Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for May 17, 2022

http://richardspooralmanac.blogspot.com/2012/05/visit-to-tai-shan.html

oh, what fun

Well, what happened!? Is he OK!? Did they have at him? Or did they take Willy back into the bosom of their family?

Did they share the piece of plastic pizza?

Spin off comic?

Yes, Alice, it’s a great comics story. Willy might even be Petey.

The little swords and plastic monkeys were our favorites. Miss that restaurant.

You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant.

Now all you need is a stinkbug to come walking up, for that big dramatic finish.

Many years ago an ice cream truck in our neighborhood offered sundaes in little plastic boats. Many years ago also, my father’s shirts came back from the laundry in green cardboard boxes. Somehow, I made the boxes piers, our green carpet the sea and sailed my little empty sundae boat all around the living room. Such fun, and more so because I “made” it.

Sounds like my granddaughter playing with her toys.

Alice is entirely too satisfied with her own story-telling.

Personally, I find the characters thin and underdeveloped, and the plot resolution improbable and unsatisfying. There was room for so much in this playtime story!

That is a good story. It’s got action and suspense. It’s got a relatably conflicted family. It’s got representation and inclusion of nontraditional gender/color/appearance tropes. Write on, Alice, and all inspired by her.