What a day I had, yesterday. When I woke up I did as usual. I made coffee and looked out the window to see the traffic and weather. My house fronts out onto a major highway in East Texas. I can pretty much tell the news of the day by watching our traffic. I also have a railroad track on the other side of the highway. I watch the rail cars to find out what industries are shipping. I watch the big trucks rushing by for the same reason. Yesterday I was so excited.
I am retired so my hours are different than most folks. I woke up at midnight like I usually do. I looked out the window. There was fog for as far as the eye could see. Nothing but fog. I could not even see the signal light a block away. That meant that Tipsy was coming to see me. I watched the fog very closely. I saw the twinkle, I just knew it was Tipsy. She got closer and closer.
"Jane, Jane, you gotta help me. Please, help me." Tipsy was so beautiful. She always took my breath away she was so beautiful. The tare in her wing told me she was in trouble. I knew my hands were too big to do it properly. My mind raced thinking of ways to help her. Magnifying glass, maybe a tiny piece of cotton on a toothpick. Then, I realized that besides the torn wing, she might need something else. She was about half the size of a lightning bug. I had to wear my glasses for sure.
"Tipsy, I am ready. What do you need? I know you were delivering lists to cloud nineteen but why the fog, why the special trip?" I watched as she landed upon the soft soap suds I had prepared for her. She had to land on something soft or it would damage her delicate wings. They were so lacey. I also knew it must be very important for her to be here.
"I had to bring the fog in order to come. I have a friend who is falling to earth and if someone does not catch him, he will be killed. It is my fault he is falling. I am not big enough to help. Oh, Jane. Can you open your freezer for me? The heat here is melting me." She fluttered over to the freezer as I opened the door. The cold air seemed to help steady her. As she was telling me the story, she was gently repairing her wing. This is what she told me.
"Jane, I got lost this morning. I could not find cloud nineteen. I spotted a flock of ducks flying in formation. I caught up with one of the little guys at the end. Let me just turn on my recorder. You know we always have to record everything, just in case Karma wants to know what happened. If there is a mistake... the poop is on us. Yuke."
I watched as Tipsy spread out her wing and dipped her fingers into the frost along the inside of my freezer. She flapped her now mended wing.
She hovered over my open freezer. Her eyes twinkled and suddenly I was watching her as if I was in the recording with her. She flew up as if she were flying beside a flock of ducks. "This is what happened."
"Who are you? What are you? "I am Tipsy, I am a Karma fairy. Do you know where cloud nine---?
"Everybody knows where cloud nine is, why don't you?"
"I am looking for cloud nineteen not nine. No one ever lets me finish. I have to find it. I also get to be in charge of traffic from cloud nineteen to twenty-seven. The pigeons do not even slow down or stop. I have to keep all the flyways clear."
"I am a duck, please, I need to follow the duck in front of me. I don't have time to chat. I never heard of a Karma fairy."
"You might know us as Can'tSeeEms."
"I guess you could say we are kind of a secret. We direct the traffic up here so others like yourself do not fly into another group going somewhere else. We also are in charge of making sure the right lists get to the right angels. We do a lot of things, but we always start out doing assignments with Karma."
"Lists, what kind of lists?"
"What is your name?"
"I am Drip-it. Listen, Tipsy, this is my second flight with the flock. I gotta concentrate. I can show you where nineteen is but it is tricky. I have no idea what you are talking about Karma."
"Well, you are too young to have any poop assignments yet. When you get older you will periodically be called to perform poop duty. It is fun for you, work for us, and Karma exercising."
"What is Karma? What is a poop list?"
"Jane do you see him watching me. Poor dear, I guess I am his first Karma fairy." She went on to explain.
"Drip-it turned his head ever so slightly to see me. I should have realized his curiosity was going to get him into trouble. He could not take his eyes off me." Back to the recording.
"Karma is kind of a consequence for doing something unkind or saying something unkind to someone else. It works on all mammals. Humans make up our longest lists. We get the lists from Karma and deliver them to the angels over on cloud nineteen. Last-minute lists go to cloud eight. Pigeons are the birds who get the most number of lists. I guess they enjoy it. They find the people on the list and poop on them. It is easy duty. The humans always say the same thing, Yuke!"
"What if there are no clouds?"
"There are always clouds somewhere. We live in them so I know. I notice you flap your wings too. Why do you follow the duck in front of you?"
"Because he knows where we are going. We have stopping places. We spend time at each one before heading back to our main pond for winter and then another big one for spring. We have to be real careful in the spring though. Sometimes we get shot by one of the humans." Flap, flap, "Oh, sorry Tipsy we got our wings flapping against each other. Oh, no, Tipsy, help me. I am going down. Help, Waterlilly, help." Drip-it could not quack loud enough for anyone to hear him.
"I am so sorry." I watched as Drip-it started spirally out of control. I tried to remember who he called for help. "Waterlilly, Drip-it needs help, Help." I am too small to help him. Oh, I should not have talked to him.
"Did you call me? Who are you? What are you?"
A huge duck almost blew her out of the sky. "I was talking to Drip-it. He is going down there. You need to help him. I am too small." I pointed to Drip-it making his downward plunge.
"I have to get to cloud nineteen, you better rescue Drip-it."
"I do not have time to rescue anyone. I am chasing Tailfeather. See her up there, just ahead. She is my target. Go rescue the idiot who can not talk and fly at the same time. If he survives, he will learn from his mistake."
Waterlilly abruptly pushed himself forward to come alongside Tailfeather.
The recording shut off. Tipsy looked at me and I knew I would help her.
"I tried to get another group of ducks to help but they were on some sort of schedule and could not do it. They also had another injury to deal with. They suggested I come on down and find someone to help me. That is why I am here, Jane."
"Lead the way. Let me grab my hat, a basket, and we can get duck food on the way."
Traveling through fog is a very strange feeling. You see cars come in and out of it like a magic curtain. Tipsy was little but her heart was big.
"You are going to have to do some walking. Can you walk very far? Jane, I do not want you to hurt yourself."
"I am fine Tipsy. Is it possible for me to see what happens to Waterlilly?" Tipsy started laughing, she knew and I knew that the recording would get him on a poop list for sure.
"There is a hot-air balloon place in the next town. I can get there by balloon and catch him before he descends any further."Tipsy, was going to be in trouble if the ice I had in the bucket beside me in the car melted. "Tipsy, I think I am going to make sure we get this done right." I got out of the car and went inside and got the ice chest and filled it with frozen peas, corn, carrots, and as many frozen vegetables as I could fit in it. I took it out to the car. "Look Tipsy, get in here and I will crack a small opening so we can talk. I also grabbed an extra blanket and a coat for myself. I am not a Can'tSeeEm so I get cold."
I was very pleased with myself. Tipsy fluttered inside the ice chest and we were on our way. I had a credit card so there was the cost of the balloon. We found the place and surprised the little man operating the thing when I brought my ice chest on board and told him to take off. We were up and getting closer to the coordinates Tipsy had given me. I looked up. There was Drip-it still spiraling down. I cracked the ice chest. Tipsy was safe and ready to help. She suddenly flew up and turned her body away from the operator's face and flapped her wings. His eyes got big and a smile came on his face. He was mesmerized by her beauty. A few flaps of her wings should do the trick.
"Sir, can you move the balloon over about six feet. That's right. Good job."
"Got ya'. Hi, Drip-it. I'm Jane. You already know Tipsy." Drip-it was stunned. He started quacking louder and louder. "Calm down, you are all right. Do you have any idea where you were going with your flock?"
Drip-it shook his head. He looked at me, then at Tipsy, then at the operator. The operator was just staring. "We were going to a lake not far from Tyler, Texas. No, maybe it is Longview. There are several lakes in that area."
I had to know, "Drip-it, can you fly?"
He spread out his wings and yes, he could fly. He flapped his wings. "I have no idea where to go. I will, sure enough, be either shot down or knocked out of the sky long before I figure it out. I am still called a duckling." He lowered his head and looked up at me with those big soulful eyes.
"How are you, Tipsy?"
"I am okay, but we need to get higher so I don't disappear on you guys." I heard the giggle I had adored so much last time. It sounds just like a baby laughing. I also remembered that love and laughter always helped them rise higher. It was a matter of lightening the load. So-to-speak.
I tapped the operator on the shoulder and made the sign to go higher. The trance he was in allowed us to let him operate the balloon, but when Tipsy brings him out, he won't remember anything. It is just safer for everyone. He opened the flew and released the fire.
We started going higher. It was getting colder. I put my blanket around me and the coat around the shoulders of the operator. I could see my breath now as we rose higher.
I could see several lakes from the distance. "Drip-it we will try those three first. It stands to reason you would be going to a larger lake with so many in your flock."
"Tipsy, Tipsy." We both heard a thundering voice. I glanced up and there was Tipsy's father. "Tipsy, we have looked everywhere for you. Let me have your recorder." She handed over her recorder and he silently watched it. "Jane, Tipsy told us about you. Not too many humans can see us. Only those who have died or had an out-of-body experience can see us. We are after all the Can'tSeeEms.
"I would love to know more about you and your group. I know you have been around since time began. I know you work with the traffic here in the heavens. What is your true purpose? If you are allowed to tell me, I would really like to know."
Drip-it settled down beside the ice chest. Tipsy hovered over the narrow opening and invited her father to join her.
"Jane, I am sure you are familiar with mankind's way of passing judgment on everything his fellow man says and does. Some humans care about what is on the outside. What is on the inside is the most important. Many spend so much time focusing on what they are looking for. Usually, that is flaws in everyone but themselves. We help bring the focus to the things they are not seeing." He stopped a minute to see if I was looking confused.
"Can you give me an example of one of your assignments?" I was fascinated by what he was saying.
"This morning, I had an assignment to help a young violin player. He is extremely talented and very generous with his time to help others. He was auditioning for a new orchestra. The members of the board were distracted because first, he looked to be a cripple. He wears braces on his legs. He stutters when he talks. He also has one eye that is blind. His ancestry did not match that of anyone on the board of judges. I flapped my wings in front of only one of the judges. Suddenly, he told the young man to play. The young man played so beautifully the others suddenly saw the talent that lived within the musician and not the outward packaging. We are called the Can'tSeeEms because we expose what mankind should see in others. We stay very busy. We open the eyes to what they can't see."
"Oh, my. I bet you do stay busy. I understand. That is how Tipsy and I became friends. I cried my eyes out in the schoolyard. It was snowing and the kids had chased me out of the art class and into that schoolyard. I just wanted to draw."
"I know, Tipsy was just a little one then. She was with my wife when you needed for the kids to adjust their focus. Do you remember what happened?
"Yes, I do. I spotted Tipsy suddenly in the snow. I went to catch her and your wife snatched her away. I tried to catch them and my fingers had traced a wonderful picture in the snow. The kids saw it and called the teacher. Everything was different after that. I do remember one more thing. Tipsy fluttered up to flap her wings in my face to help me forget and your wife stopped her. They both gave me a cold peck on my cheek and said they would see me again."
"There it is. There it is. I can tell by the shape of the lake." Drip-it was excited. He flapped his wings and quacked loudly. Drip-it was safely delivered to his flock. We all laughed as three pigeons flew overhead and suddenly Waterlilly, quacked and quacked. He could not see he had so much pigeon poop on his face. I guess that was one of the best parts of my little adventure.
I said goodbye to my friends and let Tipsy and her mother stay in the ice chest until we landed back on the ground. The soft giggles and cold peck on the cheek told me it was time for them to go. They flapped their wings to the operator and he woke up. I blew a kiss in the air as I watched two tiny sparkles rise higher and higher. I told him I appreciated his time. He looked at me like I was crazy. He did not even remember it. That is as it should be. After all, he would never believe I was there with a duck and two Can'tSeeEms.
I watched as the fog lifted, taking them back home. My trip invigorated me. What a wonderful mission to be on. To help people focus on how God sees his children. With the help of the Can'tSeeEms the talents he gives to each of us can be seen, no matter what we look like or the condition of the packaging.
Tags: Imagination Children
