I was transported back in time last week to the land of elementary school field trips. Back then, the field trip was the holiest of holidays. Would our parents sign?
Of course, now, I’m 43. I can sign my own permission form, which is what I did, so to speak, when it was time to head downtown to see a banana collection at a local art gallery.
Artist Anna Banana had us all sit in rows and presented a slide show walking us through her 30 years of working in art and creativity. When it was over there were questions, and that is when the fun really happened.
Were there any questions? Yes: what was the weirdest item sent to her in the shape of a banana?
“A penis,” she said. The whole class sat up. There were construction workers on the roof, but I’m certain they stopped working and had their heads hanging through the gallery’s windows. “That’s right,” she calmly and softly spoke, “the penis is inside the banana.” And if we found it, it was ours to keep.
Chairs screeched. Those words began the immediate scavenger hunt to find the penis hidden inside one of the hundreds of banana-shaped items that Banana was giving away. Hours passed as whooping, laughing, touching, and searching made us art students exhilarant and excited in anticipation of finding the prize.
Oh, how I wanted that item! I mean, a field trip and a penis-filled banana?! I wanted it in the worst way, and I could not find it.
I found that I had returned to my childhood… in a good way. I had a day of forgetting I was a grandmother and that I had three grown daughters. I had rosy cheeks and I was giggling.
After two hours one of the girls found it. The room grew quiet as she walked it over to me. I stood and hugged Banana, and thanked her for the unexpected joys this field trip had brought to my day.