PC Miniature 39: Carnival Park

[Heradel]

PC Miniature 39: Carnival Park

By Greg Van Eekhout.
Narrated by David Michel.

So there was Orange John near the war fountain in his oversized orange suit and Bozo hair, knotting himself up a real nice stegosaurus, when up came the young balloon man. He was a skinny boy in a black T-shirt, rainbow vest, and jeans painted like all the sample chips in a paint store. His limp balloons hung from his waistband like little tongues, and he stopped a dozen or so yards away from Orange John.

“Jack Many-Colors,” he said, tipping an imaginary hat.

“Orange John,” said Orange John, with a squint and a nod.

And so it began.

Rated PG. For Carnie Language and Balloon Violence

[Talia]

A fun little tale. Woo, epic balloon battle!

The recording was very, very quiet, I'm afraid.. made the outro music melt my eardrums before I could readjust volume.

[MacArthurBug]

Had a little bit of volume issues too. Interesting and strange little story. Not my favorite mini- but decent.

[Erenna]

A beautiful little story.  Speaks to a great truth: we don't really seek a champion we seek some one who brings joy into our lives.

[eytanz]

I really enjoyed this one, especially the ending - it played really nicely on the theme of what is really important as opposed to what people expect to be important.

[stePH]

Thought I should let interested parties know that I liked this miniature. 

[Swamp]

Hey, StePH, liking 2.6% of the miniatures isn't bad.    I liked this one, too--a very complete story written in few words, but then again, it is Eekhout.

[Joaquin Escudero Jr]

I must say that I really like this mini. It was whimsical and fun. I have the urge to go and find me a balloon man!

[Heradel]

I must say that I really like this mini. It was whimsical and fun. I have the urge to go and find me a balloon man!

Just so long as you don't let a balloon boy in the forums.

[stePH]

I must say that I really like this mini. It was whimsical and fun. I have the urge to go and find me a balloon man!

I was walking up Sixth avenue when Balloon Man came right up to me
he was round and fat and spherical with the biggest grin I ever did see
he bounced on up toward me but before we could be introduced
he blew up very suddenly I guess his name was probably Bruce
and I laughed like I always do
and I cried like I cry for you
and balloon man blew up in my hand

he spattered me with tomatoes, hummus, chickpeas and some strips of skin
so I made a right on 44th and I washed my hands when I got in
and it rained like a slow divorce
and I wished I could buy a horse
and balloon man blew up in my hand

I was walking up sixth avenue when balloon man blew up in my face
there were loads of them on Bryant Park so I didn't feel out of place
there must have been a plague of them on the TV when I came home late
They were guzzling marshmallow sauce and jumping off the Empire state
and I laughed like I always do
and I cried like I cry for you
and balloon man blew up in my hand
balloon man blew up in my hand

[Talia]

Next nickelback hit single?

*flees*

[stePH]

Next nickelback hit single?

Robyn Hitchcock, 1988.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DaI_so0ovcc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/DaI_so0ovcc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

[kibitzer]

VERY poor audio quality -- sounded like it was recorded in a bucket. The reading itself was good, though. As was the story.

[Dave]

Nobody else has mentioned it, so maybe it was just me, but when I listened there was a short random burst of music in the middle of the recording. I had it cranked up because the audio was so quiet and hard to hear, so when the music cut in it gave me actual physical pain. Good thing I was on a rooftop where nobody could hear the stream of profanity I let loose as I tried to claw the headphones out of my ears.

Must have been a glitch on my end, though, since nobody else seems to have noticed it.

Oh yeah, and the story was fun.

[Listener]

I agree there were audio issues. For me it was the buzz in the background; I didn't hear a burst of music, and the audio was mixed fine.

The reader's voice was good.

The story was an amusing tale that seemed to hit a couple of myths, including Anansi.

[Unblinking]

I guess I'll be the lone voice of dissent this time.  It was kind of an okay story, but didn't really carry any tension.  If you ask me about it in a week I will probably have forgotten it already.

Even while the balloon men were fighting, it didn't really matter to me who won.  Neither man had even a word of characterization, just names.

And then when the fight was over it became clear that the result of the fight never would have mattered, the park would keep their old balloon man regardless of the outcome.  And the narrator knew this all along, so where's the tension for any of the characters?

[lunastrixae]

I thought it was a fun fable with unlikely characters.  I really wanted to borrow a friend's kid to read it to! Love how the balloon battles evolved to be more fantastic. In a culture that second best is never good enough and age is not respected as it should be, it was refreshing moral tale.

[montsamu]

I guess I'll be the lone voice of dissent this time.  It was kind of an okay story, but didn't really carry any tension.  If you ask me about it in a week I will probably have forgotten it already.

Even while the balloon men were fighting, it didn't really matter to me who won.  Neither man had even a word of characterization, just names.

And then when the fight was over it became clear that the result of the fight never would have mattered, the park would keep their old balloon man regardless of the outcome.  And the narrator knew this all along, so where's the tension for any of the characters?

Funny, I've talked about this story to several people since listening to it. And it's been a good conversation piece when interacting with balloon artists -- having two young kids, this happens more often than you might think. I really enjoyed the story, the "conceit" of it being balloon animals which come to life and can do battle -- much applause from me.