Ben's Pets, and Runaway Redge

(These are random texts for small paintings which exist)

Little Ben would like a pet. He's an only child. Mummy and Daddy are warming to the idea imagining fewer hours spent with the tv and computer games. Ben wants a dog. "No," says Mummy. "Dogs are advanced pets. They need a walk everyday and they smell up the furniture." Daddy suggests a smaller pet like a bird. "No," says Ben. "Birds in cages are boring. They like to be out and about." Mum says that mice, hamsters, and gerbils will eat her curtains if they escape. Snakes seem to be the best option providing excitement for Ben, not needing walks, and just slithering away if they escape.

Reginald is sick of getting straight A's. He wants to run away from home. He has to think it through...take the ladder from under the stairs...pack some cupcakes...He'll change his name to Spike or Steve--something short and powerful. What if it rains? He'll hide in the abandoned boat on the canal...Oh no. He has an orthodontist appointment next week....all the more reason to leave. Maybe Ruth will come with him. No, she's getting A's in algebra. Leonard? No....Leonard's going to Lego land next week. (Collection of Elizabeth Gluckstein--Palermo)

Ed took a holiday in a country that requires SPF15 protection. Next time, Norway. (Copyright Sprintex Paris)

Mrs. Bain has moved on to wifedom---a house with a porch, a husband, and two kids. Her ex-lover of eight years, Jeanette, wonders how she made this 360 degree turn leaving her in the dust with her sculptures. "It was just a phase and those are blobs of rock." ( Copyright owned by Sprintex Paris for fabric and t-shirts)

Vincent always lives with foreign ladies--but he's local and he works for the police. "Everything you've heard about them's true," he says. Always wondered who was keeping the peace.

Bryychan has a new car. OK, it's not a new car, but it's new to him and doubly new to his wife who is from Texas. She notes that it's not a family-sized car.. .."It's so small, you can't even put a picnic basket in the back."Bryychan congratulates his wife on her keen powers of observation and deduction. He suggests she is experiencing the size aspect of culture shock. There's always a pub lunch in lieu of a picnic. ---Pub lunches are mainly cheese. The conversation shifts into third gear careening towards a last supper.