I took it from him and noticed it was for my husband. Joe doesn't get packages that often, so I checked out the return address. Hmm. I guess he sent it to himself? Or, whatever was in the box was so important that it just shouldn't be returned to sender...
The return address was stuck on top of a sticker that read, "Fr. Joseph Campbell OP, Momma's Bountiful Bakery." Who's this priest and where's that bakery? A quick online search came up dead... The plot thickened as I inspected the box...by the look of all the markings and postage stickers, this thing had definitely been around the block and back. What a mystery!
I left the box on the kitchen counter in a prominent place so Joe could open it when he got home. He did....and inside was a lot of bubble wrap...
And inside the bubble wrap was a CVS Pharmacy bag filled with...
Something covered with a layer of waxed paper...
A bundt cake!
No note. No card. No anything. Just a mysterious, heavy, hard bundt cake on a styrofoam plate.
So the questions, of course, ensued. Was this package addressed to the wrong Joe? Perhaps this was from one of his lovesick students? Or from a student who didn't receive a good grade and it was laced with poison? Someone had obviously spent a lot of time and money making and sending this thing, so what had occurred in the last 48 hours that brought on this delivery? Should we cut it open, or would that be dangerous? Should we dip it in resin and make a doorstop? Or should we find another Joe Campbell to send it to, furthering the mystery for someone else?
The bundt cake incident is too ripe not to pass up. It's the perfect impetus for some creative play. SO, I challenge you, dear readers, to write a story, fashion a poem, do a drawing, make a piece of jewelry--anything creative--surrounding the Mystery Bundt. The top two entries will receive one of these two SIGNED books, so generously sent to me by Ray Hemanchandra at Lark Books, just for an auspicious occasion like this:
Bugle Bead Bonanza by Jamie Cloud Eakin, a book filled with 30 innovative, creative, fashionable, and fun-to-make bugle-bead-based projects;
or Creative Native American Beading by Theresa Flores Geary, a beautifully-photographed book featuring 19 Native-American-inspired projects with a definite modern feel.
Who's up for the challenge? Post your entries in the comments section here, or email me at jean@jeancampbellink.com by March 31.
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15 comments:
Oh come onnnn~ did y'all EAT SOME?!!
You know what's funny, Boot-C, is that my boys actually considered it until I slapped them into their senses! But no, it's still sitting on the counter, hard as a rock. Would take a chainsaw to cut at this point. I just can't bear to throw it out for some reason...
A bundt cake for my hubby from an unknown admirer, should we try to eat some and perhaps expire? Should we keep it till spring and use it for Frisbee, or put in on the porch for a spot to hide the door key? Such a decision, one we do dread. Let's just roll it into beads and make a necklace--there, enough said!
A weird poem to go with such a weird, funny story! And, would you believe it, the minute I was done reading your story, my doorbell rang and the FedEx guy was at the door with a package for my husband! I had to laugh. Fortunately, I knew the sender and what was inside the package, so we'll suffer no anxiety over the contents.
As for the cake, perhaps you could coat it in resin and use it for the doorstop you mentioned. Or, like in my silly poem, a Frisbee this spring.
Hey, that's wonderful cjvierow! We're all laughing over here in Campbelland. That one's going on the fridge...
What a funny mystery! The only bizarre things that show up at our house are small piles of "treasures" that anonymous folks leave for me because they know I "make stuff out of stuff" :-)
bundt cake
out of the cake pan
into a box
unkown origins
baked with love
baked with mystery
eaten
with a cup of tea
on a
cold winters day
maybe from mom
maybe from nature
maybe from williams sonoma
maybe from bakery
maybe ending up in your tummy
Yes, yes, Christina! Nice one!
The Bundt of Mystery
Once upon a time there was a little lonely cake named Bundt. He heard about the wonderful Campbell clan and talked the FEX people into sending him to their house. Even if he is tough and not really eatable, he is happy and content in his new home. And he lives happily ever after.
Thank you, Karen! And you're right--Bundt DOES have a new home. We still haven't thrown it out!
Jean,
Once upon a time long ago in the weird wonderful city of San Francisco two lovely hippie ladies sat on Polk Street selling their wares. One used fabric and the other used yarn to create their magic clothing. Suddenly, up came a darkly dressed woman, looking for all the world like a wicked witch. "HERE", she said, very loudly I may add, "TAKE THIS! I just can't handle them any more. They have taken over my life!"
And with that she thrust into their surprised hands several large jars full of beads. Glass beads, ceramic beads, wooden beads, beads, beads, beads.
Who was she? Why had she chosen those two ladies for her beads?
They never knew. They divided up the beads, oohing an ahhing, and laughing. The fabric lady used her beads to embellish her magic clothing.
And the crochet lady? She went on to become a jewelry artist - and now, years later a glass bead maker. She still has her favorite two beads from the magical jars.
Well of course it had to be a Bundt. It's such a funny word. One of those you just like to say. And hear others say. So send it on to another Joe and make a whole new group of people say BUNDT!!
I'm up for some fun! From this limerick you might assume I'm a glass half empty sort of gal- I'm really not - but I guess my sense of humor's kind of dark.
Mystery arrival - a moveable feast,
Who's it from asked the family - a priest?
A friend or a foe?
Don't eat it Joe,
Cause you might just end up deceased!
That is mysterious.
i think that i shall never see
a Bundt cake that appeals to me
a cake so hard that it can stand
as a doorstop in a lonely land
if it were of a different shape
it'd be a punt and not a cake.
Holy cow! who send you this strange cake? did you already solve the mystery?
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