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By William Van Zyl (September 2021)
Listen to the podcast of this story:
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-pz74v-10f92b2
On November 3, 1977 – in the middle of the night – a taped mummy hung limply from a wall. The tape that held the head up was slowly pulling away from the wall. The eyes, mouth, and nose were open – the rest of the body was embalmed. Narrow horisontal strips of white were exposed – as if the body was prepared for burial. The eyes and mouth were visible, but they were closed.
‘Be quick, be quick, get him off!’
‘I can’t get the tape off the wall!’
‘The scissors are too big; it might cut his skin! He is only wearing his undies, be careful!’
At that opportune moment, a student appeared from the corridor.
‘What on earth have you done!’ he shouted.
‘He could die!’
‘Get something sharp to cut the tape loose. Something with a short blade!’
The small group of card-playing students panicked.
‘Help, someone help!
Cut him loose, cut him loose!
A second student – John Benson, on his way to the toilet – walked into the room. He immediately realised what was happening and ran back to his room. In a matter of seconds, he produced a pocket knife. He then inserted the razor-sharp blade into the duct tape and carefully and swiftly cut the Mummy lose- from the torso down. The rest of the strapped-mummy-friends tried their best to hold the Mummy up against the wall. They were off balance. One tripped and fell over.
‘Hold him up, hold him up. Don’t let go!’
The group held the Mummy’s torso up while the knife-man cut around the legs of the grey-bandaged figure.
Finally, the body was lying dead-still on the ground; then the chest started heaving – up and down.
‘He is alive!’
‘Pull the tape from his chest. Let him breathe!’ shouted one of the students.
There was a sudden ripping sound.
‘AArrgghhhh!’
The Mummy’s mouth moved slowly, and a soft, muffled shout escaped. The Mummy’s head fell limp to the left.
Across – on the Mummy’s chest – a dirt road suddenly appeared like a path through the wilderness. A white strip of skin was exposed; then it turned red – tomato red. The stripper looked at the tape and inspected the thick black chest hair of the Mummy. Hair and roots were dangling from the tape like a fly trap studded with flies. The fluorescent light in the room lit up the grey coloured tape and juxtaposed the thick black hair on the grey sticky side of the tape. It resembled the hairy situation.
‘Stop, leave the tape. Don’t pull it off. Don’t traumatise him more!’
Afar off, a siren broke the silence of the quiet night, moving closer to the dormitory.
The rushing ambulance came to a shrieking halt outside the building. It was just too late. Suddenly the Mummy sat up, the front of its body still covered in sticky tape. His hairy back was exposed.
Two paramedics ran into the room.
‘What on earth have you done!’ asked the first paramedic.
Her jaw dropped as she knelt next to the Mummy. She looked at the young Mummy in astonishment. Then she grabbed her chin in disbelief.
‘I have never seen anything like this in my life,’ she snorted.
She reached for her medical bag and the oxygen mask.
The Mummy, now feeling safe, closed his eyes and fell asleep again. Dreaming on from where his dream was disrupted.
‘Sorry, it didn’t work out the way we planned it,’ said one of the party-goers sheepishly.
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The now sober male students were looking at the silver pocket knife in the hand of John Benson.
‘Where did you get the knife?’
‘It is a long story. Sit down, I will tell you.’
‘If a scientist should take a swab of the dirt and grease in the cavities of this knife, he or she will be astounded,’ said the hero. John was enrolled at the university in a post-graduate Microbiology course.
‘This knife belonged to my pop, who was a member of the New Zealand 28th Māori Battalion. He carried the knife with him during the Second World War. Between 1941 and 1945, the Māori Battalion forged an outstanding reputation in Greece, Crete, North Africa, and Italy.’
‘Wow, really.’
‘Since then, after returning from the battlefield, the knife had slaughtered many deer and wild pigs in New Zealand. Additionally, I have pealed, and sliced tons of fruit and have kept my sketching pencils sharp for many years.’
‘However, there is one more amazing story.’
‘You have cut a mummy from a wall!’ The group of students broke out in loud laughter.
‘Over and above the duct tape mummy DNA, you will find the DNA of an unknown baby in the knife.’
‘What, don’t lie to us!’
‘It is a true story. My pop was in the parliament buildings midday on a Wednesday morning – around the 1960’s – when he heard a woman scream.
‘Help, help, me. Please help me!’
“You will not believe what he saw?’
‘What, tell us!’
‘A lift was stuck between the first and the second floor. Two ladies were stuck in the elevator. Pop could see them through the open steel diamond-shaped shaft. It was one of those old lifts. It was lunchtime, and no one was around. When the lift stopped close to the second floor, the pregnant lady panicked. She gave birth right there. Luckily a cleaner was with her in the lift. The cleaner stayed calm, sanitised her hands and got on with the job. She then called out to my poppa.
‘I need a knife or a pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord. Quickly please!’ Low and behold, pop had his silver knife in his pocket; he handed it to her and she could wrap the birth up.
‘And, there you have the last DNA in the knife explained.’
‘Let me hold the knife.’
The students took turns to hold the silver WW2-umbilical-mummy-pocket-knife.
END OF THE SHORT STORY.
Research: Buying 50 items from eBay for $ 129 and selling them all for a total of $ 8000.
In a TEDx talk – on the power of storytelling – the speaker told the true story of a researcher that did just that. Here is the research in short. The researcher purchased 50 cheap items, ranging from 30 cents to about $ 3.00, of eBay. All and all adding up to $ 129. You may ask, how did they sell it all for a total of $ 8000? Good question. Here is the secret: The researcher – using the power of compelling storytelling – pulled it off. About 50 experienced writers, poets, and authors were asked to participate. They each received an item, then they had to create a random creative story for the items. The range of writing included the most creative and innovative stories I have read. In fact, I have read 8 of the stories. They ranged from the most unexpected storylines one would expect – unique and amazingly imaginative.
The story you had just read – Taped Mummy saved by a Silver WW2 Pocket Knife; rescued from the Wall of Death – is my attempt to match the creative writing of the 50 authors, writers and poets. The only truth about the story is that I purchased the pocket knife in Hamilton, New Zealand, from a local opportunity shop for $ 5. See the picture of the pocket knife on display on my desk in this article.
Also, see the ink and watercolour sketch of the duct-tape-mummy by the author.
A caveat: The stories in the research project range from appropriate to very inappropriate. Some of the language used in the storytelling will corrupt good morals.
Please note, I do not support or approve of inappropriate use of language for storytelling. The stories ranged from innocent to explicitly sexual. However, most of these stories are absolutely brilliant. Congratulations to all the participants. Very, very creative stories! The significance is that all these stories had a tremendous impact on raising the selling price of every item. For example, items purchased for 99 cents sold for $ 35 to $55. Massive profits were made, up to 6000%. The goal was not to make a profit. All the money raised was donated to charities. The research confirmed that storytelling is a powerful force! We love stories.
My advice, keep storytelling – including comedy and other creative writing strategies – appropriate and apply good taste. Strive for excellence.
Here is a worthy thought:
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.
Philippians 4:8 NIV
Do not lower moral standards, beliefs and values when writing. Always write up, not down.
Here is my second worthy thought to meditate on. Do not move the ancient high morals and values set by our forefathers and ancestors.
Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.
Proverbs 22:28 NKJV
There is more than enough room and opportunities to develop extravagant and highly creative writing skills. Be sober, be true, and uncorrupted – write up!
You are probably planning to find the website with all the items and their stories.
I include the story here of the writer and Graphic Artist (comics) Douglas Wolk. He is the author of Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean – Live at the Apollo. *A graphic novel is a novel in comic-strip format. When Douglas looks at the item – a portable hairdryer – he hears music. For those of you who love music, this is for you. After I have read the story of Wolk, the hairdryer had a different meaning for me. These stories had inspired me to write the Taped Mummy Story, developing my creative abilities as a writer.
Taken from the Significant Objects website:
[The auction for this Significant Object, with story by Douglas Wolk, has ended. Original price: $3. Final Price: $15.49. Significant Objects will donate the proceeds of this auction to 826 National.]
…In the final year of his career, however, Sanangelo became increasingly unreliable and obsessed with challenging both his listeners and himself, feeling that his work had become “too easy.” He made it a point of pride to never miss a gig, but his audiences (and the pickup musicians who fluttered in and out of the band after Conroy and the Behr sisters quit in frustration) never knew what they were going to get: surf instrumentals, free improvisation, half-remembered covers. One show consisted of an interminable quarter-speed jam on Minor Threat’s “I Don’t Want to Hear It.” At another, he attempted to play guitar with both his hands wrapped in duct tape. Occasionally, Sanangelo would show up to a gig with a trombone or an accordion or some other instrument he’d never touched before, and attempt to get through a set while teaching himself to play it. Recording sessions from this period reportedly produced nothing usable.
Finally, on May 12, 1983, Sanangelo was sharing a motel room with Cowen in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where he was booked to play that night. An altercation between them ensued sometime that afternoon; Cowen, in a rage, smashed Sanangelo’s guitar, and the two of them went on to build a bonfire in the parking lot and burn virtually all the possessions they had with them before the police arrived. Five minutes before showtime, Sanangelo turned up at the door of the Little Groove Hut with a black eye, torn clothes, and an unnerving smile on his face, carrying a small plastic case with a yellow travel hair dryer inside — the only item from his luggage that he’d spared from the fire.
Thanks to one of the few zealous fans Sanangelo had left at that point, there’s a bootleg of his final performance in circulation. It’s a mark of the facility he retained even then that it apparently only took him a few minutes to figure out how to use the hair dryer as an expressive instrument, manipulating its speed and temperature settings and bending its airstream with his free hand to alter its pitch and tone. On the tape, the initial catcalls and whistles fade as Sanangelo fakes his way through a few of his old hits, and even manages a credible version of John Coltrane’s ballad “Naima.” Half an hour into the show, as Sanangelo was beginning what was apparently a high-temperature solo piece, the club’s fuses shorted out, and he slipped out the back door.
Sanangelo subsequently retired from music, although archival recordings from the late ’70s continue to appear every few years; Conroy and Liberty Behr have continued to play together in various contexts.
About Douglas Wolk. He is the author of Reading Comics: How Graphic Work and What They Mean and Live at the Apollo.
Credit: Douglas Wolk and https://significantobjects.com/
Link: https://significantobjects.com/2009/12/10/portable-hairdryer/
Copyright © 2021 by William Van Zyl
Taped Mummy saved by a Silver WW2 Pocket Knife; rescued from the Wall of Death.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion
thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written permission of the
publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Published by Five House Publishing (New Zealand)
First Publishing, 2021
More eBooks and articles are available at https://fivehousepublishing.com/
More about the author at http://williamvanzyl.com/
