"The Legend of Rummage Clarke"
24"x36" Oil on Canvas
2012
A bit of a neighborhood legend Rummage Clarke was the best at what he did. No one questioned it. He untied knots for a living. If it was a tough knot, people came to Rummage. I’m not sure if Rummage was his real name or not. Nobody knew. He had no family that I knew of, no mom, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, or uncles.
Rummage was a Lebowski like personality. He came and went as he pleased, never questioning his first instinct. He was quick to give a friendly wave and hello, but not much for sparking up a conversation. Folks in the neighborhood loved having him around. The kids loved him because he would take a second to stop and play as he wandered down the street. The adults loved him for his inexplicable knack for defeating the most horrendous, unbelievable, and incomprehensible knots in their shoes in a matter of seconds. People would often come to him just minutes before they had to go to work begging that he conquer the knot in their shoe. He never let them down. Rummage never asked for anything in return for this act of talent and skill. People would just know to give him something when he was in need. A few dollars here and there, enough to pay the rent (there were a surprising amount of knots in this neighborhood). A meal when he was hungry. Do you need a new pair of pants they would ask? The next day they would be waiting at his doorstep.
Rummage enjoyed his craft and took it very seriously. He would approach a knot like a painter agonizing over a color that was just right. He was living the good life. Free from the worries and hardships of the outside world. Amongst all the happy days, Rummage could sense something was about to change for him. It was like he could feel it in the air. Like when you walk outside and just know its going to rain even before you look up to see the dark sky. Change was coming, that much was clear. Rummage just had to figure out what this change was.
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