Manly---with Horns! (a short story)

PROLOGUE
(Atlanta) Under a birch tree during a freak rainstorm I looked-up from my winter cap to see two protruding branches going forward about seventeen feet! It looked like I had antlers.

I wondered what it would be like to wake up and have a pair of horns---like antlers?

I moved my head from side-to-side as if the tree branch antlers above would move with me! Ridiculous.

As I stood there in the rain, under the trunk's protective branches I thought about how one morning I had awaken to antlers, of sort.

That October 2005 morning during a normal visit to my doctor, I learned that I had a brain tumor.

Lucky---mine was the most common non-cancerous tumor, a Pituitary Adenoma. The doctor said it was a mass on my pituitary gland, inhibiting it from producing (important body hormones such as, in my case), testosterone.

As a Blanket Statement my mother always said "...men never go the doctor unless it's about their You-Know-Whats" and in my case, well...that was part of the reason. I felt like my energy level was very low, and I rarely wanted to work-out at the gym. I just needed testosterone--- yet had a tumor that "wasn't life threatening but WAS libido & vision threatening,". It was scary.

I worked my way through that problem, with the help of many people, including Ron Leathers. THANKS to everyone for that.

So under the limb of that tree I began to create a synopsis for a children's book: Manley---with Horns! ...which would be a metaphor about the entire tumor experience.

Imagine: Something is identified as being there, and needing to be removed. Surgery would await and all the scary micro seconds that entailed including hours of laying in a hospital bed. Dealing with crying relatives and others who seemed to think the surgery meant certain death! Recovery, and all the strange dreams that went along with being drugged so one can heal. Actually learning to walk again, and hold your head up without feeling so dizzy your head might fall and burst like an melon on the floor! Reflection, and whether that was even done, or done properly.

The story sounds heavy,but it is told with humor and a light tone. However unique the experience was to me, the event is not mine to own. ---RR


Chapter One

One warm spring morning Joseph Manley awoke with a pounding in his head! The pain was mainly on his forehead. "Momma," he called "...I need an aspirin."
He bound from the bed and ran into the bathroom.

For several minutes, he ruled the family- sized mirror.

The image showed a boy. A normal boy in pajamas. A normal boy except that he had HORNS!

They were small antlers, but horns nonetheless.

Manley's mother, a woman who never missed the small moments in Life, came into the bathroom. When she saw Manley, she screamed! "Darling, what has happened?"

"I dunno!" Manley shrugged and ran back to his bed in a flutter of socks and blankets.

Under the covers he was normal. Under the security of Dad's (borrowed) heavy goose down pillow he was safe. His family was safe. And he didn't have horns in the dark!

Though when he slowly reached-up with his hand and rubbed his forehead, he felt them. They were exactly the same size of real coins. "I can be brave with horns!" Manley whispered.

Manley thought about his father, way across the ocean serving in the Army. "I have to be the brave one," he thought.

"Joseph Manley Canterthumpy, COME HERE!" his mother was not happy.

She asked 100 questions, it seemed. "What have you done?", "Why did you do this? " and "How did you get those on your head?" she said.

In fact, Manley's mother seemed so concerned and so upset, he turned Momma's voice off in his head. He could see her lips moving, but only heard this---a small, sweet, meek voice deep in the back of his head saying "...I am a boy with horns!"

To the public, Manley thought, a person with horns must be great and highly respected! Maybe when others saw his horns they would pat his mother on the back and tell her she was the greatest mother of all. Horns were great, weren't they?

Within the next several hours Momma did this, in this particular order:

*Removed Manley and Mike from school "...whole family's ill," she told the Principal.

*Covered the blinds on the house with sheets that dad had brought home “by accident” from the Army.

*Wrote a letter to daddy fighting somewhere across the ocean in the war explaining “…things were not right.”

*Rubbed lotion on Manley’s mini antlers, which just seemed “…the right thing to do.”

Before going to bed, Manley ran into the bathroom, where, this time, he DID rule the family sized mirror “strange,” he whispered. The little horns were hard, yet soft at the same time!

That night he dreamed of Dad. And Bad Guys. He felt scared.

He wanted to protect his family, and wanted these new horns to count for something---but---he was still scared. Even though he wanted to talk himself out of it, he seemed to hear the ocean, the water pounding against his dad’s distant shore. This made him go to the restroom!

On the way out he couldn’t help but look at the horns! “Were they bigger, than just a few hours ago?” he gasped! His heart began to beat fast.

Manley ran and jumped into his bed, and underneath the protective bunker of his Dad’s (borrowed) heavy goose down pillow. From this point---although hidden and heavy---Manley could protect Momma and Mike in case of the Enemy—or a robber, or a Baker! (Manley didn’t know what a Baker was, but he knew his Momma thought that it was a Thief!)

Manley could squeeze his ears shut tighter than normal and still hear the ocean. He longed to know what his father was doing. Was he alive? Was he okay? Did he miss Momma and Mike? “…don’t worry about me!” Manley thought.

In fact Manley had a mental message for his Army Dad Colonel Conrad Joseph Canterthumpy---“…your wife and your child are safe---your oldest boy Joseph Manley has grown horns and is protecting them at antler point.”

On nights like this---during the watch---the hours were late but the oldest boy’s eyes were wide. He whispered to the goose down pillow, ever so quietly “…you’d be proud, Dad.” Then he would watch the light in the hallway---brave but yet a whee afraid---until falling asleep.

The next morning things had changed for the worse. Manley’s horns were huge. The antlers had grown several feet!

“Momma!” he yelled.

Mike came in from the other room, holding something in his mouth, at least something plastic instead of something deadly, laughing. Mike pointed to the horns and cooed.

“Shut-up.” He said

Downstairs Momma was cooking sausage. The kitchen was filled with that “ I sure am glad we don’t have to go to school today smell”. Manley bound over and grabbed a link of sausage.

“MANLEY!” his mother gasped.

“What?” Manley looked behind him, as if there might be an insect, or spider on his shoulder.
“Horns, HORNS!” Momma screamed.

“I’m sorry,” and Manley began to cry. He couldn’t control the antlers. It just happened. He tried to run into the other room and sob but was caught short by the sheetrock.

Because he was crying, his mother cried. This made Manley cry less but he climbed his mother’s sausage smelling apron to her nearest tipped ear to whisper “…I’m sorry Momma…it will be okay.”

This made Momma explode with tears, and a sure fountain commenced. Even little Mike cried (although he probably was crying because someone was stepping on his foot, or pinching him in some way, or not feeding him enough deadly plastic for the moment, Manley thought).

“It will be be okay, you’re right my sweet baby” Momma said. The three of them hugged for what seemed like an hour. Then they ate sausage.

The home schooling went on for two days, with a little more growth, but not much.

The third day proved to be the hardest of all. Manley and his mother awoke to a Mathematical Problem: the boy Manley not only had horns, he had large branches beaming-off his antlers as if the Forest Primeval had knighted a new son: the son of Susan and Conrad Joseph Canterthumpy---The Boy with Horns!

From this time to that time Manley’s mother did the following: ATTEMPT to GET MANLEY OUTDOORS

9:05-9:31am

*Bring a breakfast to Manley of mainly fruit and nuts “…I’m no Reindeer” Manley said.

*Turned Manley’s head ever-so-slightly to the left, and then ever-so-gently to the right but ever-so-calculated to the center to make sure the walls weren’t damaged…

*Took whatever plastic it was away from Mike from which he had gourged himself then…turned Manley’s head back to the left, then a quick right to miss the family photograph mounted above the light switch...

It was a process!

And suddenly the whole troop of helpers were outside. And the saddest thing of all occurred to Manley: ---with horns---he had to live outside!

At least outside in an open area.

He took a deep breath. This might not be so bad, he thought, and moved the huge head of antlers and spiney branches.

The horns seemed to react to the open air as weightless! He moved his head from side-to-side so quickly that he took-out the electrical from the back of the house, completely knocking it into the neighbor’s yard!

“Sorry, Marsha!” his mother yelled.

“Your son is a nuisance!” Neighbor Marsha yelled.

Manley tried to move his head around for a complete overview of the destruction, but within the small yard there was hardly room. “Oh, no!” Manley said.

“It’s okay Baby,” his mother wept “…it’s okay.”

(Continued)