The Date: 35years after complete closure of Glamis

The Gathering

The distant stars shined bright against the dark backdrop of space. There was no moon this night, a guarantee that the rising sun would bring life to Mother Glamis. The air was cold and still, somewhat rare for this time of year in Algodones. As the sun attempted to crest the chiseled mountains to the East, an old, weary traveler made his way through a set of Mothers rolling sand dunes. He was weak, but using the guidance of his trusty old GPS, he was determined to reach his destination. The old man wasn’t as spry as he used to be, but he moved as if he had been here before. Every step he took he felt the ripples of sand crunch beneath his feet, and he smiled. He carried a cane that was fitted with an old worn-out motorcycle grip on the handle, perfectly formed to fit his hand from years of use.

He remembered back in the day when he was younger, playing and loving on this ‘heaven on earth’ of a place. But as he reminisced, he lost his concentration, and he began to sink deeper into the soft sand, not realizing that he had stepped too close to the steep side of the ridge he was following. He tried desperately to stay up, but the sand gave way, sending him sliding down the slip face. He stayed upright for a few feet, but then fell on to his back, and rode a wall of moving sand down the face. He gave out a loud, “YEEEEEHAAAAAWWWW”, and rode it out for nearly forty feet, and then slowly came to a stop. This bothered him none, and he enjoyed it thoroughly. But he had to get back to that ridge, for that ridge would lead him to his destination. It was a special place to him, a place where he would see his friends again…the secret spot.

After nearly three hours on his feet, he was there, a place where the big dunes fall rapidly from both sides, exposing a shallow wash 100 yards wide and extending 1000 yards long in the shape of a crescent moon. He sat his tired body down next to a desert Buckwheat, an old friend. It had been nearly 35 years he thought to himself…35 years too long, and he was hoping to catch up on some memories with friends. A cold wind began to blow as his anticipation grew, making him shiver. The sun crested the horizon, and the beauty of this place sprang to life. From a small den just under the Dune Buckwheat, the curious eyes of Ms. Fringe slowly came out into the light. “Slappy, is that you?” she said, “It is you…I just knew you would come back, I just new it. Where is the McSlappmachine? And where have you been?” Her voice rose higher and higher with every word she spoke, and Slappy couldn’t help but shed a tear of happiness. Ms. Fringe looked worn-out, tired, and weathered, but still as spunky in her step as ever. “Hi there Ms. Fringe” Slappy said with a toothless smile, “Slaps been battling a sickness for quite some time, and it almost did the Slapster in” he said as he shifted slightly to ease his back pain. “Tell Slappy how things have been, and what’s been going on since they closed down Mother G on that horrible winter day.” That was the day the government decided to close all of Mother from any kind of access to her whatsoever. No vehicles, no hiking, NO ENTRY—NO PASSAGE—COMPLETE CLOSURE! For Slappy to be here was a breech, a glitch in the security…He wasn’t supposed to be there, but he didn’t care, he wanted to see his friends again.

Ms. Fringe looked scared, and she ran up to Slappy with fear in her eyes and said, “Slappy, things have changed since you left. There is fighting amongst us, and they come and take us Slappy, they just come and take us”. Her voice quivered, and she was shaking badly. Slappy didn’t understand, who was coming and taking them? At that moment, a familiar voice sprang from the silence, “That’s right Slappy, they do come for us, I can attest to that.” It was the voice of Mr. Red Tail, sharp and strong. He slowly floated down and landed close to Slap, which frightened Ms. Fringe. “You get outta here Mr. Red” Ms. Fringe snapped, “I got enough problems worrying about them coming, I don’t need to worry about you to.”
“They come and take my kind away too Ms. Fringe, so back off” Mr. Red replied.
“Why can’t you go and eat Mr. Buckwheat or something, and leave me alone?” She yelled back at him.
“Hey, no way” Mr. Buckwheat shouted, “I’m having my own problems with that darned Sand Food, so just stay away from me Mr. Red.”
“Well, you might like the taste of the evening-primrose then, try eating him,” said Mr. Sand Food.
“Stay away from him” shouted the Sphinx Moth, “I need his nectar to stay alive”.
The Primrose responded, “I’m having a hard time surviving too Slappy, the Mesquite is taking a lot of the water, as is most of the larger shrubs, and Mr. Milkvetch has almost died off completely. Then they come and take us, and never bring us back. It sure was a lot easier when you were here Slappy, you never took us away.”
“It ain’t my fault you Lilly wannabe”, said the Mesquite, “You know it’s the Dune Sunflowers fault, he’s the one stealing all the water, not me.”
“No it’s not Slappy” the Sunflower chimed in, “You just keep your crusted bark branch shut Mesquite.”

Slappy couldn’t believe the fighting going on, and he hadn’t even said a word yet. Something was wrong here. Slappy turned to his trusted old friend Mr. Red Tail and said, “Be straight with Slappy Mr. Red, what’s going on, and who has been coming for you?” There was a long pause as Mr. Red took a deep breath, and then he spoke, “When you left Slappy, things began to change. Mr. Milkvetch started to die off, and a lot of the larger shrubs and bushes began to take most of the water, forcing the smaller bushes and flowers to seek water elsewhere. Then, they came.”
“Who came Mr. Red?” Slappy replied.
“Your kind Slappy, but they didn’t ride McSlappmachines, they came in something different. But here is the worse part, they began to take us, just take us away.”
“That’s right Slappy” Ms. Fringe said, “And I can hear the screams of my babies far off in the dunes at night Slappy, horrible screams. They are bad people Slap, bad people.” “Yea Slappy, and they come from the train sometimes also” said Mr. Owl, “Then they ride into the dunes and disappear into these weird structures out there, I watch them all the time. But they don’t wear anything like you used to wear Slappy, it’s like they are wearing uniforms of some kind. I hear strange sounds out there all the time too Slappy” Mr. Owl continued, “and it’s not like anything I’ve ever heard before.” Slappy’s friends were gathered all around him, and they told stories that made him cringe with disbelief. Slappy had a hard time believing what was told to him, but a statement from Mr. Coyote made Slappy shiver with fear, “The good people are gone,” said Mr. Coyote, “Who will watch over these bad people that are here now?”

As Slappy looked into the eyes of his friends, he saw nothing but fear. People were out in these dunes again, but who were they, and what were they doing? As Slappy wondered to himself, a deep growling sound came from far off in the distance. “Run Slappy” yelled Ms Fringe, “It’s the bad people, the bad people”. All of Slaps friends darted in every different direction, running for their lives. Slappy’s bones cracked and his body ached as he stood up to run, but there was no running left in his tired body. He wanted to know who the bad people were, and he would wait right there for them. Over the dunes came a white colored vehicle, enclosed from front to back, and moving quite swiftly over Mother G’s ripples. Slappy had never seen such a vehicle, and it was coming right for him. The vehicle came to a sudden stop right in front of Slappy, and out jumped two men covered in full body suits. A strange breathing contraption covered their heads, and they were holding weapons of some kind. Slappy raised his hands as if to surrender, but they came anyway, striking Slappy on the head, knocking him to the ground unconscious. From a distance, Ms. Fringe watched as they dragged Slappy and placed him into their vehicle, and disappeared into the dunes. Ms. Fringe whispered to herself, “Where have all the good people gone, where have they gone?”








[This message has been edited by Slappy (edited 12-19-2001).]

wow Slappy you got me biteing my nails and sweating! Can we please get the rest of the story slap. You know Da Danksta gots your back!!!!!!!!!!! Lets get those White Coat sibilings!!!!!!!!!!!

Da Dankiest!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wake Up Slappy. Your dreams are too close to reality. Should we concern our-selves with the thought of actually "sneaking into Mother G?" I'll be there when i'm able. I've already put aside my cane grip, very well used and worn. Reality? Peace

wow.


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Darrin
http://gotdunes.com
i love the smell of wet sand in the morning!

I'm gonna have trouble sleeping tonight.

Talk about suspense! I gotta hear what happened to Slap and who those guys were!

OH,no,That made the Stimp sad!

Slappy come baaaaack.....

This has to be the most disturbing thing I have ever read from you slap. The thought that something like this could actually happen is sad indeed. If the intent of this post was to wake us up, then you have done that. Even with a happy ending the thought of 35 year without mother makes me want to cry. Lets hope it never comes to this.

SLAPPY, YOU BE WATCHING TOO MANY OF DEM X FILES!

Slappy think positive amigo, tis not the season for gloom. Have a shot or 2 of Patron tequila to brighten your mood

Wow Slappy, it was very hard to read that and not think that it could come true. I would like to read the ending of the story.

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Michelle
http://gotdunes.com
http://gotdunes.com/sys-tmpl/chatroom1/
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/gotdunes2
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/gotdunes2
Everything and Anything that I post are my own opinion! If you don't like, email!

Life is not what happens to us, it is how we respond to what happens to us. The choice is ours. We either make ourselves miserable, or, we make ourselves strong. The effort is the same.

Much of "The Gathering" made me very sad. It reminisced of the gathering of King Arthur, Owl, Merlyn and others late in Arthur's life in T.B. White's "Once and Future King." I thought of the many things in life I have loved...and lost. I thought of the failures that never seem to go away and the wounds that never heal. The time that marches on and the youth I once had. Yet, in the midst of it all the sun shines bright through the window near the Christmas tree. The kids run about oblivious to the mental machinations of their slightly retarded old man. Johnny Mathis sings Christmas carols on the Sony and all is well. And, now that I've tripped hard on serious thought and travelled down mental rocky roads, it's time to get after the day and be happy. Flame on!

Thanks, Slappy, for talking about what matters most. I hear the call.

Slappy-give yoself da best a da year for dat one.

KS

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Quench My Thirst With Gasoline!

wow I got chills...

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~Jim

www.GlamisRider.com
For the "GlamisRider"

35 years prior... still looking for Danny boy, missing in the dunes???

Please Wake Up slappy, your not alone. I still hear the Tubes calling me for a visit.

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Do It In The DUNES!
ARE YOU AWAKE YET???

I hear Mother G calling my name today Slapster. Is she calling you too? I'm packing up as we speak, getting ready for the departure across our beautiful country. Hope to see you out there in that special place you call home. I'll be the one with that brand new glow of a bright blue Raptor. And don't forget too...I have the "Coldest Beer In Glamis" I'll reserve you one. Have a cold one on me Slap. Peace

Slappy be smoking Mr. Milkvetch again.

Slappy that stuff will rot you mine!! Just look at the way you're posting.