Sir Elrod’s Castle

Besides the numerous small and large spiders that inhabit Sir Elrod’s castle, the only other large creatures, (besides Sir Elrod), who inhabit the valley of Macadonia in the land of olde Olde Cubanacan are two old deer and a horned owl. The two deer, a doe and a buc who Sir Elrod named Elsie and Elmore, usually are hidden somewhere in the woods. This is truly an astonishing feat, given the fact that the forest of Sir Elrod’s fief only consist of a small area, the size of perhaps one regular square city block. This leads Sir Elrod to believe that perhaps there is a gate somewhere in the woods, where the deer slip in and out of Sir Elrod’s world. Though he has been looking diligently in the woods almost every day, Sir Elrod has yet to find any trace of such a gate.

The old horned owl is another matter altogether. Named Horny (of course) by Sir Elrod, he actually has the gift of speech and is the only creature that Sir Elrod has the pleasure to converse with. The only problem is that Horny has a limited vocabulary and usually just says yes Elrod, and no Elrod, to whatever Sir Elrod says. Still, since that is the only feedback that he gets from a talking creature, Sir Elrod does enjoy the rare, mostly one sided conversations. Another problem with Horny is that he is only seen past the witching hour and only when there is a full moon. That would severely limit Horny’s appearance in most parts of the world, but in the land of Olde Cubanacan there is a full moon every night. Of course it can only be seen when the cloud cover lifts at night, and that is as rare an occurrence as sunshine is during the day time.

Among the other creatures that inhabit Sir Elrod’s world are the seven koi who live in the pond outside the castle. They were named Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sneezy, Bashful, Sleepy and Dopey by Sir Elrod after the dwarves of the popular Disney movie. He is still hoping for Snow White to join them one day and bring Sir Elrod a much needed female companion. Hope Spring is indeed eternal, even in Sir Elrod’s limited world.

There are birds that live in Elrod’s world, though to his view they are different ones every day. That also leads Sir Elrod to believe that there is a hole in the sky high above his little valley of where they get in and out everyday. He hopes to exploit this possibility one day by constructing a hot air balloon and escaping that way. The only problem is that he hasn’t been able to locate a source of materials to construct neither the balloon or the gondola. Sir Elrod. ever an optimist, thinks that one day, that way or another he’ll surely get out by becoming
a balloonist, a cherished dream that he hopes to fulfill, one day.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Bounded in all sides by mountains, Sir Elrod’s little valley world of Macadonia is totally contained in an area no wider than a few square miles. But that little space indeed packs a lotta
punch. Sir Elrod has a castle complete with three towers and corridors, a great hall and of course a dungeon, which houses Sir Elrod’s recording studio. Outside there is an ample wooden deck in which Sir Elrod can take sun baths in the rare days the sun peaks behind the clouds that always surround his Virtual World.

Inside the castle there is a small courtyard, complete with a fountain, which taps into the ample underwater cistern that supplies water to the castle. Outside there is a small pond,
complete with koi fish. An old growth pine forest is located behind the castle and there you can find a deer or two, a family of squirrels and a great horned owl that makes his appearance only occasionally and always after the witching hour.

In the front view of the castle there is a small meadow that grows thistles and thorns and a few wild grasses for most of the year. You cannot walk through the meadow without getting many thorns and thistles all over your pants and your socks, so Sir Elrod mostly avoids the area. In spring, though, the meadow is graced by many different species
of wild flowers and Sir Elrod spends many hours there sitting on his deck and gazing at the flowers. He imagines each and everyone of them to be female members of his fan club, and when the inspiration strikes him he will bring out his guitar and play his songs for his imaginary audience.

The mountains surrounding sir Elrod’s domains are very steep and almost devoid of vegetation. They are almost umclimbable, though Sir Elrod accomplishes the nearly impossible feat almost once a month. Once at the top, Sir Elrod can see the whole world of the other side. The best musical venues of the known universe are there for the taking and Sir Elrod longs to play them. But there is an invisible barrier that begins a few inches from the top in the other side of the mountains. That is where Sir Elrod bangs his head against the sky trying to get out. He usually will spend a day or two up there trying to find a place where the barrier will give way and let him get out to the other side. Then finally hunger and the lure of his dungeon studio will compel him to come down once again to be the Master of his Realm.

TO BE CONTINUED!

After repeatedly bashing his head against the gray prison of his sky, Sir Elrod Geare, errant knight of the Mythical Land of Olde Cubanacan, resigned himself once again to the hand that fate had cruelly dealt him.

Perhaps cruelly was an overstatement. True, he was denied what he most longed for, to play his Magical Guitar and sings his Magical Songs for an appreciative audience, but he really lacked none of the creature comforts that so many people would give anything to attain.

Sir Elrod had a castle nestled in the forgotten valley of Macadonia in the land of Olde Cubanacan. The castle was roomy and though a little gloomy, it fit Sir Elrod’s mood perfectly. On rare sunny days, (for the sky was mostly cloudy in Olde Cubanacan), Elrod sat on his old chair in the ancient wooden deck, took his shirt off and let the warm rays of old Helious warm the skin next to his heart.

‘If only I could break through the sky and play for the people,’ Sir Elrod would say to himself in those rare sunny days. ‘If only I could pierce the sky, I’d fly…” He’d muttered as he toyed with an idea for a possible song lyric. Then he’d close his eyes and let the warm red spot over his mind eye whisk him away from that gray prison, mostly of his own making.

He would travel away on the vehicle of his brain matter and see all those places he’d once thought he’d play- ‘Oh, yes,’ he’d mutter to himself, ”
Los Angeles, the Whiskey and London, the Palladium!, and Sydney, the opera! and Paris and Madrid and oh yes, New York, to play Carnegie Hall!’ Then, for a few moments he’d see himself performing in those wonderful places, all though the power of his mind’s eye…! But alas, it was naught but a dream. A mystical and mythical chimera never to be attained by mere cyber mortals the likes of Sir Elrod.

‘… Not in this lifetime…’ he’d sadly mutter to himself.

But, Sir Elrod didn’t let self pity absorb him for long. He never did. Well, perhaps it was more like he never could. You see, his soul would not let him. At first it was a faint echo, a single musical note playing ping pong in the neurons of his brain. Then it got louder and louder until it was a mighty roar. Sir Elrod had a Genesis of a New Creation! With a jump and a skip and a cry of ‘leaping lizards!,’ he ran down the old stone staircase to the Dungeon, where his Magical Recording Studio awaited him. Rows upon rows of color lights flashed as his wonderful Black Boxes roared into being, ready to receive Sir Elrod’s every note and all the nuances of his phrasing. The large display screens emitted their otherworldly glow and displayed his composing tools of choice. Infused with the energies of his Musical Universe, Sir Elrod grabbed his guitar and his ‘real’ world came to life. The mighty rush of creation rippled across the room as the sum and the issue of Sir Elrod’s life came into clear focus once again. For a time he became Lord of Creation and Master of the Universe. His Own Musical Universe.

He played and he sang and he pushed buttons and he sang again. ‘Needs a harmony here, no, a three part harmony.’ He happily said to himself as
he sang away and a chorus of Elrodses danced across the flickering screen. The Black Boxes magically accommodated him and gladly
obeyed his every whim and his every musical wish. Then he
played the keyboards and they were magical too! Oboes and strings and flutes and winds and all sort of musical things happened inside those wonderful keys and translated themselves into the blank canvas that his black boxes provided. Then time for the bass and the drums and yes, wonderful percussion and lots of it! Masters of the percussive arts had
provided Sir Elrod with lots and lots of percussion inside some magical tiny bits of sound that Sir Elrod could call up anytime. Plus, he could always plays his congas. Life was indeed good for Sir Elrod as he happily
toiled away at his craft in his little dungeon studio. Morning had turned into afternoon and afternoon into evening and evening into night and night into morning again by the time that Sir Elrod was finished with his work.

The deed was done, the song had grown and all that was left for Sir Elrod
to do was to listen. The Black Boxes obediently played back to Elrod what he had done, and it was good. Nothing more to do now but to put it
away, archive it in a safe place so that it would never ever be forgotten.

Once again a bit of Sir Elrod’s life had been squeezed out of him by his destiny as you would squeeze a lemon, or perhaps more appropriately a sweet orange. Yes it was sweet, the juice that was the essence of Elrod and was squeezed out of him that morning, into afternoon, that afternoon
into evening, that evening into night and that night into morning again. The song came to rest with the many other songs that had bounded out of Sir Elrod so many other times before. It fit perfectly with the others. What a wonderful collection it was! Sir Elrod went to sleep. and dreamt again about busting through the other side of the sky, to the land where people awaited him. Where the crowds lined up all the way down the street to buy a ticket to see him play.

What a wonderful world that was!

TO BE CONTINUED!