Such fun! This made me laugh, Sidney waved his hands wildly and said, “Shoo, shoo,” and then again, “Shoo, shoo.” He locked eyes firmly with Sydney. “Pigeons. They’re all over and a menace.”
If I were Sydney, I'd have left Sydney long ago. A bit confusing, both spouses having the same name. Or are they a split personality? (Twilight Zone music playing in my head.)
What a wacky couple. I would have sold or given away all of those umbrellas except one. But then I wouldn’t have been able to fly to Vermont. Which is a lovely state. So there is that. This would be a fun cartoon or CGI story.
Just seeing the title, I thought of an old American pop song about a guy who sold umbrellas in the street back in the day. Dizzy Gillespie recorded it for Verve in one of his more whimsical moods.
The story as a whole reminds me a lot of Donald Barthelme (he was the master of making nonsensical story ideas seem logical), especially the ending.
Thanks for pointing me to the Dizzy Gillespie song, "The Umbrella Man." That would be the theme music to this story--it's a excellent piece (which I wasn't familiar with before.)
Thanks also for the nod to Donald Barthelme. He's a great writer and storyteller.
This story is so charmingly nuts. I sometimes wonder what it it must be like to be Bill Adler.
Thanks, Sharron. "Charmingly nuts" is the greatest accolade I've ever received. Thank you! I'm glad you liked "The Umbrella Man."
Funny - love the whimsical writing. I could literally feel Sydney's frustration with Sidney!
Thanks, Dan. I had fun writing The Umbrella Man and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
The inspiration for this story: The 18 umbrellas that filled our front hall closet because we didn't bother to take one with is when we should have.
Such fun! This made me laugh, Sidney waved his hands wildly and said, “Shoo, shoo,” and then again, “Shoo, shoo.” He locked eyes firmly with Sydney. “Pigeons. They’re all over and a menace.”
Magical story, Bill!
Thank you, Alexander. I had fun writing this and I'm very glad you enjoyed it.
The illustrated children's book is a surefire hit!
Thank you!
If I were Sydney, I'd have left Sydney long ago. A bit confusing, both spouses having the same name. Or are they a split personality? (Twilight Zone music playing in my head.)
Sidney and Sydney are inseparable, perhaps. They could both be from the Twilight Zone, that's for sure.
What a wacky couple. I would have sold or given away all of those umbrellas except one. But then I wouldn’t have been able to fly to Vermont. Which is a lovely state. So there is that. This would be a fun cartoon or CGI story.
I do like Vermont. It's one of my favorite states. Pretty forests, mountains and lakes.
Our apartment building has a recycling bin for umbrellas because of this problem (though I don't think anyone here has that many umbrellas.)
I'm glad you liked The Umbrella Man. I'd love to see it as a CGI story.
😂 this story made me laugh! I can identify with Sidney because I don’t carry an umbrella either. But I don’t buy umbrellas. I have a rain jacket!
I like having my hands free, too. I might wear an umbrella hat if they were in fashion.
I'm glad The Umbrella Man made you laugh.
It's almost like the umbrellas were sentient.....they were waiting for something, some reason to come to life.
I like the idea of sentience in inanimate objects.
Just seeing the title, I thought of an old American pop song about a guy who sold umbrellas in the street back in the day. Dizzy Gillespie recorded it for Verve in one of his more whimsical moods.
The story as a whole reminds me a lot of Donald Barthelme (he was the master of making nonsensical story ideas seem logical), especially the ending.
Thanks for pointing me to the Dizzy Gillespie song, "The Umbrella Man." That would be the theme music to this story--it's a excellent piece (which I wasn't familiar with before.)
Thanks also for the nod to Donald Barthelme. He's a great writer and storyteller.