Cyclops in the Wilderness

24” X 24” x 1.5

Acrylic on Canvas

With swashbuckling Yo-Ho-Ho, and all that piratey stuff, Rodney and I engage in childhood makebelieve. Wearing triangle hats made from daily newspapers, and wielding homemade swords made from sanded wooden slats, we jump up and down on the old couch acting out our pirates tale.

When we were four and five, our father, a carpenter, began adding three rooms onto the front of our small, two-bedroom house. One day, when the new living room was in the drywall stage, my younger brother and I were jumping on an old brown couch that was being stored out there while waiting to be hauled off.

At one point, while jumping, I pushed Rodney off the couch. He landed face first on an old two-by-four. A nail, sticking out of the board, went into Rodney’s right eye. Our mother frantically rushed him to the hospital. Miraculously, the nail pierced in between his eyeball and socket, causing no permanent damage.

Although the doctor had placed a white gauze bandage over his eye for protection while it healed, our father made a black eye patch for him to wear. This new facial accessory brought visions of pirates to our minds and adventure on the high sea.