There once was a kingdom of wonder, of bounty, and of peace known as the “Land of Being.” All who lived there freely enjoyed all that the kingdom had to give – all of which was good. Their lives were truly at rest and their existence pleasurable; this was true because their King was always opening his Royal Storehouses to meet all their needs. In short, they were content and therefore, they lacked nothing.
In this land there arose a group that became known as “El Bobo.” Theycame together through the acquaintance and invitation of one – Teufel – a mutual friend whose chief claim to fame lay in his willingness to defy the customs and rules that made the Land of Being such a special place. He dressed differently; he acted differently and everyone knew this was because he thought differently. The Boboes first met after Teufel had sent to each of them their own engraved invitation to a picnic scheduled in one of the many spacious greenbelts that adorned the city. To each invitation he attached a package containing a very individualized costume; it was their host’s way of welcoming them to his group of restive individuals.
On the day appointed and at the time selected, characters of every stripe could be seen parading and dancing their way through the city’s streets on their way to the place of meeting. There were cats, dogs, sheep, deer, and even a moose and a mouse holding hands. As they all arrived, each found his or her place enticingly prepared. Bowls containing every kind of fruit and sugared delicacy sat atop tables spread throughout the green in the best of picnic traditions.
As they gathered around the various tables, they began eating and discussing their lives. As an icebreaker, Teufel led them in a rousing game of “If I were King.” In moments of mutual pondering, Teufel even moderated their discussion around the issue, “On what are we missing out.” And so, their friendships were begun and eventually strengthened in this support group of discontent and in their commonly perceived plight they agreed to continue meeting. Finally, as one meeting led to another, they concluded that they were indeed being deprived while they still lived in this place and so decided to leave their home in the wonderful kingdom of Being. They gathered together all their belongings in backpacks and suitcases and on the agreed upon day all Boboes met at Orgueil Boulevard – the only road that led out of city.
They began their “great expedition” with joy-filled exuberance and excitement. As they journeyed on the way of Orgueil to the kingdom’s frontier, signs began to appear off to the side. With growing interest they noted the message of each sign, “Land of Unlikeness – Straight Ahead.”
There was a seeming completeness to the number of these signs and amid the perceived enticement they offered, the committed travelers reveled in the joyous singing of their favorite selfdiscovery songs. Each step they took brought them ever closer to their goal of individuality and freedom. Soon their common cadence, acting as a drumbeat, placed them where the receding walls of the city of contentment grew smaller and smaller when seen over their shoulders.
Under the leadership of Teufel, the marching troop found itself winding through the countryside. They were surprised to discover that the boulevard – Orgueil – on which they walked, appeared to have been recently constructed, and that it gave the distinct impression of having had only one group ever travel over it before the Boboes’ arrival.
For many hours the caravan of decorated and enthusiastic characters marched on. Finally, in the waning hours of sunlight, they began to see in the distance what Teufel informed them was the place they would cross the border. Approaching through the meadow that led to the border, they saw the gate with its long bar which the guards would raise and lower as they sat in their little wooden guardhouses. These little, quaint, school-bus-stop type buildings were functionally decorated with little cutout shutters that were cut in the shape of angels.
When they finally reached the border crossing they were stopped. Much to their chagrin they discovered that the things they had so carefully selected and packed could not be removed from the kingdom of Being and therefore would have to be left behind.
As they waited for the gate to be opened for their exit, they noticed a sign clearly printed in red, which hung from the gateposts. It read, “All Exits Are Final!”
Unsettling as this was, Teufel assured them that he had been through this before, so they need not be overly concerned. So the Boboes comforted themselves with the many colorful brochures that he handed them as they passed under the gate’s bar.
As we wait for volume two
of “The Journeys of our lives
– Boboes and the Travels in
Darkness” to appear in next
week’s paper, we can consider handwritten note that someone
had pinned beneath the lapel
of each traveler’s coat: Pride
goes before destruction, And
a haughty spirit before a fall.
Reverend Dennis C. Schutte,
pastor of Life in Christ
Lutheran Church, has lived in
Cook County (Lutsen) since
2000 serving as Pastor and
Missionary.
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