The Wanderings and Thoughts of Kip Kellogg

by Vincent Spada

#2

Kip Kellogg had trouble sleeping. Kip could never fall asleep. He'd lay there for a spell, just thinking, then Kip would get right up. He'd pull on his pants, find his dirty sneakers, and go wandering into the night. Trying to find that something, that something that would make real sense.

First Kip walked past the Post Office. It was closed, but Kip didn't mind. Kip thought about mailmen, and how important they really were. If the mail suddenly stopped, then business would stop, and then the whole world might stop. Kip figured they should at least get a little more credit, but they probably never would. That didn't seem right to Kip. He thought garbagemen and farmers were really important, too, but he wasn't near a farm or the dump, so he decided to think about it another time.

Kip sat down on a bench, and saw some ducks in a nearby pond. Kip couldn't believe that ducks would be out at night, but there they were, swimming. Kip figured that the ducks would migrate soon, and he laughed because he pictured people doing the same thing. Moving all over the place every six months or so. It was a great thought, but it didn't last very long. Also, Kip didn't have any bread for the ducks; he was starting to feel guilty, so he got up and said goodbye.

Kip wandered his way to a doughnut place, and went inside to get a doughnut. The lady behind the counter was nice, and Kip wondered if she was married. Not that Kip wanted to marry her or anything like that. It's just that whenever Kip saw nice people, he wondered if they had a second nice person to live with and love. Kip figured she didn't, because most people are alone in the world. Then Kip thought that maybe that's why some people turn angry. Because they don't have anyone to love. Kip thought about that for a while, then he bought a doughnut and left.

Kip went back to the pond, to pay the ducks their doughnut. But they were gone, and Kip sat back down on the bench, pretty much disappointed. Kip figured it was his fault, because he hadn't told the ducks he was coming back. Kip always forgot things. Kip wished he had a better memory. But because he was always thinking, Kip forgot lots of things. Kip thought he shouldn't think so much, but that seemed impossible, because everyone is always thinking, in a way. But Kip still figured he was wrong for thinking too much, and he figured he should have told the ducks he'd be back.

Kip went to the Little League baseball diamond. It reminded Kip of when he was young. He wasn't a very good player, but he tried, and that was enough. Kip remembered his father, and some of the things he had said. Kip wished his father wasn't dead, but he was, and that was that. Kip knew that no matter what a person believes in, they all end up in the same place. At first, that made Kip sad, and he just looked at the ground, but then he thought, maybe it wasn't so bad. In a way, that seemed fair to Kip. Life might not be fair, but death was. It didn't judge, or make exceptions. Black or white, it took everyone, because to death, everyone's the same. That made real sense to Kip. It seemed really fair 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.

Any ideas about Kip? Contact the author, Vincent Spada, at cemetery76@yahoo.com.