Gracie's Odyssey (A Sample)

Another videobook sample. This is Gracie's Odyssey, it's probably one of my most favorite stories in our line-up. The reason I love this story so much is because it was begun shortly after Michael died. My buddy Cairo wrote the story based on how I was feeling about the death of Michael Hutchence. If you knew me back then, you would be able to see the connection between myself, Gracie and her baby in this story. I was sad at first when I heard the news, then angry. I hadn't yet come to terms with Michael's death at the first moment this story was written. I think if I had, I'd have had Cairo kill Gracie off in the story too. But then thinking back on that, I think that really would have hurt the story.

The funny thing about this story is there are 2 versions. There is an original, which is not what this one is, where Davy is taken to live in a group home for animals. It is the same group home Gracie actually lives in in the story INXS Goes to Mount St. Helens. But that story did not really set well with me. Though the idea is much the same. In this version, which is actually a much later version I thought up, he is still a baby when he leaves the zoo, and is taken to live with a man and his daughter. The daughter, named Lisa, becomes Davy's keeper, and his surrogate mother. That one is a bit far off from my feelings about Michael, and more based on how I believe Lily would feel, being taken in by Bob Geldof. She was indeed lucky he was there.

Well, the one scene that stays the same in both versions is the quarantine station. It happens to be my favorite scene. It's Davy's first night in the new zoo without his mom. It's a reminder of how lost I felt the first time I heard about Michael's passing. I remember I could not cry right away. It didn't hit me until several hours after I heard the news. Then I cried hard. Just like the baby in this story once he realizes his mom is not there anymore. Michael is everywhere in this story, without actually being in the story it's self. But his memory is there. How I dealt with his death is there too.

This story is merely a sample of the original videobook. To view the full version, go to this link: http://www.umgproductions.com/2010/05/gracies-odyssey.html