The Hot Tub dream
February 28th, 2006 @ 21:53 by NormMonkey
From the setting-sun department:
Turn on your imagination.
Is it on? Is it working? Imagine a meadow. Green grass, yellow flowers, a clear blue sky with fluffy white clouds and a bright, radiant sun. Birds are chirping, the calm wind ruffles the flowers and soothes your body.
Right. That was a test. Just seeing if you’re playing along, here. Imagination’s all warmed up now, eh? Righto.
OK, now, imagine this.
You’re in a house. It’s not a big house, but neither is it tiny. It’s a midsummer day, around eight o’clock. It is Friday. You got home from work at six o’clock. The sun is setting outide. You have finished a light dinner and you are all lounging around the living room, chatting and enjoying a nice drink.
Somebody says, “Man, what an awesome day it is. Friday. Look at the sunset.” Everybody turns to look at the sunset. Everybody turns to look at each other. Everybody gets up and goes to the back door. Everybody goes out on the deck. Everybody brings their drink.
The grass in the back yard smells freshly cut. The setting sun casts an amazing orange glow on the wall. The wooden deck is warm underfoot. It’s a big, square deck. On one side there is a deck table. In the middle is an umbrella, and around the table are a number of chairs.
On the other side of the deck there is a hot tub. It is set into the deck, in the corner farthest from the house. Along one edge of the hot tub runs a hedge. Somebody has lifted the hot tub cover and folded it so it rests against the hedge. Along the far edge of the hot tub there is a railing. Running along the remaining two edges are a pair of steps that lead up to the edge of the hot tub.
Everybody wanders over to the table. Everybody seems to have a towel over their shoulder, which they take off and put on the back of the chair behind which they stand and in front of which, on the table, they have set their drinks. The group of friends remove their overclothes, underneath which everybody is wearing a bathing suit. People wander into the hot tub. While the sun sets, the group of friends relaxes, enjoying their drinks and chatting as the waters of the hot tub ease the stress of the week away. The sun continues to set as the water flows out from the jets.
It is now quite dark. The sun has set. The group of friends have been alternating between chatting in the hot tub and sitting around the table playing silly games. But no more, for it is now time for The Movie.
Just off the back of the deck there is a wooden post. At the top of this post there’s a shelf, upon which somebody has placed a projector. Midway up the post there’s another shelf where a DVD player and amplifier can be found. You turn to look at the wall of the house.
There’s something about this wall which is not normal. Across a large part of the wall, somebody has hung a large neutral white piece of canvas. The kind of canvas your office might hang in your cubicle farm with an optimistic message like, “IS IT GOOD FOR THE COMPANY?” The large piece of canvas seems to be almost twice as wide as it is tall. Somewhere between one and a half to twice as wide.
Some of your friends are staying in the hot tub while others have lined up their chairs to face the wall. Some people have a chair upon which to rest their feet as well. Everybody seems to have a drink at hand.
Upon the wall, to a trumpet fanfare, the Twentieth Century Fox logo appears…
