Polly Brown

by Tricia Bennett

  “Why on earth would they give up?” Polly asked, anxious for an immediate answer.

  “Well, they gave up for many reasons, and here are but a few. Some gave up because they were unable to interpret their dreams. Others became too impatient and frustrated by the amount of obstacles in their way, and others lost all belief in themselves and their ability to see their personal dream realized. I have to say that the last one really does bring many down because they feel the most terrible inner pressure to abandon ship midstream. Sadly they never get to see their dreams manifested,” he explained with more than a tinge of sadness. “Polly, as you walk with me through this gulley, please take a long, hard look at some of the names painted on the various vessels. Take this one, for instance,” he said, pointing in the direction of a very dilapidated boat that lay abandoned on its side nearby to where they were standing. “The vessel is called It Should Have Been Me.”

  “What a strange name to give a boat!” Polly said with some surprise.

  “Yes, it is strange. But the question you should be asking is why that particular name? I tell you with the greatest sadness that, it is because its owner never confronted his problem of envy. When he saw others around him reach their goals, instead of being glad for them, he became sad and jealous and no longer focused on his own vision, so it died with him.”

  “Oh dear,” exclaimed Polly. “Now tell me about this boat named Yo-Yo.”

  “Well again, Polly, the owner of that particular vessel was literally like a toy yo-yo. One minute believing it could happen, the next minute throwing his hands up in the air. His life was a real emotional seesaw.”

  “Ralph, this one here is called by the strangest of names. Come and take a look.”

  “Ah yes, Hope Deferred. I knew its owner well. She waited many years for her dreams to come true, but as the years grew in number, so did her impatience. She prematurely threw in the towel, not realizing that the fruition of her personal and very special dream was just around the corner. Yes, that was a very sad case if ever I saw one,” said Ralph, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he went back in time. “What is also so sad is that had they fulfilled their dreams, then many others would also have benefited from them.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Polly quizzed.

  “Well, think of a skyscraper, Polly.”

  Polly shut her eyes tightly and began to imagine a very tall, magnificent building. In fact, she imagined the Empire State Building in New York. She had seen many pictures of the building in various magazines.

  “Now then, whoever built the first skyscraper must have visualized the finished work in his or her imagination long before it was ever drawn on a piece of paper. Then others came along who could clearly see the vision of this building, and, before long, those building plans became a reality. A beautiful, majestic building was created that soared right up in the sky and gave homes or offices to thousands of people. Polly, please understand that all dreams begin in the imagination, and I have to say that all the best dreams tend to benefit us all.”

  Polly tentatively nodded her agreement before deciding to climb to the top of a large mound of scrap metal that was piled high with the timber frames of many vessels.

  “Ralph, take Langdon for me,” she rather breathlessly called out as she carefully threw him high in the air for Ralph to catch. Luckily he did. “This one’s called Ain’t That a Shame!” she shouted down in his direction. “And this one here is called Is This for Real? Hey, guess what! There’s even one boat called Could Try Harder! And I have to say that it sounds very similar to what teachers happily wrote on my many school reports,” said Polly with a giggle.

  Ralph smiled as he watched her climb higher and higher, stopping sporadically to call out all the different names of abandoned boats trying to guess the reason behind why they had ended up on the scrap heap.

  “Polly, it is interesting to note that of all the names you have read out, there are none with names such as Victory or Endurance painted on their sides,” he shouted up as his eyes caught hold of Polly rather precariously balanced on the bow of a boat. “Come to think of it, Polly, what name would you choose if you were given the opportunity of personalizing a vessel?”

  “That’s easy,” Polly replied with a grin. “It would be called Land of Hope and Glory, and before you knock it, Ralph, I know it’s a song. But it never fails to inspire me and bring tears to my eyes.”

  Ralph held out his hand to help her descend back onto safe ground.

  “Polly, I feel I must point out that there is a distinct possibility that those horrific monsters you came face-to-face with on the plane were, in fact, the Dream Stealers, whose sole purpose is to discourage and prevent wonderful dreams from ever being realized.”

  Polly wiped her mucky hands down the front of her dress and then sat down to listen to Ralph. She was totally unaware that her jaw was gaping as though she were catching flies. Eventually she asked the question that was dominating her thoughts.

  “Yes, but what does all this have to do with Mr. Shoestring or his melting pot?” she asked, showing genuine interest.

  “I just knew you were going to ask me that one, Polly,” said Ralph as he gave the broadest of smiles. “And the answer is really simple. Just as gold is placed in the refiner’s fire and heated to such an intense temperature to remove all impurities, so there are also times and seasons when our lives too go through fiery trials that I tend to call the furnace of affliction. And I think it is true that few of us are left out of these testing times. Did you notice that the liquid gold had no control over where it went?”

  Polly nodded.

  “Well, that’s a bit like us at times. For when we are facing fiery trials, we often find ourselves feeling a bit wobbly and all over the place. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we don’t like it because when things go bad we feel out of control.”

  “Yes, all wobbly like jelly. That’s exactly how I feel at times,” Polly commented, feeling pleased that maybe she was finally getting the picture.

  “You are absolutely right, Polly. Like limp jelly, strawberry flavor, if you like,” he said with an impish grin. “Well, I think it’s true to say that the greater the dream, the greater the cost, and ultimately the fiercer the furnace. And for the majority of people who have a dream, it remains lost in its embryonic form, never being birthed, for the cost of following after it is seen as being way too high.”

  Ralph looked into Polly’s eyes as he spoke, for he needed to know that she was seriously taking in his reflective thoughts on this matter.

  “Do you remember the night I visited you in the orphanage when you were polishing shoes?”

  Polly nodded and said she did.

  “Well, that particular evening I told you the story of Joseph the dreamer. Do you remember that story?”

  Again Polly nodded.

  “Well, his brothers hated and mocked him and abandoned him to a pit. They told their father that he was dead. You must read that story one day, Polly, for he went through some terrible trials before his dreams came true. And likewise, friends betray or abandon us—or worse still, mock us—because they cannot see where our vision is going or they do not believe in it. Hmm, I do believe there are times when it will cost us everything we are and everything we have to follow it with all our heart,” he rather solemnly declared.

  Polly drew a deep breath as she considered the reality of following after her dream.

  “Polly, promise me that you will never forget this gulley that is filled to overflowing with abandoned shipwrecks because their owners could not pay the price.”

  Polly touched his hand and gave her word that she would never forget all she had seen and learned that day in Gold Gulley.

  “Come on, Polly, let’s get out of here. I don’t suppose you fancy another round of toggie oggies, do you?”

  “That sounds like a great idea, Ralph,” Polly beamed. “Lead the way.”

  Polly picked up Langdon and her bag, an
d after linking her spare arm into Ralph’s, the two of them went in search of the Toggie Oggi Shack to fill their hungry, empty tummies with more hot and very delicious miniature Yorkshire puddings filled with sausage and onions.

  Chapter 31

  PACK UP ALL YOUR CARES AND WOES

  WITH EVERY CRUMB well-and-truly demolished, Ralph suggested they move on.

  “I’m not wishing to be rude, Ralph, but where are you taking me now?” asked Polly, slightly irritated that he wanted her to follow him yet again. For couldn’t he clearly see she was exhausted and therefore in much of need of some serious shut-eye?

  “I would have thought by now, Polly, you’d give up challenging me every time I make a request,” said Ralph with a mock smile. “But then, I guess that’s what makes you Polly Brown.”

  Polly was quick to realize that she was causing offense and so, without further hesitation, she leaped to her feet with renewed fervor and enthusiasm and cried, “Come on, Ralph, let’s go then. You lead the way, and I will follow.”

  “That’s sweet music to my ears,” said Ralph with a grin.

  They made their way down into the valley before Ralph pointed to a steep hill they needed to climb. The hill was very slippery due to the recent downpour, and Polly found herself climbing a few meters only to slide back down. Before long she was covered from head to toe with mud.

  “Look at me, Ralph. I look an absolute mess!” she shrieked with laughter.

  “Do I look any better?” replied Ralph, who was indeed almost unrecognizable due to the amount of mud on his beard and clothes. “Anyway, Polly, it’s good to see you laughing, and I’d go as far as to say it really suits you.”

  Polly felt stumped for words. She had not realized she was having fun, and it only took climbing a silly muddy hill to provoke laughter and happiness to well up within her breast.

  “Yes, Ralph, as usual you are right. It is good to laugh,” she openly confessed.

  “Well, Polly, they do say that laughter is good for the soul. Of that truth there can be no denying,” he replied with a grin.

  After many attempts and just as much laughter, they finally made it to the top of the hill.

  “Sit down right here, Polly,” Ralph ordered. For once, and much to his relief, Polly obeyed without questioning. “Now look into the valley below. What do you see?”

  “Oh Ralph, I can see crowds of people at a pop concert, and there is a big sign saying that everyone’s welcome. So, come on you old crooner. Let’s go down and join in the fun.”

  Polly reached the bottom of the hill long before Ralph and stood patiently waiting for him. He arrived some minutes later, albeit a bit winded.

  “I’m not as young as I once was,” he complained as he struggled to get back his breath. “I’m sorry, Polly, I don’t wish to spoil your fun, but I think you’re going to have to count me out on this one.”

  “Oh come on, you spoilsport. Don’t back out now. Look, there is even a shack giving away free bags of candy-coated peanuts. So what are we waiting for?”

  “Polly, I’m rather surprised that so soon after your encounter with the Cotton Candy Queen, you readily rush towards the next free offer without the teeniest bit of caution.”

  “Isn’t that what life’s about, Ralph? Throwing caution to the wind and having lots of fun? Or are we intended to be real misery guts for the rest of our lives?” she said with a note of sarcasm, at the same time throwing up her hands to signal her growing despair.

  “Well Polly, I personally think you would be ill-advised to go to the concert, as it is yet another distraction to prevent you from getting to Piadora.”

  “Piadora can wait, Ralph. For once in my life I want to have some fun.”

  “Oh well, at the end of the day, it is for you to make your own choices and suffer the consequences if anything goes wrong,” said Ralph rather ominously. “But, I would still caution you to be very careful, for if I rightly remember, was it not Soogara who told you that nothing in life is free, and there is always a price to pay?”

  “Thanks, Ralph. I will, and I’ll also remember to save you some candy-coated peanuts,” she said perkily, wrongly believing that he had given her his full blessing to go and join in all the fun. She gave Ralph a quick hug in the forlorn hope that this would cheer him up. She then quickly disappeared into the throng of bodies that were making a procession towards the peanut shack. Finally, and much to her delight, Polly very quickly found herself at the front of the queue. As she grabbed the bag with both hands, she very politely said, “Thank you, Mr…”

  “It’s Mr. Forget Your Cares and Woes,” replied the man with a wicked grin on his face. “Now be a good girl and move over, for I’ve hundreds of other people to serve.”

  Polly did not obey the man’s request, preferring to stand and stare at him, for she was fixated by the thought that she must know him from somewhere. The man turned away to pick up more bags, and as he swung back around to face the counter, he was surprised to see Polly still standing open-mouthed and staring at him.

  “Look, young lady, off you go. Yes, go and eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow never comes,” he said, his grin widening as he spoke.

  Still Polly stood holding up the increasingly impatient queue as she stared directly into his eyes. It took the person behind her to be quite abusive and insulting before she moved out of the way so that others could collect their free bag of candy-coated peanuts. Then, with the bag clutched tightly in her hands, she weaved her way through the throng in pursuit of her two friends, Justin Kase and Justin Thyme for they had earlier in the day mentioned they were heading to a concert.

  Finally she clapped eyes on them, but as she held up her arm to catch their attention, her other arm was knocked into by a passerby. The bag flew into the air, scattering her candy-coated peanuts all over the muddy grass. In a matter of seconds, Polly watched, horrified, as they were quickly trampled into the ground by the excited crowd as they danced to the rhythm of the music. Polly groaned as a voice behind her said, “Sorry about that.”

  Polly turned and angrily shouted, “I can’t believe you did that!” followed by, “Are you blind? Can’t you see where you’re going?”

  But she was wasting her breath, for whoever had caused the accident had already disappeared into the swelling crowd, leaving onlookers to just stare at her as if to say, “What’s your problem?”

  “This concert is already not going to well for me,” she muttered to herself as she considered making a hasty retreat back to the hill in search of Ralph. “Not only have I lost my whole bag of peanuts, but I’ve made a complete idiot of myself.”

  As she turned to exit the crowd, she came face-to-face with her friends.

  “Polly, it’s great to see you,” cried both the Justins at the same time. “Come and join us. We have a great view of the stage from here.”

  “How did you manage to get a ticket?” Justin Thyme asked. “Our tickets cost us a small fortune.”

  “Oh, I think they’ve opened it up to everyone. Maybe there weren’t enough tickets sold,” Polly suggested.

  “Oh, never mind. It’s just good to see you again.”

  “Justin, about that hammer, I have hidden it in some bushes…”

  “Look, Polly, I can hardly hear you over the music, so talk to me later, for I am here to enjoy myself. You’ve already missed some of the best bands, so do me a favor and just enjoy yourself,” he ordered, a huge grin lighting up his face.

  Polly hesitated as she momentarily deliberated as to whether she should head back to the stall and get another free bag or whether it made more sense to just stay put and be with the boys. As she looked over in the direction of the peanut stall, she saw that the queue had now grown massive in size, so the decision to pursue another bag of candy-coated peanuts was rather sadly abandoned.

  Polly wasted no time in joining in the fun. She danced and sang along, and in no time at all she had forgotten Ralph. It felt good to let her hair down for once and forget all h
er cares and woes. The next group to come on stage and perform was aptly named Frantic Frenzy, and their job, like their name, was to work the audience up into a hysterical frenzy. The girls on stage were extremely scantily clad as they cavorted in front of their audience, at the same time singing into their microphones in the most suggestive manner.

  Polly felt slightly uncomfortable singing along to some of the words, but then thought, “Hey, this is only a pop concert, so does it really matter what they sing?” She then found herself inwardly scolding herself for being, in her own words, a stuffed T-shirt. After all, it was important to her to fit in unless, of course, she wanted to go through life alone with no real friends, and she knew the answer to that one.

  “Aren’t they just brilliant, Polly?” said Justin Thyme.

  “Yes, I think I’m going to buy their album. Remind me of their name if at some future date I forget.”

  Polly nodded her agreement.

  Finally, the lead singer of Frantic Frenzy came to the front of the stage and, placing the microphone up to his mouth, cried out, “Well, guys, it’s good-bye from us. Have a great evening, and you’ve been a brilliant audience. But before we go, there are still many other groups to help you dance the night away. So see you around.”

  The evening wore on, and at a time when things were really in full flow, Polly, for some unfathomable reason, found she no longer wished to stay at the concert. She felt extremely tired, and she also admitted that she was already missing Ralph. Finally, with the heaviest of hearts, Polly decided to abandon the rest of the concert and go in search of Ralph.

  “Justin,” she cried, tapping her friend on the shoulder as she attempted to get his attention over the deafeningly loud music.

  Justin moved his head closer in his attempt to listen, but still had his eyes glued to the stage. “Yes, Polly, what do you want now?” he asked, slightly irritated.

  “Justin, I don’t mean to be a wet rag, but I’m tired, so I think it’s time I left,” she shouted in his ear.