DAY 4 -- THE ART THIEF

30 Days, 30 Gods -- A study of little-known religions

DAY 4
THE ART THIEF

When I was a kid, parents in my town cautioned us that, the Strubble would come after us if we misbehaved. The Strubble wasn't your normal under-the-bed or in-the-closet bogeyman, though. He did one thing: he stole. He stole artwork. Maybe these stories started as a way to get yellowing traced-hand-turkeys off of refrigerators, but the story spread far enough to bring life to the belief.

Most folks had fond feelings toward the Strubble. I could never understand that. I always pictured this thing, said to repose in a cave south of town, surrounded by but incapable of appreciating the creative output of our whole community. That was key to my Strubble myth - that it couldn't possibly understand what it ws that it took. But it did steal from me -- a felt banner from my confirmation, high school ceramics projects from my locked car, a dress I was stiching for my girlfriend.

I'm glad to have left the town, and won't even take so much as my camera with me when I go back to visit my parents.