So... Here's my first hop into writing children's books...
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Chase the albino cricket had a plan. He knew he had to get to Indio for the Cricketchella fest. You see, Chase loved live music & Cricketchella was the place to be for music. Plus, all his friends & cousins would be there. Ella Anne, Izzie, Debbie, Lucas, Amber & Craig to name but a few.
But HOW ??? He lived in Pennsylvania & Indio was all the way across the country.
He went to his mother and asked "Mommy, how do I get to Indio?"
"Well now, my little Buboo," she said with a smile, "your father & I have a plan too. We will take you to the airport next week & you will fly to Indio. I've already sent word to your Aunt Mary Ann & Uncle Mark & they will meet you at the airport."
With a big huggie & kissie for his mom, he skipped off to his room to start packing. It didn't matter that it was a week away - he wanted to be prepared. He packed snacks & his MP4C (music player for crickets), he packed his cricket cell phone & his charger. He then started to think about all the bands he would see once he got there. His aunt sung back up on the Blurry Melons album - but they wouldn't be at Cricketchella this year. No, he would surely see The Vipers & Crickethead; & he couldn't forget Glen Chirpard was a must see too, (especially since he was coming all the way from Dublin Ireland to play for the festival). Chase also had heard that Mark Stream from Pink Cricket fame was one to see as well. There were so many bands, he knew it was a good thing he had a week to decide who to see.
Looking on the WWCw, (world wide cricketweb), he found out that Crickets of the Old Stone Age would be playing & he quickly added them to the list. NIC (Nine Inch Crickets) & The Cricket Formerly Known as King would also be in attendance. It just kept getting better & better. Oooh, QuietCricket Math was playing too… happy days !
He barely slept for the next six days, but the last day before he would fly out to Indio, he didn't sleep a wink. He was too excited. He hadn't seen Ella Anne in quite some time & his mother had just informed him that his best friend Izzie would be there when he got off the plane. But the most exciting thing of all was that he would soon be at Cricketchella & seeing so much live music. Crickets are all fans of music, but Chase the albino cricket came from a very musical family so his love of music went a little bit deeper.
Finally, it was the day of the flight & his parents gave him many a huggie & kissie so that he would have plenty to tide him over until he saw them after the weekend.
"Oh Chaser Buboo, how I will miss you this weekend, but am so glad you will see your family & friends & see such wonderful music" his mother said as she squeezed him tightly.
His father added, "Boo, please be sure to thank your aunt & uncle for their generosity, behave & have a wonderful time!"
"We love you son," his mother said with a tear in her eye.
"I wuv you too Mommy & Daddy, see you soon" Chase said & hopped up to the ticket counter to get on the plane.
After the flight (& finally a nap), Chase arrived… He could barely stop hopping he was so excited. He saw his Aunt & Uncle & Izzie all waiting at the bottom of the plane & almost knocked over the cricket in front of him to give them all big huggies & kissies.
"WELCOME CHASE!" Said his Aunt Mary Ann
His Uncle Mark chimed in, "My how you've grown young man" !
"Boobersteen, it's been way too long" Izzie said as she hugged him tightly, "I've missed you something awful, so glad you're here safe & sound".
They hopped off to his Aunt & Uncles where some of his other relatives & friends were having a little barbeque for his arrival.
Chase was thrilled to see everyone, including his two cousins Tobey & JD & the barbeque was fantastic, but still, he kept thinking about the bands he was soon to see at Cricketchella.
Again - he barely slept at all, but after the long flight & restless sleep last week, he did catch a few zzzzs in the hot daytime Indio heat before heading off at 12 am to see the first of the bands.
(There is another festival that plays for people during the day, but crickets come out at night so their Cricketchella began everyday after the other festival ended).
Once they arrived at the venue, they had to navigate their way through many people & cars all coming from the opposite direction. Chase got lost in the cricket & people crowds & accidentally hopped into a short bus filled with 8 people. They were laughing & giggling & talking about how amazing the first days shows were.
"So Henry, being from Denmark - what did you think of your first US fest?" a boy named Dale asked.
"It's amazing - but to be here with all of you is unbelievable!" Henry replied.
"I wish this Beamer would move out of my way… big goon" said the greeneyed girl driving.
Chase found a comfy spot on another greeneyed girl's lap in the middle of the short bus. They must be sisters he thought.
Suddenly her leg shifted & she said - "Someone turn on the lights please! There is something on my leg" !!!
The girl named Kate who sat next to the driver turned on the inside lights & Chase became the center of attention.
"Oh Lizzie, it's just a cricket!" chimed Jaye & August together.
The boy on the right side of Lizzie looked terribly frightened as he tried in vain to open the car door & get as far away from Chase as possible. (This made Chase giggle - why would such a big boy be so scared of a tiny little albino cricket)?
"Oh Blair", said Jaye, "you're fine, it's just a cricket!"
The boy named August gently picked up Chase & placed him kindly on the ground outside the short bus. "Good luck little buddy." Chase could hear so much laughter coming from the car.
"DID YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT THING?!?" exclaimed Blair.
"Better yet", said Lizzie, "Did you all see how high Blair jumped when he saw that large albino cricket??"
But the best thing about his detour was hearing all these wonderful people talk about the festival being the cherry on top… it was what they were experiencing, the live music TOGETHER, that really mattered.
Chase rubbed his legs together mightily to get a hold of his Aunt Mary Ann… & no sooner did he call out for her, did his entire group converge where he was & profess how glad they were to have found him.
"You'll never believe what happened to me" exclaimed Chase as Izzie grabbed him & pulled him towards the stages.
"Later Chase - right now we have so much good music to hear, I checked the schedule & MOGtiply Cricket Singers are starting in five minutes on the South Stage" !!!
Oh, he would tell them all about his short trip on the even shorter bus. While he was looking around from the vantage point of the nice girl's leg, he saw that these 8 people hailed from all over the WORLD: Denmark, Washington State, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, Florida & Kansas. How cool is that ? One of them was even from the same state as Chase… I wonder which one he thought as the MOGtiply Cricket Singers took to the stage.
He gave Izzie a big kissie & said, "LET THE CRICKETCHELLA FEST BEGIN" !!!
And so it did :)
It was THE BEST. WEEKEND. EVER.
Comments (32)
I can't wait for the sequel - Chase goes to Burning Cricket!
Funny stuff!
Best. Post. Ever.
Just a suggestion...maybe you should start by writing about what you know. Use personal experiences and the world around you.
I keed, I keed.
It's great!
wonderful :)
@Tylerdevil... I am actually psyched that this could easily become a series of books about Chase the Albino Cricket... none too shabby a line of books ;)
@JoxBridge... You're. Too. Kind. (you don't know what your digging it means to me oh man avec a way with words) :)
@Annie... let me know what your husband thinks... I actually read the beginning of your comment & worried you thought it wasn't a personal account ;P
@deg5000... thanks darlin - much MUCH appreciated !!!
Oh-ma-gawd, this is truly a great story Lizzie. Funny stuff! I love how you wove the real life cricket scare into it. Great job dear. I had a good laugh that's for sure. I think it will be a best seller!
oh this is awesome. i wasnt even there and i could visualize how it all went down!
You know what bugs me about this story? Just kidding. What a delightful story. If you need an illustrator for when you get published let me know. I know someone.
And what about when the band Death Cab For Crickets played....you skipped over that part.
@August... made a few minor changes... (& MUST add Death Cab for Crickets as annie stated above) but I am thrilled you liked the way I wrote us in - that was the most fun for me to write !!!
@Sam... that't the best compliment - had I had it my way - you ALL would have been there - but it would have been a MUCH LARGER short bus ;)
@SamBro... may have to take you up on it - let me check with my two artist friends... but I think you'd fit perfectly into the quirk of the book :)
@annie... you're SO right (write) I will make the change ASAP !!!
muahahahhahahaha...coming to this side of the country!
Large albino crickets - coming to your home - LET THEM IN !!!
Not Bad! That chic drivin' the bus seems too mean for a childrens book ; )
You should have seen Amber... she wanted to DING the beamer who was forcing his way in front of NOT MOVING AT ALL traffic... she HAD insurance on the rental you know ;)
& you should ALSO see the punk making the comment about my sister... talk about MEAN !!! ;P
I have mixed emotions about this post. Let me first say the story was great, and I think thats where the problem lies. Makes me wish I could have been there, just to be the one who got close to Henry. Looks like I will have to settle for his wife once again!
So be it - there are far worse things in this world than meeting a large albino music loving cricket named Chase !!!
Glad yo dug it :)
Ha, it didnt sound like meeting him was all that bad though!
No... our Henry is a fine ex husband for me & a love to all the others... we even snuggled on his knapsack our last night as he signed my personal copy of his album... it was rather sweet actually :) He had to be though... I got all the dirt on him from our sordid past ;)
"They must be sisters he thought."
and, voila! there are tears in these green eyes. :)
I can't tell you how much I loved the story. But maybe I do come across too mean; maybe you could have me giving the BMW driver a special, one fingered wave...
Or maybe not.
and do I smell a sequel, set a mile high?
as well you should... you're not mean at all sweets - you just wanted the ride of way... I can adjust if you want !!!
the right of way...
but the "they must be sisters made me tear up a little too... how could he KNOW ?!?
he's a smart little cricket.
and don't change a thing...I was just joking.
and Annie's right...what about when Death Cab for Crickets played? hehehehe
...good stuff...will it be illustrated...?
Righty-o AmberSISmyLOVE !!!
@Van... it sure will - provided I can get it published ;) I have a childhood friend who's looking at possibly doing the illustrations, if she's not able - Sam (fisula spume) kindly offered to rock it out for me... THANKS :)
REALLY MEANS THE WORLD TO ME Y'ALL ARE DIGGIN THIS LITTLE TALE !!! My eternal thanks to all of you :)
A word of advice (my sisters a book agent, but not for kids books). Do it yourself (publishing), authors don't usually get to choose illustrators. Check out LuLu or another POD (publishing on demand) comapny. They make really nice products, give you an ISBN #, allow you to have a store front, etc. I think amazon has a POD service too, which would take care of distro for you.
DIY, and you don't have to wait to write your next one, and your profit share is better.
2 cents, yeah I got lot's of it.
RAWK IT PIMPETTE
@Tyler... THANK YOU for the 2 cents... I'd say it's worth far more than that !!! Big help you are, Yodagreeneyes I am ;)
@PIMP... WILL DO !!!
awwwwwwwwwwww. i loved reading this so much. "MP4C (music player for crickets)" - SOLD! where is the book? i am buying.
also, "The boy named August" - that's a band name, i swear. i almost don't want to leave this page, Lizzie. (:
I got more of them coming sweetsismine... there's Tobey the Turtle & JD the Dragonfly & EllaAnne the Ladybug...
But Chase the Albino Cricket is my star... just as he is in real life - the child - not the cricket... we parted ways after the boy named August took said cricket from my personage ;)
I'm a little late on the upswing, but glad you redirected me to this post, my life wouldn't have been the same if I didn't read this -> and you said you to my advice huh? Well, you did ruddy well young lass, may your childrens publishing be fun & prosperous for you!
I am now dying to see this ever elusive albino cricket of which you speak. Many men have wasted their lives hunting it to get that one picture so that all the myth's will be dispelled and he can be honored among the greats. Even bigfoot stepped out for a few pictures, but STILL no one believes. And YOU, one trip out and you get to see one, how lucky you are to have Chase in your real life, and in your imagination. Great story, I am eagerly awaiting Part II Crozzie Ozzbourne at CRICFEST ->
Laters