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Guido and the Corn Children

I have met many characters in my life who have left indelible impressions upon me. There are times when I simply don’t think it possible to be able to be surprised, and then I meet someone, or in this case three someones. They are the Middlebrook Girls, three blonde (although the oldest one's hair is darkening more these days) precious moppets who have tremendous acting talent, and are wayyyy too wise beyond their tender years.

I first met them during rehearsals for Titanic, and was taken aback by their interest in adult community theatre. Then as time progressed, I began to observe them. They were paying attention and watching the adults. No phony child actor precociousness, but sincere intent to view their surroundings, and learn the roles they were cast to play.

It was sort of surreal, and I honestly didn’t know to whom they belonged until a couple of weeks later, but by then they had been tagged by me as the ‘Corn Children’, and I wasn’t going to change that no matter how nice their parents were. It was difficult to believe that these kids were human. Always prepared, ready on cue, and hit their marks without a single miss. The ability to emote on command, and ready for the next scene, they were a little too perfect.

The kind of perfect that you read about in a Stephen King novel…just before the carnage begins. Enter Corn Children, stage right. At no time early on, did the wee lasses ever say or do anything remotely sinister, nor were there any signs of foreboding…just the perfect smiles contained within peaches and cream complexions. Something inside me made me wary of them for that very reason.

The youngest Corn Child was especially unnerving, as she was what many might describe as an old soul. I recognized it too, but the soul I saw was a mob hit-man. Not quite Sammy ‘The Bull’, but definitely a ‘Guido’…in the perfect disguise; a harmless tow-headed ten year old.

At some point midway through rehearsals, I began to refer to them openly using the moniker ‘Corn Child’, or in the case of the youngest one, Guido.

“Why do you call me that?” She inquired.

“Because you scare me more than any little girl ever has.” I replied while glancing to find the nearest exit.

Her eyes grew wide, “I scare you?!?”

“Yes, I think you could easily sneak up on someone, or worse, walk right up to them directly and then, BAM! They’d get a bullet right between the eyes before they knew what hit them.”

“Reallllly?” she was incredulous.

“Yes, Really. Um, hey, I think I need to go talk to the costume lady…I’ll see you later.” I retreated as hastily as I could, but not before glimpsing her in my peripheral vision rubbing her hands together and chuckling loudly to herself, “Mwahahahahahah!”

Guido was going to take great pleasure in her new found fear factor, and if you double cross her you can expect a hobby horse head in your bed by morning.

By the time the curtain went up on opening night, I had developed a unique bond with the girls, most especially Guido, who was now answering to that name as if she’d been born with it.

As I had the blessing to meet and get to know their parents, it was easy to see why these gals are so talented. Graceful and humorous, they are the type of folks you want to just hang around and ‘be’ with. I wonder if they are completely human too...

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