the card down and stood up. “Mrs. Gumby, I want to thank you for a wonderful meal tonight. I really needed to get out of the house. I lost my job a few weeks ago, and I’m struggling with what to do next. When you started talking about your son, I was really hoping to find some answers, but I have to tell you this is just a little over-the-top for me. I have an interview in a few days for a bookkeeping job, and I think I can get it. Taking a trip would not be possible anyway.”
“I see,” said Mrs. Gumby. “This bookkeeping job, is this something you really want to do?”
“Hell no!” Phil caught himself, too late. “I’m sorry. No, it’s not something I really want to do, but I’ve got to do something!” He shook his head and shrugged.
“Well, if you’ve got to do something, why not do what you want? ” she countered. “Look, Phil, all I know is my son is doing what he wants to do every single day because he took a chance. He discovered things about himself that he simply didn’t know before he took his trip. He was asleep, Phil! He was asleep in this world, just floating down the ‘river of life,’ going wherever the current took him and not where he wanted to go! Shoot, he didn’t even know where he wanted to go! He bounced from job to job, not because of anything he did wrong, but because that’s where the river was going!” Mrs. Gumby’s eyes sparkled, and her face flushed with color as she worked to compose herself. “So, I say to you, Phil, are you just going to keep floating down that river, drifting aimlessly wherever the river takes you, or are you ready to pick up your paddle?”
Her question hung in the air. Not knowing how to respond, Phil shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know, Mrs. Gumby, I just don’t know.” He stood up and walked to the edge of the porch, looking out at the evening sky. He spoke softly, more to himself than Mrs. Gumby, “Why does life seem so hard for me these days? I wish it were like the old days.”
Mrs. Gumby stood up and joined him, “What do you mean, ‘the old days’?”
Phil glanced up at her question. “Oh nothing, Mrs. Gumby, I was just thinking about my life years ago when things just seemed, you know, easier.” Phil turned back toward the sunset again, his eyes far away. “It seems like I was a different person back then. Even my name was different.” Phil sighed.
“What did they call you?” the old woman asked gently.
“It’s not important. It was just an old nickname.” Phil shook his head.
“What was it, Phil?” Mrs. Gumby persisted.
Phil sighed again before replying. “Kingfish, they called me Kingfish.” Phil gazed into the evening sky, his eyes unfocused for a moment as he remembered a life from long ago. Clearing his throat, he returned his gaze to Mrs. Gumby. “It’s been a wonderful evening, Mrs. Gumby. I should be going now. Thank you for dinner.” He walked down the front steps, suddenly remembering the reason for his visit, and turned back. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Gumby, I almost forgot to replace the filter for you.”
“Oh, I checked it earlier. My son must have changed it one day while I was gone.” She shrugged. “By the way, you know those paintings you were admiring when you arrived earlier? My son is the artist.”
“You’re kidding me! How long has he been painting?”
“Well, he started right after he returned from his trip, about five years ago. He had never painted before in his life. Now he’s sold over two hundred paintings, and he just signed a contract with a major studio in Los Angeles! He has always wanted to be an artist, but his father and I never knew. We always felt he should follow in his father’s shoes with a good, reliable job at the factory.”
Phil stepped back onto the porch, looking at the paintings through the windows and nodding with a new appreciation. He shook Mrs. Gumby’s hand, thanking her again for her hospitality, and headed home. Later that night, lying in his bed, he replayed the evening in his mind. “In the river of life without a paddle? Asleep? Know Yourself, Free Yourself, Be Yourself? What does all of this mean?” His thoughts swirled through his head like murmuring spirits as he drifted off to sleep.
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