The King of the Sea Monkeys

By Mark E. Cull

The King of the Sea Monkeys is a novel in two parts. Because the protagonist suffers from a traumatic brain injury, the first part is fragmented, finding its way in the larger narrative in disorderly pieces. The novel is centered on a young high school teacher: too idealistic at work; too childish at home: living a fairly normal life, but unable to navigate the waters. This "normal" life disintegrates when he is involved in an altercation at a convenience store which ends in a shooting. He survives a terrible injury but the world of the protagonist is undone. Issues of traumatic brain injury are examined and the existence of God comes into question. We find ourselves asking what the framework of a real life is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Guernica Editions Inc
• Release date: May 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781550719918

Book preview

MARK E. CULL

THE KING OF THE

SEA MONKEYS

GUERNICA • ESSENTIAL PROSE SERIES 115

TORONTO • BUFFALO • LANCASTER (U.K.)

2015

Copyright © 2015, Mark E. Cull and Guernica Editions Inc.

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise stored in a retrieval system, without the prior consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law.

Michael Mirolla, general editor

David Moratto, interior design

Guernica Editions Inc.

1569 Heritage Way, Oakville, ON L6M 2Z7

2250 Military Road, Tonawanda, N.Y. 14150-6000 U.S.A.

Distributors:

University of Toronto Press Distribution,

5201 Dufferin Street, Toronto (ON), Canada M3H 5T8

Gazelle Book Services, White Cross Mills, High Town, Lancaster LA1 4XS U.K.

Legal Deposit – First Quarter

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2014950179

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Cull, Mark E., author

The king of the sea monkeys [electronic resource] / Mark E. Cull. -- 1st edition.

(Essential prose series ; 115)

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-55071-990-1 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-55071-991-8 (epub).--

ISBN 978-1-55071-992-5 (mobi)

I. Title. II. Series: Essential prose series ; 115

PS3553.U25K55 2015 813'.54 C2014-906222-2 C2014-906223-0

CONTENTS

PART I

1 The Dam Spot

PART II

2 What the News Said

3 Hangman

4 Sammy the Snake

5 Sea Monsters

6 Smelly feet

7 Digging Holes

8 Wonders of the World

PART IV

9 The Hollow Man

10 The Looking Glass

11 The Hollow Man II

12 Fruit Salad

13 A Penny for the Big Guy

14 Nicknames

15 Telling Stories

16 Queen Lily

17 Telling Stories II

18 Punishment of the Wicked

19 Going to Hell

20 The Twinkling of an Eye

21 Dimes to Doughnuts

22 Lake Una

23 Oculus Imaginationis

24 Damnatio Memoriae

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Remember us — if at all — not as lost

Violent souls, but only

As the hollow men

The stuffed men.

PART I

At the hour when we are

Trembling with tenderness

Lips that would kiss

Form prayers to broken stone.

The Dam Spot

AS PAUL WAKES he remains under the covers and tries to imagine what time it is. He listens to his wife’s breathing. She is still asleep. Pretending she is awake he tries to guess the time before looking at the clock. He thinks she guesses the wrong time deliberately so he can win their little time game.

In the family room his six-year-old daughter is watching Sunday morning cartoons.

Hi Daddy, she says, leaving cartoons for the attention of her father. He smiles but says nothing as he has not had coffee yet. Jessie watches her father pour himself a cup. She eats a handful of grapes before saying another word. Paul does not believe that his mood is connected so closely to caffeine, though it seems his daughter has figured out that coffee is her father’s version of breakfast.

Is today the fishing day? she asks. Of course he has not forgotten. There is a short list of things which Paul will get out of bed early for on Sunday.

Jessie helps him load the car. In his day pack he has a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, granola bars, and water.

In the car Jessie asks her father if she can tell her mother that they went to the dam. For a moment Paul wonders what Jessie means by this. He remembers that Lilian, his wife, asked her if she was going to catch big fish at the lake. It occurs to Paul that Jessie is unsure about the name of the place they are going. She’s been told it’s a lake, a reservoir, and a dam. He has no doubt that she is worried that dam is something she shouldn’t repeat at home.

Because I’ve been calling the lake a ‘dam’? he asks. She nods. You know, honey, some words sound the same but mean different things. The dam we’re going to is something that holds back the water of a stream. It’s a reservoir. It saves up water and makes a lake so farmers will have water for trees. ‘Dam’ sounds like a bad word though, doesn’t it?

So where we are going isn’t a bad word? she asks.

No it’s not. You know, there are dams all over. The one in Big Rock is about as old as Grandpa Phil.

A dam’s like a giant bathtub, huh? Jessie is in the front seat next to Paul. She is too short to see out the window. Lilian does let her sit in the front.

You know, he says. We’re lucky to even have the dam.

Because it saves up water? Jessie asks, kicking the bottom of the glove box.

Well, it does do that, which farmers need. But I mean that we are lucky it is there at all. A few years ago they were going to tear it down.

Why?

It was about safety. Most dams have one side that curves into the water. That’s called an arch and it helps to make it strong. Ours looks like a bunch of little arches, which wasn’t such a great idea. Also, they lost some of the drawings of how the dam was made and so they didn’t know if there was enough steel inside to be safe in case of earthquakes and floods.

Did they look inside of it?

The dam is made out of concrete and so you know, you really can’t look inside.

But they could look with x-rays to see if it was made out of steel? Or maybe they could use magnets.

You know, it’s not all steel on the inside, but there are supposed to be lots of steel bars tied together. I don’t think x-rays would have worked. Anyway, they were worried that it would not be safe in a flood.

So they don’t let it get flooded during earthquakes? Is that why it’s still there? Is it a dangerous place? Does mommy know the dam’s got no steel?

Mommy knows all about the dam. I think all dams have steel, sweetie. The problem is when this dam was built they might not have used enough steel or the right kind of steel. They looked at other drawings of dams made by the same man who made the drawings that were lost. You know what they found?

What?

Some of the drawings had the right kind of steel and some did not. Just as they were getting ready to tear it down, somebody found some old photographs of it being built, and there was lots of the right kind of steel in it.

Really?

That’s right. So like I said, we are lucky to have that dam at all.

But they would’ve made another one.

Paul thinks about this for a moment. He knows that for Jessie, this was a statement rather than a question.

Big Rock is just outside of Palmville on the highway between Los Angeles and Barstow. It is a small farming town on the fringe of the Mojave desert. Most of what is grown there are stone fruit: peaches, plums, nectarines, though apples and pears are also popular. The livelihood of the farmers is dependent on the existence of the reservoir in the hills that borders their town to the north. Big Rock dam, which is now a historic architectural structure, was under serious threat of demolition during the mid 1980s. Local farmers protested and a few people in Palmville attempted to raise enough money to rebuild it in the event it was demolished. It was going to cost more money than they could raise in years. The people of Big Rock began to put their farms up for sale, but not a single one sold. Without a dam, there would have been no farms.

Paul had followed that story closely. He has been visiting there since before his daughter was born, though he never fished the reservoir or the stream that feeds it. He is an amateur bird watcher and is familiar with the area, especially the stream. He knows little about how real birdwatchers go about finding and watching birds. He comes up every other month or so with a field guide. When he spots a bird he has never identified before he puts a little x in pencil next to the bird and its gender. It is more of a way to spend a few hours alone to think than anything else. Lilian, as far as Paul knows, has no idea he is interested in wild birds.

There it is, he says when the wall of the dam comes into view. Jessie climbs out of her seat belt to get on her knees so she can look.

You know, the reservoir is on the other side. That’s the lake we are going to fish in.

She nods and looks out the window quietly for a few moments and then looks to Paul.

Daddy, do fish have fun?

I’m not sure about that, honey. I think fish are kind of like chickens. I’m not sure they can remember anything long enough to have fun.

I forget things and I have fun, she says.

You’re a little different than a fish. Why do you want to know if they have fun?

Because mommy says it’s wrong to kill things that have fun.

The road heads south, wrapping around the lake on the west side. Not very far from the dam’s wall is a turnout with a building set back in the middle. Along its front is a sign that reads Dam Spot. This is Big Rock Lake’s local bait shop. Jessie would be tickled to know that the proprietor is at her level intellectually and is seemingly amused by the fact that he owns a store with a name that makes children laugh.

Paul pulls the car into the small dirt lot. An old red pickup is parked close by right next to the store. He isn’t certain what kind of bait will be best. He guesses that either red worms or nightcrawlers will do well. He is also willing to use floating bait if that is what the fish are biting on. Though he has never bought bait here, he has stopped in plenty of times to buy a bottle of water and a snack on his way upstream looking for birds. He has always noted the variety of worms the store keeps on hand in a refrigerator. There are pretty much all of the fishing supplies one would want for a day of lake fishing.

Looking at the numerous bumper stickers on the old pickup, Paul suddenly remembers what kind of magazines are on display in the store. He recalls there are the requisite issues for fishing and off-road enthusiasts, but they are far outnumbered by adult magazines. He thinks about the magazines and the snack foods. Jessie will beg for the snacks. He imagines how upset Lilian would be if he fills her up with soda and chips. Rather than dealing with the certain begging, he decides to have her wait in the car.

Sweetie, he says turning on the radio. I need to run inside for just a minute.

Paul thinks about whether it is wise to leave the keys in the car. With the radio on, Jessie is more likely to stay put. He immediately plays with the radio to find a station she will like.

A bell rings when the front door of the store opens to alert the old man behind the counter. A huge flag hangs on the wall. Below the flag are a collection of bumper stickers and signs with humorous sayings like In God We Trust — All Others Pay Cash. Next to the flag is a framed collection of military decorations. Paul looks around and spots the refrigerator with the worms.

What are the fish biting on today? he calls out.

Crawlers, the old man says without looking away from a tiny television. Paul opens the refrigerator and starts looking through the unmarked containers. He twists off a few of the lids but cannot tell if there are any worms inside at all.

Which of these are crawlers? he asks holding up a couple of the containers. The old man glares at Paul and with a grunt comes out from behind the counter. He grabs one of the containers, takes off its lids and stirs the soil inside around with a finger until a couple of worms are exposed.

You got eyes? he asks sharply shoving the container back at Paul.

Those crawlers? Paul asks putting the lid back on.

What? You need something else? The old man says going back to the counter.

I don’t think so, but give me minute, Paul says looking over the tackle hanging on a pegboard display.

He looks carefully at the hooks. They are much larger than the ones he bought the day before. When he got home he opened the package and with a pair of needle-nosed pliers he carefully closed the barbs on each of the hooks. Since Jessie has never fished before, he thought that she might be able to fish just as well barbless. He would show her how to set the drag on the reel to keep just enough tension on the line to not lose the fish and injure it as little as possible should it drop from the line or when they release it after being caught. He brought along a couple of very large treble hooks to show to Jessie. He will explain to her how damaging they can be to fish. As he examines a small spinning lure with a black and red spoon the bell on the door rings as other customers enter. If he clipped a couple of the lure’s hooks off and closed the barb on the remaining hook, it would work very well. He looks at the price and decides that would be an inexpensive experiment. She just might like the action of a spinning lure as opposed to tossing out a baited hook and sitting back waiting to see what happens next. At least she will have a choice. It is at this point Paul’s attention returns to the counter where there is some commotion between the old man and his new customers.

Get the hell out of my store! I don’t allow you kinda kids in here, the old man shouts at a couple of teenagers near the display of candy. I ain’t going to put up with you trouble-bastards running around here stealing stuff.

Hey mister, we’re just buying some candy, one of the kids says.

The other pulls a dollar from his pocket. Lookie-lookie-lookie, he says waving the bill in the air. Money-money-money! Probably the first dollar you seen all day, huh pops? The old man stands on tip-toe trying to peer around the boy waving the money to see the other boy who is looking at the candy.

Get out here where I can see you, you thievin’ little shit! The old man comes out from behind the counter waving a pistol. Paul would prefer to keep clear of the situation at this point, but he cannot bear the idea of the old man tossing these boys out simply because he does not care for the way they look. He steps forward from behind the display of fishing tackle to see if he might be able to get a better sense of the situation.

Hey Mr. G! What’s up? calls the boy next to the candy. Paul recognizes him immediately though he is unfamiliar with the boy brandishing the money.

Eugene, Paul says. What’s going on here? The old man looks at him in surprise.