Lora's Rorschachs

You're familiar with the Rorschach, or inkblot, test. A psychologist shows you a series of amorphous ink patterns, and you say what the blots look like to you. Kind of like seeing images in clouds as they float by. Then, based on what images your mind sees, the psychologist can assess your mental health.

For example, after staring at the first inkblot above for a minute, I see:

Four Elvis impersonators pelting a horde of rabid mimes with jars of expired mayonnaise.

Realizing how demented this will make me sound to my therapist, I immediately repress this answer and say something else:

I see a rainbow, with doves and balloons from a child's birthday party floating in the sky as the sun breaks through the clouds, nourishing the earth below -- and illuminating a previously dark alley where four Elvis impersonators are pelting a horde of rabid mimes with jars of expired mayonnaise.

Okay. Awkward moment between me and my blog-readers. No sudden movements and we'll all come out of this unharmed...

In any case, my daughter, Lora, has drawn some Rorschach-like masterpieces. The first is a picture of three pine trees, a vine to the sky, Little Red Riding Hood, a lady bug, the Big Bad Wolf, and a monkey with a staff.

The second is a movie poster for "Pete's Dragon." Eliot the Dragon is the big, green inkblot on the right. The man in the top hat dominating the middle of the drawing is Dr. Terminus, with Pete in yellow (looking a bit like C-3PO), and continuing counterclockwise: Paul, Nora, and Lampie.

Of course, if you squint your eyes just right, you might just see the Elvis imersonators and the mimes.

NEXT STOP: A Visit from an Innuit