CHEETAH JEFF
CHEETAH JEFF
My son
in the bathtub
asked for a story
and so I sat beside him
on the floor
and made up a tale
about a cheetah
named Jeff
who had self-confidence issues
because he wasn’t very fast.
As stories go,
I suspect mine was cribbed
from years of television,
tales of morality,
and sporting events
I’d watched in my youth
which always finished with the crowd going wild
and someone on someone else’s shoulders.
Strange thing though,
was as I told it
I could see his young brain getting lost
in the possibilities
the same way you might get lost in a good song
and drive ten minutes out of your way
without even realizing
you were supposed to be at work.
And so
I added more
bells and whistles,
twists and turns,
near misses and upsets,
until finally
as Cheetah Jeff was on his last lap
at the Seventeenth Annual World Cheetah Championships
and about to win the gold medal
I started to tear up a bit-
Yes, I made myself cry
with my own made up story
about a fake cheetah
and a fake race
in the far off fake jungle.
This had never happened to me before
and after having finished
I was left to tuck my boy into bed
and consider the options:
A: I am a better storyteller than I previously imagined.
B: I am a more of a crier than I ever knew.
C: There are greater forces at work here.
I will let you know the answer
as soon as it’s clear.