The Eyes

I grew up with a constant supply of Scar Stuff, Vampire Blood, and Glow Goop. The Scar Stuff and Vampire Blood were pretty much related, waxy cousins, since one was almost always used with the other. Making a scar and then adding that weird thick toothpaste-like squeeze of Vampire Blood down the middle was magic. Then you'd show your mom and hope she fainted. But she never even gasped. Not even a little.

The Glow Goop was tricky. There aren't many uses for it. And you had to "charge" it first under a light. And then run to a dark place to experience the glowy joy.



Then my father brought home a lamp for our bedroom. My brother and I hated it. Plucked from someone's trash who had better sense than my father. A neighbor's trash. I guess their kids outgrew it, and it was now our turn.


It looked a lot like this. Same concept, but the fisherman's face on ours was wider and older.

So one night, before bed, we stuck two little blobs of Glow Goop on each of the Fisherman's eyes. The lamp was doing its thing, charging the Goop so the statue's new eyes would glow nice and bright.

Then we turned off the light and tried to sleep. Of course we stared at the eyes - two pale green orbs. Watching us. I'm sure we were commenting that it was "cool" no doubt. At first. Then rolling over and trying to ignore the thought of those eyes. Watching. I'd turn over briefly to fix my sheet....watching. I'd close my eyes and tell myself I'd keep them shut, and then slowly open my eyes....watching. Like one of Blake's men from THE FOG, now that I think about it.

It didn't take long for us to have that lamp back on and be scraping that Glow Goop out of his sockets with our nervous fingers. Though residue remained for quite a long time. Like months.

And we learned to live with tiny pale green eyes....watching.