Friday, November 20, 2015

WHAT YOU MISSED

Raphael opened the proceedings with the Sicilian story of Alice and Her Fate [we each have one which looks after us] and how she gave Alice a choice as to whether she wanted her Bad Luck early in her life or late, and once Alice had chosen, her Fate made sure it happened, eventually having to be reminded to stop the persecution so that Alice could live happily ever after.
Paul followed with one of those stories about Cheating the Devil. In this instance, the Loyal Wife showed how much cleverer she was than her husband by impersonating a Beast that the Devil had to acknowledge he'd never seen in his life before. The story was remarkable for Paul's loving use of detail, particularly in describing the progress of the marital relationship, and the violence of the impersonated Beast, which was enough to terrify even the Devil.
Madeleine's story turned on Jewish justice in the after-life. While the man who broke the Sabbath to buy a sewing-machine for his wife was condemned for sabbath-breaking, the spirit who failed to appreciate what a noble act the man had performed was condemned to experience a woman's lot on earth, so he could learn just how vital an invention a sewing-machine was.
Mike recycled a Red Phoenix story he had heard some years before in Spinney Hollow, about how a dispossessed old woman turned the tables on a cannibalistic troll, enriching herself into the bargain, which enabled her to repossess her cottage.
Jason's full-length, freshly-minted story took us through decaying colonial mansions and swamps to the domain of Baron Samedi [he who drinks rum with chillis in it] and to the crossroads between our world and the other world, guarded by Papa Legba with his broad hat and his pipe. There Joe, the Devil's Son, rescued his bride-to-be Maya from death, at the cost of his luck, for everything has to be paid for [or does it?] Jason's fluent and engaging style was complemented by virtuosic mouth-made sound-effects which ranged from the hiss and crackle of Caruso on shellac to the breathy tones of Baron Samedi's wooden flute. We look forward to more in the near future!

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