Everyone knew something was wrong when the

Everyone knew something was wrong when the sky turned purple. Soon after, the ground went black. Colors kept changing, as if the world had a mood ring. No one had an explanation.

Along with the landscape, people changed color along with their mood. Those that were gray, were ostracized, and forced to live down in the dumps. A rainbow coalition was formed.

Gilbert the Gray looked up through the laundry lines between the tenements and there, superimposed on the smog, he saw a rainbow. Gilbert knew at that moment that there was more

hope in this grey world than those pessimistic pragmatists claimed. Gilbert the Grey was inside shining white. His incandescent soul would be a beacon in the coming days when

those kinds of things will be in fashion. No more hiding your light in a bush. Ye, verily, Gilbert the Grey was truly shiny on the inside. Just as shiny as he was dour on the out.

Gilbert the Grey silently extricated himself from the cotoneaster and dourly brushed off a few dead leaves. He caught a cab and looked out of the window at the drizzling rain as he

marveled at his recent narrow escape from the gaping maw of the washed up sperm whale he'd mistaken for dead. Gilbert paid the cabbie, grabbed a large coffee to go and slapped

himself into next week just after getting his pay check. But before the bill collectors waiting for him at the factory gates could get their mitts on him. Gilbert looked at his pay

check & laughed at the sum of thirteen cents. Chagrinned, Gilbert pulled down his pants, rolled up the check, and shoved it where the sun don’t shine. “Come and get it, Suckers!”