Mystic Dog

“Look out for the mystic dog!” shouts my three-year-old, and punches the button that launches the plastic missile from the mouth of the plastic dragon, who, in truth, looks a little like a dog. The plastic Batman action figure is toast. And I’m left there wondering where the three-year-old ever heard the word “Mystic.” We play on, and I find myself wondering again and again where he got this stuff – not the toys. I know where he got every one of those. It’s the patter that accompanies the play that’s got me wondering. It’s not that the words are complicated or sophisticated, particularly. He’s using pretty standard three-year-old language. Rather, it’s the way the play world evolves around me – the kinds of relationships the super-heroes and knights have – the interplay between good and evil. That’s what’s making me wonder. Where did he get all that? The answer becomes clear as we play together. As knights square off against dragons and as the Joker rides through the carnage in his plastic hammer-mobile, I realize I’m watching an imaginative playing-out of the moral system installed in the kid by … by me. Well, by me and by his brothers, who can trace the way they learned it all back to … me, or in movies and TV, the selection of which has largely been up to … me. It’s all there in miniature, among the plastic toys. And it’s a little disconcerting. Bottom line? If you wanna see how your brain works, play for an hour with your kids, and keep your eyes open. And cross your fingers. It’s a good, righteous hope – though by no means any reliable guarantee – that you’ll like what you see.

Santa's Tacos

After the work party, as circumstances had it, I was dressed as Santa anyway, and it was lunchtime, and I was hungry. So I stopped by the local taco place. And there I was, completely anonymous to even my best friends. So why not? I wished everyone in the drive-thru line a Merry Christmas. Some answered back with waves and smiles. I went inside and ordered a dozen tacos. Some of the employees grinned. I took the tacos across the street to the DVD rental place and passed them out. Plenty of Ho-Ho-Ho-ing and jingle bells all the way. And then I went home. And thought about it. Truth is, while some of the Drive-thru folks at the taco place had waved and smiled, others, perhaps most, looked nervously at their steering wheels. Inside the restaurant, some of the employees had grinned, but others had curtly avoided my Christmas gaze. Same thing at the DVD store. Those guys are all in my neighborhood. They all know me in real life. But they were suspicious of me as Santa. Bottom line: I think next time I bring someone a taco, I’m going to do it as myself. After all, while it’s true that we need a little Santa Claus, maybe, for a few weeks in December, it’s doubly true that we need each other all the time. So give some Santa this year. But be sure to include a healthy dose of yourself. As for me, I love Santa Claus. But knowing that a neighbor or friend cares enough to bring me a taco at work – well, that’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Welcome to the Three Fishes Creative blog! It's good to have you here for this, our very first post. We're writers. We write stuff. The name "Three Fishes Creative" comes from a Chinese meme signifying extra-good fortune – surprising abundance. Good Feng Shui, it is, to have three fishes in a bowl. Especially if they're gold or black. Would you believe us if we told you that at Three Fishes HQ we've got such a thing: two little fantail goldfish named Wayne and Thad, and a black one named Green Lantern? True, and abundance abides. The image here is called "Buddha's Footprint." Allen Ginsberg commissioned this one from Harry Smith after seeing images like it in India. Ginsberg used it on a lot of his book covers; Indian Journals and all the Harper Collins stuff. Three fishes. One head. Singleminded critters, these three. Moreso, surely, than we are. Each of us at Three Fishes has, for better or for worse, his or her own noggin.

We've been writing for a long time. Stuff for us. Stuff for hire. Stuff as gifts. Words we've written are spoken by folks on the radio, sung by singers on records, declaimed by actors on stage, and curled up with before firelight by lovers wrapped in quilts. Join us here at Three Fishes to read some of the stuff we write, to write with us, or to hire us to write for you. We're interested in the world and its words. Its people too. If you're one of those last, join us here for plays and poems. Novels and songs. Paragraphs and pages. Words, baby.