Tiny Tim’s Song

Listen at bandcamp. I did apply a saturation filter to this photo. Encaustic can be so difficult to capture the color and texture.

1 When the bakers start their fires
and the stuffed goose casts its lure
and the baskets full of chestnuts loll
like gentlemen at doors,

We thank our gracious Father
for the feast laid at our feet
and all the meat and fish and fruit
He’s given us to eat.

2 When the girls dance round in furs
and the sharp men doff their hats
and the lamplighters tap fire to wick
like mischievous black cats,

We thank our gracious Father
for our friends and family
and all the health and wealth and love
which makes us so happy.

3 When the church bells toll their call
and the people gather in
and the Bible tells of sinners whom
the Good Lord has forgiv’n,

We thank our gracious Father
for His Son whom Mary bore
and all the blind and deaf and lame
that Jesus may restore.

4 When the dead man fades to dust
and the spade turns up his bones
and the mourners in black armbands face
the rest of life alone,

We thank our gracious Father
for the angels bending near
to bring our lost and lonely prayers
to God’s eternal ear.

5 When the boys give glad noel 
and the snow drifts on the air
and the mothers in the workhouse sing
to babies who aren’t there,

We thank our gracious Father
for the stable and the star
that hope in dark and troubled times
may beckon from afar.

MARY HATCH, NULL

She’s determined. She wants George and she pursues any opening he gives her. She’s organized. Very. Ridiculously so. She leads the local USO while refinishing an old house and raising her children.

All of the community facets –such as parties for Savings and Loan customers — are a joy to her. When George needs help she calls so many people, local and further away, because she’s established those social connections over the years. Everyone loves Mary.

What Enneagram is she? Her effortless ability to juggle so much suggests a Three. Her belovedness suggests a Two. Her organizational skills could also suggest a One.

Is Mary more of a perfect-wife archetype than an actual character? Does she have any flaws? The honeymoon dinner with the chicken rotisserie that uses the turntable is wonderful, but possibly too clever.

Is Mary so Not Me that I have trouble accepting her as believable? Haha, maybe. This is George’s story, though, through and through. He arcs, he faces a true crisis. Mary is a set piece. All of George’s woes belong solely to him because what man could complain about this wife? She’s designed to be perfect.

Hmph. I’m disappointed.

I’m also relieved, because she’s a high bar to face every Christmas season. If she’s not an actual character I don’t need to measure myself against her. Whew.

CLARENCE, TWO

He’s an angel. He’s an inept angel. In the hierarchy of heavenly beings, he’s on the bottom rung.

The more I think about Clarence, the more he bugs me. He’s so twee! As a trope subverter — dufus angel — he feels very contrived. Of course this bumbling fool will find a way to save George’s soul. No competent angel could figure out how to show George the purpose of his life? All the wise angels were busy? And heaven is ordered like a first-grade classroom, with wings passed out like gold stars for getting the math quiz correct?

Whew, I had no idea poor Clarence pushed my outrage button like this!

He connects with George on an emotional and sympathetic level. Heart Type. Not a Three, obviously. (A Three on the bottom rung of the angel ladder? Puh-leaze.) He’s too gentle with George to be a Four.

Two. He has that oddball quality. Heaven is happy to have him, they just can’t figure out what to do with him yet. To devise a plan that shows such heartbreak to not only the family but the entire town, is not something a Head or Body would’ve thought up. Not in this way. The social fabric of Bedford Falls is ruined by George’s absence. That’s very Heart.

HOME SWEET PINEAPPLE

ONE

Something. A group of somethings. Worms hopping together, all saying, “Walking.”

TWO

They stop. “Hungry.” 

THREE

They swarm and consume a coral structure in two seconds. Alright, their group-minded behavior is really funny, like Finding Nemo’s seagulls. Frightening, but funny.

FOUR

“Still hungry.” There goes some fish’s boat/car. “Dang nematodes,” says the fish. Ah, a name for this being. I got them confused with the Anchovies from the first episode. #CreaturesThatSwarm

“Thirsty.” Pan camera to reveal the pineapple neighborhood. Rut-roh.

Aaaargh! They pull out straws and suck on the house! It shrinks, still a perfect pineapple. Spongebob, inside, sleeps. Gary’s food bowl shrinks and disappears. The foghorn alarm gets smaller, ringing higher, until it disappears. Only Spongebob and Gary stay their size.

The house is shrinking around them. Spongebob calls Squidward on the shell phone. It shrinks away.

Patrick opens his rock. The pineapple shrinks away, leaving Spongebob and Gary in the crater. “Nematodes.” The only thing left is “this little pebble”.

Squid and Pat see that Spongebob’s house is gone. 

Thinking Spongebob will now vacate the neighborhood, Squidward shakes his hand and wishes him well. Party streamers come from the Head window.

Spongebob pockets the “pebble”. (I know, I’ve seen it. But I still think the pebble insert would be a sufficient clue for someone watching the episode for the first time.)

SWITCH

Move back with Mom and Dad? There’s their picture as an insert! (They’re so cute.) No, we’ll build you a new house!

FIVE

Shiny, hard hat-wearing duo. With tools! No surprise, but they’re terrible at building. Montage of their hijinks. And then there’s a finished pineapple. A small one. It’s the size of a hat. And it breaks.

Now where? Rockmates with Patrick. The rock is like a shared blanket. Hahaha! Trouble, ending with Patrick dreaming of spiders and smashing the rock on Spongebob. They always give you the joke you expect, and then take it one further. And even more. Cracking up.

Squidward sleeps peacefully. He agrees to let Spongebob stay. Wait for it . . . yup. There’s the close-up of his eyes bugging out as he wakes up enough to realize what he’s said. Kicked out.

Nighttime over the ocean. Moon and island shot. Dissolve to day.

Squidward wakes up. It’s a celebration day. He’s so happy to be saying farewell to Spongebob. 

Patrick cries. Mom and Dad drive up to gather Spongebob and his bags.

SIX

Spongebob reaches in his pocket! 

Destruction vs. Creation as the Three/Six? Visually it’s a stretch, but thematically it’s quite good. A large coral and a small seed don’t seem connected at first glance. I guess you could also say that the Three is the action of a crowd and the Six is the effort of an individual. It gets even lovelier!

SEVEN

He buries the pebble in his house crater and waters it with his tears. Underground shot of the pebble absorbing the water and activating.

EIGHT

Shaking hands goodbye. Squid, still in the crater, does a dance. Intercut Patrick holding back the boat/car, the pebble glowing, and the Squiddie victory performance.

A large vine sprouts next to the crater, grows a pineapple (with windows and door), and drops it on Squidward’s head.

“My house is back!” They all go inside, happy, and step on a flattened Squidward under the floor dirt.

NINE

“I’m back forever!” says Spongebob.

Squid, still a sand figure, mumbles, “Forever?” Thwarted again, buddy.

GEORGE BAILEY, SEVEN

When I was younger I couldn’t stand to watch George beaten down by life and denied his dreams. Duty keeps him from adventure. Self-sacrifice locks him at home while his brother pursues the world. From a certain perspective this is a very painful story.

What kind of a man takes a job he hates in order to fulfill his father’s promises, marries a woman he loves although she prefers a lifestyle that repulses him, and turns to thoughts of suicide when life wearies him, as all life does?

I’m immediately distracted by tall, lanky Jimmy Stewart, who fits a specific body build. Is George a Four or a Five? I doubt it. He’s not funny enough or contemplative enough for either.

Is George a Seven? Someone who dreams big is more heartbreaking than a practical man. A One, a Three — these heroes would bring a completely different, more encouraging story. Not a Six; a Six expects to be disappointed by life. Not a Two; George sees his house as a millstone rather than a quirky mansion.

Seven, Eight, or Nine? He does save his brother’s life on the ice. Any of these numbers could accomplish this. In every other way he shows no aptitude for physical activity, so I’ll say he’s not a Body Type.

Seven it is. What other number could wish for something more, be the kind of person who could achieve steamer-trunk adventures, and yet honors his commitments? His heroism is quiet, the kind that real men can attain, but it makes for depressing storytelling.

Scrooge, page 36

A beat, and then a gentle GLOW begins to emanate from the
crack in the bed-curtains.


Soft SOUNDS begin, as well. Shuffling, blowing, swishing,
lowing. Nervous, Scrooge reaches for the curtains. Smells
assault his senses, stopping him.


A CRY, part newborn baby, part enraged animal, rings through
the apartment and Scrooge jumps back into his bed.

GENTLE VOICE
(OVER)
Ebenezer Scrooge. Come to me now.

Meek, Scrooge draws the bed-curtains and steps out.

Continue reading “Scrooge, page 36”