IN THE LAND OF KEYS
By Larry O. Grand
Chapter One
"REVERSE Backwards Origami. Th's what it was like. Y'know, origami, tha' Japanese paper foldin' stuff. Used to be able to do it, back 'fore my hands started actin' th' way I didn't want them to, if y'know what I mean. So's imagine if you folded up a piece a'paper into somethin', I don't know, like a bird or flower or somethin', origami, y'know. Y'made all these folds in a piece of paper to make a figure or somethin', and it was all done, all pretty wit' all the creases sharp and clean and neat. A perfectly folded figure, all done y'are, perfect, neat an' clean. Now, imagine that you unfolded what y'just made. Unfolded it carefully, so as not t'tear th' paper or anythin', since it's so delicate, y'know. Unfolded it, made it back into a square sheet'a paper, 'cept now th' paper's a bit wrinkly, y'know, wit' wrinkles and creases and folds where y'folded th' paper to make your figure, your bird or flower or somethin', y'still wit' me boy? Stop me whenever you don't follow me. Y'got it? Y'made a paper somethin', did some origami, made a figure, then you unfolded it. Got it so far? Good. Okay, now you take your piece'a paper, and, usin' the same folds that you made th' first time, you refold the paper t'make what y'made th' first time. Lemme say that again -- you refold the paper, 'zactly the same way, t'make what y'made th' first time, your bird, or flower, or whatever it was y'made. The exact same figure. Exact same piece'a origami. 'Cept now, it ain't so clean and neat as it was the first time, right? Creases ain't so sharp as they were, right? Sure, it's the same figure, same piece'a paper, but it's just not quite the same, right? Y'still wit' me here? You made somethin' origami, then you unfolded it, and then you folded it back up th' same way. And your bird, your flower, your somethin', it's th' same but it just ain't the way it was originally. Right? Now, here1s where I get t'my point. Imagine that you videotaped this whole thing. Filmed it, got it on tape -- don' matter what kind, son, could be onna them fancy Japanese eight millimeter things or maybe onna them vee-ay-chess, clunky old cameras like your father borrowed t'film your vacation last summer, 'member? Anyway, y'film the whole thing, foldin' and unfoldin' and foldin' right back up again, okay? Say yer still wit' me, son, okay? Right. Now, you watch this film, this video a'you foldin' and unfoldin', except, an' this is th' important part, okay, you watch the film backwards. Reverse, y'know. So's what your watchin' starts off wit' your origami figure, th' second time you folded it, a little dirty an' the creases not so sharp, an' it gets unfolded, 'member, we're watchin' this backwards now, an' then th' paper gets folded back up to make your origami figure, whatever it was, an' now -- now, th' figure it all clean, all neat and folded all pretty, the creases sharp, th' corners clean, jus' like y'folded it th' first time. Tha's what I mean by the Reverse Backwards Origami. Y'take a figure, your paper figure, it's already been all folded th' second time an' so it ain't quite so neat and clean and sharp, an' you unfold it, an' then you fold it back up, an' it comes out all neat, th' corners sharp and th' creases clean, almost as if y'had just folded it outta a new piece'a paper. That's what I mean. An' that's 'bout th' best way I can describe what had happened. Yeah, tha's jus' about what happened. Hunh? Wha' d'you mean, 'what happened'? Well son, 'fore I can tell you that story, I gotta tell you this one."
All contents copyright (c) 1997 Larry O. Grand
Please do not repost or reprint without permission from Larry O.
Grand,
except for review purposes.