Curiosity lost

The moon is in full view and 99% lit. Sun on the other hand is playing hide and seek since he got up. Brrrrrrr, it's so cold!

I am nicely wrapped up in a jacket and heat-waves, but i feel sad for the maple trees. They look magnificent though, a row on either side of the street, standing tall and erect, proud that leaves are sporting oh so many colors, ready to brave the bare branches that will follow.

Ah, nature! Je t'applaudis! Your strokes are breathtaking, your simplicity divine.

Sometimes a simple original idea is hands-down the best. I do not understand why us humans strive to make things complex and inorganic. Take "The curious case..." for example. What's the point in dramatising the original story to the extent of losing its essence, i know not.

The brilliant premise of FSF's short story is all but lost under the loud brushstrokes of unnecessary and predictable dramatization. Raising old master Button in an old home? Hmm, cheap plot, ineffective. Creating the usual mystery father figure to be divulged at death bed (er, twice!!)? Ah, cliché. No grandpa-father-son-grandson interludes? Fundamental loss.

Gone are the poignant moments shared between the four generations. Senior Button's reaction and his funny yet pathetic visit to the clothing store to buy clothes for his old infant. Old and newborn master Benjamin reluctantly brought home by his shame-stricken father and forced to behave his not so apparent age. The grandfather's refusal to accept the little old man as his grandson. Later, Benjamin's own son begging him to stop aging backward. When that didn't work, his asking Benjamin to call him "uncle" when company was present. In the end, Benjamin growing younger in the company of his grandson, and waiting to die at the same time.

In all the refusals and failures in fitting in, Benjamin's unusual journey experienced time like no other. In his old form he has been the rocking chair buddy to his grandpa, in his prime, a grey and dignified companion to his father, in his youth, a friend to his son, and in his childhood, a play-mate to his grandson. An insider by look, outsider by disposition, holding an aging mind in his inverse-aging body. A vicious circle of time chasing visible age chasing time. Ingenious!

So that's what i want to say. Take a cue from nature. Un-clutter your canvas. Keep your strokes simple but brilliant. And oh yeah. Leave something to imagination and fantasy. Not everything has or could benefit from an explanation. Lose that clockmaker. Please.