was definitely moved by Pat Conroy, the way he wrote the emotional stuff with feeling and realism but not sappiness. In fact, he might just be my favorite author of all time. I’ll always miss him.

Following Pat Conroy is Elie Wiesel who--through his writing with emotion and directness for he had suffered in a Nazi camp-- used his moral authority to force attention on the atrocities around the world. His wise words should never be forgotten.

Next comes Umberto Eco, whose work I discovered a few decades ago. I may not agree with his every word, but I respect his art greatly. I especially like his historical sense, complex ideas, cynicism or rather his skeptical look at humanity, and Italian intellectualism. Plus, I think he is very readable. In addition to his many maxims on the importance and love of books, this quote by him says what he is all about: “I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.” from Foucault's Pendulum

Prompt: Pick a brand name and scramble the letters. Write a short piece using the scrambled word as a brand name in an alternate universe.

Cadbury (Chocolate brand name)
Cuy-bard

Chocolate

The tunnel straightened itself without any effort to accommodate us painters. I sat on its rails with a mannequin in front of me, painting eyes and lips on it, slowly and with precision. She was to be used as a spy in interdimensional espionage.

There were thousands like me inside the tunnel, which was pleasantly cool and narrow, with doors on both ends sliding open and closed. I concentrated on the face, which had turned into the color of a green soap, and I bit down hard on my lower lip. How could this be a spy? No way we could send this mannequin down to spy on the humans on earth of the second universe with such a face color. When I had asked where would my piece go, the manager had said, Earth, but nobody on earth had green skin to my knowledge. My puzzled look reflected about me and the being behind me caught it.

“That’s a special one,” he thought-projected. I turned around. He was an elegant wedge-shaped being with polished shoes.

“What gave you that idea?”

“I have the possession of the decrees and the list.” He pushed forward the holograph of the list. The list was stately and unflappable, no question about it, and he had to be my monitor since he was sitting behind me and watching my work.

“How so?” I asked.

He took his time answering. “It is a special one you have. Progressive. It will be used in three universes, not only in one puny planet at the edge of the second universe. Look, it has already been given a name, Cuybard.”

“Cuybard? What’ll it do?”

“Look for yourself.” He lit up the holograph brighter. “She’ll be able to sell anything to anyone. She’s a selling mechanic.”

“Cuybard, the selling mechanic. Why of course. Thanks!”

I stroked the mannequins face. It opened its lips and said, “I like you. You’ll like my product, too, because it tastes exactly like chocolate, but with no calories. It is love.”

“See?” the one behind me thought-projected again. “Cuybard read your thoughts about Earth where love was supposed to reign but didn’t. Humans messed it all up. It is, however, mixing up chocolate with love. Make sure it gets corrected before it is sent.”

“Is it selling love, now? And what is chocolate?”

“Love cannot be sold, but chocolate comes a close second and it can be sold. It lifts up spirits and calms nerves. So Cuybard will probably sell chocolate, if they send it to Earth after scrambling its letters, of course.”

“With a green face?”

“The green face is for the third universe. For the second universe, it’ll change to a human’s color in the wormhole. Just look at the holograph more closely.”

“Oh, now I wonder what chocolate tastes like?”

“Are you wondering now? See, Cuybard is an excellent seller. It got you, didn't it! So, you want to be sent to Earth, just for chocolate? I could put in a word for you to those who might listen.”

“Yes!” I was really eager now. “I would go there to earth just for chocolate, even if nothing else works!”