The Phoenix

Enjoy some time in the world of whimsy

- By Terry Alburger

This past weekend, I had a debate with my eldest granddaugh­ter, who is 11 years old. No, we were not concerned with election fraud or global warming or some of the more serious topics of the day. But we were each intent on proving our stance.

The question at hand — was the inflatable raft which was bobbing in the pool in front of us a unicorn or was it a Pegasus? Ah yes, the tough questions indeed. She insisted it was a unicorn, and I claimed it was a winged horse. With all the passion of a future litigator, she sought to win the case.

“It has a horn,” she said. “Pegasus doesn't have a horn. How can it be Pegasus? Remember when Perseus rode him to save Andromeda? That was Pegasus. No horn. Just wings. But this has a horn. It must be a unicorn.”

While I was tickled pink that she actually knew mythology based on watching the film “Clash of the Titans” with me last year, I could not let on that I was pleased. I continued the debate the issue as her opponent.

“But this beast has wings. How many unicorns do you know that have wings? Maybe this Pegasus just has a deformity in the shape of a horn?” I said, with all the authority of someone who has never seen a unicorn.

Probably with good reason.

“The magical ones do, like on ‘My Little Pony.'” she said. “Haven't you ever seen those?”

I could not argue with her fictional logic. I conceded that perhaps it could be both, unicorn and Pegasus. Perhaps it was in the family of the narwhal? Anything's possible. And we both walked away happy in our whimsical collaborat­ion, smiling with fictional pride. I consider that to be time well spent.

What I enjoyed the most of our little tete-atete is that we were up to our eyeballs in our whimsical world, both engaged in a fictional and fun creation of our own making. Sometimes I think a little whimsy is a wonderful thing.

Whimsy can remove us from the harsh and painful reality that surrounds us in social media offerings and the news sources. It can remove us, albeit temporaril­y, from the sadness and the tragedy that sometimes surround and overwhelm us.

It's interestin­g how some of these whimsical wonders have transcende­d their fictional walls and have become part of our lives. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will no doubt agree that Buckbeak plays a key role in Harry's narrow escapes, or that the Cloak of Invisibili­ty and the Marauder's Map are important tools to his victory over … He Who Will Not Be Named. Any true Harry Potter fan will follow that logic without hesitation.

I suppose this is part of the reason I love Disney World so much. When you set foot in those magical gates, you are transforme­d into a world of magic, princesses and wonder. There is nothing wrong with an escape from reality every now and again. Each time I go there, I am once again a 12-year-old kid, with no problems of adulthood other than avoiding long wait times for the attraction­s. But you needn't travel anywhere to be transporte­d and you do not need the power of the entertainm­ent industry, either. Recently, I have begun rereading Sherlock Holmes books. I love a good mystery, and these books certainly fit that bill.

This fictional crime fighter, quirky as he may be, is certainly a clever fellow! I love to try to solve the mysteries as I read, but there are so many clever and sometimes insidious twists and turns, I am seldom right.

Books definitely help escape the harsh reality of our day and take us to so many exotic, far-away and even whimsical places. I have rediscover­ed some of the hundreds of books I have stowed away in my house. Most, I kept for a reason.

Now is a great time to remember the wonder that each book held for me. Books are the perfect escape in a time where COVID is still very much a danger. Though I'm not ready to travel yet, I can be transporte­d anywhere I choose through the literary talents of some of the masters.

Whimsy. We all need a little bit of it in our lives. It's like an escape hatch from reality, a temporary shelter to let your brain rest, reset and recover. Let a little whimsy into your life when the barrage of tragic or horrific news unfolds in our everyday lives.

Take that temporary journey into the whimsical, a journey that will allow you to smile at the imaginary and will allow relief from a tired and painful reality.

For a short time, follow that White Rabbit down Alice's hole in Wonderland. Close your eyes and take a break. Ponder the existence of the unicorn. I did, and it was well worth the trip.

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PIXABAY

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