Clumsiness is much misunderstood. The word invokes a
on one of those cold foggy mornings we happened upon a
kind of good natured stupidity. Your mind conjures up images
Chinese lantern hanging from the bare branch of a tree in
of careless clowns, cross-eyed toddlers and dogs with no
the fields behind our house. We took it back home to show
control of their wagging tails. The oaf in the farce, a comedy
father (I had climbed the tree to remove it) but he ordered us
sketch in a china shop: in such ways is clumsiness mis-
to return it immediately. We went out to do so, yet when
interpreted; its dark side rarely – if ever – explored. You
we reached the tree again there was another lantern there, so
see, clumsiness is more of a de-habilitating disease, a
we hung the one which we had stolen on a different branch,
cruel curse which blights many lives and benefits none.
a lower one, which we could reach without having to climb
Consider the case of the man who ‘clumsily’ set the revolving
the tree. Having returned home for the second time father
doors at a gallery entrance spinning a little faster than they
asked us whether we had returned the lantern to exactly
should. The result: an elderly lady with a badly sprained
the place from which we had taken it. We three lied in
ankle – all of this happening but a day after the same
unison. ‘Of course Daddy’ we said. That night, however,
man mistakenly (and unbelievably) managed to put his hand
we all suffered from bad dreams. I was pursued by a dark red
right through the glass of a taxi window. On both occasions
dragon with two heads, one of which was fathers. I wondered,
he found himself liberally doused in guilt. What an oaf.
for which thing were we being punished? Stealing or lying?
(Pierre Monceau and Jean-Pierre Sertin)
