Picnic Games

Today was the day--the Annual Cosmic Picnic, hosted by, who else, but the four Seasons, April Spring, Junie Summer, Harvester Fall, and Dr. Wisdom Winter. They'd been hosting the event for millenia, and quite frankly, April and Junie, who always did the the bulk of the work (isn't that just typical) were running out of ideas to change it up. How do you make something so old, look fresh, and new, and fun! That was their challenge.
It didn't help that Junie was sulky, she'd put on a little weight lately and even though the calendar said she was at her zenith---the truth was out there. April had won the majority of temperature games this year. She was sooooooooooo smug and she didn't even try to conceal it. You should read what she said about Summer on her Facebook page.

Yet here they were standing side by side greeting the visitors as they arrived: Queen Mother Nature, Father Christmas, The Man-in-the Moon. All the planets of course: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune, (Saturn sent his regrets prior engagement and all) and Pluto. The Tides came and went as usual but were always great fun to have around.

The girls, as they were often referred to (which was a continual sliver in April's toe, but seemed inconsequential to Summer) engaged in a subtle shoving match. Always out of direct sight of the guests, just a bump of a shoulder here, a foot in the way there, things like that. Each of them carried a secret---a secret that would be played out this very afternoon. A secret that each hoped would make this year's picnic a first ballot choice for the Picnic All of Fame.

April, had invented a game that combined basketball with Bingo. The idea was this. A basketball court had a lighted floor divided in half. One court was a blue card with 24 numbers; the other side was red, also with 24 numbers. When a playe made a shot during the game, the number he shot from is considered the number called. The audience received either a blue or a red card, randomly chosen, when they arrived.

What normally stood for the free spot on a bingo card, was the free throw line. If a player was fouled and one or two free throws were ordered that means that automatically changed all the numbers on that card. So if you were almost to bingo, but a player got fouled--you're starting over. April was sure that this game was so great that once the media got hold if it, the humans would make it a reality t.v. show--and why not---that's entertainment!

Junie's idea was to tap into the latent creative juices of the assemblage to write and produce a new movie entitled Possibility Re-Imagined. All the attendees put their names in the fire and April and Junie would pull names out to form pairs. Each pair would be responsible for a single scene of their creation. It could be anything. All doors were open. Welcome were the genius, the comic, the absurd and deterred, the sinister and savior. It would be, Junie knew, the crowning jewel of the picnic, and would surely catapult this year's picnic into the Hall of Fame.

Difficulties presented themselves; the guests were restless. While Father Christmas and Thunder were hitting the open bar pretty hard, some of the stodgier attendees such as Rain and Rust agitated for the games.

"Really? Food and booze, that's it then." Clearly Rain felt that his time had been wasted.
"Could have stayed at home and done that," Rust agreed.

There were mutterings all over the park; finally April took up the microphone. "Welcome one and all!" She said, her voice booming. Junie, who had been fidgeting with the potato salad, grabbed the other microphone and nearly pushed April off the stage. "Great to see you all!" she counter boomed.

The crowd, sensing the hostilities between April and Junie, were riveted. Little asteroids stopped throwing their Frisbees; the stars, usually distant at these affairs, clustered together; glaciers sped to the front to get a better view.

"I can't wait to tell you what I have planned for you today," Junie said. She felt stronger than ever until April pushed her aside. "Oh yes, April said, "do we have a game to get your all excited!'

This was too much for Junie, who charged at April and pushed her off the stage.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" the crowd murmurred.

April's knees and elbows were skinned, her perfectly coiffed hair, mussed, her face, dirty--but her eyes blazed. This will not stand, she thought. She marched up on the stage just as Junie began to speak again, "So to begin with we will put everybody's nam...." April grabbed Junie's mike, threw it on the stage and punched Junie in the jaw so hard that Junie went down. But was she not out--

"Fight, fight, fight!" the audience chanted.

And fight they did all through the afternoon and into the late evening. Punching, wrestling, rolling around on the grass and in the mud, in the swimming pool and the on the golf course. On and on, the girls fought. Pulling hair, scratching faces. The audience was enraptured. It was the best entertainment ever. Some thought they could make a reality T.V. show out of it.

Queen Mother Nature finally stepped in and separated the girls. No winner was declared and Junie Summer's sorrow continued.