Crumbs From the Corner: Adventures in Woolgathering

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Magic Carpet



I had an attic bedroom, and I wanted a carpet to cover the cold, worn linoleum floor. In truth it needed quite a bit of renovating and I got to work immediately, delighted to be a teenager with a room, at last, of my own.
I had pasted purple flowery wallpaper of my own choice and was contemplating the next decorative action when some raggedy fellows drew up in a van outside. Mater, suspicious, went to shoo them away.
"We have carpets," they insisted. "Lovely carpets."
Mater surrendered and had a look and then called me down.
Soon, having handed the men a reasonable portion of my funds, I was hauling a roll of green material up to my bedroom.
Given both the dubious source of the carpet and the curious shape of the bedroom, both Mater and I were certain it would either be too big or too small; but we were wrong. It was perfect. It reached to each corner with ease, and not one thread had to be cut, not one inch of floor was left bare. I was able to do it by myself, such was the easy nature of the project.
The characters, shady and suspect as they seemed to be, had sold a piece of material so perfect it was uncanny. Whether or not they knew it they offered their most awkwardly shaped carpet to the person with the most awkwardly shaped room, and it turned out to be a happy meeting, as happens sometimes.
Fifteen years have passed. The magic carpet is still, from Mater's accounts, in superb condition, but the fellows have never been back.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I was about 14 I was given my own room. Similar to you I began decorating in my own "style". This include a carpet remnant and pictures of my sports heros on the walls. I also managed a large used bookcase and got Mom to buy me a desk. I was in heaven. Nice post that brought back fond memories

Beth said...

I think they were angels.

julochka said...

itinerant carpet salesmen...hmmm...they must have stolen it from a similarly awkwardly-shaped room in another town...but it does sound a bit like they were also somehow magical, appearing with the right thing at exactly the right moment. life is cool that way.

Pappy said...

Were they tiny green men in a tiny green truck? Pappy

Pauline said...

don't you just love the way the world works?

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Steve, thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

Beth, You might be right :)

Julie, -very cool!

Texican, they were! You saw them too!

Pauline, -definitely!

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