Mr. Oogie Boogie

His name was Mr. Oogie Boogie.  Glowing green eyes and insides full of gook.  He’d grab your feet if they hung off your bed while you slept, drag you to the underside of the bed, and feast on your brain and insides; or so it was told.  Mr. Boogie lived beneath the bed, but whenever I checked, he wasn’t there. I don’t know, he never bothered me truly, my room was plenty big for two. My friends, on the other hand, would trap that Oogie boogie given the chance and surely kill him.  He had never nabbed them either, but they were so terrified that they thought that if they got to him first, he’d be rendered helpless. Glowing green eyes and insides full of gook? Maybe they’re the most beautiful green eyes anyone’s ever seen, maybe his insides are not because of the fault of his own, but maybe he was just made this way.  His scratchy skin surely is nothing a little moisturizer cannot fix!  The wicked smile etched to his face is one that has never seen a genuine smile, maybe he truly is just trying to be kind, but no one taught him how.  Maybe the reason he gobbles up little girls and boys is that he’s never tasted an Oreo!  Those surely have to taste better than anything a little girl or boy could offer.  Maybe he’s not very nice because no one is ever nice to him. Mr. Oogie Boogie surely cannot be that bad.  For everyone has monsters inside them, everyone has imperfections, it’s whether or not you are willing to overlook them that counts.

I have my own as well, Mr. Oogie Boogie, it’s all okay.  Sometimes my words can be harsh, and my face can hold a hostile expression.  I wonder if, on a bad day, I am the worst nightmare of another, just like you, Mr. Oogie Boogie.  Maybe then, I’d be able to understand those who have their bad days far more often than I. Maybe, if I too had a smooshed face, insides filled with gook, and sadness in my heart, I would be Mr. Oogie Boogie too.  So maybe Mr. Oogie Boogie isn’t terrifying per say, but misunderstood. But what would I know? I’ve never met the guy. I just am a firm believer that there’s a Mr. Oogie Boogie inside all of us.

J.G.S