to begin i must tell you how much i love and appreciate the comments that you lovely, lovely people take the time to write. they are like those little love heart candies to me. i read the message and then ingest it. remember, you don't have to say nice things about me, you could tell me about your day, your problems, items you have for sale. well, maybe not that. you can even say bad things about me because at least you're talking to me and i'm sure we can work it out. that said, i was mildly alarmed by the commenters on my last post that thought i might be sad. jesus, i don't want anyone worried i'm sitting around about to stick a fork in my eye. this is the thing, after mom went home it was like when the circus leaves town. you have entertained the likes of tigers and elephants and now the in-house talent is just not cutting the mustard. but real life is starting to reclaim its territory because after all the show must go on. so with that said. here's a tiny tale....
last fall, when i was visiting my ancestral home by the sea, my little family was spending a quiet afternoon going through bureau drawers. mom was sorting through 40 years of saved greeting cards while i was assessing her extensive plastic, swizzle stick collection. then my daughter pulled out a bunch of things i had made when i was young. valentines, colouring - that sort of thing. i saw a drawing and suddenly i remembered.
me: it's a devil picture
mom: god yes, you drew those all the time.
me: i wonder why
mom: who knows why you did anything.
the drawing was a typical one for about a five or six year old. a house, my family, a giant sun. green grass, flowers and then under the ground a devil. the devil looked like a typical devil. red clothes, horns, tail. i remember i always put him on the left side of a picture, near the bottom. he usually sat in a round hole with a path that led up to the grass or under the house. the devil was always happy, his smile as big as my those plastered on my stick family. i remember drawing him. i remember being so careful. i remember putting him in every picture. i don't remember why.
our family was religious in the most vague sort of way. i don't think i encountered satan on sunday in church. ours was not that kind of get together. but i know that he showed up in all my artwork for about 3 years. my lucifer worship period. i drew no angels, no white gods on fluffy clouds. just that little red pecker and his pitchfork.
me: didn't you think it was weird that i drew the devil all the time
mom: no, why would i worry about that.
me: i don't know why i put him in every picture
mom: well i guess you liked him
do you suppose that's true? what comfort did devil bring me. the pictures were all happy. i even placed him under the ocean when is drew boats. i can't decide what is odder? the fact he's there in the first place or the fact i drew careful paths for him to reach ground level. i think he disappeared from my drawing sometime around third grade. i remember vividly drawing myself , my cat and him in miss perry's second grade classroom. i can't imagine what would happen now if a child repeatedly placed a happy devil under the ground in all her artwork.. did anyone ask me why he was there? did i have an answer?
bev
Bev,
ReplyDeleteI love it...reading your blog is like reading a book. You give such thought and time into each post. Your newest follower.
Anissa from Chasing Hailey
http://chasinghailey.blogspot.com/
thank you anissa. what a lovely name you have. and thank you for following.
DeleteThat's so funny Bev. "Maybe you liked him.". I had the same thought that if a child drew pictures of the devil on a regular basis nowadays, such a to do would be made about it. Counseling would be sought, you'd end up discussing the matter on "Dr. Phil". Do you have any of the drawings in your possession now? Would love to see pictures!
ReplyDeletehello sweetie. to think i could have been on dr. phil - with me fidgeting on my seat, my mother looking pensive and dr. phil saying "we'll take a look at these drawings after the break. that would be very cool.
Deletemy mom still has a few of the pictures so i think i will have her send them my way.
Interesting story! Whatever the reason, you seem to have gotten over it! thanks for visiting my blog! i'm now following you too!
ReplyDeletethank you for following sylvia. no, i haven't gotten over it - i still draw him all the time. just kidding
DeleteIt is interesting, the devil thing. When I was a kid, the school psychologist asked me, if I could be any kind of animal, what would it be? It was a no-brainer. A bat, so I could live in a haunted mansion. The psychologist didn't know what to say. Later he called my mother, who laughed out loud.
ReplyDeleteAnother beautifully wrought piece.
hello miss june. it was quite grand to talk to you. i think we odd children with our wacky ideas make lovely adults.
Deletelooking forward to your next post.
thanks for reading and saying nice things
Bwaaa Haaaa Haaaa! I can only imagine how many parent-teacher conferences there would be today if your art work repeatedly popped up. School conceling sessions, suggestions of Ridalin...Oh my!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm gonna guess a well meaning relative made an off-hand comment about old Satan and this was the best way your brain could reason it out. Either that, or you inherently understood the balance of life, but that's a bit deep. *grin*
i'm hoping that my devil art collection will secure me a prime location in hell, maybe something along the river of fire
Deleteha ha ( that's old fashion for lol)
Maybe you didn't know the devil wasn't a good thing? thanks for visiting me!
ReplyDeletethank you for commenting julia. is that true - the devil is not a good thing?? oh crap :)
DeleteMom still says "You better not lie or you'll get a mark by your name...". I always assumed it was the devil who was keeping score. Maybe you knew you had already filled your quota. lol
ReplyDeletethank you sus for busting me. now everyone knows my fate. xxxx
DeleteInteresting story! Maybe you didn't know that the Devil was bad at that age? I'm following you back from What's Cooking in the Burbs. Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a great evening!
ReplyDeletethank you bridget for commenting and following. again with the devil is a bad thing. hmmm
Deleteooo... I'm with mom on this one. So young and innately knew not to fear the devil. Guess that would make you (like mom) smart too. At least you weren't called the devil, or the devil's child!
ReplyDeletemy mother used to say the i "was full of the devil" but honestly she smiled when she said it so i took it to be a good thing.
Deletecongrats again on the new book. people, go check it out.
http://oebooks.blogspot.ca/
That's so curious. I remember having a fascination with hell, though I was not raised in a religion that believed in hell as a place you go when you're a bad person.
ReplyDeleteI was invited to an old friend's birthday party after moving away from that neighborhood. I chose a spooky gift for her, because I remembered her liking spooky things. Her mom's comment was "Ohhhh. We haven't had that kind of thing since you moved way." It didn't occur to me til I was 30 that that was not a statement of regret.
i think my "devil" period left me with the sense that nothing is either all evil or all goodness.
Deletethere's not denying, i made friends with him during that time.
Hi Bev...nominated you for Liebster award. Go to my blog http://theintrinsicwriter.wordpress.com to check it out!
ReplyDeletethank you so much miss katie. i will be right over to check it out
DeleteYou're one in a zillion, lady! I love that you made nice little pathways for him to merrily travel to the surface. That was thoughtful. What a great story! When CC was in preschool, she drew a frownie face on her autumn leaf. All of the other kids drew happy faces. I was called into "Miss Vickie's" office, where much concern was expressed. I said, "Can leaves have only one emotion?" This question either perplexed or flustered Miss Vickie. We wound up transferring CC to a place run by natural-fiber wearing, bread-baking ladies who embraced all emotions that a leaf might express. (See now, your writing made me write a bunch!)
ReplyDeletethe paths were the thing that i remember the most. the didn't go straight up but curved around - i guess so the climb wouldn't be so steep for him.
Deletei remember being strapped in the 1st grade for colouring a lobster the wrong colour.
Hi Bev, my day was kind of crazy yesterday, you have no idea… http://www.thetriplebs.com/2012/08/wee-one-no-dont-jump-off-of-couch.html.
ReplyDeleteI woke up at 5:30 am this morning just so I could have some peace and quiet while I sat down to write. Before settling into my story, I came over to see what you have been writing lately, and I am glad that I did. You gave me a little chuckle.
dear the mom. i wish is knew what your name was.
Deletethank you for visiting and commenting. now go have a nap
hmm i guess i didnt know what devil meant ? and were merely fascinated by the way it was drawn? haha :)
ReplyDeleteyou are so sweet and pretty. i think i may have the tiniest bit of a crush on you
DeleteDear Bev, yes, in today's world much would be made of the devils and you'd be analyzed up the Kazoo! I'm not sure of your age, but one thing I remember about devils is the Flip Wilson show. He was a wonderfully witty comedian who did several characters who were in skits each week on his show. Geraldine was my favorite character he created.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Flip would do his skit or monologue and one of the characters would say, "The devil made me do it!"
So maybe that was on television when you were a little girl and you liked Flip and you liked that line, which always drew laughter from the audience, and you simply, out of pure and simple joy, added the devil to your drawings! Who knows! Peace.
dear dee, i do remember flip, dean martin and laugh in. my devils all seem to be happy little fellows so i don't think i was worried about anything.
Deletewhen i was small my mother used to say "beverly, well she'll talk to anyone" so maybe it was my way of proving her right.
Very funny. Kids do some weird things. When my daughter was in Kindergarten, her teacher pulled me aside worry written all over her face. Apparently, my little bit had drawn a lovely zombie face in art. Complete with bullet holes in its face and exes for it's eyes. She was honestly freaking that my sweet little babe could have drawn it. I just smiled, shrugged my shoulders and said, "she's got teenage sisters." I'll never forget the look on her face. I'm surprised I never received a call from CPS to check on her welfare : )
ReplyDeleteThis post is very interesting and when i read it's like reading a book. Thanks for shearing such good article.
ReplyDeletewell, all my three to five year old drawings have penises on all the boys - nothing of detail, but it was apparently very important for me to tell the world that boys had a penis. Guess I should have ended up being a lady of the night, or at the best, a urologist. Does being a bartender in college count?
ReplyDeletePlay Bazar Replace your furnace with one that has the Energy Star seal on it. You can save 15 to 20 percent on your month energy costs if you purchase a highly efficient furnace. You can even get a federal tax credit that will help cover the cost of your new furnace!
ReplyDeletesatta king