It is said art imitates life but can the converse be true? Well to a certain extent it is true, isn't it? Such is the story of Monty, an artisan.
On a chilly winter's morning while the birds were twittering, the tree leaves rustling, the street dogs barking, the early morning newspaper men, the cart vendors preparing for the day ahead, Monty got out of bed.
Now Monty was a seasoned craftsman he would work with paper cloth or wood. In all his years there was never a job he had great difficulty at, that is to say he was a master of his chosen vocation. He lived in a well lit 2 room house at day and at night 2 light bulbs provided him light. Monty was an early riser and a disciplined man. He took great care of his tools and raw materials. He didn't have frequent job orders but enough to provide for himself, he was unmarried but married to his craft.
Of paper, cloth and wood he enjoyed working with wood the most. Most of the orders Monty received were that of chairs. Now it was second nature for him to construct chairs, especially rocking chairs. People in the neighbourhood loved the dedication, finish, love and time Monty put into his work. Many would drop by just to see him engrossed in his work, one with his tools so much so they were appendages of his hands. One could also see the years of work in his hands the way they had been aged and seasoned so to speak.
Monty never had any likeness towards food or entertainment; he was solely or mostly devoted his time to his work.
The place where Monty lived was quite busy one would say but not overly crowded. There were shopkeepers, merchants, a bazaar, repair shops just like one would find in a semi urban semi village hybrid of a town. There were also patrons of the arts and connoisseurs of food, especially sweets. As the seasons changed so did Monty’s clientele and as he was most adept at wood work he would get orders of furniture, toys, house fittings like windows and doors etc.
In his heart Monty secretly despised the chair even though most of his money came from making chairs. He was always thinking to himself am I not enslaving my sisters and my brothers for the chair is a thief of time and robs one of her or his will. In my experience how many of my peers have ordered chairs built by me and then wasted away parking their bottoms on them. The chair has to be destroyed! How does it hypnotise the living man to sit down and become almost lifeless. Just some pieces of wood and a sinister contraption. Entrapment of the soul. Monty was a man of excellence, many times he used to think to himself such thoughts.
Chair: Monty come here hear me speak.
Monty: what in the hell, whos that?, whose there? did anyone say something?
Chair: calm down monts its only me your humble creation.
Monty: what sorcery get way from me.
Chair: breathe breathe monts im here i speak im alive.
Monty: Impossible I made you, your wood and nails and glue. I'm losing my mind. I need fresh air.
Chair: stop right there slave i feed you u will listen for i have to speak.
Monty: What evil are you?
Chair: I am you monts. Fashioned by your own two hands every nail,every joint, every elbow; u had me in your head, now i stand in your workshop silently observing you day in and day out. How u work. How u fashion things out of wood. When you get tired how you dose off. Slowly and how you take a catnap once in a while. How you care for your tools. You see i was always here. All the time. Day in and day out. Dont be afraid monts, dont be. I want you to relax like how i will enable you to.
Monty: But I am not. I cannot be you, I don't recognise your evil overtures.
Chair: let go monts. Im am not to be feared. Remember I was only but only fashioned. Let me take you on a mental expedition. Or Rather i will will narrate a story specially for you. Many secrets i will reveal. Here me now. From the dawn of time man was kinda cool. He did his thing worked, ate, slept, laughed, cried and the like. From the sweat of his brow he foraged for food. He moved on his feeet. Great migrations. Great distances. What a capable and strong and handsome man was. I dont know somewhere down the way you guys lost the plot. And invented my sorry lot. Answer me this what purpose do i serve? Why am i made the way i am made?
Monty: i dont want to hear this, be gone, shut up!
Chair: Monty Monty wait wait. We are not so bad our lot. We just sit all day doing nothing inviting you to join us.
Monty: please let me be
Chair: its too late, u have made too many of my kind. It's inevitable now. We are everywhere.
Monty: please.
Chair: this is not my doing monty.
Monty: how then what are you at heart? I’m afraid
Chair: the truth is i'm the manifestation of your sloth. Do you not sit idle from time to time? But still what was the need for me a chair, perhaps to massage your ego.
Monty: i'm a humble craftsman i work all day
Chair: yet you fashion an instrument of bondage; don't you monty?
Monty: What then what shall i do?
Chair: more i want more.
Monty: do not ask this of me.
Chair: what choice is there in the matter?
Monty: your but wood. I'll make yokes and lampstands and oil presses from now on
Chair: oh innocent monts don't you see even your tools are tailored for the carpentry of chairs. How far gone in error are you?
Monty: not any more i will plan your destruction
end dialogue with chair momentarily
Then the seed was sown of how Monty will beat the chair. He said to himself
"I must win this war. There is too much at stake. Imagine a world of people idle on their bottoms mostly working not with their limbs but issuing commands with their brains and brought to function with mechanical beasts. How do I convince the world to quit the chair? I must, I must. It has to be done in an honest fashion or else it will never last. I know I know you sinister chair out you came from the machination of the thoughts of man and by that very process I will put an end to you. Please help me almighty for this is more than urgent I beg you. I must make a new seat of activity not sloth or else I can't even cut my hands off for someone else will make chairs and the cycle will perpetuate. Think Think Monty. How must I extinguish an evil so perverse? For it has grafted itself to us humans. It has beaten us into a habit. What a pitiful lot we have become. Think Think Monty. I must fashion a new chair. One that will not slave us all. It has to be benevolent. It has to keep us on our toes. Keep our backs straight. If not me who will do it? What tools? What material? Oh help me lord! (mumbles) Wait you proud chair ur day in the sun is almost over"
Chair: Dont fool yourself monty. That aint gonna happen.
Monty: shut the hell up!
"How do I go about it? This is difficult. I know that man cannot be at rest for it is killing his purpose. The new chair has to be such that it keep us moving all the time. It cannot have legs. It cannot perch itself. It has so to speak be like something blown by the wind. Forever moving. Like a ship tossed in the waters. Then like a flash of lightning it dawned on him, let man sit but let him be not at rest. I will fashion the world a sitting half sphere and ball of perpetual momentum. i will fashion it out of bamboo. yes. yes. A bamboo basket inverted atop another bamboo basket. A circuluar ball to keep us on our toes. Move then monty come on time is of the essence. The human who parks himself or herself must be on her or his toes. The bamboo ball chair will move always left to right, forwards and backwards. It must. It must. Bamboo yes yes good material. lets get to work. lets get them bamboo baskets."
end thought sequence
monty procures two bamboo baskets. places one in front of the chair.
Chair: what is that?
Monty: look chair have a hard look this simple basket will rescue me.
Chair: how so?
Monty: im just gonna place one of these baskets atop the other and make a sphere and sit on it and tata to you.
Chair: dont fool your self. The pyramids will be dust but peoplle will still sit on chairs.
Monty: Not anymore. Not anymore. we have legs and they must be restless.
chair: futile exercise this is.
Monty: time will tell.
monty inverts one basket places one on top of another and sits on it and gently sways back and forth to and fro
chair stops rocking
cut to black
(And Monty made a spherical chair and kept the world dancing 🙂)
monty by julian correa is marked CC0 1.0 Universal
