Dragged up from the junk of the Heap. Hauled across wrecks and road ruin. Slogged through mire and muck. Gutterblood Spoonhammer has planted the bulk of the boiler-branch-wing thing he calls a “tree” into the ground-gunk of Malady Bog. And yes it IS a tree…of sorts. Its presence announces the beginning of a strange season in the Wastelands known as Giftmas.
It’s an inexplicable time of the year. No one really knows how to explain it…or even what brought it on. Maybe the chill in the air or the silent fall of ash carried on the shifting wind from Stygian’s crater. But these scoundrels, scavengers, and survivors of the Wastelands somehow acquire a very giving attitude in this season. They set aside their weapons, if only for a moment, so they can wrap up strange packages…crafted in dirty fabric, rusted metal, rotten wood. One by one, they bring them to the Giftmas Tree and set them at its base…each gift free for any wanderer to pick up and carry with them to wherever they go next.
Among the gifts, Aposiopesis Fullstop has left a couple of amusing poems for anyone to take and read. You might scratch your head, wondering where she got her inspiration, or chuckle in amusement, or you may do both. I share one of them here for you:
BARRY THE MUTANT by Aposiopesis Fullstop
((To the tune of “Frosty the Snowman”))
Barry the Mutant
Was a giant scary soul
With his scarred green skin
And a red mohawk
And two eyes that burned like coals
Barry the Mutant
Was as mean as mean could be
And the old folks said
He could squash you dead
Like you’re nothing but a flea.
There once had been a person in that long black coat he found
But Barry cut ‘im up and dumped his guts out on the ground!
Barry the Mutant
Led the dread Teeth Grinders clan
They liked to lurk
In a big old church
And to pillage the Wastelands.
Down to the Junkyard
With a Clobberin’ Stick in hand
Raiding here and there
All around the square
Shouting “Catch us if you can!”
They prowled around the streets of town and menaced passers-by
And cut and hit and shot them ’till you heard them holler “WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?”
Barry the Mutant
Only comes back now and then
But don’t you fret
Maybe sometime yet
He’ll barty with us again.
Thumpity thump thump
Thumpity thump thump
Look at Barry go!
Thumpity thump thump
Thumpity thump thump
Bashing the skulls of foes!
Although I have no gifts among my possessions to share this year, I still felt compelled to add to the tree in some way. So I rigged the Excavator, my crude digging tool, to one of the wings. Even that seemed insufficient, so i sparked up a flame from a strange canister of oily liquid I dug up recently and set it upon the boiler. I’ve noticed other Wastelanders have also crafted simple and crude decorations to hang from this tree’s steel branches.
Once again, I smile and nod at the growing pile of packages below the tree. Wastelanders are sometimes seen by outsiders and newcomers as a rough and tumble lot, a proud and guarded rag-tag bunch of rascals, but this Tree and the gifts arranged below it…it betrays a thing that the casual observer may not readily see at first…but it’s there I know. A certain measure of generosity. The act of sharing, whether it be skill or craft or word of deed. Although we may hoard our salvage for survival, even the most hard-hearted of us may pause for a moment to give to the Tree. I tighten my coat against the damp chill of the swamp and wander on…
((Instructions for leaving a Giftmas package: This year’s Giftmas tree is located a few steps East of the landing point in Malady Bog. Here is the SLURL. Each resident is allocated 3 prims, which can be used as part of your decoration, or giftbox or both. If you would like to leave gifts for residents and visitors alike, please put ALL of your gifts into one festive box, and place it under the tree. Mark them as either for sale for zero lindens, or use a touch-give script. Don’t forget to put proper permissions on your gifts. The TREE will be out and auto-return will be disabled until Dec 31st.))