frightened fields: Cat Piss Tincture

They say that's what's in cologne; this ubiquitous and all-informed they: I think I heard it on the playground. I had to think before settling on the playground, as opposed to a playground. Maybe playground fact-gathering & worldview-assemblage has been on my mind because I stumbled across Garbage Pail Kids images; immediately upon seeing them, my nose was filled with the smell of powdery chewing gum rectangle and my ears tickled with crackling wax wrapper. Their creator went on to be awarded a Pulitzer for his comic about a mouse called Maus.It should be mandatory reading in high schools.

I remember that parents freaked out because they found the cards offensive and disturbing, which served only to make them oh-so-much-cooler. Looking at them now, I have to admit they are a little petite guignol.

On the other hand, they are a breath of fresh dystopian air in a world of Cabbage Patch Kids and innocuous Smurfs, Teddy Ruxpin. Those are the toys that gifted me many a bad dream. A horde of them chased me through the woods like a cult on a heretic; I'd wake up covered in Smurfs Teddy in the corner, just watching and mouthing ultrasonics. Ah! The sweet chokehold of Midwest childhood.