The Nutcase Confederacy

I have a lifelong habit of keeping running lists of sentences that make me laugh, or think twice, or ignite a new thought process - and a lot of them tend to center around the humor in fate and the human condition. Sentences that aren’t really wrong or right - but they are ultimately odd.

One day in a conversation, I brought up the well-voiced idea that walnuts look a lot like the human brain - and whether there is some kind of way they could be tied together in some way - genetics? structure?

“No thats reincarnation - your brain just turns into a walnut” responded a friend of mine, igniting a burst of laughter through our group of faux-philosophers. I wrote it down on the list with other sentences, qualms, and queries like “what does the adult form of a baby that ate bleu cheese experience differently from the others - how did we even decide babies can’t eat blue cheese?” and “I only let girthy boys open the jar” - I have no memory of where these ideas came from, but they do still cause a chuckle.

By using the sentence to inspire the illustration of one very brainy walnut - I got to enjoy the moment of laughter it brought about with every detail, spot, and stripe. I got to sit in a moment of levity - and without a question that causes me to believe that my life should be more full of just that, silliness, levity, and joy. The title “Nutcase Confederacy” is a readaptation of the book titled “A Confederacy of Dunces.” The story of the book poses a quirky, eccentric, old soul and black sheep of sorts opposite the general population, characterized as a confederacy of dunces, with nothing to inspire them but a desire to be contrary to the protagonists difference.

Frequently, because I know that I am different; considered the weird friend or the late bloomer, or a person who thrives in the periphery - I feel as though there is Confederacy of Dunces fighting against my preference for laughter and wonder. Having my list of funny phrases, and this Walnut, helps me to focus on the fact that there is no reason why I am not allowed to cultivate a humorous and enjoyable experience of the world.