Experiments in the Genre of the Short Story:
Story 1
Travels of a Hat
By Jay Voss
I am a Red Hat that belongs to Jay. On the front it says Wisconsin Education. Jay called me “WE” with great affection and with a nod to our connectedness. Jay received his education degree at the UW and so he memorializes that accomplishment with me. So, I have a story of adventure to tell as a result of a recent trip that my “protector” Jay took to British Columbia. On this particular day of his trip he booked a boat tour to search for and photograph whales in the waters south of Victoria Harbor.
It was a windy day when the sightseeing boat left the harbor of Victoria, BC headed for the territory of humpback whales and Orca’s. I was placed tightly on Jay’s head in anticipation of the breeze, already brisk. As the boat entered the open water and increased speed, the breeze became much stronger. Jay picked a spot behind the cabin to protect against the increasing intensity of the wind. The guide for the trip, her name was Lily, was dressed warmly in a navy blue wind breaker. A blue hat rested on her head hiding the deep black hair that was peaking out from beneath. She took her position in front of the cabin door and began to describe the nature of the trip. Lily outlined where Jay and the other travelers would search for whales, and she made suggestions for what to look for in spotting whales. Lily was a connoisseur of whales, particularly the humpback. She clearly had a great affection for them and talked about them as her friends. It was almost as if she spent time swimming with whales. She shared an encyclopedic amount of information with the tourists as the boat continued its speedy assault into the open water south of Victoria Harbor. We passed the lighthouse that warned incoming boats of a rocky island and entered the territory of the humpback whale. Lily’s idea was to look for a whale spout, signaling an immediate effort on the part of the whale to surface, catch some air, and then dive deeply into the water. We soon saw the telltale spout and all on the boat prepared their cameras for whatever possible shots might emerge: perhaps a clearly defined fin or the smooth back of the whale rolling across the surface, or the wide tail as the whale took another plunge into the deep. And so Jay, stood on his two wobbly legs as a result of the combination of the boat shifting in the waves and the people congregating to catch a shot, and he captured some clear photos of humpback whales performing their air acquiring ritual.
As Jay settled back on to his wind protected perch waiting for more whales and more photo ops, I, sitting atop his head, had become less secure. A sudden burst of wind picked me right off the top of Jay’s head and blew my fading red self into the air. A fellow passenger attempted to grab me, but was unsuccessful. I thought that my days with Jay were over and I wondered what would become of me as I was carried away on the wind.
Jay waved goodbye to me, his long admired hat, and saw me rise into the sky where a gull in search of food snatched me out of the air. I hung dangerously in the beak of the flying bird and wondered what was next. Would the gull swallow me or simply release me, to fall to the sea below. In a matter of seconds, I had my answer. The gull dropped me, recognizing that I was of no use to him as a meal, and I began to fall being carried by the breeze to and fro. I looked down and saw the spout of a whale and soon the long, sleek black back of the whale beginning its replenishment of air. And so, with a degree of profound luck, I came to rest on the fin of the whale. Fortunately for me, the point of the fin had lodged itself into one of the seams of my insides and I was securely attached to the large, elegant, and very black mammal, a good thing as I felt the whale submerging and saw the tale flipping up to signal the dive. My world became dark and wet, but subject to the strong force of the whale’s dive and the beginning of an underwater journey until the next need for air. The fin held me securely despite the force of the swiftly moving whale. As I looked around beneath the sea, I saw two other humpback whales performing the same ritual as my transporter. One of the whales swam just over my whale’s fin and I was worried that my placement on the fin was in jeopardy. As my newly connected friend swam through a vast school of fish, I was pummeled back and forth on the fin as they swam by. I wondered what would happen if I slipped off the fin into the depths of the murky sea below.
And then I saw the shark, ready to seek out its lunch among the accommodating and plentiful school of fish. Would the shark be attracted to my faded red covering and take a bite at me? In the corner of my eye, a slight figure of some sort caught my eye and for a brief instant I was sure that I saw a mermaid of great beauty swimming toward the shark. Her dark hair was long and flowed over the arch of her bare back. Her tail fin moved with grace but with great speed as she moved to distract the shark from my perch on the fin. And then she was gone, but so was the shark. Was I seeing things? Was my imagination playing tricks on me?
I will never know for at that very moment of anxious worry and deep appreciation for the intervention of a “fantastical” image, the whale beneath me began to move upward, apparently for another breath of air at the surface. Miraculously, I stayed attached to the fin and I began to prepare for the breach that was soon to come. As my transporter moved upward to the surface, I spotted the bottom of a boat and I hoped that it might be Jay’s. Sure enough, the whale emerged for air right next to the whale viewing boat and for a few seconds the fin of the whale was above the surface, so near the boat that I could feel the fiber glass of its white and shiny side. Without missing a beat, Lily, our guide, reached out an plucked me right off the fin and back to the safety of the boat. Lily turned and handed me to Jay, who was thrilled to have his long time, faded red hat, affectionately known as “WE”, back on his head. Interestingly enough as I looked toward Lily, I saw in her eyes and face the wonder of my mermaid rescuer below. Could it be? Jay clutched at me and placed me back on his head for all to see and to applaud.
If only I could talk, I would tell a tale that no other hat that I knew has ever experienced. Jay was so happy to see me, that he jumped for joy, but held tightly onto me for the rest of the trip. After what some might call a roller coaster ride in the deep, I was wet and tired, but happy to be with Jay again and with the haunting, grateful memory of my beautiful savior from the deep. When we disembarked from the boat, Lily patted my visor and said goodbye with a wink in her eye. On, Wisconsin!
By Jay Voss
I am a Red Hat that belongs to Jay. On the front it says Wisconsin Education. Jay called me “WE” with great affection and with a nod to our connectedness. Jay received his education degree at the UW and so he memorializes that accomplishment with me. So, I have a story of adventure to tell as a result of a recent trip that my “protector” Jay took to British Columbia. On this particular day of his trip he booked a boat tour to search for and photograph whales in the waters south of Victoria Harbor.
It was a windy day when the sightseeing boat left the harbor of Victoria, BC headed for the territory of humpback whales and Orca’s. I was placed tightly on Jay’s head in anticipation of the breeze, already brisk. As the boat entered the open water and increased speed, the breeze became much stronger. Jay picked a spot behind the cabin to protect against the increasing intensity of the wind. The guide for the trip, her name was Lily, was dressed warmly in a navy blue wind breaker. A blue hat rested on her head hiding the deep black hair that was peaking out from beneath. She took her position in front of the cabin door and began to describe the nature of the trip. Lily outlined where Jay and the other travelers would search for whales, and she made suggestions for what to look for in spotting whales. Lily was a connoisseur of whales, particularly the humpback. She clearly had a great affection for them and talked about them as her friends. It was almost as if she spent time swimming with whales. She shared an encyclopedic amount of information with the tourists as the boat continued its speedy assault into the open water south of Victoria Harbor. We passed the lighthouse that warned incoming boats of a rocky island and entered the territory of the humpback whale. Lily’s idea was to look for a whale spout, signaling an immediate effort on the part of the whale to surface, catch some air, and then dive deeply into the water. We soon saw the telltale spout and all on the boat prepared their cameras for whatever possible shots might emerge: perhaps a clearly defined fin or the smooth back of the whale rolling across the surface, or the wide tail as the whale took another plunge into the deep. And so Jay, stood on his two wobbly legs as a result of the combination of the boat shifting in the waves and the people congregating to catch a shot, and he captured some clear photos of humpback whales performing their air acquiring ritual.
As Jay settled back on to his wind protected perch waiting for more whales and more photo ops, I, sitting atop his head, had become less secure. A sudden burst of wind picked me right off the top of Jay’s head and blew my fading red self into the air. A fellow passenger attempted to grab me, but was unsuccessful. I thought that my days with Jay were over and I wondered what would become of me as I was carried away on the wind.
Jay waved goodbye to me, his long admired hat, and saw me rise into the sky where a gull in search of food snatched me out of the air. I hung dangerously in the beak of the flying bird and wondered what was next. Would the gull swallow me or simply release me, to fall to the sea below. In a matter of seconds, I had my answer. The gull dropped me, recognizing that I was of no use to him as a meal, and I began to fall being carried by the breeze to and fro. I looked down and saw the spout of a whale and soon the long, sleek black back of the whale beginning its replenishment of air. And so, with a degree of profound luck, I came to rest on the fin of the whale. Fortunately for me, the point of the fin had lodged itself into one of the seams of my insides and I was securely attached to the large, elegant, and very black mammal, a good thing as I felt the whale submerging and saw the tale flipping up to signal the dive. My world became dark and wet, but subject to the strong force of the whale’s dive and the beginning of an underwater journey until the next need for air. The fin held me securely despite the force of the swiftly moving whale. As I looked around beneath the sea, I saw two other humpback whales performing the same ritual as my transporter. One of the whales swam just over my whale’s fin and I was worried that my placement on the fin was in jeopardy. As my newly connected friend swam through a vast school of fish, I was pummeled back and forth on the fin as they swam by. I wondered what would happen if I slipped off the fin into the depths of the murky sea below.
And then I saw the shark, ready to seek out its lunch among the accommodating and plentiful school of fish. Would the shark be attracted to my faded red covering and take a bite at me? In the corner of my eye, a slight figure of some sort caught my eye and for a brief instant I was sure that I saw a mermaid of great beauty swimming toward the shark. Her dark hair was long and flowed over the arch of her bare back. Her tail fin moved with grace but with great speed as she moved to distract the shark from my perch on the fin. And then she was gone, but so was the shark. Was I seeing things? Was my imagination playing tricks on me?
I will never know for at that very moment of anxious worry and deep appreciation for the intervention of a “fantastical” image, the whale beneath me began to move upward, apparently for another breath of air at the surface. Miraculously, I stayed attached to the fin and I began to prepare for the breach that was soon to come. As my transporter moved upward to the surface, I spotted the bottom of a boat and I hoped that it might be Jay’s. Sure enough, the whale emerged for air right next to the whale viewing boat and for a few seconds the fin of the whale was above the surface, so near the boat that I could feel the fiber glass of its white and shiny side. Without missing a beat, Lily, our guide, reached out an plucked me right off the fin and back to the safety of the boat. Lily turned and handed me to Jay, who was thrilled to have his long time, faded red hat, affectionately known as “WE”, back on his head. Interestingly enough as I looked toward Lily, I saw in her eyes and face the wonder of my mermaid rescuer below. Could it be? Jay clutched at me and placed me back on his head for all to see and to applaud.
If only I could talk, I would tell a tale that no other hat that I knew has ever experienced. Jay was so happy to see me, that he jumped for joy, but held tightly onto me for the rest of the trip. After what some might call a roller coaster ride in the deep, I was wet and tired, but happy to be with Jay again and with the haunting, grateful memory of my beautiful savior from the deep. When we disembarked from the boat, Lily patted my visor and said goodbye with a wink in her eye. On, Wisconsin!