Cloud Club

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Speaker 1 Welcome to bedtime stories for everyone

Speaker 1 in which

Speaker 1 nothing much happens.

Speaker 1 You feel good

Speaker 1 and then

Speaker 1 you fall asleep.

Speaker 1 I'm Catherine Nikolai.

Speaker 1 I write and read all the stories you hear.

Speaker 1 on Nothing Much Happens.

Speaker 1 Audio Engineering is by Bob Wittersheim.

Speaker 1 We give to a different charity each week, and this week we are giving to elephant havens.

Speaker 1 Their mission is to protect and preserve the African elephant through habitat protection, community outreach,

Speaker 1 and the rescue and hand rearing of young elephant orphans. You can learn more about them in our show notes.

Speaker 1 For an ad-free and bonus-filled experience, become a premium subscriber. There's a link in our show notes, and Apple and Spotify users can just click the handy button right on the show page.

Speaker 1 The first month's on us.

Speaker 1 There is solid science. behind how bedtime stories train you to be a better sleeper.

Speaker 1 But it's probably enough just to know that they help you feel good, focus in a soft way,

Speaker 1 and relax. So just listen.

Speaker 1 Unclench your jaw. Let yourself be ready to sleep.

Speaker 1 I'll tell the story twice, and I'll go a little slower the second time through.

Speaker 1 If you wake later in the night, don't hesitate to turn a story back on,

Speaker 1 and you'll drop right back off.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called Cloud Club.

Speaker 1 And it's a story about an afternoon spent stretched out under the open sky. It's also about the friends you've known since you were young.

Speaker 1 A polka-dotted blanket, memories of games played, strawberries and wax paper, mint

Speaker 1 and quiet times in the soft summer air.

Speaker 1 Okay,

Speaker 1 lights out.

Speaker 1 Snuggle down.

Speaker 1 Let everything relax. Know that you did enough to day.

Speaker 1 You did.

Speaker 1 And now the world needs nothing from you but your rest.

Speaker 1 Draw Draw a deep breath in through your nose

Speaker 1 and sigh from your mouth.

Speaker 1 Nice, do it again, breathe in

Speaker 1 and let it out with sound.

Speaker 1 Good.

Speaker 1 Cloud Club

Speaker 1 I was laying out the blanket

Speaker 1 when I stopped to look up

Speaker 1 and noticed a cloud that reminded me of an elephant,

Speaker 1 a rounded, giant shape

Speaker 1 that must have stretched stories tall.

Speaker 1 I watched as it seemed to unfurl its trunk,

Speaker 1 which then broke away

Speaker 1 and became something like a paintbrush

Speaker 1 with a long tapered tip.

Speaker 1 My eyes drifted to the horizon,

Speaker 1 where the tops of trees filtered sunlight

Speaker 1 and swayed with the breeze.

Speaker 1 It was an excellent excellent day for Cloud Club.

Speaker 1 I'd forgotten about the blanket.

Speaker 1 It hung limply from one hand.

Speaker 1 I reached down to get a better grip on it,

Speaker 1 then stood tall and flung it out in front of me.

Speaker 1 I did it a few times,

Speaker 1 noticing stray blades of dry grass from our last day out.

Speaker 1 They bounced on the polka-dotted cotton fabric as I tossed it.

Speaker 1 And I remembered a game we used to play in kindergarten.

Speaker 1 All of us kinder in a circle,

Speaker 1 gripping a giant parachute

Speaker 1 while the teacher tossed balls and bean bags onto the fabric,

Speaker 1 we bounced and shook it,

Speaker 1 pretending they were popcorn kernels, popping in a giant pan.

Speaker 1 My favorite part

Speaker 1 came after all the popcorn had bounced away.

Speaker 1 We'd raise the chute overhead on a signal,

Speaker 1 then turn in place

Speaker 1 and tuck ourselves underneath,

Speaker 1 pulling the edges down tight.

Speaker 1 The fabric puffed into a dome

Speaker 1 and slowly drifted down, covering us completely.

Speaker 1 For those five or so seconds,

Speaker 1 it felt like being in another world.

Speaker 1 The light was colored, in my memory,

Speaker 1 a bright orange

Speaker 1 as it shone through the nylon.

Speaker 1 The pressure of the air,

Speaker 1 the sudden hush

Speaker 1 as we watched it billow and fall,

Speaker 1 made for a few magical magical moments in the middle of gym class.

Speaker 1 I smiled at the gift of that memory

Speaker 1 as I settled the blanket onto the grass,

Speaker 1 especially since the other two members of Cloud Club

Speaker 1 had stood on either side of me when we'd played that game.

Speaker 1 That's how long we'd been friends.

Speaker 1 I dropped down onto the blanket

Speaker 1 and stretched out onto my stomach,

Speaker 1 letting my feet slip out of my sandals.

Speaker 1 I laid one cheek against the cotton

Speaker 1 and closed my eyes.

Speaker 1 I could feel the blades of grass underneath,

Speaker 1 and with each deep breath

Speaker 1 felt my belly press into the earth

Speaker 1 and lift away on the exhale.

Speaker 1 The air was thick with the scent of grass and trees,

Speaker 1 not sweet like flowers,

Speaker 1 but full of a vibrant chlorophyll smell

Speaker 1 that radiated from everything growing nearby.

Speaker 1 Whenever Cloud Club meets,

Speaker 1 which is not as regularly as we'd like,

Speaker 1 but as often as we're able,

Speaker 1 there are three jobs,

Speaker 1 three

Speaker 1 duties, if you will, and we rotate through them each time.

Speaker 1 The first duty, which fell to me today

Speaker 1 was spot finder.

Speaker 1 We needed a place

Speaker 1 to lay out a blanket and watch the clouds roll by.

Speaker 1 It wasn't exactly a rule that the spot had to be new

Speaker 1 every time,

Speaker 1 but we all enjoyed it more when it was.

Speaker 1 We often met in the village park on the east side of downtown.

Speaker 1 There were lots of good cloud-watching spots.

Speaker 1 In the autumn, we'd head out to the orchards

Speaker 1 where we could smell fresh apples while we reclined.

Speaker 1 Once we'd borrowed my sister's apartment

Speaker 1 just for the access to her rooftop,

Speaker 1 though it turned out too hot,

Speaker 1 and we gave up the clouds for ice cream after twenty minutes.

Speaker 1 Another time we tried the center of the cross-country track

Speaker 1 while the team was away at a meet.

Speaker 1 That had been interesting.

Speaker 1 But my favorite spots were always the ones furthest from buildings and people,

Speaker 1 where the only sounds were birdsong and cicadas.

Speaker 1 Today we were in a quiet park mostly used by birders,

Speaker 1 a few trails, some benches,

Speaker 1 and a wide stretch of soft sloped land,

Speaker 1 ringed by trees.

Speaker 1 The grass was lush

Speaker 1 and there wasn't another blanket of friends in sight.

Speaker 1 The other two cloud club roles were just as vital.

Speaker 1 Snack provider and drink chooser.

Speaker 1 Snacks ranged from chips and crackers, hummus and crudetes,

Speaker 1 to cookies and rice crispy squares.

Speaker 1 And once, during a chilly December meeting

Speaker 1 that hadn't lasted long but still felt magical in the snow,

Speaker 1 there was a tray of gingerbread.

Speaker 1 We often drank iced tea

Speaker 1 in a range of flavors

Speaker 1 or ginger ale,

Speaker 1 chilled to the perfect temperature.

Speaker 1 I wondered

Speaker 1 what we were in for to day,

Speaker 1 as I rolled on to my back,

Speaker 1 listening to the dry rustle of the grass beneath me.

Speaker 1 I tucked my hands behind my head,

Speaker 1 crossed one ankle over the other,

Speaker 1 and had just drawn a deep breath

Speaker 1 when I heard one of my friends call out from the path

Speaker 1 You better not be starting without us.

Speaker 1 My exhale turned into a laugh.

Speaker 1 I propped up on my elbows and saw the other two cloud club members making their way across the meadow.

Speaker 1 I've barely looked at any clouds, I swear, I called back.

Speaker 1 They smiled as they plopped their bags and themselves down beside me.

Speaker 1 Good spot, said one.

Speaker 1 Good spot, agreed the other.

Speaker 1 I sat up, criss cross applesauce,

Speaker 1 just like we learned in kindergarten,

Speaker 1 and waited to be handed a snack and a drink.

Speaker 1 What an absolute joy, I thought,

Speaker 1 to have friends like these.

Speaker 1 People who know you well,

Speaker 1 who you can be quiet

Speaker 1 and unmasked with,

Speaker 1 who feed you,

Speaker 1 water you, enjoy life beside you,

Speaker 1 and don't need much else beyond your company.

Speaker 1 From a basket came the rustle of wax paper,

Speaker 1 and I smelled strawberries.

Speaker 1 Our snack provider had gone with a classic today,

Speaker 1 clearly tuned in to the kindergarten memories

Speaker 1 that had been floating through my own head all day.

Speaker 1 She handed me a good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich,

Speaker 1 soft bread,

Speaker 1 cut on the diagonal,

Speaker 1 wrapped in wax paper

Speaker 1 with a napkin.

Speaker 1 On the other corner of the blanket, and decidedly fancier,

Speaker 1 drinks were being made

Speaker 1 with tonic water, lemon slices, and fresh mint.

Speaker 1 Once everything had been passed around,

Speaker 1 we raised our cups and tapped the rims together.

Speaker 1 We would eat and sip and chat a bit

Speaker 1 and stretch out with our heads together and bodies fanned outward

Speaker 1 like a three-pointed star

Speaker 1 to watch the clouds.

Speaker 1 I might mention that there's a name for this hobby, nephology.

Speaker 1 May kindly indulge my need

Speaker 1 to drop fun facts into our outings.

Speaker 1 Eventually, one of us might fall asleep,

Speaker 1 and the afternoon would drift past

Speaker 1 as we recharged together.

Speaker 1 I know we see shapes in clouds

Speaker 1 because our brains are built to search for patterns and meaning.

Speaker 1 But we'd learned to let them

Speaker 1 slide by,

Speaker 1 liminal and unexplained.

Speaker 1 We were content

Speaker 1 just to witness them.

Speaker 1 Cloud Club

Speaker 1 I was laying out the blanket

Speaker 1 when I stopped to look up

Speaker 1 and noticed a cloud

Speaker 1 that reminded me

Speaker 1 of an elephant,

Speaker 1 a rounded,

Speaker 1 giant shape

Speaker 1 that must have stretched

Speaker 1 stories tall.

Speaker 1 I watched as it seemed to unfurl its trunk,

Speaker 1 which then broke away

Speaker 1 and became something

Speaker 1 like a paintbrush

Speaker 1 with a long, tapered tip

Speaker 1 My eyes drifted to the horizon

Speaker 1 Where the tops of trees filtered sunlight

Speaker 1 and swayed with the breeze

Speaker 1 It was an excellent day

Speaker 1 for Cloud Club

Speaker 1 I'd forgotten all about the blanket

Speaker 1 it hung limply from one hand

Speaker 1 I reached down to get a better grip on it

Speaker 1 then stood tall

Speaker 1 and flung it out in front of me

Speaker 1 I did it a few times

Speaker 1 noticing stray blades

Speaker 1 of dry grass

Speaker 1 from our last day out.

Speaker 1 They bounced on the polka-dotted cotton fabric

Speaker 1 as I tossed it.

Speaker 1 And I remembered a game

Speaker 1 we used to play

Speaker 1 in kindergarten,

Speaker 1 all of us kinder

Speaker 1 in a circle,

Speaker 1 gripping a giant parachute,

Speaker 1 while the teacher tossed balls

Speaker 1 and bean bags onto the fabric.

Speaker 1 We bounced and shook it,

Speaker 1 pretending they were popcorn kernels,

Speaker 1 popping in a giant pan.

Speaker 1 My favorite part

Speaker 1 came

Speaker 1 after all the popcorn had bounced away.

Speaker 1 We'd raise the chute

Speaker 1 overhead on a signal,

Speaker 1 then turn in place

Speaker 1 to tuck ourselves underneath,

Speaker 1 pulling the edges down tight.

Speaker 1 The fabric puffed into a dome,

Speaker 1 then slowly drifted down,

Speaker 1 covering us completely.

Speaker 1 And for those five or or so seconds,

Speaker 1 it felt like being in another world.

Speaker 1 The light was colored,

Speaker 1 and my memory,

Speaker 1 a bright orange,

Speaker 1 as it shone through the nylon.

Speaker 1 The pressure of the air,

Speaker 1 the sudden hush,

Speaker 1 as we watched it billow and fall,

Speaker 1 made for a few magical moments in the middle of gym class.

Speaker 1 I smiled at the gift of that memory

Speaker 1 as I settled the blanket

Speaker 1 on to the grass,

Speaker 1 especially since

Speaker 1 the other two members of Cloud Club

Speaker 1 had stood on either side of me

Speaker 1 when we played that game.

Speaker 1 That's how long

Speaker 1 we'd been friends.

Speaker 1 I dropped down

Speaker 1 onto the blanket

Speaker 1 and stretched out

Speaker 1 onto my stomach,

Speaker 1 letting my feet slip out of my sandals.

Speaker 1 I laid one cheek against the cotton and closed my eyes.

Speaker 1 I could feel the blades of grass underneath,

Speaker 1 and with each deep breath,

Speaker 1 felt my belly

Speaker 1 press into the earth

Speaker 1 and lift away on the exhale.

Speaker 1 The air was thick with the scent of grass and trees,

Speaker 1 not sweet like flowers,

Speaker 1 but full of a vibrant chlorophyll smell

Speaker 1 that radiated from everything growing near by

Speaker 1 Whenever Cloud Club meets,

Speaker 1 not as regularly as we'd like,

Speaker 1 but as often as we're able.

Speaker 1 There are three jobs,

Speaker 1 three duties, if you will

Speaker 1 And we rotate through them each time

Speaker 1 The first duty

Speaker 1 which fell to me today

Speaker 1 was Spot Finder

Speaker 1 We needed a place to lay out a blanket

Speaker 1 and watch the clouds roll by.

Speaker 1 It wasn't exactly a rule

Speaker 1 that the spot had to be somewhere new every time,

Speaker 1 but we all enjoyed it more when it was.

Speaker 1 We often met in the village park

Speaker 1 on the east end

Speaker 1 of downtown.

Speaker 1 there were lots of good cloud-watching spots,

Speaker 1 and in the autumn,

Speaker 1 we'd head out to the orchards

Speaker 1 where we could smell fresh apples

Speaker 1 while we reclined.

Speaker 1 Once we borrowed my sister's apartment

Speaker 1 just just for access to her rooftop,

Speaker 1 though it turned out to be too hot,

Speaker 1 and we gave up the clouds for ice cream after twenty minutes.

Speaker 1 Another time, we tried the center of the cross-country track

Speaker 1 while the team was away at a meet.

Speaker 1 That had been interesting.

Speaker 1 But my favorite spots were always the ones furthest from buildings and people,

Speaker 1 where the only sounds were birdsong and cicadas.

Speaker 1 Today we were in a quiet park,

Speaker 1 mostly used by birders,

Speaker 1 a few trails,

Speaker 1 some benches,

Speaker 1 and a wide stretch of soft sloped land ringed by trees.

Speaker 1 The grass was lush,

Speaker 1 and there wasn't another blanket of friends in sight.

Speaker 1 The other two cloud club roles

Speaker 1 were just as vital as Spot Finder.

Speaker 1 They were snack provider

Speaker 1 and drink chooser.

Speaker 1 Snacks ranged from chips and crackers,

Speaker 1 hummus and crude detés,

Speaker 1 to cookies

Speaker 1 and rice krispy squares.

Speaker 1 And once,

Speaker 1 during a chilly December meeting that hadn't lasted long

Speaker 1 but still felt magical in the snow,

Speaker 1 there was a tray of gingerbread.

Speaker 1 We most often drank iced tea in a range of flavors,

Speaker 1 or ginger ale chilled to the perfect temperature.

Speaker 1 I wondered what we were in for today

Speaker 1 as I rolled onto my back,

Speaker 1 listening to the dry rustle

Speaker 1 of the grass beneath me.

Speaker 1 I tucked my hands behind my head,

Speaker 1 crossed one ankle over the other,

Speaker 1 and had just drawn a deep breath

Speaker 1 when I heard one of my friends call out from the path,

Speaker 1 You better not be starting without us.

Speaker 1 My exhale turned into a laugh.

Speaker 1 I propped up on my elbows

Speaker 1 and saw the other two cloud club members making their way across the meadow.

Speaker 1 I've barely looked at any clouds, I swear, I called back.

Speaker 1 They smiled as they plopped their bags

Speaker 1 and themselves

Speaker 1 down beside me.

Speaker 1 Good spot, said one.

Speaker 1 Good spot, agreed the other.

Speaker 1 I sat up,

Speaker 1 crisscross applesauce,

Speaker 1 just like we learned in kindergarten,

Speaker 1 and waited to be handed a snack and a drink.

Speaker 1 What an absolute joy, I thought,

Speaker 1 to have friends like these

Speaker 1 people who know you well,

Speaker 1 who you can be quiet

Speaker 1 and unmasked with,

Speaker 1 who feed you, water you,

Speaker 1 enjoy life beside you,

Speaker 1 and don't need much

Speaker 1 beyond your company.

Speaker 1 From a basket

Speaker 1 came the rustle of wax paper,

Speaker 1 and I smelled strawberries.

Speaker 1 Our snack provider had gone with a classic to day,

Speaker 1 clearly tuned in to the kindergarten memories

Speaker 1 that had been floating through my own head.

Speaker 1 She handed me a good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich,

Speaker 1 soft bread

Speaker 1 cut on the diagonal,

Speaker 1 wrapped in wax paper and a napkin.

Speaker 1 At the other corner of the blanket,

Speaker 1 undecidedly fancier,

Speaker 1 drinks were being made with tonic water,

Speaker 1 lemon slices,

Speaker 1 and fresh mint.

Speaker 1 Once everything had been passed around,

Speaker 1 we raised our cups

Speaker 1 and tapped the rims together.

Speaker 1 We would eat and sip and chat a bit,

Speaker 1 then stretch out with our heads together and our bodies fanned outward

Speaker 1 like a three-pointed star

Speaker 1 and watch the clouds.

Speaker 1 I might mention that there's a name for this hobby

Speaker 1 Nephology.

Speaker 1 They kindly indulged my need

Speaker 1 to drop fun facts into our outings.

Speaker 1 Eventually,

Speaker 1 one of us might fall asleep,

Speaker 1 and the afternoon would drift past

Speaker 1 as we recharged together.

Speaker 1 I know we see shapes in clouds

Speaker 1 because our brains are built

Speaker 1 to search for patterns and meaning.

Speaker 1 But we'd learned to let them

Speaker 1 just slide by,

Speaker 1 liminal

Speaker 1 and unexplained.

Speaker 1 We were content

Speaker 1 just to witness them.

Speaker 1 Sweet dreams.