

Illustrated Desert Under the Elms

Edward Drobinski

Copyright © 2016 by Edward M. Drobinski. All rights reserved.

Contents

Chapter 1

In the brave, struggling world of irrational hope, Calle de la Congelacion was a refuge, a sequestered haven, a quarantined boneyard, a loved union, a hated community, an irresistible beauty, a ghastly dread, an eternal presence, a temporary thing, a home for the white robed, a home for the unapologetic sinner, a place where people stood tall, a place where people dropped to their knees, a home of understanding, and a home of confusion. It was far from unique.

Jack lived there because he could afford to.

Each house bore no resemblance to its neighbor. Each property was a thick forest. Each house stood alone. Each property displayed the uniformity of a renewing, continuous nature. Each house was poor and showed the deterioration of time. Each property was rich with a timeless patience, waiting for the predictable renovation of spring. It was far from unique.

Jack lived there because it was a good place to hide.

It was a confession booth. It was a denial of the pious. It was perverse. It was ordinary. It was isolated. It was in a crowd. It loved. It hated. It bought. It sold. It lived. It died. It was far from unique.

Jack lived there because it was near his job.

One could easily go on and on with Calle de la Congelacion's traits to tiresome perpetuity. However, it would merely be indicative of a total, tragic, comic and ludicrous disregard for the harsh reality now brutally manifested in the street's world of today.

Of most tangible and practical significance; Calle de la Congelacion was a perfectly straight, two lane dirt road; though a surveyor peering through his finely discriminating glass would note the persistent, naturally inspired undulations, immaterial to the naked eye, and of no significance to anyone, except those who take some sort of "status" from their desperate need to show their possession of a functional, state-of-the-art lens. What would become of Saturday night barbecue "parties" without the likes of new pools, decks and gadgets?

With full realization that their consciously considered, possibly insulting spin could be taken negatively by the residents of the road, town officials of the Village of Propicio chose to leave Calle de la Congelacion off the maps they distributed to tourists. The pariah road was shaded with elms and was no longer in keeping with the sunny gardens recently established. Besides, there were no registered voters living there. Besides, there were periodic, un-confirmed accusations of an open disregard for the law. Besides, to ignore, and to encourage the ignor-ance of Calle de la Congelacion was deemed the safest pursuit for those who; ironically; would have been the most benefitted by the road's inclusion. While this kind of irrational thinking was apparently unknown to the under-represented residents of Calle de la Congelacion; had they known of it, they would have pragmatically considered that "insult" as being conducive to their desired privacies.

Jack lived there because he could find a rental. ....... Back off, just a bit. Though, it is distinctly a consideration; no; a likely impetus, that because he also found it a quiet place; a place where one did not have to be bothered with rude intrusions, his gladly sequestered, prior lack of experience made him unaware of that characterization. An old song flashed in Jack's as well as in someone else's head located somewhere else. "As You Said" was a little noted Cream song, likely because it called for an acoustic guitar. Its gloomy themes of "tides, beaches, trials and never again" did not make it a fan favorite in hopeful 1968. Bad timing. It should have been put out in "schwere dusternis" loving 2016.

Whether one was walking on the right side or the left side of Calle de le Congelacion was almost impossible to discern. The lack of a white painted central limit precluded any thoughts of borderlines, until one got way over it. Pragmatically ignoring any possible esotericism, it also depended on which way one was walking; perhaps whether one was coming or going. Coming faced the Rio Grande River at the end of the road and going faced Propicio Road at the other end. On the other hand, if one was walking backwards ........... This is going on a bit longer than necessary. The majority of those who had made the journey were likely to have spent as much of their anxiously seeking, unconscious time on the right as on the left, as defined, in their pursuit of an ever increasingly elusive, twenty-first century, un-degraded nature, totally oblivious to the mercifully, non-existent, restrictive rules of the road. Trekkers with the impudence and hopeful need to make the trip thought nothing of the lack of a line of demarcation. Without the aid of cultured analysis, they just continued on as they intrinsically thought they were intended, simultaneously believing that any notion of destiny could be represented by any of a number of mathematical symbols and equations including the infinite decimal representation of Pi.

Jack lived there because he was an American.

The road was never blessed by the powers that be with a defining, and thereby limiting, street sign. This was not originally meant as any sort of insult or neglect. It was standard operating procedure back in Propicio's rural days. But, it had become unique in the developed Propicio of 2016, replete with shiny black signs with gold lettering posted at every other intersection. The only way to get to Calle de la Congelacion was for one to instinctively know where it was. Despite its space-based, high vantage point, even the Google navigator missed it. Knowledge is currently advertised as attainable by institutions which make vague claims of being able to provide higher guiding wisdom, if your grades, standardized testing scores and "life experience" essays meet their high standards. Don't be the least bit concerned if one says "No." There are countless others, all subject to the "dismal science." Don't be the least bit concerned about the outrageous tuition; loans can be easily arranged.

If a person followed the traditional advice and committed to that one inevitably biased approach, the Specter Encapsulating Likely Failure is "uncannily" attracted. SELF has seen the same thing so many times; it takes no particularly extraordinary spectral effort to be a few steps ahead. Old "S" went on automatic pilot and loomed, like the bucketed pig's blood over Carrie's head, only waiting for a small tug from its sister, "Fashionable Cruelty," to make its next splash; while the foreign professor watched and sent money back home.

Most trekkers cared nothing of these considerations. They were unconsciously brave and perilously self-taught sufferers who could not tolerate things any other way; and only felt absolutely deserted, when not on the boundary free dirt of Calle de la Congelacion. Their bravery may have stemmed from the fact that they had been wrong so many times already, one more time wasn't going to be any big thing.

Jack lived there because he wanted to.

Not very long ago most would have characterized the Village of Propicio as a rural, southwestern, farming hamlet, with a human population of 800; and a tractor population of 400; bordering a southwestern city with a human population of 600,000. In 2016 the Propicio-resident-resisted, honest assessment was that Propicio is a suburban, southwestern, gardening colony; with a population of 8,000, and a lawnmower population of 3,000; bordering a cosmopolitan city; with an alien population of 1,200,000; most Propicians in agreement with at least the last segment. See; it's just the same old story. The farms grew houses instead of wheat. Any farmer worth his corn will tell you that houses are a much better cash crop. However as a result of their openly communicated economic rationalism, the Village seemed to be struggling with an identity crisis.

In the remainders of a thought sense of privacy, incorrectly comprehended, the old timers resolutely joked of the increased traffic, the naturally ill-informed newcomers, and the attendant congestion. Wary of the possible unwanted suggestion that their experience produced understanding they stated no reducing definition. Instead they were content to say that; "Propicio ain't Propicio no more," and make an infectiously obligatory smile. Every morning they precisely counted their cash, evaluated the other paper online through websites designed to sell, and couldn't help but pray to Jesus for favorable numbers. As they offered their prayers for the reliability of the currently in vogue capital asset pricing model, their commonest of senses sometimes kicked back in and suggested that something may be way out of balance. A former farmer does not hear any specifics. His experience has taught him that an investigation was in order when the cornstalks were six inches higher in one area and when something just didn't look, smell, or sound right. But now, there is only a humming silence, which seems to emanate from his improperly installed, plastic module. He has been conscious of the whirring sound made when a CD is inserted, but this vibration is different and inconsistent. He is not even certain that it is there. When he listens for it, it is not there. When he forgets it, he thinks he again hears it. It is ultimately regarded as so annoying, that he chooses to drown it out by turning on the banal announcements of Murdoch owned mainstream TV. It serves one purpose well.

As farmers; or more currently termed former farmers, they still think that they retain that common sense humanly inherent, and in that belief, devoid of any known translation into numbers, they are confused and angrily frustrated in any attempted account reconciliation. Their nod to the profit maximizing notes, which are ultimately no more valuable than the collective faith in their issuer and the recognition of the time value of money, nuanced by academic theorizations and future predictions of the expected risk free interest rate, as defined, results in a precise calculation which changes every second, coupled with that frightful vision of something not human and not fully understood, with a dull maroon tail and horns. It is either a symbol used at high school graduation; perhaps Salinger's prime fear; or, or, or ....................... something which can and has been depicted visually, and excepting JD, is yet to be explained in pointed words.

On good days, rather than risking the possibly useless consternation, the former farmers luxuriate poolside, near the now effortless fields once a cornucopia of sweat and plenty; now a tract housing development continually in view. In their friendly, laid back, and businesslike way they had faux-grudgingly accepted the change which inevitably came back to the home they inherited from their hard working and enterprising ancestors. Times change. Adding a bit to that, a long time ago, Bobby said; "THINGS have changed." Their former farmer's passion was relegated to telling cheery stories of "better" times when; "That housing development used to be a cattle ranch, which was purchased cheaply by Joe Cleverly, because of the rumors of it having once been a toxic waste dump. Once had 200 head of Holsteins. Boy, when the wind was blowing the wrong way, whooo. Joe's now busy watching futures reports," snort, snort; followed by a head turn to the side, pupils aimed up.

The new coming strivers reveled in the antediluvian, incorrectly remembered and made-up tales, and were thrilled to call Propicio rural, justified physically as most of their houses were on a whole acre. Each thought that their area continued the traditions of the supposed glory days. Having come from the jam-packed cities, to them it did. But, seeming to be unconsciously contradictory, after having been attracted to the Propicio of former times, the new residents became active in trying to "improve" it. Calle de la Congelacion was one of their most widespread and common considerations. Though no one stated this openly, one of the things that may have annoyed the newcomers was that because of the five acre lot sizes, the width of Calle de la Congelacion overwhelmed its narrow, one acre, suburban neighbors.

Jack just lived there as he had for some time and he was oblivious to the surrounding changes.

Elm trees, in general, and the thickly packed elm trees on the nonconforming road, in particular, were openly disdained by the village neophytes. The veterans had either ignored them benignly or simply mowed over encroachers while clearing their fields. Since no one had farmed Jack's street in recent history, the vulgar and indiscreet Propician gardening weeds had not been controlled and were allowed to grow on Calle de la Congelacion for as long as anyone could recall in their present biased memories.

The few old timers who thought about such things believed that the hardy trees were deemed objectionable for precisely the inescapably endemic reason of their ability to adapt and proliferate no matter what; and the fact that they were not native. To point out that they pre-dated the majority of the current village population, now dominated by non-natives, was not going to make anyone popular, and was better left unsaid. The Siberian Elms had grown to heights of thirty feet and threw off their seeds in the wind, inciting the particular consternation of all within a half mile. In summers they afforded substantial and welcomed shade to their hosts and asked for no maintenance. In winter their thick branches partially blocked the indirect sun offered, and served as an obstruction to any snowfall's inclination to land and accumulate into a white blanket. Still, some got through and in the infrequent blizzard, much did. The icy skin of the year's concluding season made the road a difficult drive, as Propicio made no use of plows.

Jack lived there because; still unknown to him; it was his destiny; his choices severely limited by that which was, that which is, in the dark regarding that which will be. He was not like any other. He was just like any other.

However, the elms with their season-dependent, navigational treachery, their multiplication capabilities, their disregard for newly significant local tastes, and their demonstrated abilities to withstand any change in nature were the "Austen real" and not the "Bronte true" derivation of reason for local scorn. They were merely easily discerned surface "truths," which served to compel those with a magnificent grasp of the obvious and those inclined to being devious. The true derision was the result of the Propicio new-comers', collective, unspeakable opinion of their preceding heftier habitat; so de classe in the "light and airy" fashion. However, in substance, there was no question that they were different from the majority of current residents of the intolerant, newly, mall affluent village. Most ironic was that they seemed immune to being considered aberrant and conversely they were also immune to being considered part of what became another keep-up-with-the-Jones' suburbia.

Of course, Calle de la Congelacion was under the steely eye of other documented "facts" which required the admission that some of the residents had felony records and some were still engaged in activities they considered none of anybody's business. Like the trees, they didn't seem to have a need to consider any conception of the eastern direction of the current wind; considering "new" and "eastern" too oxymoronic to bother dealing with on a mental level. On a practical level, it didn't matter to them, and they thought that it should not matter to anyone, as they thought that they paid their debts and went about their business with no effect on the clustering invaders well into the process of circling. They may have done well to have watched a few westerns. They adamantly resided in the land of the free, the home of the brave, the dwelling of the benignly neglecting, and all that stuff written about by those long gone English aristocrats who first deemed it necessary to poison the Red. They magnanimously thought; "We all make mistakes. Forgiveness is all," "Live and let live," and similarly sentimented phrases, even as they became less prevalent. On a practical level, they had to believe that as the occupants of Calle de la Congelacion were no longer young and they had no other better option than to play out the string they had spent decades rolling in. They found amusement in the newly-arrived-proper parents' directives to their children not to go near their road of iniquity, as very predictably, that unenforceable edict, made a visit to Calle de la Congelacion the coolest thing the kids could possibly do in a town insistent upon relentless and inhibiting parental supervision. The dictates gave the long term residents of Calle de la Congelacion the ludicrously undying impression of being so commonly human. The pattern was painfully clear to those with eyes yet undimmed in their "improvement" tendencies. It continued the time-worn tradition of the graying and fearful survivors of another era, now, due to their less-than-ideal outcome, feeling silently contrite and finding safety in the regurgitation of the initially disregarded advice of their suddenly-wise parents. The dizzying about face was again directly proportional to the degree of suffering experienced by those now mature in years, their placement point on the worry spectrum, and their love for those in their charge. The geographically-only-shifting populace had again cycled from stultifying repression, to perilous absolute freedom, to contemporary scholastically credentialed and persuasive, hopeless confusion. The un-important dichotomies were available in nauseating detail, with a regularly delivered, monthly mail box event. Inertia Conducive Equivocations and Infinite Condescending Elaboration commanded the zeitgeist of the airwaves.

The book-no-one-reads-authors augmented their incomes, by offering pretend-the-bathroom-mirror-is-a-TV-camera, daily practiced, off-the-point, dissertational diatribes to the few viewers of thoughtful programming; convincing, especially to those devoid of another voice, including the many duplication oriented, media hounds desperate to fill air space. The earth bound recipient of the corporately costless "service," scanned it with behaviorally trained, glazed eyes, and with a pedestrian and un-investigated glance, the weary placed the $110.39 bill in the scheduled-for-payment pile.

Jack just lived there.

Eight houses on 5+ acres each lined the forbidden road, four on each side. The new Propicio kids especially liked to hang around Lotte's house. Third on the right, her tiny, red, tin-sided A-frame stood out as one of the area's last monuments to 1960's "alternative" ideas. Long ago, the "hippies" who constructed it, moved on to traditional jobs, traditional houses and traditional caskets. Some insisted that this 49 year old, somewhat portly, long, gray haired, part Native American woman, with no visible means of support, was a distributor of non-medically approved marijuana. Some said she was a prostitute. However, her house had been twice stormed by the Propicio police, who had found absolutely no reefer; not even a roach, not even residue, and no johns. What they did find was that they had wrongfully intimidated this woman, on a legal as well as an ethical basis, to a point where she had to engage psychiatric help in an attempt to get over her fear of being illegally assaulted in her own home by men with drawn guns. What the cops also found was that their department was out $100,000 for each of the unlawful break-ins; which resulted in a severely inhibited paymaster the following two years. Afterward, Lotte's source of support seemed clear.

Calle de la Congelacion was right off the main thoroughfare, which was un-imaginatively named Propicio Road. Most locals considered this marginally preferable to its other possible designation of County Road 666, as it could be easily viewed as an extension of the road so numbered in adjacent Mesa Grande; which in turn was an extension of the road so numbered in Bernalillo County; which in turn was an extension of ......... et cetera, et cetera; ending 2,000 miles away in the now and temporarily Crip controlled south end of Chicago. It did, once upon a time, extend further. But, then there was the bomb and the crash; and, with the guesswork necessitated, is an overly long story in itself.

Calle de la Congelacion did not participate in any of the "grandeur" it's better travelled, t-squared companion enjoyed. It backed to the Rio Grande, and was down river from the "accident" prone waste treatment facility operated by a private entity named Brownwater, Ltd. for the benefit of the jam packed Borough of Rio Lobo, to its north. The opaque water's constant tumble over rocks was softly invigorating during most days. But, at night, the same old flow was magnified in the stillness, and was said by many to be source of discordant, murky and gravely gloom. The Rio Grande was fortunate that the new-comers had no idea of a way to remove a river.

Most people also thought there was only one way in and only one way out of Calle de la Congelacion. But, its long term residents knew of the gate. The fourth and last house on the right, long the completely fenced dwelling of the ancient, reclusive Dietrichs, had a hardly recognizable, perennially unlocked gate, right on the road. The green tubular, horse fencing obscured its existence and the thick elms behind it obscured its purpose. The road's residents accepted it as common knowledge that the Dietrichs didn't mind anyone using it and that by following the path beyond it, one could get away to Camino de las Brisas. The effectively permitted, though possibly trespassing journey was utilized once in a blue moon. It was a refreshing, necessary, and most of all, an elusive visionary trip.

Jack Greenhandle had resided on Calle de la Congelacion the last thirteen years, third house on the left. The four room, 100 year old adobe provided everything he needed. He kept the three doors locked and the windows were barred and clasped by an internal hinge. At 48 years of age he was the road's resident adolescent, which celebrity he enjoyed as it seemed to offer the illusion of youth to a man who was well on his way to settling into a life of rebounding museum echoes; replete with jelly faced women. He was comfortable and contented when he managed to stay busy enough to avoid the unaccompanied reflection on the mistakes of his early years. Unknowingly, he had tons of other reclusive company.

He had woken to another freezing morning. As Jack dawdled over breakfast, in no rush to enter the frigid, he looked out the kitchen window. The paltry sun had been out for an hour, but you could have fooled Jack. At best, the visibility provided by the sinister shadows it created, approximated that of a monochromatic sunset over the mountains. Though the view wasn't dissimilar, Jack found the late day dimness preferable; perhaps since by that time the rising temperature had expanded the mercury. While his perception may initially seem somewhat incongruous, Jack found the late day black more desirable, as he would soon be under his three warm covers. But these un-invigorating mornings portended an overly long day of consciousness demanding drear.

Though Jack could not see it from his current vantage point, he assumed that once again the tinted, visual outlets of his recent model, black Chrysler had gone as opaque as the river. This was the unfailing winter result of the exterior, nocturnal coldness having infiltrated the car's shut down of the heater generated, internal warmth. With no garage for shelter, the Chrysler was parked in the elm bordered driveway. The light of the star filled night sky provided no heat whatsoever. Left alone to suffer the inadequacy of that which was light years away, Jack's car had again become as frigid as the filtered outside air. It required warming up before it could possibly allow safe driving in the luxury of a warm, comfortable berth.

This was the Propicio seasonal norm. Spring was a long way off. Jack's winter routine of shivering down the path and turning on his icy car was the single most productive thing he could do at this time of day. He kept the thermostat at 80 and the house refused to pass 71. However it was reasonably warm with three layers, and as a consequence the hostile shock of the sub-freezing was brutal, but perversely, never served to wake him. It was not the least bit stimulating. The harsh winter reality only functioned to make him yearn for a return to the comfort of the thick covers of his warm bed.

It was merely one of many, typically, clouded New Mexico, early December daybreaks. Christmas mocked of its own coming with the flicker of low artificial light displays "cheerfully" provided by the tract houses mercifully in the distance; marginally capitalizing on the spaces between the tree trunks. Jack was impervious to the artificially lit displays of seasonal "merriment" also known as bogus pleas for cheer. It seemed to require the obligatory grin one makes when one hears the standard Brit salutation and farewell. It seemed to him that the people who prided themselves upon the proper use of the English language would have been able to come up with two different words for opposing events. Using only one suggested that the perpetrators did not know whether they were coming or going. It was much too reminiscent of that shit eating laugh obvious to all but the grinning fool; which is cruel to ignore while cruel to encourage. Jack took personal, negative solace in his awareness that he was not in Minnesota or Surrey and that he was in the vicinity of his world opening, trusty laptop.

That was the common way of those willingly addicted to the illusion of having all things available at all times. Jack endured the celebrity of a solitary misfit's chosen aloof existence, remote on Calle de la Congelacion; struggling to display conformity in public requirements. He felt the seclusion strongly on those deeply blue days uninhabited by interesting people to touch, people to talk to, and things to do. It actually rivaled the loneliness he felt in a crowd. "The Elephant Man" can be viewed just so many times until it becomes only a failing-tug-at-your-frayed-heartstrings rendition of that which is. It was his favorite movie. He thought that in its black and white cinematic virtuosity, its real-worldly view of the corporal abandonment and cerebral, abstract and emotionally lost actuality was truth. With the push of a button Jack's materially dependent existence was now inadequately replaced with an infinite supply of ons and offs, quantum mechanically theorized to be operating at the speed of a black light, whose existence is yet to be proven. The movie's astute portrayal of a heart, destined at birth, to be rejected foreclosed all hope of a happy ending. He thought it evoked an unreasoning need for that which has never existed, and never will.

He was not in full realization of his unconsciously condescending attitude toward those addicted to the company of constant "entertainment" manifesting itself in the safety of commercially viable re-runs as he was one of them. Time and again he had seen that by choosing to dwell in his own antiquated and admittedly deficient confinement, with the foolish thought that his hopelessness would be alleviated with the next mouse click which invariably left him merely static. After having had his fill of isolated, non-feeling, and heart-breaking incursions into a world which was over-ripe to supply him with an infinite supply of more, he had retreated to his home and property. His fill consisted of the brief yes-no-yes-no relationships he had with Madeline the Mafia Princess, Math Professor Urszula, and oddly Susan the Kierkegaard Dilettante. Each of the three all too soon reminded him of Godard's "Breathless" and his lost Beth. Often he rushed home to find comfort in the sights and sounds provided by his electronic buddy. It didn't matter what was on the screen. It talked to him and occasionally said something interesting. Despite the proliferation of contrary opinions, at the core Jack was an optimist.

Sometimes he hated the machine. Sometimes he considered getting rid of it. But, without it he couldn't watch "The Elephant Man" anytime he so chose.

Jack poured the coffee and removed the eggs from the insistently beeping microwave, placing them on the kitchen table on top of a hard covered copy of Vonnegut's "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," useful expressly for this purpose. He threw on his tan, quilted, discount store, winter jacket, which initially seemed to take down his already run-down temperature a few more notches. The surfaces of his supposed protection from the elements was rudely infected by a long night in a built-in, all encompassing, clothing closet; sliding doors shut away from the shield of the little house's baseboard hot water heating system. As he had been necessarily conditioned by a lifetime of requisite compensation, Jack withstood the shock of his recurrent cold repulsion, when he donned the cross-stitched, tan article of momentary, ineffectual expedience. Shaking uncontrollably, he scurried down the icy path to his black Chrysler. His body was further hounded by the chill when he sat on the plastic seat and with some apprehension about big black's willingness to start, turned his key in the ignition. Jack smiled through chattering teeth and welcomed the millisecond delayed sound of the agreeable engine and its subsequent roar. It was not always so. He had experienced sufficient dead batteries to truly be thankful for one which was capable of surviving the winter night. It was the first of the new day's events Jack faithfully hailed, simultaneously and morosely thinking that it would be his last cause for cheer in this lackluster day. His six foot, 190 pound frame recklessly dashed back to the relative swelter of his modest, outmoded house, decorated in knockoff early Spanish.

The warm air struck his face as if it were a gentle, Floridian, Gulf breeze. Jack removed his frosty jacket, sat at the kitchen table and re-engaged his patiently waiting scrambled eggs and coffee. While the statistically likely constancy with which his morning nourishment's temperature had maintained the way of balmy summer could be reasonably calculated, the occurrence never ceased to amaze and be valued by Jack. No matter the wait and the winter morning atmosphere, his daily entree was still warmly waiting to be eaten and drunk. From experience, Jack knew that this was going to be the best part of his day. His motor running, he took his time, savoring all of the texture. He lifted his cup and again saw the title of; "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater." The context produced a smile, before the breakfast was too soon gone.

In his now nonchalant acquiescence, Jack gazed through the window and saw it packed with elm trunks, stoically persevering in the close vicinity of long-time friends. Jack wanted to give his black Chrysler adequate time to get toasty and stared at what he could make out of their oval grained rings. He found little similarity as each had a unique pattern, yet they all solidly stood together in the face of the worst winter could offer. He thought; "Extremely splendid." Jack slowly shook his head in admiration, but in the corner of his eye he saw the impassive, silent, digital clock indicating that it was time to go. He thought; "So soon? I just got here." Reluctantly, he again donned his still cold jacket. While he slowly walked away, he looked back; then looked back again. The relentless timepiece had moved further on. There was no question that it was time to go. Jack considered turning the appropriate knobs to set the unsolicited herald back an hour. He quickly realized that this would only result in a farce, fooling only him. Besides, the clock was near the ceiling, and Jack would have had to have gotten a ladder to reach it. He didn't remember where he had left it. It was sadly, but undeniably time to go.

To avoid any sentimental second thoughts, risking a fall, he briskly walked to his Chrysler. Or, so he thought. When he got to the gravel driveway, he saw that there was no Chrysler in it. He looked down the road and saw that his tinted, black car was moving down Calle de la Congelacion, heading for Propicio Road, without any directional assistance from him.

Out loud Jack said; "Son of a bitch." The car kept going anyway. Jack was pissed as he had to get to work. He was also extremely embarrassed, as he was a plainclothes cop.

Chapter 2

Jack wasn't one of Propicio's finest. He was one of the finest in the big city of Mesa Grande, seven miles south. Though only physically separated by the distance easily covered by a healthy German Shepherd, the two towns were philosophically disconnected by their distinct "moral" positions. To Propicians, the residents of Mesa Grande had none. To Mesa Grandians, the Propicians reveled in eighteenth century witch hunts.

On the average, Propicians were better educated, many having proudly attained professional status. However, of necessity, to maximize their hefty-mortgage-paying wages they were dependent on the unrestricted largesse of the big "wicked" city. Their oft stated complaint served as a blessing to the castaways on Calle de la Congelacion, as the good people of itinerant Propicio sometimes focused their complaints on the "irregular conduct" of those many had to "suffer" on a daily basis. They never admitted to their concomitant mental stimulation.

Jack walked back to his front door muttering; "This isn't supposed to happen here and certainly not to me." He called his partner and arranged for a ride, saying his car was "in the shop." Then he called his "Good morning" friend, Loud Mouth Beverly, 911 operator in Mesa Grande and reported the theft. When she was able to speak clearly, through the giggles, she told Jack that this was a job for the Propicio police. It was their territory.

Jack dreaded having to deal with the local dispensers of traffic tickets more than he disliked having made the report to Loud Mouth Beverly. He considered them candy-assed nuisances and they considered him a jerk. He put his hands in his pockets and took another look at the elms. Before he could see their finer points, he realized that he had another problem. Not only his car key, but all of his keys went the way of his Chrysler.

He searched his kitchen drawers. He knew he had another set in there somewhere. He had a panic attack while he rustled through old Christmas and birthday cards, mixed with forgotten knives, forks, wrenches, glue, screws and screwdrivers. He found them near the back of the third repository he tried, but was still un-nerved by the realization that criminals now had effortless access to his house. He took some solace in the fact that his "official" police revolver occupied his right pants pocket. He called the Propicio Police Department to make the report and hoped Ashby didn't answer the phone.

He recalled his prior run in with Officer Brandon Ashby. While at home Jack had gotten an emergency call to pursue a metallic blue Chevy. The occupants had just pulled an armed robbery of an ice cream place in a Mesa Grande strip mall on the border of Propicio. The perpetrators were reported to be making their attempted getaway down Propicio Road. Numerous thoughts raced through Jack's mind. The most significant one was that Propicio Road is a five mile stretch with speed limits ranging from 25 to 35. Any turnoffs led to dead ends. So the criminals are either stupid or didn't do their homework. Not doing one's homework was either a sign of stupidity or desperation. So, this could well be a dangerous situation involving nuts with guns.

Returning the likely irrationality, Jack felt challenged and wanted to do whatever was necessary to haul in the perps. He really didn't give a damn about the money taken from the ice cream store in the strip mall and he could have concocted any of a number of bogus stories as to why something prevented him from intervening in the dangerous situation. But back in the old days or rural Propicio, animals would often find their way to the lightly travelled "main" road. Dogs, cats, chickens, goats, sheep, and even cattle and horses were being endangered by these "outlaw" jackasses; and Jack wanted to nip the invasion right in the bud.

In plain clothes, and gun ready, Jack jumped into his black Chrysler and waited at the Calle de la Congelacion intersection. The suspects sped by at 50 and Jack got behind them. He was hyped, with adrenalin flowing faster than the waters of the lazy Rio Grande.

He quickly saw spinning red lights in his rear view mirror and heard the whoop-whoop-whoop-whaaaaaa blare of the DefCon siren. It was a Propicio Police car. He kept going and kept hearing the hammy siren, perhaps encouraged by the continual red lights. He still kept going. The Propicio cop car pulled alongside him. He flashed his badge and still kept going. When the Propicio cop pulled ahead of him and cut him off he slammed on the brake without having had much choice in the matter.

Jack got out of his car, mad as hell, and sprinted toward his obstacle, flashing his badge. He pointed at the quickly disappearing metallic blue Chevy and yelled; "I'm in pursuit of a thief."

With his hand on his gun, Ashby said; "Get back in the car."

Jack said; "Don't you understand. Mesa Grande Police. Chasing a crook. Comprende?"

Ashby pulled his gun and said; "Get back in the car."

Jack got back in the car and very audibly intoned; "Useless fucking asshole."

Ashby walked to Jack's car and said; "Do you know that the speed limit here is thirty?"

"I told you. I'm a Mesa Grande cop chasing a crook." He reached into his pocket to again retrieve his badge."

Ashby said; "Careful!"

Jack knew that he had lost his prey and slammed the back of his head against the headrest. He left his badge in his pocket.

Ashby said; "Just sit tight, okay?"

Jack didn't think it was okay and accordingly did not say so.

Ashby said; License and registration, please."

Jack gingerly used two fingers to remove the items from the little door-less compartment above the ashtray. He held them out for Ashby in the same manner, while surveying the two story adobe to his right. The man and woman, now in the front yard, surveyed him back.

Ashby took the items, looked at them and said; "Calle de la Congelacion?"

Jack didn't think that required an answer, but he was glad Ashby could read.

Ashby said; "I'm going to check this out, okay?" Not waiting for a response to his trained and now habitual ersatz questions, he returned to his car and cradled a phone between his shoulder and bent head.

Jack looked out the closed passenger's side window at the staring couple and briefly did the same in kind response, but with an indecipherable mocking tone as right now any notion of good intentions existed only in the unproven theory in someone else's head. Jack was in full realization of the virtually assured incomprehensibility of his joke, but still found it preferable to focusing on the dismal, intervening, extremely un-entertaining Propicio flat head, uniformed up and down in curling, unwashed deep brown, interspersed with the dried out remnants of Whattaburger red.

Ashby sat in his car for what seemed like ten minutes to Jack. Jack amused himself somewhat through making finger wiggling hellos to the staring couple. Initially, the Ludlum-esque overture resulted in a reciprocal, but not duplicate arrangement. But, by the third performance, the couple must have sensed that something was not quite right, as they disappeared into their house or backyard.

Finally, Ashby came back and said; "Okay, you check out."

Jack took a deep breath, appearing as relief, but actually that of disgust and boredom, the latter two only detectable in the never viewed eyes.

Ashby said; "You have to understand. We got a report of a metallic blue Chevy vee-hickle coming through here with alleged armed thieves."

Jack said; "Do you see two of me? And does this look like a metallic blue Chevy?"

Without a hint of a smile, Ashby said; "Color's close. Look. I'm going to do you a favor and not cite you. Okay?"

Jack tried to think of something bright to say and drew a blank.

As he walked back to his car, Ashby said; "Have a good day."

Jack thought; "As soon as I get away from you, I will."

The two have not spoken since. Their cars have criss crossed on Propicio Road numerous times. Jack always got irritated because Ashby was always smiling. Jack's knew that it was expedient for him to play the smile and wave game and pretend to have gotten over the old misunderstanding. However, something in his thought of performing that particular action made him feel as if the ceiling had flown away, and vomit was on the way; and then there were the animals which needed protection.

Jack filled a glass with water and took it to the phone. His hands shook and some water spilled onto the brick floor. He got captivated as he watched the accidentally dropped liquid splatters take on a human shape. As the water blended with the dirt absorbent brick, in its pockmarks and scars, he thought he saw a woman in a provocative position. It appeared as if it was a shifting depiction of his former and favorite lover, Beth. He wished he would once and for all be able to forget about the bi-polar, Prozac-swallowing devotee of danger. But, imaginarily, watching her evolve or devolve into a sedentary, unclear, praying, hooded monk, right here on his home floor, was more cruelly amusing than the thought of his impending phone call.

While initially repelled by their hardness, he had come to appreciate the almost maintenance free aspect of the common Southwestern flooring material. He particularly appreciated the brick floors as he didn't have to wipe up his frequent spills. He knew they would quickly fade into the multi-colored surface until they were nothing, leaving no trace of their brief former existence.

He further delayed the call he didn't want to make and pushed a series of buttons on his IP3 which brought him to a section he had titled; "For Bad Days." He pushed another one and listened. Van Morrison sang "Foreign Window." It was Jack's Beth song, though he didn't "discover" it until she was long gone. She always used to ask; "What song do you have for me today?" She said that she liked many, but the look on her face always said that it wasn't the special one. He couldn't be 100% sure, but Jack thought that this would have been the one. Why was he torturing himself this way? Simple. It was just a matter of lessers of evil. The level of misery he got from listening to this song was less than the misery of talking to the Propicio Police Department, including the possibility of having to endure Ashby again.

The song ended and Jack reluctantly pushed the off button and further reluctantly dialed his phone.

"Propicio Police Department."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief as the male voice didn't sound like Ashby's fraud of a good natured chuckle. He remembered it well and was often reminded of the bogus joke, as it was perpetrated by the many, ad infinitum. "Good morning. This is Jack Greenhandle, over on Calle de la Congelacion. My car was just stolen."

"Just stolen?"

"Yeah."

"Did you witness the event?"

"Umm. Sort of. I was warming it up in the driveway and when I went to get it someone was driving it away."

"Bad idea in that neighborhood."

Jack was slightly miffed at commentary about his home, but considered it more practical to say; "Yeah, I guess, but I don't want to get into a frozen car."

"You can get a steering wheel lock at the auto place in the strip mall. Then this wouldn't have happened."

"Yeah, yeah. Good idea."

"Get a description?"

"No." Jack heard someone knocking at the door and assumed it was his partner, Manny Hermosillo. He said; "Excuse me a second. Someone's at the door."

Jack opened the front door and there stood his partner of five years. His belt length, brown leather jacket wrinkled as he hunched over protecting himself from the cold morning air. His 5'10" frame had lost a few inches to his fleeting spell in the weather and his belly stuck out more than usual. Hurriedly, Jack said; "Manny, thanks for coming. Come in and just take a seat for a minute. I'm finishing up a call I made."

"Should have put it on the cell, man. We're gonna be late."

"You're right. You're right. I'm not thinking straight today. I'll be right back."

Jack went back to the adjoining room and Manny paced.

Jack picked up the phone and said; "Sorry. ...... Hello."

"Yeah, hello. Wasn't the crook I guess?" It sounded as if he smirked in a manner he wanted to be detectable.

"No, it's my partner, my ride. What were we up to?"

"No description of the perpetrator. Makes it rough. ...... Can you describe your car?"

Jack thought he detected another twinge of sarcasm in the question. To his consternation as he gave all the particulars, he saw Manny leaning on the door frame with a big grin on his face. Jack turned his back.

"You're the big city cop guy, aren't you?"

Jack just said; "Yeah," and noted what he was certain was a snorting chuckle. As Jack was extremely embarrassed about being a cop with a stolen car, he made a quickly thought "evasive" maneuver. He put his hand over the phone, looked at Manny and whispered; "Fucking asshole," hoping Manny would conclude that he was talking to some lame brain from the repair shop. Manny nodded slowly and then reflexively broadened his smile.

To further complicate Jack's attempt to keep a secret, the Propicio cop ended the conversation with; "All right. You've got a ride. Stop over here. I'll need you to sign the report. It'll be at the desk." He hung up.

Jack put down the phone and said; "Shit," making the word sound like it ended in three t's. He put on his leather jacket as if he was punching his way through the arm slots. He said; "Let's go, man. I gotta make one more stop."

Manny said; "Don't tell me. Let me make a wild guess. Propicio Police Headquarters."

Jack stared.

Manny laughed and blurted; "In the shop, huh? It's in the god damn chop shop!"

"How did you figure that out?"

Manny put one had over his mouth or scratched his nose, chuckled and snorted the way the cop on the phone did. He said; "It was easy for a cop. Why would you call me in the morning to tell me your car was in the shop? Like it broke down this morning and you had it towed already."

"It's possible."

"Yeah, it's possible. But then I heard all the crap on the phone and you got very defensive."

Jack playfully grabbed Manny by the back of the neck and said; "You're a good cop."

"Nah, you're a lousy liar."

Jack thought, but didn't say; "I don't sweat the small stuff."

They drove down Propicio Road, heater on full blast. Manny's mood remained tickled and he hummed an off tune version of "Oye Como Va." He interrupted his rendition to say; "You've got to watch it on Calle de la Congelacion. I know where you can get a good steering wheel lock."

Jack monotoned; "Me too," and turned on the radio. They heard a weary male voice say; "We have police confirmation of the breaking story reported by Roswell school officials. Three grammar school children are confirmed dead. Ten more have been taken to Presbyterian general Hospital and the 12 year old shooter is in police custody. Names are being withheld. The shooter is reported to have stated his motive to be; 'I hate winter.' This is the fourth school shooting this week in the US and has involved the fewest number of victims. This kid will not get a very popular website. In other news, in Israel a suicide bomber ........"

Jack turned the radio back off, saying; "No place is safe anymore. Roswell? Shit, man. Roswell?"

"Hey, those farm boys got guns you know."

"Always have. But this crap wasn't an everyday thing when I went to school."

"Those muskets might have been a bit too heavy for the kids to lug around."

"Shows how much you know; some were light."

"I don't know. It's like once somebody starts it, everybody wants to get in on the act. It's got something to do with the socialization process. I'm telling you this friend of mine has wheel locks a key has a hard time undoing."

"Professor Hermosillo does not consider the ADD and anti-depressant drugs a factor?"

"Fuck do I know, man. They taught us this shit at the Academy."

"I must have been thinking about that Sociology professor's legs. You remember the one. What the hell was her name anyway?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The white chick with the long red hair. I didn't cut one class. Ah, I can't remember. Some weird name like Miss MacIntosh or something."

"I didn't know you guys liked white chicks."

"Shit. When they got legs and hips. You can keep the skinny ones."

"Hey, pull in here. This is it."

Manny jammed on the brake and without using his directional made a fast, sharp right. They heard the long, gradually fading honk of the car behind them as it passed.

Jack said; "You can't think when that white stuff gets into your head." He exited and went to the front door. He entered a small foyer of sorts, two chairs against the wall, below a bulletin board with more pins than messages. He had approximately five feet in which to walk. On his right was a locked, windowed door bearing the sign; "Propicio Executive Board," shielding the pitch black interior. On his left were a diminutive locked door and an outsized safety glass, with a slot at the bottom and a tiny counter. Through the smudged glass he could see an unoccupied desk with a nameplate bearing the inscription; "Magdalena Torres, Propicio Police Department." Jack knocked at the door to no avail and was about to leave, when a Spanish woman on the far side of thirty came out of somewhere in the back and said; "May I help you?" muted by the thick, safety fitting.

Relieved, Jack smiled, crouched down to align his face with the slot, and said; "Yes, please. I'm Jack Greenhandle, and I understand that there are some papers here for me to sign."

Who Jack presumed to be Magdalena sat down and perused the documents on the desk, taking her time and responding to some with widening eyes, heavy with mascara. Her facial expression appeared as if she had not previously seen the documents.

Jack thought that it was still early in the day and that she had probably not yet polished off her wake-up morning coffee.

She came to a solitary piece of paper, looked at it a second time to be sure, then said; "You had your car stolen this morning?"

"Yes, yes. That's me. ............. I guess."

"Jack Greenhandle of Calle de la Congelacion?"

"I plead guilty." Jack thought that was funny and grinned at his unresponsive audience of one.

Magdalena pushed the form through the slot and said; "Just sign at the yellow highlighted areas. ............ Is this the first time you've had your car stolen?"

Jack finished putting his signature on the document and perused it for more yellow highlights. He was less than thorough in his inspection of the brusque manuscript as his eyes, he hoped secretively, wandered to Magdalena. She was leaning forward, cheerfully displaying a bountiful supply of brassiere free, light brown cleavage.

He thought; "That's no accident. She knows precisely what she's doing. ........ Maybe she doesn't. Or, maybe she just likes to flirt and feel un-obtainably attractive." His pants grew two sizes and at the same time he was reminded of his isolated demise. He pushed the signed document back through the slot, saying; "I hope I didn't miss anything," strongly suspecting that he did and hoping that she would respond in a way which indicated she was on the same wavelength.

Head down, Magdalena quickly eyeballed the paper and efficiently said; "No, that's all that is needed." Jack's blue jeans returned to "normal" dimensions. He involuntarily sighed, looked into her businesslike dark eyes, and turned away, taking one last fleeting gaze at her. She surprised him by continuing the awfully ephemeral discourse by calling out; "Living on that road, you should really consider getting a steering wheel lock. I know a place ........."

Jack cut her off by saying; "So do I. So does my partner. So does everybody I talk to. I'll add you to my list. Thanks a lot."

As Jack went back the short distance toward the entry door, Magdalena coldly stared at him. Jack hoped that she was not offended and would put the concise summary in its right place. He left.

He withdrew from the domain of officialdom and walked back to the car Manny was running in an attempt to maintain the heat. Jack sat in the passenger's seat. Jack shivered and looked at the instrument panel, noting that the least-cost gauges installed by the penny pinching manufacturer ebulliently communicated a comfortable internal environment. This was not the reality that he was forced to experience. He said; "Manny. Does this old piece of shit recognize the existent conditions? ...... Or is it just some fucked-up thing about me? I'm cold in this car and I can't stand being that way. It's like I have some terminal disease."

Manny smirked. His pursed lips had the effect of causing his brown eyes to half close, like an Oriental peering upward at a movie screen. Only Manny had a shot at knowing whether this abbreviated posture was a sophisticated contrivance or a genuinely friendly and necessarily theatrical prompt to what he was soon planning to respond to his long term, troubled friend. Might. Maybe. Yet, he was virtually certain that the biased words he most wanted to say had no meaningful relevance to his partner. And if they did, Jack would act as if he had no understanding whatsoever. He knew his long term buddy. There were no words that would make Jack's thermometer okay.

He also was certain he had no adequate response as he knew that there were no words that would make his own life okay. Escaping into work or a masked party were the best things he could find to cope. He hardheadedly continued his jolly facial demeanor and safely said; "The car is fine. It's your heater that is out of whack."

"All right. Well, get this thing moving. We're gonna be fucking late."

Manny paid Jack no mind as he knew that if anyone wanted to take issue with their timing, it was documented that the cause of the lateness was not him. He maneuvered the old red Toyota out of the parking lot and back onto now tranquil Propicio Road. The rush hour had ended and they were in a falsely pregnant mental pause, validated in the corporeal by a clear main road. He offhandedly navigated the ease without thought. He eventually said; "I got a real prize for you. This'll warm you up."

Jack eyed Manny askance from the corners of his eyes, thinking; "More fucking couched advice?"

"Rosalita has not yet hooked up with anyone suitable and she wants to."

Jack knew he was on the borderline of what is acceptable, but chose to say; "You Spanish guys. Meet my seesta. All the time. I don't want to meet your seesta."

Manny showed no affront and continued; "She knows how to take care of a house and gets around the kitchen as if she had a degree in the culinary arts. I know she likes you and she's a good girl."

"Yeah. That's the problem. I found that out the last time I bought your sales pitch."

"Maybe you'll get lucky this time."

"She gonna wear that floor length dress with the swinging tassels all over?"

"I don't know. It's what's inside that matters. ........ You know you're not getting any younger and you're not exactly a prime catch on Calle de la Congelacion."

"I'm so tired of hearing unsolicited evaluations of my home. I like it there."

"There's a common perception and that's more important than your personal idea of reality."

Jack looked out the passenger window as the car passed into Mesa Grande. The tin storage units which dotted the road were particularly hideous in the gray morning, no matter the "patina" caused by the worn colors. The poorly behaving sun did a half assed job, and highlighted the surrounding trash bins. They overflowed with last week's discarded supply of items no longer considered worthy of space in the $19.95 per month, homogenous cemetery of once desired items, which had made their way from the house, to the garage, to this forgotten state, one step before the fires of the junkyard. The top items sat within reach of the possible escape over the edges. All they needed was a trifling breeze to send them to whirling freedom, but stillness prevailed.

Jack was brought back to the inside of the car when Manny said; "Jack, Jack. You all right, man."

"Yeah, yeah. Just thinkin'. That still allowed? Shit!"

Manny silently watched the road, which was becoming increasingly congested every block into the big city.

Jack said; "Yeah, I'd like to spend some time with Rosalita. I'm glad you brought it up."

Manny stoically replied; "I'll see what I can do. After last time, I don't know."

Out of words, Jack silently sighed in exasperation.

They mutely drove into the heart of the city. The buildings became taller and in the gutters, empty cigarette packages overlapped one another, hoping for a continuation of the dry spell. For those unsuccessful in attaching themselves to something secure, any precipitation meant the final swim into the packed sewer. Indistinguishable people wearing dark and shadowy sweatshirts with hoods which protruded from under their long winter jackets huddled in the empty store fronts. Their knowingly concealed identities were only possibly discernable to those they were standing next to today. The young waved their arms around in a contrived, agitated manner. They spoke of today's foolproof scam or they rationalized why yesterday's foolproof scam went awry. Their harangues convinced no one, with the possible exception of themselves. The concerns of the old were simpler and much less frantic; they thought of what they had to do to get off today. Proprietors of the occupied stores remained inside, where they experienced the first warming waves of the heating systems, which were economically left off all night. They stood near their gritty titanic windows, being obvious in trying not to be obvious about their "furtive" surveillance of the hoods; a low-tech duplication of their constantly running street cameras.

Manny said; "What's our reason for being late?"

"I was born that way. No changing things now. ......... Clock broke. ............ Flat tire. ........ You hadda take your kid to the doctor. Let's be novel. Let's tell the truth. They're not used to handling that one. My car was stolen. I already told Beverly and she probably broadcasted it when she was through laughing anyway."

"Why'd you tell big-mouth-Beverly of all people?"

"I thought I had to. I forgot all about the rules of jurisdiction."

Manny turned left into the parking lot. It was heavily occupied, but the "stars" had their own semi-permanent, designated spaces, only infrequently violated by the sightless, the frantically hurried and the foolish, risking an expensive tow. The Mesa Grande Police Headquarters unobtrusively occupied the largely glassed, entire first floor of the ten storied, weathered brick office building. This home base was the result of one of the "condolences," which the Mesa Grande governors granted to a local real estate "magnate," who was unable to lease the low level retail space, but was competent at knowing where to make "political" contributions. Most of the topping nine floors were now filled with doctors, lawyers and bail-bondsmen, who, in their parasitic businesslike, standard operating procedure, made it their practice to fraternize with the business generating cops on the lowest level. The "bandwagon" effect was in full display. They say that; "One hand washes the other," but keep silent about how a dirty hand can dirty the other.

Jack and Manny were of special significance as they were the recipients of the city's "Most Arrests" honoring citation, eight years running. Their detractors pointed out that, were such awards given, the duo would also have received citations for having the lowest jail-time-served-per-arrest rate despite having a high conviction ratio. When they deigned to speak seriously to them, Jack and Manny told their detractors that they were merely advertising their jealousy. In fear of enlightening their obtuse competitors, the award winning team never told them that the name of the game in the 21st century was simply gross numbers. Net considerations were for the inconsequential chit-chat amongst the bean counters. It seemed nursery school obvious to them that their commander loved gross numbers more than anything, and if the others were too stupid to see that, all the better for them.

Manny took Jack's freshly painted white-line delineated space right in front of the automatic, sliding entry door. Jack found that unexplainably amusing in its "I can do anything that you can do" irrelevance. They withdrew from Manny's car and Jack stared at their shared destination. With the sun not yet above the tenth floor, it appeared almost more dismal than winter usual. The brick structure, which on good days approximated the dullness of Jack's rented house's not-recently-oiled flooring, today appeared even more lackluster in the sky fart. He relaxed and consequently bored his bit into his long thought, seemingly extremely reasonable anticipation of another tiresome, played out show. He thought he could handle the situation with appropriate alacrity, if he were on a binging, over-indulgence with the aid of some thought-numbing opium derivatives supplied by Big Pharma with an MD script. But, he knew that would only last about 30 days; no greater than the sentence given the repeat DUI's. His sober ease was as comforting as it was mundane.

As the partners made their way to the entrance for the hundred thousandth time, Jack visibly laughed at his deep-rooted thoughts which he incorrectly considered pedestrian throughout his mature existence of compensating balances. The hard edged reality he had sadly learned was that their articulation required interminable and perhaps willfully misunderstood postures requiring further explanation, often laughingly deemed necessary as the product of the inadequacy of his un-credentialed, common origin. After early futile efforts to clarify, at which he was totally inept and uncomfortable in attempting, in its implied suggestion that he had any uncommon wisdom, he practically learned to keep his visions to himself. Perhaps at the core, due to his "Mommy never loved or held me," childhood induced shyness he retreated into books, music, and dreams of Plato's intangible world of ideals. Extremely depressed, yet without the nerve to commit suicide, marooned in what he considered a mistakenly, self-defeating travesty, he tried to learn of the everyday postures and concerns of those around him. All he could see was that the attainment of large quantities of money, status and achievement, as simply and self-servingly defined by the worshipped powers that be, were the overpowering worldly answers to everyone's perpetually loathed guilty desire to survive as well as Gloria Gaynor. He thought his smirk was imperceptible.

As they walked side by side Manny deadpanned; "Fucked up again?"

Jack was surprised at the reaction that Manny had to his tiny snicker. He knew he was getting manageably "out of sorts" with his flawed overview of the simple situation at hand, but was taken aback to gather that his untreated mental deficiencies were so easily detectable. He attempted to avoid the discussion he had always found pointless and inadequate by simply saying; "What?"

Manny concisely snorted, but otherwise made no response.

As an attempted diversion Jack said; "Don't you know that as soon as that Red Sea of a door parts for us Beverly will be waiting there to lay on some pitiful joke about how stupid I am. And Reggie will be offering his condolences while he offers me some waste-of-time 'help,' as he sneers, without the nerve to straightforwardly show it. ....... I don't know. The whole thing hits me as funny. ....... Don't you agree?"

Manny kept his head down, his eyes diligently so, but probably over cautiously focused on the seemingly clear path to the front door. He finally said; "It's different when you have a family. Margarita, Paulie and Susan depend on me. Sure, they don't think of it that way, but they do. You don't know what it's like to have that kind of responsibility for the ones whom you love. If you fuck up, big shit. You fuck up yourself. It's your American right to be independent. But, don't you ever feel alone?"

Jack's laugh did a one hundred and eighty degree turn. He tried to conjure some words which would adequately convey his falsely self-assured, being-on-top-of-the-situation clown act. Something stuck in his throat. He choked out; "All the time. All the fucking time."

Chapter 3

Flurrying activity was the road running rule of the day as Jack and Manny passed through the one second-delayed, yet ultimately obedient glass doors. They dodged the scampering carriers of paper prominence on their ways to their desired hard working appearances. Jack's sense of humor made an unsolicited reappearance. He laughed as he called out; "Hey, Grady. Watch out for the pillars."

Grady, a short cop in his thirties, fully bedecked in uniform and weapon-holding paraphernalia, glided through the plastic "lawn" chairs and broke stride for a millisecond. He displayed the briefest possible of grimaced smiles. He efficiently and faux-sociably said; "'Morning, Manny. 'Morning ............... uhmmm, Jack, right?"

Jack showed his disinterest when he monotoned; "No, Caspar the Friendly Ghost, paperboy." He wasn't sure whether or not he had been accidentally truthful. "Make sure you don't drop any of our arrest reports. ......... Hey, Beverly, baby! Is there anyone you haven't yet told about me?"

The fortyish, over youthfully dressed, divorced woman looked up from her screen visions generated by the outmoded PC on her computer equipment dominated desk. She said no words, but sarcastically widened her eyes and opened her mouth in her best imitation of a gaping jar of strawberry preserves. Jack continued; "You know it's your own fault that you have this bad reputation. I wasn't going to tell anyone about our little get togethers. Not even Manny."

Without missing a beat, Beverly replied; "Well, that's all over with now that you don't even have a car." She blew a bubble and put her hands back on the keyboard.

Jack and Manny walked right, turned the corner and were almost to their wobbly, as-the-result-of-a-perp-crash, damaged cubicles, when they heard; "My two superstars. I have good news for you." It was the loud, overly cheery voice of Reggie which made no attempt to mask his mocking good humor laced with his perennial cynicism.

More properly said, it was the voice of Reginald D Clymer, who absolutely hated to be called Reggie. Jack always gladly accommodated the insistent wishes of his Narcotics Captain; when they were face to face, or even ass to ass, primarily because Reginald D was his immediate superior and wrote his annual reviews. After a few drinks Jack would even admit that he liked and respected Reginald. Maybe it was because his Captain had spent most of his career heading up the lower status Narcotics group. He had watched younger men from Homicide, Grand Theft and even Vice pass him right by on their way to top management. Finally, now at age 58, the powers that be had tardily recognized that significant segments of the citizenry of Mesa Grande were virtually addicted to things still deemed illegal and the remainder to something still deemed legal; like the captivating box on Beverly's desk. The detached, ivory towered masters' consequent recognition of the importance of the overlooked Narcotics unit was news to them only. Benefitting Reginald was their "New Directive," which, apparently unbeknownst to them, could have been better articulated decades prior by any un-retarded-man-on-the-street in Mesa Grande.

Jack and Manny had been sending Reginald's monthly arrest reports through the roof as a consequence of their stinging of the pathetic small fry; while they ignored the one-or-two-step-removed activities of the VIP's of the industry. In the infrequent privilege of moral moments, the best that Jack could fantasy hope was that the well-paid predators would kill each other off in their standardized territorial disputes. He was always reluctantly prone to shadow that short-lived, wishful fantasy with a cop's hard headed view of what truly is. He couldn't help but know that if the big fish annihilated each other, the small fish would soon assert themselves to fill the void. He took solace in the thought that it was not he who created this system. He merely had to find a way to exist in it.

Reliable rumor had it that Reginald D was being seriously considered for Chief; Chief of the entire first floor! The whole fucking thing! The long-waiting Captain plainly and patiently recognized that the unapproachable merchants of the nocturnal opacity were now, conveniently and tragically, much too late shining their black light on him.

Reginald D, perhaps in a time worn recognition of the ways things inevitably play-out, and perhaps in worship of the ecclesiastical demons which always have their say, at the very least was now, on the surface, making the best of his prolonged, deferred, previously thought inferior position. Jack, without a touch of sarcasm, characterized that as commendable; a tribute to persistence.

On a pragmatic basis, Jack also appreciated that Reginald D had been around long enough to know the game. It would have been much tougher to have been obliged to deal with a rookie out of State U. Jack thought; "What more can one ask of a boss? ....... It's just weird how much he hates being called Reggie." At times, he re-iterated his long term, never realized goal of inquiry; but not today.

Jack answered in kind, saying; "Pray tell. What might that be?"

Reginald's oft amused mask appeared un-indictably sincere, an effective counterpoint, just as he wished, but showed no more true joyfulness than it had any time in his career's recent past. Without inviting the risking burden of awkward explanation, it retained the calcified, compensating effervescence of one immune to a lifetime of being wrongly overridden; a deceptively attractive and comfortable space for the exceedingly tired. Through pursed lips, his marginally bloated, clean-shaven face said; "My people have made me aware of your demise and I am here to lend assistance." The bald spot which dominated the top of his round head seemed to reflect the blinking, fluorescent lights which lined the dropped ceiling, as they too, did their jobs with some shortages. After a seemingly obligatory, brief nasal snort, replete with clenched lips, he continued; "A long term observer is incredulous at the pedestrian oversights made by one so adept in handling the practicalities of an existence in a perilous city, yet without the ability to effectively manage the more elemental concerns of a much less urbane, yet perilously sheltered rural road."

Jack considered the commentary yet another uninformed manifestation of an outsider's view of what living on Calle de la Congelacion entailed, but chose not to address the blindly perceiving observation in its obvious jest.

Manny spoke up, saying; "Do you have records of any other car thefts on Calle de la Congelacion?"

Reginald D fluttered his eyes in a manner which would have implied unaffected thought to the ambitious-Captain-wannabe-Chief un-initiates. He answered; "Such matters are not within my jurisdiction. Your inquiry would be better served by asking the Propicio Police." He mock-innocently peered into the eyes of his subordinates, as if he actually would have welcomed a rebuttal to his abstaining position.

Jack was well-accustomed to derogatory commentaries about his residence. He ceased being phased years back. He attempted to put things back to the "assistance" part by breaking the momentary silence with; "So, of what assistance dost thou speak, my anointed one?"

Reginald D came dangerously close to a real smile, but managed to avert the position detracting, open display of candor. He said; "We received the report of your stolen car. Chances are that the thief brought it to Mesa Grande; always do. The Propicio cops never locate anything other than their traffic ticket booklets anyway. So, I've pulled a few strings and a couple of our Grand Theft guys are on the case."

From somewhere buried in his throat, Jack let out a hesitating; "Thanks," waiting for the next shoe to fall.

Reginald D nodded and continued; "I do know the owner of a local business which retails steering wheel locks. Given your location, it might be a worthwhile investment."

Jack officiously retorted; "I'm considering a number of similar options. Do you have his card?"

Reginald D shrugged and said; "No. ....... Name is Rogers. Worth a shot, right? ....... Now, don't you two Styrofoam cue balls hang around here all morning." He pointed at one of the impenetrable, clouded, leaded and iron barred windows and continued; "The criminal junkies are out there. ......... For the most part. Go get me at least three more today." He turned and took three brisk steps toward his centrally located office. He stopped and said; "That lock-man I mentioned carries an excellent product. If you give him my name he'll cut you a good deal."

Jack scratched his un-itchy nose and replied; "I told you I have it under consideration."

Reginald said; "Don't use car problems as an excuse to show up late. I don't want to hear it again." He made a bee-line toward his office. His flurry scattered the documents on the three desks without paperweights.

Slowly shaking his head in a disparaging manner, Manny silently looked at Jack.

Jack shrugged and said; "He's all right. He knows the game. I just can't understand why he insists on being called Reginald. It's kind of a silly name."

Manny replied; "I don't know. Ever since Jordan insisted on being referred to as Michael everybody uses their entire first name. It's getting commonplace."

Jack said; "Not with us. .......... Let's get some coffee and then we'll go round up a couple of the local losers."

They drove through the rectangular grid which was Mesa Grande's headquarters for blatantly flaunted, petty, nefarious activities. Manny's assigned, unmarked, deep purple Caddy stood out to those with whom its presence conveyed luxury. There was a small geometrically understood and depicted, set overlap with those sufficiently coherent to temporarily cease and desist, and was undetected by those too far gone to see anything. The last expressed wayfarers were the easy prey of Jack and Manny; the street criminals everyone saw, feared and reviled. The untouchable perpetrators of the big money crimes were sufficiently business savvy to have gunned or purchased the appropriate veil, which if one looks close enough, always artistically bears some derivation of the number five tattooed in the most severe of calligraphy.

With offhanded, polished, yet un-recognized old-hat mirth, the lords-of-the-techno-challenged-wind-up drank the economic freedom from the harried existences of the gotta-pay-the-bills, chasers of the well-defined, yet elusive and moving prize. The pilgrim's sack of lusted-for goodies had a liaison, as the brief nocturnal interlude of Hermes and Aphrodite, with the unreachable stars which were seductively dangled in front of everyman and everywoman's face, on a joking stick attached to the tops of their heads. The voters called Aphrodite's issue demonic. The worshipped, removed, and disinterested masters only consideration was to distance themselves from the predestined, Plato-aged, human corruption recognition; thereby remaining electably clean. Deities, known as bogus only to themselves, chuckled over the democratically chosen of those attracted to the practicality and pleasure of staged or ignorant DeSade subordination; as their appointments were for life.

They appeared colorful, as shining trinkets to innocents soon to receive the bubonic plague blankets in trade; to the 21st century faint of heart, in a time proven, untruthful, limited supply of a palate of fawned over, mixed grays. To most of the zombies who considered themselves as alive, their prominence was unquestioned, efficiently, conveniently, and momentarily expedient in the hope of a commercial consideration. Their overly obvious artifice was clearly seen and used by the un-caring masters. For the few genuine rebels and loonies, the long winded diatribes necessary to convey another cerebral version of the truth only served to preach to the popularly insignificant, genre based choir. The dreary and conventional icons, like those on the side of an electronically activated "home page" screen, firmly and daily, established the masters' irrevocability at being necessary, useful, efficient and "good," at least until the beneficiaries of non-discriminating and admiring public approval were "surprisingly" and unequivocally caught with their hands in the money freezer. As envied-from-a-distance citizens, leaders, and reluctant-to-be-copied, role models they lived on the high ground in the sprawling suburban areas outside of the grid and seemed to be of little consequence, and under no scrutiny of anyone other than the "bohemian" writers for the freely distributed and "radical," "Village Scene." The experienced and world-wise runners of the land-mined road well knew the perverse game, yet, in their resurrectionally based, impossible-to-prove Christianity, believed that one day the teasing stick would one day break of its own hard and thus brittle, lifeless nature. It was long ago cut from a living tree. For three thousand years of recorded history they have been wrong. "They" take no side. "They" take no risk. The stick was supposed to break of its own weight with no outside "assistance." A few reached these conclusions through true faith, while the majority reached them through practical cowardice. The chained melody said that there is no reason, yet there is an illogical desire to convey feelings which give the few remaining astrologically condemned lovers a chance at happiness.

In an alternative venue Poco played "Keeper of the Fire," and someone efficiently shut it off after the first two lines.

Excitedly; Jack wheeled on his seat and said; "Did you see that?"

Manny looked in the direction Jack's eyes had pointed. He said; "Ah, shit. Bernadette's back hookin' already."

"Well, she's obviously fucked up on crack again and looking for an easy score."

"We ran her in twice in the last two weeks. If we bring her in again, even Reggie will laugh."

"You make a major mistake, my friend. People like seeing the same old shit over and over. It's when you bring them something new that they freak."

"........................... "

"Come on, man. This is how we make a living; numbers. That's all that matters. Since when have you started evaluating things?"

In temporary command, Manny kept driving and Bernadette's consciously and blatantly solicitous activities faded into the distance, beyond the reach of his stationary and well-adjusted rear view mirror. He thumped both of his gloved hands on the fabric covered, weather protected wheel and said; "Since I got control of the wheel." His gaze was fixed on the road ahead, as if his long term, pragmatic partner was not of any concern.

Jack thought; "We could have had some business helpful, fun with her," but kept the thought to himself as Manny seemed puzzlingly resolute in his departure. He saw no point in saying anything and was silent.

Chapter 4

The locally christened name of "Sand Dunes" was an area on the northern Propicio border of rio-less Rio Rancho, where the shifting winds coupled with the shifting sands to produce an unstable topography. Once considered "difficult and un-desirable" terrain, the recent building boom seen in Propicio, as in much of the nation, propelled builders to make incursions into the cactus patch. They were aided by purchased, permitted variances which outfitted the pockets of the powers-that-be in office at the time of the grant. If the likely continuation of future windstorms made foundations unstable or exposed septic leech fields it was legally "an act of god; not gog or golligog," and the "responsible" parties would have their money, armed with the oh-so-sorry-faced excuse that; "It was okay when we approved and built it," adding to that a mournful; "What can we do to help?"

In anticipation of the continuation of the seller's market engendered in a large part by the FNMA and GNMA elimination of requirements for residential mortgages, the builders bulldozed the cholla cactuses, and built huge houses in the Sand Dunes. The bigger the house, the higher the price, the higher the potential profit, and the higher the "status" afforded the area. As a consequence, the ignored portion of Propicio now rivalled the internal, irrigated and so called "green" sections. In some sort of misunderstanding illogic, derision, craven deference to the time proven or white-flag-waving capitulation, the "Sand Dunes" had become a more or less equal partner in spirit. Politically, the residents may have become less than equal. Even though their numbers and potential voters grew at a quicker pace than the older part of town, they were still a minority of sorts, as their starting point was zero. In an uncomfortable way, proper people from the other parts of Propicio became progressively pained with using the term "Sand Dunes." Many thought it politically incorrect, because of its former dismissive connotation, yet could not come up with an appropriate euphemism. While the area was once an add on for farmers with antiquated water rights and some trailer based meth labs, it was now widely thought of as something better than "up and coming," with the ill-defined, unspoken handle of American arriviste.

The new "Sand Dunes" residents became aware of their dubious "status" in the eyes of other Propicians. A half serious defiance and a sense of unanimity were the likely incentives which compelled them to favor the term "Sand Dunes," over the terms which the builders had named separate developments. "High Oasis," "The Overlook," and "Desert Recompense" just didn't cut it for them anymore. Among each other that was how they referred to the area. Kids had torn away the original builder's signs and no one sought replacements. This dynamic also compelled them to make efforts to show that they were quite proper and lordly people by coming down from their perches and attending community events. The substantially Eastern retirees well learned procedure was to say nothing in an attempt to appear social and managerial.

Ten years ago, in 2006, stoutly derriered, now fifty-five year old, Richard Lawson III sold the family farm, the last sizable tract bordering "Sand Dunes" Propicio; one with grandfathered, valuable water rights. The sale was to a national, publicly and New York Stock Exchange traded "high flying" real estate developer, with an overstated national presence. Richard was once the soiled-blue-jean, down-home Village Mayor. Out of the personal and spousal inflicted shame of being possibly considered a traitor, he hadn't sought elective office in many years, and now sort of preferred to spend his days at the Propicio Bar and Grill. He chose to be adorned in the well washed, shiny polyester attire purchased at Dilly's, a cornerstone of the new mall just over the Propicio line into Mesa Grande, while he got sloppy.

Surprising no one other than the "Magical Reality" enthusiasts on the far left of the IQ spectrum, today was to abruptly be another one of those days. While breakfasting alone in the kitchen, over the microwaved ham and eggs provided courtesy of Con-Country Frozen Delights, Inc., his wife of thirty years, Stephanie entered the room. She greeted him with the flat, factual reportage, gleaned from her traditional laptop provided revelation. In staccato with a weary tone she said; "Stock is down again."

"Rick," as he preferred to be called, and was formerly known as, cringed at the overcooked observation. He privately worried about the value of the "letter," restricted, common stock he had taken, in an effort to maximize the profit on his lineage-deserting windfall; and the increasing debt against it. The loan started out relatively small vis-à-vis the value of the stock pledged as collateral. However, he had been borrowing more and more to pay the interest on the loan, and the margin was reaching his discomfort level. Sure. He could have cut back on household, auto, travelling, and a number of other expenses. But, he didn't think this was a good time to give Stephanie more reasons for mawkish complaints. He tried to be effusive in his effort-to-be-somewhat-original reply of; "The day to day electronic blips produced by those with the narrow, momentary orientation of insects have no lasting effect on value."

"Steph" poured herself a cup of coffee from the communal decanter and gazed through the window over the double sink. Her own artificially backlit, hazy reflection caught her attention immediately. After her fascination with the transitory, inadvertent, self-indulgent image ran its fleeting course, her eyes re-focused on the unattractiveness of the fallow field. Its varying shades and shapes of brown lumps, now home to only a few clusters of straw colored projections seemed to implore a tractor's tilling. In a vindictive memory ever present, sans the lumpy piled reminders, this used to be their field's post-harvest condition every corn farming year at this time. It was formerly unobstructed and patiently waiting for the arrival of the red mechanisms now gone courtesy of the auction process. They had yet to come to terms with the blatant fact that their productive days were over; but they seemed to sense that some sort of change had come in the vagaries of the insane-asylum-escapee wind. Maybe it was the inaugural impositions of the vulgar tripods brought by teams of exacting surveyors. Maybe it was their insertion of orange-night-glow-ribboned sticks marking the boundaries of one acre lots. Maybe. Steph said; "You gave up this for these declining numbers. It seems like yesterday that there were cornstalks reaching for the sky."

Rick often had second thoughts about having followed the lead of the other veteran farmers. He kept them to himself as their re-consideration only served to depress. It was a done deal. He wished that his wife would curtail the constant second guessing. She raised no objections when the transaction was in the discussion stage. It seemed eminently unfair and unproductive to continually harangue him now. He looked toward her with contempt in his eyes, but thought he detected the hint of a tear in hers. He went to her and put his arms around her waist. She bolted away, saying; "No, no!" feigning that she immediately needed something from the refrigerator. Rick sat back down and wolfed the remainder of his Con-Country food.

He went to his room, donned his Dilly's outfit, told Steph that he was going for a walk, and walked the half mile to the Propicio Bar and Grill. He unsuccessfully attempted to be totally oblivious to the real estate which wasn't about to receive his next foot step. He thought; "If they didn't intend to finish the job, they never should have started it." He got to heavily travelled Propicio Road and was assaulted by the grind of rubber on asphalt, the boom-boom of hip hop music escaping through cracked open windows, the impatient blares of horns, and the flashing neon signs of the commercial establishments. The low level wind created by the barrage of vehicles went to the bone and had a toxicity index reading. He walked faster and veered toward the buildings, thinking that they had use as protection from an errant Lexus. A bit out of breath he came to the Propicio Bar and Grill front door. He didn't take the time to disparage its purposely poor, purple paint job, affected to impersonate age. He pushed open the portal to his escape and was relieved to enter the twilight of its darkly shaded windows. With a seeming will of its own, the heavy door shut behind him. The street sounds were replaced by the room-stereo-system's incongruously adjusted-to-the-inoffensively-muted, version of Coltrane's upbeat "My Favorite Things." He opened his coat and took his choice of seats at the bar.

Mary, the barmaid-waitress-sympathetic, ear-vomit mopper of the establishment, made a wry grin when she saw her best customer. Her head was down, her eyes fixed on the utensils she was washing in the deep, stainless steel sink. She said; "Double Jack?" with only the slightest intonation of that being a question.

Rick didn't smile when he replied; "Two of them. It's cold outside." He didn't watch as she mixed the drinks. He stared into the bottle-lined, smoky mirror behind the bar, seeing the few patrons seated at tables; but focussed on himself. He knew that the lighting was designed to give false impressions which made clients feel good about themselves. But, he didn't care. He needed to do precisely that. He started to think; "It's just a matter of staging. In the right light .............."

Mary brought over the two glasses. She placed them in front of Rick and silently walked away, when he made no eye contact. He seemed a bit put off at having had his daydream interrupted. She was used to the routine. She thought; "After he has a few belts, he'll be all right."

Rick took a long gulp; then another. The initial, bitter, face-contorting-taste quickly transformed into a warm glow, which slowly worked its way through his digestive system. After a few more, less frantic swallows, the warmth seemed to have spread out all over his body and head, bringing the relaxed feeling that everything was absurdly funny. He stood from the stool, which he thought was only minimally useful, as all it supported was his butt. He thought it amusing that the one part of him which needed no support was the one that got it. He got a more comprehensive view of himself in the funhouse mirror.

His glittery leatherette, black belt was, of necessity, positioned below, and deceptively seemed supportive of his bloated belly. Bellies were admired and oft-self-palmed status symbols among the bulls of Old Propicio, possibly because a fat one inferred the luxury of abundant crops and of not having had to spend much recent time in the fields. However, they were now relegated to the you-can-never-be-too-rich-or-too-thin culture of healthy lean and mean. Rick felt terribly out of style.

His gut imposed itself upon the bar. He sat back down, pulled his red, green and blue striped iridescent shirt out of the restrictions imposed by his pants and drank.

Rick was well known at the facility and it was usually somewhere around this time that he was scheduled for his fame producing specialty. His loud, drunken rants filled the potted-palm-filtered air with barmaid-tolerant views of Propicio's fall. He often said that he was considering a comeback and claimed to have the support necessary to do so. Other patrons of the chic, year-old facility found him either entertaining; or accidentally amusing; or the relic of a disputably glorious past with no present or future other than the Jack Daniels bottle; or someone as amusing as an Olympic runner with a prosthetic leg; or the pale ghost of a self-sufficient, bucolic past; or someone they could latch onto if he were to re-establish his local power; sometimes combining or re-vising their thoughts, somewhat a function of their feelings toward their present company and their present state of inebriation. Rick considered all of these scenarios and decided that whatever the motive, he liked the attention.

After finishing his second double, Rick raucously intoned to no one in particular; "Look at these walls. That's what I'm talking about. Puce. Puce. Look at it. It's right in front of you. What the hell kind of color is puce? .......... Please excuse my profanity. It won't happen again. .......... At least I don't think so, but sometimes I lie. And these palms. They belong here as much as the profligate, water sucking elms do. This is New Mexico, if you haven't noticed." He held high his empty glass and bellowed; "Mary, get me another."

With a few second delay, Mary, who made it well known that she was a 25 year old college student "making tuition ends meet" broke away from her heated conversation. She was talking with Josh, an irregular patron of the establishment and a patent attorney. He was describing his brilliant courtroom dramatics which curiously mimicked the evidentiary squabble which appeared on last night's installment of "Law and Order." He had gotten her interest, both romantically and economically, a distinction she did not recognize. She said; "Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. You got an early start. If you don't watch it the late game will be horrid."

Rick slurred; "Horrid? Horrid? Tell me about horrid." He waved his arms around in an all-encompassing pattern and added; "Look at this farce. You're in it every day. Have you become imperviously acclimated to the sick joke?"

Mary shrugged and grimaced as if the query was too banal for a mentally competent woman beyond the age of fifteen, and monotoned; "Yeah, I guess. ........ Another double Jack with soda?"

"Yes, ma'am, and don't be stingy with the good stuff."

A boy of fifteen busted into the bar and said; "Mom, they expelled me again and I didn't do a fucking thing this time. I swear. But, you gotta go see the principal again."

Mary quickly ushered him from the room, saying that; "We'll discuss this later. Go on home."

As Mary washed a glass, her head down over the sink, she audibly mumbled; "Kid thinks it's hilarious to call me 'Mom' in public. Little brothers are quite a nuisance." She squirted two shots into the clean glass. Then, with a frightful looking instrument, she tongued accompanying ice cubes from the waist-high freezer into the tumbler.

Through his characteristic, Jack Daniels, numbed lips, Rick managed to whine; "No, no. I've had all the ice I can handle today. Baby, it's cold outside."

Mary gave the man an evaluation with a piercing glimpse. She was initially startled by his seeming sincerity. But, Mary rationally recalled that she was at work where the manager correlated the missing liquor to the monetary take and reduced her wages accordingly. She quickly forgot the heart-break-conducive sympathy of her ignorant youthful days and said; "Without the ice I can't fill the glass. How about water?"

"No. Soda and water don't mix well. Give it to me half empty if you have to. I can get all the ice I want outside. ............ Or from my wife. Please be generous with the soda. ....... You know I'm a good tipper."

Exhibiting the countenance of one experienced in the ways of transitory relationships, Mary supplemented the soda with free water, not yet within the purview and penny calculating capabilities of her manager; and thinking; "Rick's too numb to know the difference." With the balance between her heart generated feelings and brain insistent, monetary considerations a thing of the past, without thought she safely leaned toward the latter and placed the resultant glass, brimming to the top with an abundance of plentiful appearance, in front of Richard; a hopefully unaware, thinly disguised, yet obviously old and melancholy man. The boisterousness of his thankful bravado fooled only his desired duplicate perception of a persona, the original having been left somewhere he no longer remembered.

In an effort to conceal and negate any possibly perceived, foolish, post-modernist sentiment, Mary brashly said; "Drink up, old timer." She mirthfully smirked in a facial contortion which served to make oblique any observed inference.

Rick ignored the pulp fiction inspired act; put both hands around the offered glass and greedily drank of the cheaply improvised presentation. The blessing of his numbness precluded his detection of any inferior taste. But, the overly pale color informed his eyes. He closed them as he drank. It was not his dream, but since his dream was not anywhere in sight and not likely to again materialize, the cost-effectively prepared concoction was his best intoxicant. He realized that his willingness to thirstily settle for what was available could be construed, by the ever present, diagnostic observers, as being a personal flaw. While this human flaw was something Rick was not reticent to display to those familiar with the comings and goings of a lived life, he balked at the possibility of disclosing his "defects" to those who had made a "life's" mission of watching and offering unsolicited and uninformed commentary.

In an unknowingly absurd and instantaneously regretted effort to appear as if he was confidently at the top of his game, he called out to the few patrons of weekday afternoon, Propicio Bar and Grill; "Follow me. I led once. I can lead again. We're going to take this town back. Our birthright is our birthright. Paradise will be reclaimed." He immediately thought; "Oh, shit," when he received five stares, two with pursed lip grins. He realized that he had just invited precisely what he sought to avoid. Without having achieved monetary reward, he had obtained the derisive scrutiny of strangers.

Josh left Mary to her unnecessary, nervously prompted, tidying chores and approached Rick. His thin, slight build was masked by a turtle necked sweater and a bulky, open LL Bean jacket. He extended his right hand and said; "I'm Joshua Marshland and I'd like to see Paradise. Haven't had the pleasure for quite some time."

Rick had the distinct feeling that he was being put on and knew he deserved to be. But, he also had two readily available ears. He stood to shake the man's hand, which required one balancing step, saying; "Rick Lawson. I keep telling them to fix this tilt in the floor." He sat back down with a thud.

Josh sat on the stool next to Rick and said; "Mary tells me you used to be Mayor here."

"Yes, sir. Back when Propicio was still Propicio. You new here?"

"Less than a year. Did you grow up here?"

"Sure did. And my daddy before me. And my grand-daddy before that. Five generations in all. Where are you from?"

"I've kind of been all over the place. ....... Chicago, just before here. Listen, I've been here long enough to know that next year's Mayoral election is wide open. What kind of support do you have?"

"I didn't say I was running."

"Then what Paradise are we supposed to follow you to? The Seventh Day Adventist Church, tax free school and shopping mall?"

Rick laughed. He wasn't entirely comfortable with giving the impression that he was denigrating religion. But, when it came to the Seventh Day Adventists, he and most of the old timers had their reservations about the religiosity of the nuisance, freeloading enterprise. He called upon his previous political experience and ducked the direct satirical question with a silent wrinkling of his brows. He paused to wait for the desired, back-off-look-away effect; then said; "So, let's say for the sake of argument that I am open to running. What's it to you? Are you some kind of political guru seeking an appointed job?"

"A mind reader as well as a policymaker. I'm impressed. Appointees get paid well and I have no aversions to the coin of the realm. Anybody you see here not a parasite? .......... Look, point is we're sitting here in this overpriced saloon talking trash to duplicitous drunkards. If we're going to do that, why not make it worth our while? You think you can do some good and I .............. I'd like to come along for the ride."

"Why do I need you? I'm not even sure that you're not a scoundrel."

"I've not yet invoked patriotism. The simple truth is that you need me. You're the issue here. Today I've heard you railing against puce, palms, undefined sick jokes and an even more undefined Paradise. Others have heard the same thing. They no doubt have told their friends about it. These kinds of things won't get you elected Freshman Class President. You have to stick to concrete issues which the majority of new Propicians can easily relate to; and then proceed to be vague about them."

Rick grimaced and held his arms out to his sides, displaying a combination of distaste and disagreement, which covered for a feeling of annoyance at the rude over familiarity.

Josh shrugged and added; "Unless you think you can find one with a better than 90% approval rating."

"We were straight shooters! I got elected four times saying exactly what I thought."

Josh became the one with the grimace, his indicating a disbelief he thought it better not to verbalize. He said; "The past tense is correct. Even if. That was in old Propicio. Times have changed. Appearances and persuasive skills have taken over."

"We made it into a much sought after place."

"And now the seekers are here with the bulk of the votes, and they seek to turn Propicio into the hated place they left."

"That's just stupid."

"Sure is. But, that's the way things are. They come out to their heaven and quickly proceed to convert it to their hell. Maybe it's this Christian fascination with suffering; I don't know. Haven't you seen that yet?"

"I don't know about that."

"It's obvious that you spent your whole life here."

"I've spent a fair amount of time in Mesa Grande."

"Case closed."

Rick was insulted and stormed out, hoping he could still find his way home. Josh called out; "You'll be back. You need me and you know it."

He made no response. He considered Josh harsh and uncouth, but had strong suspicions that his directness had its place. He stumbled along the road. While mis-steps were the priority, he thought of Stephanie. He hoped that she had calmed down in his absence. No, he hoped that she had stirred up. He hoped, not knowing for what.

Chapter 5

Tyrus A. and Cynthia Woodson woke to their new surroundings a bit physically tired from the previous day's bustle of activity. However the emotional exhilaration of their spirits overrode any deficiencies in their bodies. This was the day they had been dreaming of for more than ten years, fighting off the nagging doubts of it being a Harry Potter fantasy. Camino de las Brisas was real, touchable, in full view, and they were finally there.

Ty and Cindy had grown up together in landlocked, Plainfield, Long Island, New York, New York in a development grandly titled "Barrymore Estates," the fading sign at the northern entry the first signal of its being ordinary. They were occupants of two of the many homes on the water-view-deficient interior strip of the island. As a result, since birth, they were surrounded by the reluctant-to-show-happiness-plodders, who were dwarfed by a timid deference to the worship and/or jealousy of those a mile away in either direction; either on the Ocean or on the Sound. The couple found the strip club uninteresting to the eye and intolerable to the brain. Rather than broadcasting their thoughts, Ty and Cindy were muted, disdainful rebels, who might have been more at home in the many down to earth neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx and didn't feel particularly deferential to anyone.

Since having gotten to know each other better, in the exploratory sophomore year of detention at Roosevelt High School, they were inseparable. Roosevelt was a regionalized facility which also interned kids from the much more affluent, Long Island water bordering, NYC suburbs of Great Neck and King's Point. The type of cars in which one was driven to the fortress of intermediate learning was a generally un-photographed production of scenes from Fellini's "La Dolce Vita," replete with the self-effacing, yet surface confident grotesques. Arriving in a new Italian sports car was a guarantee of popularity. Balding fathers in Lamborghinis and dyed and lifted mothers in Mazzeratis were not a source of amusement. Ty and Cindy's arrivals in old Toyotas brought accolades only from Sam Despoto, the janitor; who often defensively pointed out the superior reliability of the efficient, boxy machines. Ty and Cindy couldn't wait to leave.

And here they were, bleary-eyed and locked arm in arm, cups of coffee in the other, staring out the living room, set of triple windows. From their newly attained vantage points they saw the river flowing to their left, the well-tended, freshly pocket-sized and ornamental landscaping, professionally installed on the grounds of homes to their right, and the forest of wild, mature elms at their rear. Their eyes were un-focused and darted from sight to sight, showing no preference for any particular manifestation, appreciating the diversity of it all.

The Woodson residence was custom built for Ty and Cindy. Through internet images and infrequent familial vacations they had "seen" most parts of the US, ultimately deciding on the New Mexico neither had visited as the place they wanted to put down roots. They had a Southwestern adobe constructed, both because they were attracted to the style and because, being easterners, they had never previously seen anything like it domestically. It had a mustard colored, rugged stucco finish, radiant heat hidden under the multi-colored brick floors, and titanic, double paned windows in the living areas. Though it was more expensive the couple insisted upon using adobe rather than the currently oft used, cheaper, stick method of construction. They felt it was authentic and liked the texture and contrast provided to the inside walls. There was a partial second story which left un-complicated room for future expansion. The second level was accessible inside by a twisting, black iron staircase. It was easily removable as it was held in place by only two bolts at top and bottom. There was external access by a weathered ladder situated on the portion of the roof which was one level. But, their favorite feature was the absurd cupola sitting on top of the second story. There was no obvious access anywhere. But, if one lifted the other to the trap door in the ceiling of the main bedroom .............

The furniture was lightly stained and eclectically styled. It was still kind of disordered and all over the place. Books, CD's, clothing and general bric-a-brac lay in brown cardboard boxes strewn throughout the house. The Woodson's thought that there was plenty of time to put things in order; just like the un-landscaped dirt on their property.

Their attention was rudely drawn to the speeding, strident, metallic-blue colored Mazda, which had exited the driveway two houses up Camino de las Brisas, and was heading in their direction. The apparently rushed, middle-aged female in the driver's seat didn't look their way. She wedged a flyer between the red flag and the green body of their mailbox; made a three point turn at the end of the road; and drove away, gunning her halfhearted, sluggish engine.

The first words of Cindy's day were; "Must be important," said with a twinge of playful sarcasm.

Ty let go of her arm and replied; "They couldn't have found us objectionable already." He tickled her belly and her coffee poured onto the brick floor.

Her uncontrolled squeal made her briefly disregard the finer points of social proprieties. Cindy jumped back to avoid the splash and chastised; "You're going to have to clean this."

"It was your cup. You clean it."

"You made me spill it."

"I've got to go to the mailbox."

She eyed him sternly.

"All right, all right." He went to the kitchen, retrieved the paper towels, got on his knees and removed the moisture. He took her cup and poured her another coffee. He said; "All right?"

She smiled and said; "Good boy."

He went down the front walkway to unshackle the flyer.

He returned with a curious look on his face. Cindy said; "What?"

"I thought we were getting some kind of official 'welcome to the neighborhood' type of thing. But, they're asking us to get involved in politics already. It seems that nobody likes the elms on the road behind us. Here, read it for yourself."

BRISAS AREA GARDENING SOCIETY

Dear neighbor;

We who live on Camino de las Brisas and its environs enjoy a lifestyle attained only by the lucky few. The glorious new houses complement the glorious new, friendly people; their kids, dogs and other exceptional pets; well contained of course. Most of us are, or will be, actively engaged in horticultural endeavors, refining this barren and neglected desert land to an oasis of beauty. And, quite frankly we all paid a more than modest sum for this privilege, and have a significant interest in protecting the value of our investment.

This is why I'm writing. It has come to our attention that adjoining Calle de la Congelacion does not share these same values. They have allowed the foreign, generally Siberian elms to grow and propagate at will. Not only do their tiny leaves leave something to be desired aesthetically; but they are invasive water hogs and limit our abilities to regulate the light received by our tender, transplanted babies. They are killers. An elm with three inches of surface growth has eighteen inch roots. It is virtually impossible to remove them in entirety. Once they invade, our fledgling Birds of Paradise struggle to remain properly hydrated. Adult roots suck directly from the precious and stressed water table, taxing the very life support of us all. Isn't that shocking? I know that was my reaction when I discovered this fact last week. It smacks of intrusive barbarianism! Is no one in Propicio guarding the gates?

I urge you all to attend the Propicio Village Council meeting Friday at 3:00PM. Other towns have ordinances banning unwanted interlopers. We intend to determine what is being done to protect us here; and if this is not rudely stated; to have it done.

Sincerely;

Patricia (Penny) Primstation;

President Pro-tem

In a high pitched voice, Cindy said; "I like the elms."

"Me, too. But, it seems that social considerations are being imposed on us."

Cindy handed the flyer back to Ty and said; "Here. Insert the sarcastic comment of your choice. You must have many."

Ty took the flyer back, crumpled it, and aimed a jump shot at the nearest opened cardboard box. "All net. Too easy." He paused and gleaned that Cindy took this flyer more seriously. He said; "There is no full escape; only degrees which shift with the wind. Back east we couldn't avoid the money counters. Out here, I guess, that the gardening club has notable significance. Appearing anti-social does have its negative consequences."

Cindy grimaced in an obvious manner, rolled her eyes to the right and actually stamped her foot, and said; "We just fucking got here! Can't they wait just a little bit? I don't give a flying about some old bag's gardening problems."

Ty shrugged, cuddled distraught Cindy and said; "Love you babe. You're the greatest." He then let go and affected a pragmatic posture. "Maybe nobody else cares either. We can check it out this once. No big thing. Apparently, everyone here may not be a resident of the Nirvana we innocently imagined. Seeing something on paper is not the same as seeing it every day real life. Surprise, fucking surprise. Rather than risk being viewed as non-conformists, it's probably better to attend the stupid meeting, stay quiet, and try to figure out where the prevailing wind comes from."

"So, back in the same old shit."

Ty sighed, made a phony, exhaling laugh, and said; "Just a little bit. This shit comes from the 'new west,' by un-recognized way of the same old eastern shit. Maybe shit is shit is shit. Such is life, I guess."

"As soon as we get here? Isn't there a break? You're like saying; 'Start down the garden path.' No matter how you phrase it, it still smells like shit."

"I'm not condoning it. It just seems reasonable to go with the flow, at least while we're new. ............. Later, who knows? Besides, today is Saturday. So today and tomorrow I don't have to go to that boring bank job. You don't have to go count beans at Touche. And we're out of that old trailer and in our new house. Life is good."

"Yeah. And it will further improve when strangers learn to keep their distance."

"The southwest is new for us and so far it seems to be the exact opposite of the northeast. There were some things that we liked there, so there will be some things we'll dislike here. It's so weird. At work they call me Mr. Woodson and I'm tempted to tell them that; 'I'm Ty. Mr. Woodson is my father's name.' But, I'm afraid they might be offended, or worse just stare at me."

Cindy, out of some habit, un-necessarily put her hand in front of her mouth to half hide a giggle, when she said; "There's a couple of people at Touche who make me laugh silently. Often when I say something I consider innocuous, they look at me funny for a second. Then they say something like; 'Well, ah don't know much about that, but ah do know that ........'" I mean like, these people went to college and all that. .............. Or so they say."

"And majored in Accounting if they went at all. ...... I get that too. But, maybe it's just some weird southwestern sense of humor; an acquired taste we have yet to acquire."

"There are some things I don't want to acquire."

Ty put an arm around her waist and sighed, saying; "There are just some things you have to put up with at least a little bit; or appear to. That's the way it goes unless your name is Rockefeller ................ and I'm not even so sure about that. There are times when I'm tempted to say something at the office; but I stifle myself when I simultaneously remember that if I get canned from this job, there are no other banks sufficiently large in this area to employ someone with my high end skills." He let go of her waist and held her fingertips with his. He laughed. He slightly bowed when he said; "Tyrus A. Woodson, Vice President in charge of Governmental Relations at your service, my Lady. If my dear Lady Guinevere is sufficiently appalled at the thought of attending this bourgeois gathering I am prepared to send convincing condolences. In actuality, that is also my preference. However, in that case, my fair lady, you recognize that Tyrus Lancelot may be obliged to shed considerable blood."

Cindy smiled as she looked through the still un-smudged kitchen window. Her eyes fixed leftward, in the direction of the river. Unlike the stagnant sounds and bays to which she had become accustomed in the east, the Rio Grande discernably flowed. It was as un-mistakable as Ty's admiration and imitation of the gallantry of Sir Lancelot du Lac. The muddy water established a seemingly infinite number and variety of triumphant whitecaps as the rushing stream continued and continued; seemingly un-deterred and un-phased by the vulgar and stationary obstacles mired and hidden in the rocky bed. Each of the countless displays of whitecap occurrences visible at any given moment was similar when viewed in a coarse manner. Such perfunctory view seems to be reasonably expected and reasonably cursory as is the necessary, reactive, visionless hardheadedness adopted in the moment. What is less often seen is the brave, fully expectant of being denied but continuing, infinite varieties of the caps. Their temporary amorphous forms reflect the light like prisms, glass onions, and rainbows when the sun is high; and co-operative darkness when under the clouds. So much history tells them that like the countless excursions of so many before, that they must know that they will break in such a short time against the shore; yet they go on until they can no longer.

It's no time for debate. It's time for the traveler to do just one thing. He must find shelter when on the road a long way from home, suddenly covered by a loud, threatening darkness, and immersed in a blizzard of freezing snowflakes which quickly pile up. Duh??? Igloo construction instructions seemed much too obvious a need to state out loud, at the risk of being ignored for rudeness.

A "brain" and eye blessed with the incorrect vision of limitless time, thereby rendering the snow irrelevant, might use that falsely conceived luxury to pontificate something much less immediate and refined. A distinguishing visage, so misinformed as to be so providential, effectively uses that vantage point to illuminate their papered observation. It is based on current scientifically approved methods of observation which will be re-defined next year. That is not a condemnation. That is merely a fact. In the meantime, those less visionary, who are enveloped in the blizzard are heartened to be advised that it seems likely that the whitecaps and snowflakes are all of unique design; perhaps the result of polishing; the significance of that the subject of further study, not expected to be concluded in this generation.

Cindy laughed or didn't; the expression on her face that of an Alice who refused to believe that she had gone through the looking glass. Her heart objected to Ty's pragmatism, but her mind concurred. She thought; "Things just keep going. They have to." She said; "Okay. Let's go to the meeting with the community group. Maybe we can learn the art of sabotage."

"You're beautiful, baby."

"Wicked, too." Her bedroom eyes gazed directly into his as her cup shattered on the brick floor.

On the other side of town, the "Sand Dune" residents had obtained a copy of Penny's flyer by surreptitious means. It was duplicated and sent throughout the community. The phrase "ordinances banning unwanted interlopers" attracted significant attention. It was decided that it was necessary for the "Sand Dunes" area to send delegates to the meeting. An oft heard phrase heard locally was; "This sounds like it could be a backdoor way into the same old shit."

A snippet of a subsequent Woodson communication;

"A greedy empath."

"Exactly. You too I think. But you ain't seen infinity yet; only dreams."

"You might be surprised."

"Hope so."

"Daddy's back east."

"Momma too."

"You gonna burn baby."

"That's the easy part."

"What's the hard one?"

Laughter. "Can't tell?"

"50 Shades is so limited."

"Plebian taste."

"Yeah, taste."

"Who's talking?"

"Lost track. Matter?"

"Fuck no."

Giggles. "What are you thinkin' babe?"

"Africa."

"I'm there."

"Umnnn. Yeah."

"Where's the smoke? Great, great."

"You're so kind. Do you always say that?"

"Yeah, always. ............. Always with you, fuck-head. ........ How about me?"

"Can't imagine anything better. ............ Well, if it lasted longer, ................."

"You go crazy on that thing. I can't help it."

"Maybe an indirect route next time."

"Ooooh, very dirty. Nice. ........ Just don't kiss me afterwards."

"Kiss you where? Hangups?"

"Teasing. Like my preliminaries. Got a thing about the bush in full bloom."

Giggle. "Me too. Why'd they ever cut it back?"

"Scared little men."

"Defies nature."

"Your mother."

"Don't complicate it."

"Just a possible analogy, I think."

"Best forgotten. Come on. Roll it."

"I'm rolling."

Cream sang and wah-wahed "Tales of Brave Ulysses," sculpting bottomless azure undulations.

Chapter 6

The Propicio Village Council meetings were held on every Friday at 3:00PM. The Council members said that the timing had "no significance whatsoever" and was merely in accord with the tradition established by the founding fathers. The infrequent, individually, voiced complaints about the scheduling were "taken under advisement" without commentary. A few petitions, bearing the alleged signatures of a distinct minority of residents always got bogged down. They were bogged as if buried in quicksand, by an interminable signature verification procedure handled solely by the appointed Village Administrator, "as other duties permitted."

The present day reality of the 3:00PM meeting was that the timing effectively precluded attendance by working people, those charged with the responsibility of picking up school children, and the codgers in need of an afternoon nap. But, no longer did anyone complain about the inconvenient timing for a number of good reasons; 1) They knew it would get them nothing other than a property re-evaluation; 2) They had no interest in attending anyway; 3) They were bored to tears listening to engineers discuss the rates of septic poopy flow, tested and projected for the new subdivision; and most of all; 4) Their nap took priority; and most significantly; 5) House prices were noticeably rising every month.

The old-timers circulated the rumor that their Winchester-toting ancestors celebrated at 3:00PM on a Friday, over 100 years ago, after having routed the last of the Native Americans, who were at the time referred to as the "thievin' Injuns." Some part of this fairy tale provided them with chuckles at every telling, effectively masked behind impassive, fleshy faces. The fertile, river irrigated, "horn of plenty," was then named Propicio. It became entirely the domain of European immigrants by way of South Chicago.

On Friday at 2:45PM first term Mayor Vincent Pignatelli, a Propician by way of Bensonhurst, surveyed the meeting room. He stood in the open doorway at the left side of the platform, his forefinger nervously stroking his lips and chin. He had received a copy of the flyer distributed by the "Brisas Area Gardening Society" and initially thought little of the entreaty to attend this meeting. He thought it was merely the inconsequential whims of a few old lady horticulturalists with nothing better to do. His corrected eyes peered down at the growing throng of citizens milling around the metallic folding chairs three feet below him. The seats were set up in neat rows and columns. But the people were less compliant with rules of decorum and seemed to haphazardly establish their own fluctuating zones of newly essential discomfort.

In anticipation of the coming onslaught, he thought; "I have no authority over the elms. Their existence is grandfathered in. You can't make something illegal today and then charge someone for doing it yesterday. But who wants to hear that the Mayor is powerless?

The increasingly nervous Mayor calculatingly realized that he was in unsystematic virgin territory, though he was denied the ability to hide the physical aspect of his plight. The unpredictability of what was impending made his pockmarked, swarthy face secrete nippy debilitations, which had the nasty habit of congregating in his craters. His well-used handkerchief dabbed at his faux confident façade, restoring a momentary, dry cool; only to be immediately replaced by the uncontainable, embarrassing, hidden and drip producing mechanism of his most reviled part; his sociopathic subconscious. He was not new to this experience. The dichotomy of appearance and reality was old news. Yet, damn it; despite eons of study, no one had come up with a methodology competent to produce the desired results. With no learned aid, he again sweated it out, while cursing the scientific failure of the paper framers. He thought; "Assholes don't seem to understand that there is money at stake."

With only his own conceptions to guide him, he attempted to chronicle what was in undisputed evidence. He thought; "Usually there are about seven regulars in attendance. Invariably they seek to advertise their mental acumen by making arcane points regarding inconsequential, time-delaying, legislative, procedural matters. Like an academic at the elusive core, they merely showed an ignored-one's need to inconsequentially be heard. This is easy to deal with. Smile and capitulate nothing other than a few minutes of obligatory, artificially cheerful time. But, the growing and unstructured rendezvous with the crowd is right in front of my telltale, sweating face. This does not appear to be business as usual. Maybe, I'm overly alarmed over a mere display of bodies, but goddammit, today really does seem different. I feel it in my gut."

The definable observation of what seemed to be weighed like an unforgiving, uninvited albatross over his planned considerations. His biased view of the gallery might have had some relevance when their innocuous statements were originally made, but was not very helpful now; especially in terms of his suggested actions. Today was observably atypical; maybe not having any importance other than the fleetingly detectable numbers. Maybe it was merely the sophist in him, circling around the often arcane consideration of anecdotal versus empirical; at first level ignoring the overlap on stage three. No big thing. Both forms of evidence were acceptable in court, though an appeal was sometimes necessary; if it could be afforded. At that point the competence of the presentation became the single most important determining factor and Vincent had access to the mob lawyers. One would be sitting right below the stage, competent and ready to obscure any voter complaints, and was called "Village Counsel." But, other than a conveniently veiled, cryptic Nostradamus, who can predict the future? The mouthpiece had allegiances and shifting games of his own. Surprises, regular fucking surprises. With the money on the line it was only prudent to have at least plans A, B and C in place.

He thought of his own contrivances. The edgy man insisted on being referred to as Mayor Pignatelli or Vincent. He wasn't particularly pompous, but as a result of his rationality, he would not answer to "Vinny," as it was a name he had seen used in too many Mafia movies. He was up for re-election in just a few months and desperately wanted to remain in office when the Village's lucrative garbage collection contract was up for renewal three months later. Citizens with concerns were a nuisance at best and an impediment at the worst.

"Daydreaming?" came the baying, mocking voice of Councilman Thomas Higgins. He was on his way to his gold-leafed, name-plated place behind the elongated, darkly stained, pressed "wood" desk on the platform; which was always covered with documents which served no other purpose. He attempted to brush by the hefty, 240 pound Mayor. The open door did not accommodate both of them. Vincent was compelled to maintain his position and didn't move, blankly staring at his political nemesis-ally-opportunity hawk.

Thomas feigned amusement and mumbled; "Think you've taken up permanent residence, chief?"

"As permanent as anyone's."

"The voters are restless. They must fancy that they're natives."

No response.

"They always blame the man in charge."

"Maybe they came to bestow their praises." Vincent side-stepped. Thomas made a brief, snorting smirk and ambled to his seat, eyes fixed on the ground, careful not to trip on the curling edges of the floorboards.

Vincent turned his head toward the overhead clock and saw that it was 2:57. He then scanned the audience to see that their numbers had grown to approximately 90; overflowing the perfunctory seats provided, which they had re-arranged to accommodate their impromptu meetings. Into only themselves, they saw nothing of Vincent and Thomas, as they exchanged "wizened" strategic insights, and greetings. Both sides of the room were lined with those deficient in the game of musical chairs and those wanting to keep a quick getaway a viable option. Some continually checked their wristwatches against the simple, black and white, circular clock at the rear of the platform. They grimaced as if their time was pressed and soon had somewhere more important to be. A held baby cried. Another in a backpack immediately echoed the refrain.

Ty and Cindy remained by themselves, seemingly aloof, standing at the back of the room, silently wearing bewildered expressions. The turnout, larger than hoped for, was disappointing to both.

After 30 seconds, which, to them, seemed as if an age had passed, Ty said; "Shouldn't we mingle or something like that?"

"Doesn't showing up satisfy our neighborly obligations?"

"Don't you have to infiltrate before you can sabotage?"

"The best saboteurs wait to see if the prey will perform the feat on their own."

"Wicked, wicked, wicked lover."

Cindy briefly stuck out her tongue.

Various notices, proclamations and informational documents were "read into the record" by the Mayor at a speed which approximated that of a baby carriage in loose sand, carrying portly triplets. Ordinances which had been previously passed containing mis-spellings were re-passed after reading their entirety, to be certain of no misunderstandings.

The little hand was on the three and the big one was on the eight as Mayor Pignatelli was sitting in his customary center seat reading in a slow monotone; "Ordinance number 14-40078, allowing Treacle and Sugar, Inc. to alter their vending machines located in the elementary school is under consideration. All those in favor say 'Aye.'"

Three voices grunted what sounded like; "Mmmm." The silent one's head was fixated either on his crotch or the fly perched on one of his lower shirt buttons. An unkind person, rushing to judgment would have accused him of nodding off.

"Those opposed?"

One of the handful of regulars, Martin Pescaderia bolted from his front row seat and vigilantly strode to the podium. In no uncertain terms he said; "It behooves us to be made aware of the proposed changes."

Vincent thought; "God bless you, Martin." Three hours prior, the Mayor had been effectively considering his plans A, B and C. For almost two hours he had been meritoriously executing B. The last resort, D, was a faked heart attack. A was out the window because of the attendance. In B he intended to bring out every conceivable piece of time consuming "business" in order to drag out the meeting, in experienced expectation of many of the attendees leaving. He couldn't help but show a welcoming smile as he looked to the podium. His smile broadened when he glanced around the room and saw no one standing and a healthy supply of empty seats. The original contingent of potential "trouble makers" had lost forty percent of their numbers with little effort and with Martin on the case he could beat this vending machine business to death. Even better, he wasn't on Treacle and Sugar's payroll. It was Thomas Higgins' deal, and if anyone was going to appear remiss in the protection of the kids, it would be Tom. For the first time, he was on Martin's side. He said; "Excellent observation, Mr. Pescaderia. I'm sure you have many more precise questions, and you might direct them to Councilman Higgins, who proposed this ordinance."

Having received his first encouragement to speak, and from the Mayor himself, Martin stood tall and beamed. He said; "While the questions are many, perhaps I should start with this. Are the machines themselves being replaced, the contents thereof or both?"

Councilman Higgins continued to eyeball his crotch or the fly on a shirt button. Vincent was openly amused and bellowed into his mike; "MISTER Higgins. Do you intend to respond to this gentleman's concerns?"

Thomas looked up and saw all eyes gazing in his direction. He felt as he did in high school when the teacher called on him when he was watching TV on a portable device. He said; "You'll have to excuse me. I was pre-occupied reading the particulars of an ordinance I'll soon be proposing. My apologies. I think you'll be glad to hear that it will require the leashing of dogs on all public property."

Martin repeated; "Regarding Treacle and Sugar's vending machines. Are the machines themselves being replaced, the contents thereof or both? And I have follow ups."

Though his pained expression belied his words, Higgins said; "I'm happy you asked that question." He forced a grin, hoping to convey friendliness rather than incompetent, low level thievery and went on. "I'd be even happier if I could fully answer it." His un-shared grin became an un-shared chuckle. "As in so many areas, we've been made aware that there have been technological advances made in the mechanics of the machine operations; essentially enabling the replacement of gear devices with circuit boards. There have been numerous incidents reported of children not getting the item they paid for. This should alleviate that. Regarding the items stocked, I would have to strongly suspect, that of necessity, they are changed from time to time. Poor selling items are replaced with ones deemed to have better potential and more satisfied young customers. This ordinance makes no issue of that. The invisible hand of economics has a way of working those things out."

Childless and domiciled-with-parents-at-age-45-Martin asked; "Wouldn't it be a benefit to our children to monitor the items carried in order to eliminate harmful ones with no nutritional value?"

In a display of the skills required to pass the standardized test given to students of Political Proficiency 101, Higgins stifled a choke in its infancy and almost sounded sincere when he responded; "Yes, most definitely. However, we are governed by laws, and we have no more right to do that than we have the right to tell your local convenience store what to sell. None."

"A convenience store is one thing and an elementary school is another. It would seem to me that it could be written into the contract."

Vincent again thought; "Bless you, Martin." He saw that many of the diminished crowd was checking their wristwatches. With tiring legs, Ty and Cindy took seats. Cindy whispered; "We can probably leave. We've put in our appearance. We've been seen. Lots of others have left already."

Ty answered; "Let's stay a bit more. This is starting to strike me as amusing."

Cindy said; "That is so weird."

Ty responded; "And you love it." The playful, smiling, gentle slap his face received drew the attention of a few of the weary.

Higgins said; "That sounds more like a statement than a question. I'm an attorney. Are you one?"

Martin said; "No, but my stupid brother-in-law is. Perhaps I can re-phrase. Why can't there be some language in the contract stipulating what may be sold? A menu, if you will."

Higgins laughed and said; "On a practical basis, it's because the contract has already been written, signed and approved. Perhaps our Village Attorney, Jeffrey Goldblum, who drew up the contract can shed more light on the matter. Mr. Goldblum?"

Seated just below the platform, Jeffrey extricated himself from the "texting" operation he was performing under the table. Somewhat annoyed to have to sign off as Marilyn Fellaciontelli, just when he was really getting into it, his face twisted, as he requested a repeat of the question. Martin was more than happy to respond, extending his time of glory. Jeffrey said; "One can write anything they so choose, which is legal into a contract. Key word; Legal. To prescribe certain suitable items to the exclusion of others is unfortunately not. While we may be able to enforce such a clause right here in Propicio, Propicio merely legally gets its rights to make law from the state, who in turn has received that right from the federal government. The point is that if we tried to impose any illegality on Treacle and Sugar, we would thereby open ourselves to expensive lawsuits in the state or federal courts, which we would lose. Propicio taxes would have to increase and we'd be sitting here with more than one irate resident, correctly chastising us for our incompetence."

Undeterred, and uncertain whether or not he had been put off with some sort of legalese, Martin proudly chose to prolong his time in the sun by asking; "Will these modifications be a reason for increasing prices? And further, doesn't our contract stipulate what may be charged? In anticipation of a negative response to the last question, shouldn't it?"

Time and rhetorical banality passed at the speed it does when one is incarcerated in County Jail; the highlights there being somewhat grander with access to one hour of afternoon handball and one pages-missing soft cover copy of Dostoyevsky's "Notes From the Underground." At the Village Council meeting the competing competition included the widow, Ms. Clark's crying complaints that once again Mr. Barr's septic tank was overflowing onto her property and that she was concerned over the deleterious effects it would have on her two pet Corgis; George and Martha. She brought pictures of the two right in the puddle, apparently thinking it something worthy of investigation. She gave copies to the Mayor, the four Councilmen and even Mr. Goldblum, who nervously dropped his cell phone revealing a photo which Ms. Clark found shocking. She took back her picture and sniffed.

To the delight of Mayor Vincent Pignatelli, such was the tone of official business and it was now nearing 8PM. He eyed the remaining audience and estimated that the original 90 attendees had dwindled to 25 diehards, and that many of them appeared to be thoroughly worn out. Some actually seemed to have found comfort on their metal folding chairs; those with the option, resting their heads on the soft shoulders of neighbors. He banged the gavel softly and said; "Unless anyone has further business to bring before the Council, this meeting is adjourned."

The remaining portion of the "Sand Dunes" contingent, smiled, stood up, and took a step or two toward the exit.

Abruptly, and almost as alert as an artfully animated amusement addict, Patricia Primstation provisionally pilfered perpendicular position; predominantly pushing pedestrian, podiatristic pace; podium possession a prize-worthy purpose. Pat proceeded to pop a preliminarily privatized, pricey pill.

Her stumbling approach prompted her to mumble under her breath; likely only discernable, and intended as such, for no one; "For all the taxes we pay, they ought to at least get the swell off the floor of this strange place. Thank you very much, bizarre Mr. Saunders." When she arrived at the podium the warm rush in her head made her feel as if she was composed, and she confidently said; "I; I mean we, do have further business." The groan which emanated from a number of sources, even including Martin, was the evening's most magnified, united sound. The "Sand Duners" chimed in the loudest and collectively sat back down. An audible version of "Shit" echoed through the room before someone cut the power supply. Higgins genuinely smiled for the first time anyone had recently noticed, and said; "Please proceed."

"Thank you, Mr. Huggins. Councilman Huggins? ........ That's it, right? ....... Anyway, we ....... or I, whatever; understand that the Village has an ordinance against the planting of elms, and we or I believe rightly so. Many of us or I ......... For the sake of concise, clear candor permit me to try to momentarily escape the confusing, supposed exactitudes of ones and twos. ......... You know, at the bottommost of lines, it has to have been two, simply because one can't multiply." Under her breath; She said; "To hell with that shit."

She audibly followed that with; "I live on Camino de las Brisas and many more present do not. Regardless, we have a common cause as we are all impacted by the obscenity which is allowed to proliferate on Calle de la Congelacion. Thirty foot, non-native, water guzzling, intrusive Siberian elms. Each throws off millions of obscenely large, white, multi-branched seeds, which will invariably infest our gardens with deeply rooting, virtually un-removable un-attractiveness. While we newcomers struggle to beautify this fine desert community, we are hampered by their existence. What can be done about it?"

Vincent replied; "We are sympathetic with your plight. You are probably aware that in that regard we have passed two ordinances. One forbids the watering of elms and the other outlaws the planting of any new ones. You'll be pleased to know that we are not taking this matter lightly, as a violation of either ordinance carries a hefty, $250 fine."

"We are aware of those ordinances, as many of us worked for their existence and passage. However, they have had a less than satisfactory result. In effect, the existence of the mature elms violates each ordinance and renders the narrow and restrained, black and white words of the doctrine effectively moot. The elms have such deep roots that they access the water table, and therefore don't require any watering. They also proliferate like, like ...... insects, thereby becoming abundant without the need of human aid. Our attorney, Bernard is of the legal opinion that their existence thereby violates the spirit of the laws, if not the letter."

"What would you like us to do?"

"Cut them down?"

"The Village should go onto private property and without permission, cut them down?"

"Perhaps you could obtain permission."

Vincent hadn't previously given serious thought to that option, as he strongly suspected that it was not a viable one. He said; "I will take that under advisement and personally investigate that possibility." He smiled at Patricia, and seemed to generally ask of the audience at hand; "Is there anything else? ......... Not getting any response he used his heavy, dull mallet. In his desperation and worry, he did what he thought was required in the moment.

Through his misunderstandings of the inadequate words of his departed teachers; he hopelessly attempted to understand the look in Patricia's saddened, nervous eyes at the podium. Not that he fancied himself any sort of "good guy," but it was because he figured that if he could understand the motivation of his adversaries, he could easily stay a step or two ahead of them. Now it was he who was stuck in front of the disaffected, blankly staring, sea of watchers. The diminished crowd. The electing, pain-in-the-ass crowd again, had him stuck on stage, because of his lust for the expected kickbacks on the garbage contract renewal. The half-joke and the quandary thereby implied, of deemed necessity, he generally relied on the automatic pilot provided by feigned stupidity. He only reverted to the pragmatism with which he had been Bensonhurst trained; that with which he had through birth been made sufficiently proficient to affect the continuity of the loud farce. To provide the appearance of being able to control his striking motion he again banged the gong slowly and deliberately; though extremely careful to strike on the wood provided. Thankfully, most of the time, his instincts furnished no words or analysis of the situation. It merely seemed to be something which was perfunctory. The crashing hammer he held in his left hand made the most momentous of forgettable gongs or the most innocuous of memorable blasts. The testimony thereto was the function of the supposed attendee's perception. With a hidden sigh of relief Vinny commanded; "Meeting adjourned."

This was the cruelest of Machiavellian, bottom line limitations. But it was irresistible as it always worked. It was the reverberating beat, suggestive of the clear manifestation of an end prognosticated by yet another cluck with a gavel. It was only another well-planned, ultimate consequence of well credentialed timidity, which has chosen to show a conveniently, ignorant denial of the obvious; another feigning of "I don't know and I don't care." It usually got rid of the pests. The posture was un-intentionally conducive to the man who had been successful, as defined, in usurping the authority; the one with the checkbook; his protracted experience on his perennially practical, coarse side. Garbage in his heart and mind, Vinny thought that if necessary, with a bit of bluster he was capable of ending the bullshit whenever he so chose. He was levelheaded in thinking that as he had not yet met a challenger with any substance, and he therefore had no reason to expect to. For the time being, his best bet was on the likelihood that the tribulations caused by the Brisas Area Gardening Society would fade, just like all the other southwestern spring weeds. He also knew that if the weather continued to promote these weeds, other weeds seeking their own rightful place, would attack the originals through nit-picking criticism, and the whole thing would result in a long, boring diatribe no one wanted to hear. A voter application of Roundup would put an end to it. For Vinny, that required no personal risk whatsoever; the ideal nothing.

Penny's life was much less complex; at least by her standards. She just wanted the vile obstructions removed. That accomplished, she would purely tend to her garden; like a Madonna; updated by Ophelia. "How could anyone object to the classicism of that?"

With puzzled faces the portion of the audience who resided in the green belt stood up and walked out; many thinking; "Is that all there is to the big deal?" The Sand Duners left with a bit more alacrity. Relieved that the meeting was of no consequence to them, some wondered what the greenies problem was. They would have appreciated the elm infiltration on their domain. Even if the elms were totally devoid of aesthetic appeal their roots would stabilize their shifting sands.

Chapter 7

Firmly secured in her new house, Cindy roused early from her slumber. It was still dark, but despite that she could make out the hand placement on her pre 1926, opalescent glass, Rene Lalique clock; little one on the nine and big one on the six. The timepiece comfortably sat level on her functional nightstand. The merchant had advised her that it was titled "Inseparables," though her many close external inspections had not yet found any evidence of that. She had periodically considered removing the three screws which held the back in place to see if the name was emblazoned somewhere in the inner workings of the machine, but always decided against it on the fear that she might accidentally do damage.

The years had given the timer a graying effect, which some called a patina. Its tiny, burnt sienna face seemed content to be nestled between two larger bluebirds, which faced each other, one occupying the east and the other the west. North and south was inhabited by interlocking vines, those to the south overlapping the birds, while those to the north preferred clear borders. The whole thing rested against a black background which intensified the colors. She thought it gorgeous and it was her favorite possession.

Cindy viewed the eye catching texture provided by the bulging, white painted, adobe bricks which made up the interior of the those walls which were also external. She then viewed the simple beauty of the gray-blue Kinko furnishings sprawled around her bedroom. After taking inventory, she finally saw Ty still sleeping beside her.

She pushed him a few times and when his eyes half opened, his face showing a first morning frown, she said; "Come on. Come on. It's SUNDAY, the first day of the week."

Ty put the pillow over his head and countered; "As a matter of fact, Sunday is the last day of the week."

"First, silly. Do I have to teach you everything? It's on the far left hand side of the calendar."

"The Bible says it's the last. On that day all the work was done and God rested; LIKE I'M TRYING TO DO."

"BIBLE? Since when did you become a holy roller?"

Ty sat up in bed and said; "Now you got me wide awake. You know that I'm no holy roller. But, who are you going to believe? A document which has stood the test of time or something printed by the World Wildlife Fund?"

"Hmmnnnn. ................I'm not sure, but I'm leaning toward the animal lovers."

"Okay. Here's something else to consider. You're reading that calendar left to right. Hebrew goes from right to left and Sunday is last when viewed that way."

"I'm not Hebrew."

"Neither am I. But, that's not the point."

"Is there a point?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Right now all I'm trying to say is that a very learned group of people go right to left."

"Well, wouldn't they have taken that into consideration? ....... I mean, you know, what they intended to be first which is left for others, they put on the right, knowing that people who speak their language understand that left doesn't necessarily equate to first and right doesn't necessarily equate to last. The words actually don't have anything to do with each other. It's all just a matter of where the scribe places the numbers. I mean he could just as well have went 3-7-1-8-4-6-9-2-5; and then where would we all be?"

"I can't tell which side of the issue you're on. Now, it sounds like you're on my side." Ty stroked Cindy's hair and giggled when he added; "And if a six turned out to be a nine, I don't mind. I don't mind. Do you have any idea of what you're talking about?"

Cindy stroked Ty's cheek and giggled when she answered; "Honestly, I lost myself somewhere in the innuendo of the last couple of sentences. Damn those junky Burroughs books. It's like you're staring at yourself in this fun house mirror, trying all angles to see if you're attractive from all directions. You're not sure if this self-centeredness is something you like or not. At the same time you are fully conscious that there is someone else in the room, watching you; and you don't know if you like that either. .......... Know what I'm sayin'?"

"I think I'm there in that room too. Hey, ever think that Sunday was named after the sun? And here it is streaming through the eastern windows without the benefit of internet access."

"Actually, I have. This one's trickier by one letter. Ever think that Monday was named after the moon?"

"Yes, baby; and the next one is a corruption of two; and the next one is representative of wed; and the next one ........"

"Glad I'm with you, babe."

"Me too. ............ I really want that ..............."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. The words and numbers just get in the way. I'm so hungry. Ready for breakfast?"

"Most definitely."

"Radio?"

"Radio."

Click.

Procul Harem was at the best part of "A Whiter Shade of Pale."

"Aww. It's over."

"Far fuckin' out."

"Characterization acknowledged. A time capsule, indeed."

"Missed the beginning."

"We'll catch it again."

"Gotta check out my granny's forty fives."

"First, we gotta find a turntable."

"And a sharp needle."

"Can you dig. And I mean can you dig what's happenin' here? I mean like not what's happenin' yesterday. I mean like what's happenin' now. Right fucking now."

"I'm hip to it, baby. Dig you the absolute most."

"It's been a long time comin'."

"Gonna be a long time gone."

"Don't say that."

"Okay. .................. But, it's there. You know, I've always loved that song. So, I looked it up on the internet. You know what I found?"

"Let me make a wild guess. Twenty-two YouTube renderings by different singers at different ages; forty-six sets of lyrics; most a bit different and some conspiracy freak-entrepreneurs completely claiming that some stanzas were left out for political reasons engineered by the CIA, inclusive of an offer to buy their explanatory truthful books; and seventy eight offers to download the song to your MP3 for ninety-nine cents."

"That too. But worse. Eighty-eight fuckin' explanations and analyses. They interpret the song as either a literal depiction of the sinking of the Titanic or some guy's attempt to get a girl drunk, so that he can get into her drawers."

Lengthy sigh. "Yeah. Like deceased."

"Obsolete."

"That's one of the things I love about you. You're always the optimist."

Cuddle. Cuddle. Cuddle.

A few days before what was predicted to be a dry Christmas with a warming trend, Vinny's two toddlers; Mikey and Molly; joined him on the sofa, and sat on his lap, each taking one knee. He bounced them up and down and they giggled with abandon.

In a childish voice, Vinny said; "What are my babies laughing about? Huh? What?"

Molly squealed; "This is fun!" and kept on bouncing.

Mikey said; "Keep going Daddy."

Vinny did and asked another playful question; "Are bouncing babies happy babies?"

Mikey sounded dead serious when he replied; "Why this, why that and why aren't you home to play with us more?"

Vinny was startled. He looked at them and his leg motion came to a halt. He said to the four little eyes which were looking right at his; "Soon. Soon everything will be all right." He meant that, but also realized that Mikey and Molly would soon be off to school, friends, all sorts of activities. This was the best time to spend with them. It was moving away quickly and more garbage was on the immediate horizon. He failed when he tried to think of something encouraging to say. To break the bad spell, he started to bounce them again; this time remaining quiet.

Geraldine smiled as she watched from the doorway; "Come on kids, bedtime?"

Molly moaned; "Oh, do we have to daddy?"

With mixed emotions, Vinny answered; "Your mother knows what's best for you."

The kids reluctantly trudged off with one of Mommy's hands guiding each on their trip to the bedroom.

Cheerless and dissatisfied with himself, Vinny sighed and his eyes focussed on the family room's sliding glass door. Though the sun had disappeared under the horizon an hour prior, the curtains were still fully open; which allowed him to see a reflection of himself in the otherwise unpopulated family room. This did not do wonders for his mindset.

After the kids had been tucked in, Geraldine re-entered the room and sat in daddy's lap and using a silly voice said; "Why aren't you home more to play with me more?"

"Oh, you know. Gotta do this. Gotta do that. Soon we'll both be over the hump."

"I think we are already."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Vinny heard the jingle emanating from his pocket and retrieved the phone he now considered smarter than him. He said; "Dammit, gotta take this one, babe."

She sighed, shrugged and made an unplanned elevation.

"Yeah, Victor. How the hell are ya?"

" ..................... "

"Relax, relax. It'll be all right. I'm right on top of it."

" ........................... "

"Okay. Okay. I understand. You know you can't talk on these damn things anymore. I'll be right over. Okay? You home?"

" ......... "

Vinny hung up and said; "Sorry, honey. Got to go. Victor's got a bug up his ass."

"While you're trying to take it out, would you also find out when he's going to start installing our pool and ...... ?"

As he hurried out the front Vinny just thought; "Fuck it all."

The house was one of those rambling old country houses which popped up here and there back east during the nineteenth century. Though modernizations were typical and expected with structures of this advanced age, none were evident on this one. There had to have been some, but they also had to have been done "in keeping" with the original style's integrity. The clapboard exterior siding was painted a cloudy yellow, suggesting that the painter had finished his work a while back. Despite the age there was no peeling. In fact one might say that the color had acquired a charming patina, the yellow gently blending with a creamy white undercoating, which could not be mimicked out of a can.

Jack fleetingly wondered how he had come to see the outside. As far as he knew he had never previously been there and he was on the inside; on the second floor. It was only his logically refined instincts which told him that this was his house as he was trailed by two home improvement contractors, who continuously spoke to him, themselves, or no one in particular, of how easily and cheaply they could make repairs. Jack thought that he heard Beth rattling around downstairs, sometimes speaking to someone or also talking to herself.

The contracting team consisted of a five foot two inch man who exchanged the stub of an unlit cigar between his mouth and his left hand; apparently the hand most useful when he felt the need to blurt out some commentary in a rapidity which seemed to be nervously induced. His partner; a woman with blonde hair below her blue jeans; was almost a foot taller, and seemed more matter-of-fact about whatever was going on or not going on. "Big Blonde" periodically and sparsely interjected her deadpanned observations whenever "Little Cigar" seemed to run out of steam or looked to her for agreement, approval or assistance. It may go without saying, but she gave the appearance and sound of being entirely on his side and well accustomed to making an open display of that when obliged. At times this activity seemed to bely the upward drift of her blue pupils; a look which she seemed to maintain a sufficient time to be "inadvertently" noticed, instantaneously followed by a quick "correction" to center eye. A cynical person might have construed this ophthalmic gyration as some sort of insinuation.

Notwithstanding the marginally, cranium compelling work, with which Jack had just been almost entertained, the bulk of his concentration was on the floor. And rightly so, as this floor seemed odd and dangerous to him. It consisted of traditionally planked wood, but almost all the planks were turned up at their edges, perhaps an indication of prior water damage. One could easily trip. To make matters a bit more difficult the entire floor seemed to slope toward the wall and glass windows to the outside. To make matters Triple A level difficult, the floor's width approximated all of two feet.

That was because of an oddity Jack had never seen in any other house. The vast majority of the second floor consisted of a gigantic central tunnel to which he had no access unless he smashed a hole in the black colored wallboard to his left. That seemed to be rash and a last resort. Jack knew that the house was built before the days of coal, oil, gas, or electrically generated heat. It once depended upon wood burning fireplaces in every room; most of which were walled in when they became un-fashionable and "inefficient." Still, he thought that the exhaust generated by a newer, more powerful heating system should not take up 80% of the entire house. To do that would have to have been a multi-faceted illogical expression of a dada-redundant, absurdist "answer" to the most practical of situations; or a pseudo-intellectually compelling, reductionist representation of proportions and parts; or another impressionistically inspired imperfection with a compelling argument for justification, imperfection the key word; or the silent sharpness of a stark, sophisticated, falsely egalitarian minimalism; or a surrealistic rendering of Pollack simultaneously puking and pissing into the host's fireplace. The thought then crossed his mind that more likely than any sort of temporal movement, that this monstrous hindrance was likely the work done as a modern adaptation of a third eye deficient and un-noticed desire for Masonic symbolized greenbacks by an inept, charlatan of an un-licensed, fly-by-night contractor, who lucratively found a sucker.

He wondered if the first floor was so configured. He hoped not, but suspected as such, as that possibility would seem to leave the most minimal of efficient, crooked living area.

Jack stopped himself, perhaps un-necessarily. However, in the moment, it seemed prudent to first determine what was behind the black wall before speculating on the reasons for its existence. But first he would have to get rid of the contractors. If they saw him punch a hole in it, it would not only be another source of "needed repair," but it would also be another story which the peddlers could spread all over the area, embellished to convey "interesting" sociopathic innuendo to the small town locals, dying for something to say over their back yard fences.

Jack walked near a five foot wide and two foot deep, curved indentation in the outside wall with a shut window in the center. More loudly expressed than his numerous previous suggestions of "repair," Little Cigar said; "Oh," in an attempted, contractor indication of ruinous, unfortunate astonishment; prior to his overly eager, "surprising" follow-up; "We can hep ya out with that."

Jack was indeed surprised. He stared at the hollow groove, saw no imperfections, and supposed that the original builder intended it to appear as it did. He said; "What's wrong with it?" amused and in full anticipation of the reply which he thought would follow.

Little Cigar approached the recessed window. His hands gesticulated in an initially haphazard and animated manner. His eyes periodically peered at Jack as if to say; "You're either blind or kidding me." This bold activity culminated in a rather subdued and restrained set of hands with palms to their respective sides and, while unlike the olfactory proclivities demonstrated by his partner; Jack witnessed the most bulging of facially intrusive eyeballs. Their sheer size and red, veiny appearance was something Jack had never previously encountered more close up than in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange," and that required artificially induced openings and a lot of makeup.

Though the thoughts of a thousand childish horror movies flashed through his mind, Jack successfully hid the trepidation which seemed to well up throughout his entire existence. He recalled the long ago warning given by Sid; "Don't play with little minds." His intended little joke had seemed to have un-nerved a serious person; perhaps a dangerously serious person. He looked to Big Blonde and found some degree of comforting adjournment in her shrug, grimace, and back turn.

Little Cigar ended his consternation when he said; "We can get this flush with the other walls."

Feeling relieved and a bit more plucky, Jack responded; "It doesn't seem to be a problem right now. Besides, if you move the wall inward, the window will become useless. Unless, of course, you make a window of the entire area. Ah, even then it will be cut off at every edge. The only way I can conceive of getting around all these considerations is to move out all the other walls; and that's just too expensive."

Little Cigar calmly agreed, his furrowed brow indicative of a confusion he could not articulate or confound in the moment.

Jack was sure that he didn't invite them and therefore felt that he owed them nothing more than minimal courtesy and an ushering to the front door. But, he thought that for a number of reasons it was pragmatically best to let the contractors do at least one job. He pointed through the window and said; "Look. The yard is full of last year's dead growth. It'll likely take a few days to get rid of it." As the now distracted contractors gazed, Jack yelled out; "Come on up here, Beth; I can use some help;" and heard a silent response which surrounded an Antonioni murmur.

Little Cigar broke the silence when he urgently said; "There's a trespasser on the property!"

Jack looked out and saw a powder blue, mid 1960's Ford Fairlane idling just ten feet east of the window, destined to either go straight ahead or straight back, a prisoner of the stockade fence immediately to its left. Jack wondered why he had not noticed it last look.

Suddenly, Little Cigar, Big Blonde and he were outside. Someone called out; "Hey, what are you doin' here?"

The car started to move slowly, and as it passed the trio, they saw the lone driver. It was a smiling grayish-blonde woman of about fifty years of age. Her countenance was disarming and she said; "I used to live here and I just wanted to see it one last time." The car kept moving and went out to the road, where it disappeared from sight.

Jack didn't remember climbing any stairs, but he was back inside the house on the second floor. He peered through the same window and saw Big Blonde take off her clothes and get under the water flow coming from a tall standpipe. He thought it was still a bit too chilly for that as it seemed like a typical, mid-spring, New Jersey morning. Little Cigar was nowhere in sight and Jack felt that it was wrong for him to be watching Big Blonde. Besides, he wanted to explore the huge, black sideways tunnel in the center of the house and he saw an entry which had previously escaped him.

He went in. It was dark. He fumbled for a light switch and found none. He kept moving slowly. He thought he was heading for the center, but knew that he couldn't be certain of that. He detected some movement and then saw the dimly lit interior. There were stores. The shopkeepers paid Jack no notice and seemed to going through their daily routine of setting up.

Jack was not the least bit happy that others were making use of his property. Since he was on solid ground on the second level he wondered if this sideways tunnel extended throughout the house or if was only of that elevated place. He had now taken so many steps that if there was any opening to the first floor it would have to be a small one, just like a funnel rather than a sideways tunnel. A woman of about thirty, who was olive skinned, and draped in multi-colored robes like a gypsy sat behind glass, the size of a typical window. As he got near, she smiled and said; "Fortunes told." Jack kept moving as for some reason this woman seemed ominous to him and he also wanted to see the extent to which the stores had invaded his property. The woman's smile grew and turned into a cackle; her eyes seeming to become glowing pieces of coal set aflame. She now appeared to be maniacal.

The absurdity of the entire situation was no longer a curiosity or fear. It made Jack realize that he was in a dream. So, he decided to have some fun. He approached one of the shop keepers who was setting up a window display, with his back to Jack. Jack wanted to see Beth and he wanted to know the extent of the tunnel-funnel in that order. He asked the man; "Where is the stairway down?"

He realized that he had met another comedian when the man, turned, started laughing, and said; "The only stairway goes up."

Jack woke up to see the pine beams on his tongue and grooved ceiling. He sighed and again closed his eyes, but he was now wide awake. Jack wished he could drift back off to sleep again, as the entertainment was better there than on the internet.

Chapter 8

Back at Ty and Cindy's first home in Away-From-The-Water, Long Island, Near-Big-Apple, NY, Cindy's older sister, Lynne, awoke alone with a thud in her meth head. That condition was far from its first incarnation, but this time it felt particularly strange in the continual echoing crash. Her yellow pajamas were pulled over her head, ostensibly to inadequately attempt to block out the first vestiges of morning sunlight. Her reticent, wobbly, first foot on the floor, in search of her slippers, reminded her that the four straight, mug-sized glasses of vodka, which she had consumed the previous evening was no more out of her system than her aging need to reside at her parent's house. Or was it five? Hard to tell, and kind of irrelevant now..

As she scratched her morning itch, she noted the remnants of Fidel. That blessed Latino fucker could always make her laugh, even more than Smirnoff. Lynne had always called him by his last name; Pacheco. The first always struck her as an all too obvious allusion to some sort of communal optimism which must have fallen from her pocketbook some time back.

He had left a note scrawled in eyeliner on a neatly folded, paper towel. The fucked up penmanship, and more importantly content, was reminiscent of an unintentional joke stolen from the "New Improved Borax" infomercial. The professionally insipid voice over the Warhol-like "artful" image was long ago parodied by Wallace, Saunders, Zadie and their numerous inept imitators. In some kind of attempt at a merciful act, the oxymoronic, copied redundancy was printed once a year in the fat "New Yorker" annual literary condolences issue. It went on ........ and on ....... but still went on, seemingly immune to any concept of embarrassment. The words of the paying patrons patronized.

As best as Lynne could make it out, the note appeared to say; "We both know that this thing has not been working for a long time. Henry and I spend more quality time together."

Even for the most devout of feminists, this was not good news at unemployed and plastered age 35. Further, the LGB&T aspect suggested the cessation of viable options. She had known Pacheco since the dinosaurs ruled the earth. Sure, it was inconsistent. But, what isn't? "The Monologues of Plato" was a very interesting book to discuss.

Her inadvertent impromptu vision of Fidel and Henry together had a sobering and very un-erotic effect. This had a squaring consequence as she wasn't feeling the least bit erotic to begin with. Lynne's head now seemed un-clouded, and she immediately concluded that this man must die; not particularly specific as to who; but with a strong practical preference.

Her most ideal of plans was one in which Pacheco and Henry would get married, with no limitations imposed through a pre-nup. Henry was the beneficiary of a family trust; Pacheco's inherited property with Henry dead. One of her meth-freak-friends could do the job for $500. El Diablo, as she was commonly known, could then re-approach Fidel with a proposition backed up by one of the enormously realistic substitutes made in 2016. It was a bit remote, but she could handle that and it didn't preclude other options. She thought; "I always suspected, but now I know that fucking Pacheco was up for it."

Lynne's corkscrewed, uppermost, hirsute of manifestations stood out like that of Medusa when she looked into the unforgiving bathroom mirror, but she didn't disappear. She leaned forward and got closer to verify that it was her own, recently short hair, each strand circling around like an extended spring or a descending slinky. But, the snakes did not yet appear to be reflectively present; perhaps a function of the vertical, rippling pond, Lynne's state of disrepair, or both. She was reminded how she hated having inherited her father's hair, rather than the straight, flowing tresses of her mother and younger sister, Cindy.

She returned to the bed and sat upright against the headboard; her own head now free of the yellow pajamas. She didn't exactly know what was entailed, but some instinct suggested that she still had a lot of thinking in front of her. Insufficient schemes would never do.

A thought hindered return to western plodding

The following sunny, unseasonably warm day Jack and Manny brought in their quota of drug and alcohol recidivists. They were easy arrests as, having had a long term affair with the system, the addicts no longer believed that they had any rights. In effect, they didn't. Unable to afford a personal attorney, they just did as they were told and spent as much time in jail as the powers that be dictated. If they had any kind of hope at all, it was to get high during periods during which the bars were invisible.

Manny drove Jack back home after they had cleared the thawing streets of some of its social refuse. They navigated the littered avenues of Mesa Grande, essentially oblivious to the trash filled gutters. The wind free day left everything lifelessly in its place. Though Manny was usually not a talkative person, Jack saw that today his silence was coupled with that pensive, far away expression he had come to know. It was time for the explosive rant. The damn thing was that Jack basically agreed with his partner, but didn't see a damn thing anybody could do about it. Once again prepared to be the voice of rationality, he brightly inquired; "Something bothering you?"

Manny shrugged and grunted a drawn out; "Ah."

"No, no. Tell me. I'm your partner."

Manny sighed, eyes straight ahead and said; "Does what we do ever bother you?"

"No. .......... What do you mean? ........ What's supposed to bother me?"

"The whole damn thing. ........ I mean, shouldn't we be chasing after the guys who really do the damage?"

Jack tried to joke and said; "No my job, man. .... You havin' mid-life crisis or something?"

"You asked me. I didn't want to talk about this shit."

"You're right. Sorry."

"It's just, you know ...... These poor slobs nodding out in the alleyways. We pick them up four or five times a year and they're only hurting themselves."

"They broke the law."

"Maybe. You ever hear of crimes without victims?"

"Yeah. I saw a segment of 'Law and Order' where they arrested a few old, liberal college professors for weed. I know the diatribe."

Manny made a disapproving scowl. His discontentment quickly evolved to exasperation. With an unusual rapidity in his cadence, he said; "So, we play out our little role and we don't have to worry about paying the rent. Right? We get paid to supply the criminal justice industry with its pawns; mostly Latino."

What are we supposed to do? Take up a petition?"

"Did you ever see what goes on at county jail?"

"Booking."

"You didn't see it. If you'd ever have gone deeper into the dungeons, you'd get an education. If you'd have taken the trouble to go in, the first thing you'd have noticed is that it is mostly populated by beaten people who have long forgotten any fantasies of equality or justice. In free fucking America!"

"Oh, come on. These same people boost shit to support their habits and don't give a damn about anyone else's property rights."

"Key word, my privileged white compadre. Property. Property. Property. What about humanity? Humanity? Humanity?"

"Don't call me privileged. I've lived through as much garbage as anyone, but I did that without taking prisoners."

Manny openly made a sarcastic laugh, genuinely finding his partner's commentary completely ridiculous. Rather than addressing his partner's inability to see what he considered obvious, he said; "You do not even understand your own words. The system is designed to make money from those addicted to some substance needed for medication; no different from the shit you get, if you have the money, from your local drug dispensing doctor. Some lives just do not work out."

Jack was more focused on his own life. He didn't think that he could ever be even indirectly accused of being one for whom things worked out. He said; "We're cops. That's all there is to it. Laws are written, not by us, but we enforce them. ....... We're not the bad guys."

"I don't feel like a bad guy either, but I think that I could be a better guy. The needed drugs temporarily remove the pain; which is deemed in the brutal twenty-first century to be a crime. If it wasn't so sad it would be abnormally funny. The effect on people's lives is a tragedy, worthy of a Shakespearian play. Even in his brilliance he could not envision this. The career inmates don't want to be seen as gloomy. They joke. They joke in way only they and the morgue attendants understand. Whatever is required to be human is systematically denied; 100%. And the disinterested have the inexperienced balls to say that we are in America. ..................... They're obviously right; but it is an America beyond the forefather's conceptions of any sense of rights or freedom. We have all become terrorists, subject to spurious incarceration, without the right to inform and without the right to an attorney, and without the hope of escape. Sit in the cold while the fat packing bitch brings a cold, inadequate breakfast forty minutes too late. The Cheerios promptly give in to the 55 degree room temperature. She smiles and requires acknowledgement of her 'kindness,' the 'power' displayed her best aphrodisiac."

Jack was uncomfortably stunned at the seriousness of his partner's polemic. He had spent years with Manny and had never heard anything like this. They had always comfortably joked. In fact he had never heard much anything from his partner. The unpleasant thought crossed his mind that he may have been doing too much talking and not enough listening. He was at a loss for words. It seemed that some response was called for. Inadequately and self-servingly, he said; "It's all bullshit. Right? What's new?"

"What I find the most surprising is how the long term inmates have, on their mistakenly thin surface, acclimated to their perverse reality. They attempt to maintain some degree of their contrived, hoping to fool, personal illusion of self-sufficiency by joking of the nefariously-designed Catch 22's, purposely propagated to keep them in an inferior and hopeless place, totally dependent on the uncaring whims of the flunkies, momentarily in charge. The correctly termed screws seem to get their rocks off by withholding any fairness that their rock-hard hearts have rationalized into their calculated, job un-necessary methods; regardless that it is at the minimally supportive wage. To play their own sick game back to them, it becomes obvious that they are rejoicing in their power-hungry denials of the basic human rights of those who have been condemned to feel; and feel, in a an uncontrollable way, what is conveniently characterized as a disease by the pragmatic, lethargic, crawling and avaricious dead."

Jack thought; "Okay. Zombie territory. I'm well versed." He calmly intoned; "Most everybody is a parasite. That's how we're born and that's how we get by. If someone wants to be a host, they're going to have to pay for the party; one way or another."

Manny's concentration on the road wavered as his eyes darted between the dashboard, Jack, the insulation stuffed ceiling, and the rear view mirror. He had taken the risk of baring his soul this far and saw it as merely logical to continue the process, once and for all. He said; "Take advantage of the weak. It bears all the brave risk of a US treasury bill. Despite popular fantasy and Christian tithe seeking, paradisical, parasitic, monetarily-paramount horseshit, the meek will never inherit the earth. Jesus suffers on the cross, until the devilish oppressors have been eradicated. Truth .......... Truth .......... Truth ........... Irrefutable, pathetic truth. Deal with it, or cry your life away."

Jack thought; "If I don't think about it I won't cry. But, you have forced the occasion. On the smelly and dirty surface; any stupidly optimistic thoughts of this Pollyanna-ish, wishful dichotomy, only exists in the illusory, hidden, and un-provable spirits; or scientifically likely, the lack thereof; exhibiting the cipher duplicating characteristics of those condemned to the remembrance of something which probably never existed, and perhaps, never will. It is the timeless and pitiless joke. Under the risk of ostracism, we are all obliged to perfunctorily laugh at our own failure. Ha, ha, is an adequate reply to the time worn observations of market dependent, popularity subservient, experienced, well-credentialed critics; as well as the faux knowing inference they seemingly convey in their admittedly-worthy-of-a-wager, world-wise brilliance. To put it in a more combative tone, it's only the obvious, banal regurgitation, of a well-known loftily, and yet evaded by the common, rationally accepted fact, ......... brutal fact, ........ and heart-killing fact; its appeal persuading to the purposely and obviously hardnosed, secretly shy, posing, in the hopes of not being seen as losers; yet clearly otherwise inadequate; sensible to all of the willingly numbed; as are we reluctantly all. In a short, cruelly and briefly hopeful period; and ultimately perceptive time they have seen the realities, and in necessary self-interest, they have joined with the most credentialed, who have completely succumbed to the calculations of the blandly, financially remunerative, safe, tame and superficial." His thoughts went in one side and came out the other in the space of a second; too problematic, un-focussed, un-wanted, and irrelevant in a hardheaded manner, were again chosen to be put on hold, in deference to his fear of his being seen as un-common, wrong and, disastrously, un-American. In an effort to indicate a somewhat welcomed and interested, yet truly practically, undesired curiosity with Manny's heartfelt point of view, he said; "I don't think of consequences. I'm limited to the observable truth; a discipline imposed by the engineers. One should plan ahead."

Manny considered the ending of a difficult conversation he wasn't entirely convinced that he had initiated. However, the uncontrollable, red and insistent blood coursing through his previously slumbering veins raced to his head, producing a fire beyond his mental control. He was embarrassed to have to convey to the outside world that he was, like the majority of those he perceived as boring rabble, a prisoner of his passions, needs and beliefs. His momentary excursions into duplicitous profundity over-rode any considerations of his likely stupidity. Hell, he was alone with his long-term partner, and if he couldn't now bear his soul, when would it ever be allowed? He said; "Fine. ......... Fine. Here's the crux of the truth that I have personally seen. In County detention, the most representative parts of the confining room are the topless, shit-invoking, stained, and classified as stainless steel commodes/ privies. Separated by side metal partitions, they are ample in number to accommodate the 50 people assigned to the spacious, unheated place, but half require the services of a plumber who never comes, and are loaded to the top with shit. ........ This is only a small portion of what our pawn positioned, purview permits. People sleep in assembled steel, bunk-beds; on two inch thick mattresses, assigned to and the temporary property of inmates, charged with the responsibility of keeping the 'luxuries' safe, upon the risk of the added charge of theft. They carry these things in from booking, their place of arrival at the joint. In the company of cynical others, who have traversed the road before, they seek assistance in obtaining doctor required medications, which are systematically denied. The authorities delight in the suffering. They need a Personal Identification Number to make a collect phone call and they never get one. Fuckin' phones don't work anyway, but they never get to find that out."

Jack didn't want to clearly take opposition to Manny's underlying observation that his one-move-ahead-chess game had no chance of ever achieving his buried dreams; the esoteric aspects of the pursuit of the moving Holy Grail impossible to find. The merits of a subjective ancient ambiguity, and the convoluted, contemporary, confused morass were wasted on a world accustomed to Eminem one liners, considered incisive put-downs. However, in his dreams, and only dreams, the envisioned road to Propicio went on into an infinity of happy, easily achievable possibilities; one the privacy denied by 1984 and the much later Franzenian pronouncement. While it's arbitrarily placed, deceptive show of illumination was trite, ancient, smiley-faced, heart-warming and caring; it was currently viewed as losing and stupid, without the opinion generators' realization or recognition that they were operating within the norms of a passé taste, of financial interest to museums, within the confines of the commonly accepted, imprecise definition of absurdist, cowardly, attempted manifestations of post-modernism or post-post-modernism, both in search of a real name. Jack said; "It sucks. No joke. But, here we are, in a situation we did not create. It deters me from any analysis as it seems grandiose to think that I might have some new positive insight or effect. Me. Me. Inconsequential, little me. Shy, ugly little me. I'll never deny my insignificance and rejection, even in the face of the 'evidence' and subsequent ridicule and damnation. I can't. She knew, but she kindly let me live out my deepest youthful dreams. Dreams of being one of the cool guys who girls flocked to meet and who never came my way. I love her. They never had an interest in any kind of reflection of some sort of a fairness of some sort, which would only serve to cruelly remind me of that which may have been. It's buried so deeply inside me that any attempt to excavate a well-intentioned end would be bravely welcomed message, just like my laptop's initial greeting. I am a coward. I wish it were otherwise. I know that I don't deserve her and also that I can't live without her. In so keeping, the other details don't matter in the least. It makes my mind smile in its innocent love. To think of it otherwise would make life unbearable. Maybe I was a spoiled boy, with no idea of the Gulag; but within the miniscule, yet, in the perceived as brave, inevitable, necessary, and doomed voyage of Ulysses, as told either by Homer or Joyce, he ventured out. I don't think he wanted to. But, it seemed to be what was expected, and I didn't want to appear deficient, though I yearned for and envisioned only the her which I have never yet found; either in adventuresome seriousness or in safe joke. The passage of time, at least up until a certain age, became a sad, promising, both ironic and not, and interestingly, erotic, throwback witch in my presence, nocturnally folding her faded beauty into a memory of that, which, in its theatrically valued cartridges, prognosticated the entertainment based desirability of her charms. How guileless can things be?" It seemed so simple and reasonable a dream, he felt assured that this would be the happy-sad times cried into his pillow, in anticipation of her. Time went on. In search of and at the same time fearing of the recessions of his faded pictures of the past Jack was reminded of decades prior. Though he originally and mindlessly thought the contrary, if anything at all, the passage of the memories was his first sign that the years were gone. Time rudely imposed its unwelcomed presence and Jack was jarred back into Manny's perspective of that which now was; and that unending arguments concerning the nature of perception were much too hollow for anyone with something to do. It is real. Deal with it or perish. Some say; "What is it?" It is a matter of humanly, as opposed to humanely prescribed law. Jack felt as if he was catapulted into a perennial time, presumably described and duplicated as a horribly redundant infinitum to a "Mad Max" future. With a reluctance, most often stemming from a stomach-induced feeling of disgust, yet contrarily in this case endemic to the potential barf of one who is in the child oriented movie, happy ending mindset farce, hopeful process of regurgitating that which was a malady to adults, laughing at the illogic. It was gone and always would be. Maybe never was. Jack was uncomfortably again beyond his sensible boundaries. She was gone. Befuddled, without an urge, other than hoping to give the appearance of being in-accusingly socially and magnanimously adept, he replied with three words; "Don't we all?" Actually, neither he nor Manny remembered what the question was or even if one was posed.

Manny had become accustomed to Jack's reticence to deal with that which was of substance. He regarded the terse lack of feeling as just another manifestation of white inadequacy. Rather than risk dealing with another tired racial harangue, he replied; "Orange rubber beach moccasins designed to fall off. That's what the un-represented get. The rubber failures are color coordinated with their clone outfits."

"I suppose the criminals are supposed to get Ralph Lauren."

Manny hid his annoyance with another of Jack's sarcastic put-offs. He said; "I know that your harsh statements are the result of a buried sadness. What happened to you?"

Jack was not surprised at the observation. The woes of his past were something he wanted to keep in unread history. More than it being the source of embarrassment, the keeping of his secrets was essential to his incorrect thoughts of what is required for corporeal survival today. More than a little un-nerved, he switched to a course he hoped not too obviously deflecting. He said; "I know. I know. Life on earth is hell. There are predators and there is prey. How can we change that?"

Manny had no answer to the direct question. It was too bottom line. He necessarily paused from his rhetoric as his eyes diverted from the road ahead to the overflowing dumpsters at the rear of the tin storage facilities. The cheaply built, economical retainers of past excess lined the motorway on the outskirts of town. Their sameness was simultaneously comforting and reminiscent of a cemetery. In full realization of the inadequacy of his response, he finally said; "Kill the predators." He knew he was one of those he condemned. He attempted to make his honest reply into a joking one when he chuckled and added; "Program the hawks for cannibalism. ...... Who the fuck knows? I don't have any answers. But, I have some questions and the truth of what I have seen. You know, in County, those guys we fill our quotas with, try to sleep all the time. They find it intolerable to be awake. The ceilings are fifty feet above them; unreachable even if they could get hold of a ladder. I suppose the authorities went through the expense to ensure that none of the inmates would screw up the system by hanging themselves from it. Their only communication with the outside world is provided by a TV, perched on a metal frame near the top. None of the inmates have a controller for it. It seems to come on and shut off whenever the mood strikes it. It has a penchant for one national station, never diverging to any other. When it comes on, some inmates, perhaps in mockery or total boredom, run to the chair-less, gray tiled floor beneath it and crane their necks. Either out of discomfort or distaste they soon depart. I wonder if their initial enthusiasm was sarcasm, or if hope truly springs eternal. Based on their defeated attitudes toward everything else, I strongly suspect the former. One hundred feet across the room are tables with four backless seats fastened to each. They are much like metal back yard furnishings without the umbrella, un-needed to block the jail's non-existent light. The frigid feeling they get in their ass matches the disease of the late delivered food. I saw one detainee have a grand mal seizure during the dispensation of the largesse. He was denied medication through a system which ignores and then facetiously requires one to fill out an unavailable form, which even if miraculously found and properly filled out, is not going to be looked at. And if, through miracle squared, it is, the nurse is booked. I saw this guy on the floor, uncontrollably shaking. A Native American. A Native fucking American, incarcerated until the seven month backlogged judge could review his case and bring charges. Charges alleging alcohol intoxication in a public place; disorderly conduct; which carries a maximum sentence of 90 days; 180 of which were already served." Manny derisively laughed at the absurdity, then continued; "The net result of his infirmity was shrugs, inattention, further brain damage and the lack of a cold lunch. I told the screw what was happening and he said he would get to it as soon as he finished delivering the frigid trays. He must have never finished and the Native American man remained on the floor. In a few minutes, his convulsions stopped ...... permanently. He was finally cured."

Though he'd have preferred to have not been compelled to have thought about it, Jack was reluctantly receptive to Manny's point of view. His mind raced like one of the meth freaks he made a business of arresting. He was apprehensive to fully disclose his feelings, as he knew that to do so was stupidly and jokingly taken as being indicative of a lack of virility. He wished to damn the erroneous perceptions, but thought that we all, necessarily, try to live with the world's consequential recriminations. Withstanding a miniscule and debated exception, martyrs are soon forgotten and found ridiculously irrelevant, and their memories serve as nothing other than to be one of many collection-box-filling examples of a predatory, big-business-church-cash-conducive-Constantine-dictated-politically-produced-dogma. Dreams of heaven supplied by big-anything equates to dollars, be it a backyard pool or pie in the sky. Pay for the swim. Pay for heavenly immortality. All the same. The tithe recipients conveniently never suggest that one might desire an end and have the audacity to proclaim that wish a sin. Jesus was suicidal. If he wasn't he would have stayed out of town. The now institutionalized, tax free owners of more American land than anyone run the ultimate scam on the desperate; a promise for cash; a promise made billions of times without one proof of delivery. With centuries of refinement at their disposal, they have concocted a logic-limited, yet legally irrefutable, tax-free game. The simple ideas of the said prophet or son were initially, convincingly lofty and popularly optimistic. But, after centuries of pious marketing, which resulted in the achievement of economic viability, they invariably became managed by the basest of commercial instincts; the inevitable and irrefutable evidence of the corruptibility of humans. Show me one immune. I defy you. Make me wrong. I want to be wrong. I desperately want to be wrong. I can show you an abundance of full graveyards; decomposed bodies interred for centuries; retailers of insipid, message added, dead flowers, conveniently right outside the open, welcoming gates; but no souls. Please show me something else. The ceilings are too high, the ground is too cold, the dreams have ended, and I search. I've always searched, but this time the failure proven by experience overwhelms my supposedly free will and I have that much less time.

Perhaps due to some suicidal mental quirk the dead Native American on the floor didn't make Jack cry. His problems were over. Jack almost envied him. He only mourned those the chief had left behind. Jack's lengthy silence ended when he finally responded; "I wish all my convulsions would stop in a few minutes."

Manny gleaned an insurmountable hurdle between the communicative ability of two presumably hard-assed males, posturing as not to appear pathetic. Rather than continuing to imply the feelings in his heart, he attempted to resurrect their traditional method of communication. Hoping to dispel any indications of softness, he said; "Fucking Indian lay on the floor for hours before they pulled him out. Somebody else ate his lunch. You ever see brown change to blue? Some fucking shit. I was hoping no one would come in and get him as I had a bet that his next metamorphosis would be to bland white."

Jack laughed as he said; "Fuck you, man. Just plain fuck you."

"You know, three two other inmates died there last year."

"No, I didn't know. How did this information come your way?"

"Inside sources, man. Took 'em out and buried 'em somewhere after deleting the records. Nobody ever came looking for 'em."

In an imploring tone, Jack said; "Okay, okay. I know a lot of bad shit happens there."

"Hey, I think my sister has a few open evenings this week."

"Open legs too, I hope."

"She's a good girl."

"That's why she's still single. ........ Yeah, I think I need someone to talk to. ........... She's not as mean and dumb as you are, is she?"

"Meaner and dumber."

"Sounds good."

"I'll see what I can do."

Manny turned on to Calle de la Congelacion, the car sliding dangerously close to a thicket of mature elms. He said; "Goddam. Can't the rich people in Propicio afford rock salt or some shit?"

"Sure they can. Last time they were here fuckin' truck went off the road and got stuck in the trees. Took a week to get it out. Should of seen 'em out there falling down and freezing their asses off." Jack laughed.

"Talk about mean."

"Hell, they weren't even white."

Manny stopped the car in front of Jack's house, saying; "Your chauffeuring service again delivers, oh great white master." As Jack opened the door and put one foot on the ground, Manny added; "Seriously, when are you going to get a car?"

Jack had both feet firmly planted in the ice when he leaned over to reply; "I don't know. I'll talk to the boss about it tomorrow. Eight thirty?"

Manny deadpanned; "Eight thirty." Jack slammed the door and slid a bit in the process. As Manny drove away, he called out; "Don't forget about your sister," and hoped he was heard.

After a particularly busy morning, Jack and Manny, again drove back to the Mesa Grande police headquarters at 2PM, with a poor excuse for a societal threat in tow. No doubt a societal nuisance, the disheveled man was currently known as Johnny Evers, formerly known as John Jessup, Cowbell Johnson, James Hornsby, and a myriad of other aliases, even he didn't remember. He was slumped in the back seat, laughing at something only he saw, singing Bob Dylan's "Everybody Must Get Stoned." He called out; "Hey, hey, Greendick! They gonna rehabilitate me again this time?"

"That's Greenhandle, fuck head."

"Yeah, yeah. Green whatever you want. 'Twas Shakespeare doth scribed; 'A rose by any other name, etcetera, etcetera.' Don't you indulge in the great books?"

"Missed that one."

"So, they gonna?"

"Gonna what?"

"Rehabilitate me Greendick. You got ADD or some shit? They got drugs for that, you know."

Jack silently stared out the window, casually eyeing the street for the next likely afternoon bust. Somebody must have just brought in something good, as he saw a number of people walking at the pace of someone new to crutches, as if they could no longer feel the warming air.

"Got drugs for every mutha fuckin' thing that ails ya. God bless the chemists and the FDA. .............. Hey, I just want you to know that I'm not mad at you guys about this bullshit bust. You gotta do what you gotta do and I gotta do what I gotta do. ......... Or something like that. I think I got it backwards; maybe sideways, but you know what I'm sayin'. Like, when I'm out here runnin' the streets I get all kinds of fucked up; don't eat right; consort with the diseased rabble; sleep in the cold; like that. In jail I get fed good, get medical attention, have a warm place to sleep and shit. I get healthy, so that I can come back out here and start all over again fresh. So, no shit, Greendick; I ain't mad. In a way you're doin' me a favor. ........... You don't have to feel so all alone. Everybody must get stoned."

"Believe it or not, I don't really give a shit if you're mad. And if you want to return the favor why don't you just shut the fuck up."

"You got it, man." Johnny looked out the window, nodding to some tune humming in his head or having a series of petit mal brain seizures.

Jack and Manny escorted the handcuffed, frequent guest into headquarters, where Reginald D Clymer waited inside, peering through the indirectly lit sliding door. In an efficient, terse voice, he said; "Manny, you take care of the booking. Jack, in my office." He scurried to the right, eyes ahead, without looking at Jack, assuming he would promptly follow.

Jack did precisely that and as he stepped lively he said; "News about my car? If not that, when do I get another one? Manny is getting tired of ....."

Without turning around, Reginald said; "Yes, sir. It has been located. And point of order; it is the property of the Mesa Grande Police Department and you are not getting it back."

Jack was more than a bit put off, hearing what he had always considered an unmentioned technicality. All cops called the cars their own, even the one with the gold leaf stenciling and the spiffy red lights on top. It was merely common phraseology. Not getting it back was a second curveball. As he flopped into one of the chairs opposite Reggie's tall and wide, black swivel chair, he asked; "Did they fuck it up?" as he slid a few inches on the rollers. He suspected that Reggie had chosen his "throne" to command power and authority, the sun behind him, and ironically obtained the result of merely appearing small and overshadowed.

Making no direct reply, Reginald D retrieved a manila folder from his top middle drawer, placed it on his desk, and entered a series of keystrokes into his perennially-turned-on computer. The struggling and already declining, afternoon, winter sun cast uneven, noir-ish shadows through the iron barred window behind Captain Reggie. The flickering overhead fluorescent lights created an annoying, off and on, duplicity and made a crude light show of the bar shadows, which widened as they approached Jack.

Eyes dispassionately on his computer screen, Reggie matter-of-factly said; "John Bleeker."

Jack's heart and lungs attempted to fall out of his body, but were blocked by the curve at his ass. The name was one Jack never wanted to hear again. His palms sweated and he stared, hoping that he had misheard.

Reggie used his sarcastic, mock-sophisticated voice to say; "John Bleeker. ...... John Bleeker was a very, very bad boy. Chicago, 1990. At the age of 22, convicted of breaking and entering. Given probation. Chicago, 1992. At the age of 24, convicted of possession of narcotics with the intent to distribute and felonious assault with a deadly weapon. Of a cop, mind you! Given five years. Disappeared in 1998, presumed dead. Mesa Grande, 2002. John Greenhandle becomes a cop, claiming to have had no previous criminal history." He sighed deeply as he turned to Jack. He said; "I'm going to have to request your badge and gun."

"Come on. I've been an award winning cop for more than a decade."

"If you told the truth on your application it would have been all right."

Jack flipped his badge on the desk and said; "Yeah, sure."

"Be that as it may. I'm giving you a break here. You will not be prosecuted for lying on your application. You'll have that in writing after you give me your gun."

Jack sneered as he placed his revolver on the desk, and said; "Big deal. What kind of crime is that?"

Reggie waved his hand in dismissal and said; "Oh, I don't know. There's a law against most everything nowadays. You know that. Falsifying a government document, lying to the police, probably a host of other things." He took a one page document from his manila folder and slid it to Jack saying; "Sign this and prosecution will officially be waived." Jack complied and received a copy which he crumpled up and threw at the wall. Reggie stood up and walked to the door, saying; "I'm going to miss you."

Jack too stood, though his motions were like one who had been shell shocked. He said; "How'd you find out after all these years?"

"Your stolen car was used in a drive by shooting which resulted in a murder. The homicide guys are extremely thorough. They now have access to information which was considered private and confidential when you were hired. Secrets have gone the way of the tyrannosaurus rex. Complete truth has arrived and actually most anyone can get it."

Jack desperately drew at his only straw and said; "Can't you fix things up?"

"I really don't know if I could. This hasn't happened before. Besides, I've been waiting so long for this promotion, I'm not taking any chances of messing that up now. You're a big boy. You know how that goes. Come on. Get going, before the tears start. Manny's going to give you a ride home."

Jack's shaky feeling did a one eighty to anger and he thought of revenge. He said; "Who's the car thief?"

"Didn't get him yet. The car was found dumped and trashed on the edge." Reggie put his left hand in the small of Jack's back and shook his right hand, and said; "Time to go."

Jack saw Manny in the hall, instinctively took a step toward his partner, and the door closed behind him. The rude semi-slam came as no surprise, but effectively announced an unwelcomed finality, in its thorough resonance. He said; "I guess you heard."

Manny's eyes went to the hard, calloused, gray tiled floor. He drew out a; "Yeah," and shuffled his feet.

Jack said; "They never forget, you know? You pay your debts and they come back for more. ........ You never stop serving your time. Sucks."

Manny chose not to articulate his thoughts of their having been front line agents in the propagation of the merciless, money-driven, chess game. The present was a woefully inappropriate time for recriminations and he knew that Jack would come to see the irony of his own situation in time, anyway; choked by his own brand of medicine. He said; "Come on. Let's take that last ride before the vultures descend."

Millions of day-to-day, pragmatic thoughts combatted the millions of useless philosophical views which raced through Jack's mind, each displacing the last before the fleeting electrical impulses rushing through his incompetently designed brain. None could come to any conclusion; in prevention of any euphoria of solace; any peace. There was never any peace. The story of mankind was told in the tales of battles, chronicled by the conquerors. In a moment of clarity, Jack saw that his wind-up lay in the simplicity of the thud of the closed door, and what he had left of an unpredictable, inescapably damaged and corrupted future. He immediately laid in the fantasy of a pleasure he might take in the blowtorch and slowly dismembering, torture-killing of his car-jacking, personal life ruining opportunist. At the same time his inter-connected right and left brain made him see the opposite and therefore subjected him to the immediate realization that revenge, no matter how devastating, was a pitiful, insufficient consolation; morally vindicated in an archaic, Old Testament sense; but thereby, of definition, limited to the un-analyzable, turn-the-other-cheek, and easily avoidable agonies of the persecuted vagaries of the indefinable New Testament's lack of completion. ............ Besides, it wouldn't get him his fucking job back and he might get caught.

Yes, yes, and fucking yes. Tell me otherwise. Please do. Without regard for popular, pervasive, photocopying, pop-cool, and vulgar opinion; it had always seemed to him that the outward dichotomy between the stated views of the haves and have-nots was merely another pathetically and tragically un-recognized replay of the other language speaking, a Biblical Tower of Babel. While that conjecture at first seems sacrificially pessimistic, further reflection clearly reveals that to think in any other fashion is an iron-clad guaranty of warfare; formerly open and now in artifice. What has been said to have been is a safer road than the possible hazards on the one not yet taken. The museum contained past predictions of the future in the 21st century. The optimistically presumed, semantic difficulties had proven to be analyzable by the professors, time tested and found historically insurmountable by their additions to confusion, precisely as was prophesized; purposely or innocently misunderstood in terms other than a colloquial deference to the hackneyed, and necessarily affordable recreations of the most un-imaginative of the hidden, masked and hooded, Tri-lateral western alliance, reconstructed and deconstructed; their canvas the bomb devastated Japanese cities, un-enlighteningly redundant in their mutual, self-serving tendencies; which were regularly demonstrated in their predatorily and nefariously well-dressed concoctions of ersatz "sophisticated" apes, resplendent in late afternoon toddy times; vainglorious in their fashionably insincere egalitarianism; the sociopathic participants hidden behind unmoving, smiling masks of freckled Rooty Kazootie, as if their preceding, ancestral monkeys had imbued them with an awareness of something beyond the un-lettered illumination of the sun, indirectly limited by human perspective imperfections.

In a seemingly nonsensical, and, unsurprisingly, acquired taste, the higher university taught. Therefore their "education" was inescapably and perhaps to the majority of unrealized human potential and actualities, which unfortunately, but inevitably, have been monetarily translated in error, produce nature contradicting understandings of social status and human worth; redundantly and self-consciously act as if they were not victimized like the reviled and sometimes, Sartre defined, benignly neglected weak; all too often abused in the arousing full light of day. The discipline of medicine says leprosy has been eradicated. Sure, if you are made blind to all of the lepers, hidden behind "new" titles. Christminster was not a product of fantasy. Hardy depicted what was real and true in "Jude the Obscure." He was consequently hated, but didn't seem to give that much of a damn, as he just settled into writing poetry instead of novels.

We need to be held. We always have. There was a time it seemed so easy, so mutually gratifying, and so contentedly warm. It must have been a dream. As who will risk the socially abhorrent contamination? While we think that we feel; we're not certain that we could completely sacrifice one's self. To avoid that perplexing thought, we intellectualize a rationality in which we say that sacrifice is no longer necessary. That seems obviously true as to do otherwise is a prescription for the annihilation of all the good people. Within the confines of our uncontrollable, subliminal desire to live, we truly think that the Christian-Hungry Lion, one-sided affair is an archaic sucker's game. Or is it? It gets case specific. As a people, we have proven our willingness to be sacrificed time and again; Christ, Gandhi, etc., etc., etc. Pick your favorite hero. We are them. We were born as them. We will always be them. If there ever was any grand design, it is this simplicity. How did it ever get hidden?

A perhaps conveniently, seemingly higher logic tells us that to continue to the courtroom drama to demonstrate our good heart is a temporary fix which merely ensures our eradication. We easily glean that we consider ourselves among the persecuted "good." We don't know. How can we? All we can be sure of is that some of us honestly try. Yes, we have sinned. And we're sorry. But, we have paid more than anyone outside our skin could understand. We wish it would end. But, rather than imply some sort of personal virtue from this biased, unprovable suspicion, we know, unlike the professors and theologians, that we are far from unique. We are all "good." We're just given more than we can handle.

If one were to brave this possibly contrived, sacrificial path, it is abundantly clear that the meek will never inherit the earth. They will obviously be crushed and the untested cynical will reign. Maybe statements to the contrary were only another misquoted, improperly translated, "prophetic" statement which Constantine and his henchmen found empire-building useful. Two thousand years have passed. When? Whatever. We want the earth. And we want it now. We love it. We can't live without it. None of us can.

How long can some of us pretend to outwardly exhibit the farcical, un-realized fantasy that we are not viewed as pathetic, despite our borrowed garments of winners. The man will demand repayment someday. Maybe someday soon. The fantasy winners the debtors portray, only having to half act the role; heroic in their well-advertised, yet thought unseen deficiencies; seem hopelessly constrained by their dominant and right-brain-active-left-brain-dead state of mind, oriented with a predilection toward what their inexperience and sheltered existence had come to incorrectly perceive as their superficially desired common taste. The Henry James' in the pack displayed rhetorical observations from which they simultaneously retreated; of a necessity produced by long term, incessant restlessness; denied the mercy of sleep. Doomed to banal fashion, the well-intentioned few of the fortunate, in time came to clearly see their cage. Having seen life from both sides and now sent back to a place long ago abandoned. At bottom line, Jack could understand that what this exacting world allowed him was kindergarten simple and what he knew well before he could walk, talk or read. ....... KILL THEM BEFORE THEY KILL YOU. OTHERWISE BE A TARGET AND A FOOL. He told Manny; "We don't have to wait for the buzzards to descend. They've learned to save energy by waiting on the ground," while he thought; "All this shit over a stupid fucking job I didn't originally want."

They silently walked down the hall side by side. Jack received no goodbyes or well wishes; only furtive glances from the bustling paper carriers, who returned to the consuming chores of the day at the slightest hint of recognition. In his rejection, Jack felt incongruously proud. He smirked and mumbled something indecipherable about pariahs, hermits and isolation. Suddenly he felt queasy with the awareness that this would be the last time he would see the place which had provided camaraderie and income for more than a decade. His anger was temporarily displaced by the unhurried grind of a confident devastation, secure in its own inevitability. It had an elongated red face with no eyes. The thing reminded Jack that the process started so suddenly. Just a few minutes ago Jack took his place in the world for granted. Then Reggie dropped the bomb, and the effects were spreading out. No mercy. No forgiveness. No stopping the toxic cloud. No possibility of completely eradicating something in possession of a half-life. Once created, it had immortality on earth and in cyberspace. He became aware of a burning sensation, which seemed to stem from somewhere in his chest. The fear of a heart attack upset him further for somewhat perverse reasons. He couldn't afford to have one while lacking health care coverage and he didn't want to display any vulnerability to the peering rejection squad. They exited the sliding glass doors and Jack looked stoically at the ground and put a hand to his chest.

Manny turned to him and said; "You all right?"

"Of course I'm not all right. .......... That's got to be the dumbest question anyone ever asked me."

"You're so goddam literal. So, what's with the Napoleon impersonation?"

"Fuckin' Waterloo." Jack almost laughed and the burning sensation subsided.

They got into Manny's car. As they pulled out Jack took one last look at the place, taking an unintentional special note of the glass doors sliding closed. They reflected the late day light, shimmering in a blinding, uneven, frantic, but not quite dancing glare. Back on the road, things seemed as always. He was riding with his long term partner, eyeballing easy pinches. Old habits die hard. Jack said; "You still going to be busting the pathetics?"

"What do you think? Tell me another way."

"I just thought that you might have been having some kind of moral crisis recently."

"Morals are not made for working people. If a deer is stupid enough to offer a broadside target, he's a dead deer. That's all."

"So, we're hunters."

"Every fucking one of us."

"I've read of gatherers and growers."

"They're either homeless, at the dump, or in jail."

"So, now I'm a hunter without a gun?"

"Yeah. You fucked up big time."

"What's my big crime?"

"You got caught."

Realizing that this might be the last time he ever saw his partner, Jack wanted to pursue the conversation beyond its previous limits and asked; "Where is mercy?"

Manny momentarily and sarcastically laughed; then said; "Mercy Aragon. Lived around the corner. Beautiful girl with the longest, blackest hair you ever saw. All the guys were crazy about her. ....... I knew her when we were young. She was idiotically attracted to this bum. Asshole with a big broken nose. Got beat in every fight he started, and he started them all the fucking time. Must have aroused some kind of maternal sympathetic instinct. With his "love," she became a hooker and died of her third heroin overdose. .......... I miss her like you could never understand. ........ But, she's gone forever. ......... Better not to think about it." Manny brought Jack back to today by saying; "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. Give me a break. This is so new. It hasn't settled in yet. ............. What do I know how to do? ...... Use a gun and push people around. Maybe the bad guys need more muscle." He snorted a brief laugh.

"They'll think you've gone undercover. How about private?"

"Can't get a license. Fucks will just bust me again."

"You might be able to get a job as a security guard."

"And slowly and steadily go broke. Fuck that."

"Got savings?"

"Some. My expenses aren't high. Small house and the only thing I do is go to work."

"Friends?"

"You."

Manny was silent.

Jack said; "You'll be coming around here some times. Right?"

"Oh sure. Yeah."

Jack thought Manny's sounded too quick and insincerely agreeable. Maybe that's what he expected. In more than a decade the only times that Manny had been in his house were the last few, when Jack needed a ride. He wanted to know where he stood and said; "I'm going to be having more free time; at least for a while. Did you set up something with your sister?"

"Oh, you know what happened? She met this guy who just moved into her apartment building. Latino, too." Attempting to gain credibility, he tried to resurrect one of their old, standing jokes and added; "She doesn't have to scrape the bottom of the pasty-faced white barrel anymore." He immediately realized that this was the wrong time. He glanced toward Jack who was staring out his side window, without the hint of a smile.

A heavy silence hung like a soon-to-be-discarded-smashed piñata, until they neared Calle de la Congelacion. Jack said; "Do me one favor. When they catch the asshole who stole my car, get me his name."

Manny shook his head and said; "Man, you don't want to go there."

"Do me another favor and don't tell me where I want to go. Will you just do it?"

"You're going to get in some really deep shit."

"I just wanna know who it was."

Manny turned onto the ice plagued road and slowed to a crawl.

Jack said; "Well ........ You gonna do it? I can go through some trouble and get it other ways anyhow."

"Okay, I'll get it."

"Got your word?"

"Yeah."

The car reached Jack's front door. He said; "See ya around partner," and exited.

Manny opened his side window and called out; "Jack. ........ Be careful."

Jack got his first legitimate laugh since Reggie told him that he was going to do him a favor. He watched Manny drive away, hearing the wheels cracking the ice and rustling up some of last year's leaves. Maybe they were left the year before that. Dead leaves look like dead leaves, regardless of the vintage. When Manny turned back on to Propicio Road the instabilities became completely rested and the silence set in. In the undisturbed moment Jack grasped that he had no income, no car, no job, no friends and no gun. Like at birth, he felt completely alone; this time with no screaming mama to grab on to. He shook off his fears when he remembered that he did have one adult consideration to live for; an overwhelming desire for revenge. He closed the door to the dead leaves and the ice, went inside, and started a fire in the living room kiva. The flames wildly soared until they were curtailed by the apex of their enclosure.

Chapter 9

Patricia Primstation had exhausted her now rationed supply of prescription happy pills. Her jitters suggested that she needed another Thursday night trip to the meeting held by her favorite, local, part time residential real estate salesperson; part time, "licensed," amatory massage therapist; full time morning, neighborhood dog walker; and sometimes spiritual healing agent.

Pat had been at the meetings often enough to have come to the realization that to try to display the damning requisite to hug and appear to "relate," even on a detached level, was even more personally loathsome than the "advanced" form of the incarnation; and often inflicted one with that synthetic dead flower scent; the currently fashionable, flagrant, frail, fragrance, otherwise known as natural BO with an atomizer squirt. During the charade, Pat's admittedly personally biased and impressionistic reaction to her cursory holder generally was that he-she was as severely depressed and desperate as most readers of "Psychology Today," in search of a "new" disease, willing to settle for a syndrome, or even an acronym. Pat didn't consider it their fault; unless one cruelly held them to the highest of standards; excepting the unforgivable BO monsters. They were for the most part, merely in search of something "brightly downbeat" to say during their next "New Age," non-touchy, non-feely head trip; seeing it or hoping it otherwise. Visuals of closed eyes and upturned palms often suffice. She wished that the MD would just give her some more of the goddam pills

The other side of the room was always populated by the aging guys, balding at the widow's peaks, with graying, manicured beards. In uniform, they primarily sought to hide their bulging bellies with Native American, step motif styled sweaters and their resident, cuddled teddy bear, which always appeared to be climbing. It was all too quickly learned that their stated purpose is to find their inner infant; or the imagined vestiges thereof. Regulars strongly suspect that some genital manifestation wouldn't hurt matters either. The women mingle with the teddy bear cuddlers and are of comparable age, but appear younger thanks to a few nips and tucks here and there; their tendency to only go bald only in a provocative fashion statement; while their un-mentioned chicken necks become the politely ignored giveaway. Their polyester, Mervyn's outfits do their utmost not to produce that telltale sign of wear on the posterior; either thought of as a sign of de-classe age or some sort of attempt at a surreptitious come-on. It almost works in either direction under the dim candle light. Almost. Their well sprayed hair, guaranteed by Revlon to stay in place in a tornado, shows the gaps where it was over-sprayed. Their initiated conversations, in keeping with the "spiritual" nature of the gathering, focus on the teddy-bear-holders, and is terminated when it has been determined that the teddy-bear-holder is also the holder of a wife, or is one.

Through all their talk of paradise, you will not hear a laugh.

It's over. Admit it. It is. ........ All right, for those still compelled to play the nicey-nicey game; thinking that they are fooling someone; the re-runs are playing all over cable and the internet. If one has not seen it the first time around, it is "new" to them on an uninformed, relative basis; akin to a 2016 reading of Shelley's "Frankenstein." That unlit driveway Pat had tried to slowly walk through contains no illumination, other than that provided by the all too brief shine of the headlights of the recent model Mercedes, speeding away. That deceptive and hateful "it," mimicked the inebriated meanderings of Joyce, in small letters making stream of consciousness, sentences and prayers, not deigning to punctuate; thereby conveniently being "misunderstood" in the safety of Harvard.

Pat, again, yoga positioned her way through the "enlightenment" provided by the fortyish, divorced, female moderator. After a half hour the lights went on and the meeting was adjourned. The equal part Biblical reading and trance induced or Baptist discursive channeler suddenly stopped speaking and opened her eyes widely. Pat was once more meta startled at the abrupt end to the meta oration; sans even the most meta of climaxes. It seemed as if the guru had again left off the last ten chapters.

Like the other tithing parishioners, Pat remained at floor level, in a pose, not yet portrayed in the most Kama of Sutras. Pat silently endured the dis-ease, as she had been educated that to do so is 100% socially acceptable in this room. Her hands were on her aching thighs; palms still facing upward though she thought that she favored the flavor of some sort of partial reversal. But, in the proximity of the 33 other "sociable" floor denizens, she was ostensibly compelled to ignore her instincts in favor of practically being ready to catch something about to fall through the invisible cracks in the moderator's plain, white, sheet-rocked and dropped ceiling.

In recollection of the possibly "L" deficient, catechismic memorization required in Sunday school, Pat again concluded that there is no doubt that the standing, silent moderator is the most spiritually advanced person in the room. Of course, without having had the benefit of consensus wisdom, she glossed over the fact that this was the moderator's room, and not anyone else's. The observation of the spiritual moderator was something akin to extolling the virtues of one who has achieved the distinction of being the best writer to personally maintain an active presence on Goofreads. Besides, the moderator stands behind her chest-of-drawers-imitating-a-podium; thereby demonstrating that she is the only one in the room sufficiently bright to not be on the floor imitating the uncomfortable Maharishi in search of Mia. Double besides; no one has anywhere else to go on Thursday evenings. Triple besides; why can't they just give you all the pills you want? Fucking fascists.

It's time to go. With no small difficulty and a few groans not adequately muffled the congregation arises. Perhaps somewhat induced by the unsteady, wobbling legs, the congregants exchange two second cuddles. They are careful to maintain a two foot distance between crotches while each says; "Wonderful meeting" or some other incomplete sentence with those two words complemented by two others. The reserve demonstrated is at best the result of a shyness. At worse it is the perfunctory result of the logical ice mixed with a sociably acceptable pretense. At worst the actual act of "cuddling" is replaced by the common manifestation politely referred to as "grin and bear it." This tends to be most strongly exhibited by the married couples and long term partners. The moderator slowly walked among her flock. Her well-practiced, condescending smile has been perfected at the residential real estate job she has suffered for the past two years in which she has been divorced from her "non-spiritual" former hubby. She is heading out of the room to more attestations of the wonderful nature of the meeting, to take her position in the dimly lit living room. Most attendees amble that way. The ones who wish to purchase some seedy weed mixed with oregano know to physically remain in their place as long as their legs remain free from the onset of putrefaction.

The hostess is grinning as she stands ten feet from the exit; oh so spaced out and sweet; that any non-present, meta butter would either melt or curdle in her mouth. On numerous prior occasions she has made everyone within earshot aware of her dire financial circumstances and now she hovers above the "voluntary" contribution box; soon all major credit cards welcomed. She makes sufficient eye contact with the passers-by to briefly, faux-cordially engage before directing them to her sparsely filled, Salvation Army facsimile box; the three chains somehow hidden. It works reasonably well, as always. Reasonably. Reasonably to who? The Chief Justice? The Chief Justice and his sock puppet, Thomas? Reasonably as defined in numerous, contradictory court decisions? Reasonable to the parties involved? In this particular case the "reasonable" result is a fumbling for loose change; the subsequent feeling of guilt; and the green stuff dropped in praise. Only those devoid of the enlightenment so graciously provided dare to drop any of the silver and copper likenesses. Thanks again, Tricky Dicky. The gauche fuckery draws unwanted attention with its clinks.

As an even more efficient tug at the heartstrings; there are the books which are piled up haphazardly on the floor of her living room. While in normal households this could be only a sign of an overly avid, somewhat sloppy reader, the un-initiated are initially surprised to see that the 3,300 floor dwellers all exhibit an identical cover, even if not compelled or required to lay on their backs. In the dimness of the candle light, it is actually difficult to tell the difference, as the colors match well. For those with an acquired taste the possible differences dissolve in the dismissal of any notion which might make an issue of a few more words and a smaller picture, contrasted with more words and a larger filmic portrayal. Except, except. ........ Accept. Yet, for most, the requirement of kindly appearing instincts directed them to the books traditionally situated. The gossamers which fix the traveler's bag are sewn as a crazy quilt into their poor approximation of Blake's actuality. The parishioners still wanting to be liked realize that it is best to pretend that the previous has been substantially a steal.

Fifteen bucks apiece and every beleaguered, guilt stricken parishioner has already purchased at least two at full retail, while giving up after having read little. The vanity label of Dorrance is clearly shown on each. Dorrance is no bad guy, but has assisted in the "publication" of thousands of books no one wanted to see. Unlike the internet fly-by-nighters, they've been around more than a century. Unlike the internet fly-by-nighters they do a good job. Unlike the internet fly-by-nighters they clearly warn you that unless something miraculous happens you will never get your "investment" back; never mind any idea of profit. Like the internet fly-by-nighters they require a fee. Unlike the internet fly-by-nighters they will accept interest free installments.

Though it is an excellent Christmas present for despised relatives, the hostess' book is unfortunately evocative of a few attributes which might tend to inhibit commercial success. A minorly noted one was that some AmawayOnSteroids-top-100-rated-reviewer was annoyed and counted how many times she or the channeled presence she quoted had used the phrase "as it were." It is said to be 167 in a 211 page effort. On a perhaps more substantive level, according to the book, the collection-pot-smiley standee thinks that the hostess has had the distinction of having channeled Lazaris, an independent, free-lance and loquacious spirit, angel, messenger, prophet, nuisance or all of the aforementioned, who implied, slurred, said, bellowed, intoned, resonated, communicated directly through brain invasion, or all of the aforementioned, that if there was not massive world repentance by 12-31-14 that the weary old globe would explode on 1-1-15; while the cute penguins who have positioned themselves on the cover of the traditional World Wildlife Fund calendar are alive and seemingly well give the clear impression that they think that it's getting somewhere near March, 2016. It should be fairly noted that none of the 13 penguins are sporting graduate degrees, though 3 have a Bachelor's in Creative Writing.

The authoress is of further United States note as she is the only resident therein, and perhaps the only resident of the Northern Hemisphere, as it were, to have written a book about her relationship with elusive and fluid Lazaris. He was not inclined to be the least bit monogamous or discreet. Of course there is an un-documented conspiracy theory which postulates that this same story was previously published in some locality named Tuvalu, deficient of any "as-it-were"'s. The authorities there apparently confiscated and burned all paper copies and infected the e-versions with a super-duper virus, the antidote to which is only at the disposal of two wicked "shadow" governments. Three of the presumably few who had a part in this operation say in the revelatory books they have written or ghosted, with the slight nuances endemic to human perception, that Lazaris was a bit more pragmatic in his predictions than our pot protectress portrayed. It never ceases to amaze how the perpetrators of evil deeds obtained "religion" and confessed in writing post retirement. It seems readily apparent that hope springs fucking eternal; while checkbooks are subjected to the limitations of the finite. He-she specifically stated that it was always a bad bet to predict total destruction, as if one was right there would be no one left from whom to collect the winnings. If it was not previously gathered, it might clarify the situation to say that, presumably, not having deigned to matters of this earth, the American-less-than-Tuvalu experienced, spiritualist, chose to participate in a third fault; this time one of the most common of senses. Her actions displayed a logic, which seems to defy the most elementary. Her book which predicted a world end on 1-1-15, if it did not repent, was first published 6-15-15. DUH? For the meta fans of Rushdie derivatives?

The trance-performing moderator-spiritualist-shaman-dope dealer-divorcee-authoress-realtor has seemingly made a questionable "literary"-business decision. In quiet and un-imposing moments of desolation, she had come to imperfectly see that in supplying the unpaid labor required to write and/or regurgitate her tome, that there was no way to also avoid the theft of her "fees" and the forced stocking of inventory which she could no longer afford. This pragmatically induced deference to the anti-ideal originally appeared to her as a mountain easily climbed. In the beauty of youth, the whole thing seemed a silly; "Much Ado Over Nothing." However, perhaps in the aging process she had learned time and again to fully expect this sort of treatment before she took up the rigors of the abused pen. She needed to desperately try.

Previously, she thought that she was pre-destined to get into her beautiful head, and she bravely reached out. She was rewarded with cowards. After spending decades attempting to stay alive, she became a "reader," long before the term was mass acquired and degenerated. Worse, she continued to envision a youthful scenario in which she was not in the least bit silly, but knows or thinks that she is viewed as such. It's kind of a turn on for some; the ones she liked. Worst, she is, in her subjective notion of equality, another un-knowing or duplicitous purchaser of the inevitable package. The circular package says; "Comet, 20% off;" never mentioning off what until the indecipherable finest of prints. Maybe Vonnegut gives a half assed, surreptitiously laughing in derision, shit; but don't count on it, as he's supposedly been dead since 2007.

Of course there is Plan B, which she is currently working on, not devoid of another backup.

Our Lazaris maven, economically denied the "luxury" of a reclusion and embarrassed to have been likely seen as so "stupidly" deficient, she stresses her "spirituality" in hope of being seen as too much "of the heart" to be analyzed with any irrelevant reasoning. She actually believes it sometimes. She also knows that if one were to question her strongly implied statements of being the re-incarnation of the baby Jesus, that one would be socially ostracized on a local basis.

The pond ripples, unconsciously providing an imperfect image as long as the necessary wind blows. It's truly sad for her to imperfectly view the further imperfect reflection. We think that only Estes can best truly portray it, and then wonder if that is of any significance, beyond the precise moment of the museum acquisition, financed by the well-meaning, rattlers of jewelry. She immediately concludes another testimony to the insistences of both time and money; decreasingly hopeful of being seen as innocent of the limitations universally imposed. Her single biggest fear is that everyone except her knows that; excepting the days she spends with the financial statements. Regarding the former, they do and they don't. Regarding the latter, it can and does go on a bit too much. It is kindly unsaid by those who know. Consequently, she is precluded from the knowledge or limitations, depending upon the circle of hell achieved by the media. Yet she strongly suspects that everyone knows of her financial and emotional demise, and is afraid of being publicly embarrassed, more than happy to pretend the feigned commitment of the years gone "When Harry Met Sally."

True commitments are not yet adequately written and will never be. They are defectively felt at best. To attempt to do something otherwise would be to challenge the entire system, as designed, administered, tried, sentenced and incarcerated by the powers we have allowed to exist in our own faulty idea of an image and likeness.

"Blasphemy, blasphemy," with all its repercussions, as threatened by the tremendously fat lady in a thread bare house dress, who stands on the stoop, in front of her apartment building, thereby taking sporadic personal importance from her ability to momentarily block access and egress; eventually replaced with the immortal collectible cells containing dead Vincent Price, as he tried to depict a Poe-imagined grand inquisitor in celluloid horror; underplayed by the overacting made obvious in the short lived popularity of the Ken Russell movies; which in turn tried to make obvious the Brit penchant to grasp the obvious; which, in jest, inadvertently harkens back to the eloquence of Shakespeare; which in turn reflects various brands of mythology; which in turn ............... It's okay. Mr. Price; better than most, but ultimately half assed. "The Conqueror Worm" can easily outdo any current zombie or vampire populated YA classified attempt to horrify. It's based on a reality we'd like to forget, ignore or re-define through the currently fashionable interpretations of brilliant and joking Depp. Hey, anyone who plays guitar with Patti Smith has got to be the best.

Oh yeah, the current darling meta is the obscure approach. But, in an attempt to tell you the Holdenest of truths, didn't Bunuel definitively cover this same subject a long time ago? Antonioni? Godard? Come on now.

I guess that to answer that requires the knowledge of a history successfully eliminated through the dumbing down process induced under the economic guidance began through the wiles and smiles of Thatcher-Reagan antiquities or iniquities; ultimately a double bind or a Catch 22. Register your opinion regarding the possible distinction if you dare. Don't be afraid. The long-assed bullshit essays are 80% of the final grade, and the "objective" multiple of five choices is thereby easily over-ridden. Under post-modern lack of analysis, the teacher cannot fail everyone without that simultaneously being construed as a testimony to her inability to adequately "teach." So, if you have not yet figured out this game, it is in her interest to grade the essays highly. Write something. There is no longer a risk in that. You can say that you were forced to.

Lost; maybe self-servingly so. I can't tell the difference. Can't tell. Don't care. Bored to death with the same old shit. That which is the product of thought ................. Oh, just fuck it; almost digressed.

So, anyway, if there is some sort of doubtful point, this woman has succeeded in making herself seem to be the center of a universe, not yet defined in science. As is always the case with the proper paper possessing proprietors of propaganda, their current prognostications of brilliant fact will be superseded by the prognostications of brilliant fact induced by the inevitable invention of the next "advanced" lense.

Her floor level book repository is the result of many factors. Among them is the angel-demon with a calling card of 1, 11, 111, 1111, 11111, 111111, ad infinitum, which she claims to have channeled in the process yet to be articulated, much less defined; not very different from the very well-known, said Ayatollah proclaimed, fatwa-advertised efforts of realistic-fantasy genre Salman Rushdie, which kicks up Murakami's originally titled "Norwegian Wood" another step commercially; up or down in significance a matter of debate.

Our hostess has had the distinct privilege of having channeled the verbal revelations of something non-human which called itself Lazaris. It would be extremely un-kind and anti-social to point out that this Lazaris chap was far from the monogamous type. But, maybe that's how our hostess wanted it. Only she can possibly tell.

Some say that they think that the minefields of the Middle East are a bitch. But, dammit, there's insufficient oil here.

At the same time Jack, Penny and Richard III each happened to tune into WDIM out of Sydney and hunger. It's a call in 24 hour "news" station operated by three actors who are rated between 2,708,146 and 8,332,007 by IMDb. They enjoy hearing themselves speak, especially as early on, one had a distinct problem in that department, but has since risen to the level of "challenged." The show provides "alternative" news items gathered from the World Wide Web. On slow news days it is suspected that two are posting on the web as the other reads the posts. As the anti-business tone has resulted in no advertisers yet, Rupert Murdoch personally provides the necessary funding as it helps make his other offerings appear more palatable.

This is really top secret, classified stuff, but in the interest of truth, I'll write this opening myself to great peril. .............. Well, at least an IRS audit and spyware attack. Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico occupies land which includes a hollowed out mountain. The world's largest supply of nuclear weapons is housed there; everyone knows that. What they don't know is that the remaining dinosaurs are also there to guard it. Like some dogs they are competent at that. But, under a secret program, the military is trying to train these "guards" to be suicide bombers. So far they have shown no aptitude for this. Each has been supplied with the authoritative book on the subject; "Genius IQ." Contrarians suspect that the big guys are purposely doing miserably in their IQ tests, likely to avoid being sent on a "mission." Middle-of-the-road analysts attribute their low scores to the test's cultural biases. The highest levels of US "intelligence" focus on the net result, and assign a 60% probability to the possibility that rather than competing, the dinos have formed a co-operative, self-sustaining union, headed by one called Tyrant Huffer. Possible mob ties complicate the story's brevity. However further details may be gleaned in my successful book; "Reptilian Plotz," available on AmawayOnSteroids; $5.99 in e-format; $19.99 in soft cover and $42.99 collectible. Autographed copies are negotiable. Purchases are just a single click on an icon away. Sorry, most Goofreads threads now say that they disdain any attempt at commercialism, considering it gauche and I don't want to risk being banished from this bastion of learning. ........... But, I could really use a cash infusion; as my nose is running and I don't feel that great. Does anyone know where I might find a nearby CA (Cashoholics Anonymous) meeting? Anyway, the logic of the dinosaur's "playing dumb" further suggests that they may be waiting for the day they will learn how to remotely detonate the nukes; at which point they will wipe out humanity, except for a few needed workers, and take back control of the earth. Right on, bro.

Group imposed po-mo thought and incorrectly un-seen as mortification married to solitary empathetic desire gets everyone off every time. No fakery required. Real. Real. Fucking-sucking. Real. Relatively easy part. No?

The possible entertainments are infinite, until proven otherwise. It is life. That's all. And it is life immortal. Forever. For fucking ever. For sucking ever. ......... Lest ye judge in ignorance, simultaneously judging and damning one's self. The bar has been set all too conveniently high. Disinterest prolongs the 50% first chance of ecstasy, and then interest curtails it. This seems so contradictory to one shackled with a mortal. On first thought it seems as if it has to have been a joke of some sort; an obstacle easily surmounted in laughter; and impassable in Byron's rendition of despair. On Olympus they watch, like we with our TV's, VCR's, Computers, Laptops, and Derivative portable devices.

To attempt to descend a bit further; further than your un-acknowledged jealousy permits; that jealousy imposes its own credentialed and popular understanding; pragmatically with 'So, what's the big issue?' on the physical, articulating, low level. If further deemed necessary, the infinite water cleanses all but Pilate. Do you choose to suffer? It your 'life." Do you want to attempt to trick everyone into thinking that you do? You know that 'friends' are always congratulatory. It's your life. Butterfly sneezes. Check out Nabokov if you have an interest in the metaphorical. Simple repeated, seen as 'incorrectly' being seen as classic extensions. ........... Otherwise sleep well in the assurance provided by your 'friends.' They are capably nice, until overwhelmingly obvious, necessitating condescension on your part. Thereafter any nuance risks you being viewed as an Ionadoo and might entice a functionary to deign to call this something not of interest to HBO; their secondaries and their tertiaries redundant.

Morpheus, please, please forgive my ignorance. Your River of Styx scares me more than anything else. I never learned to swim. I never learned to swim. ............... Except.

"We're here. You and I. Always were."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't know. You say fuck and suck a few times and you get people's attention."

"But all the babble?"

"I guess he figured that once you bring up the sex stuff, nobody wants to question anything, as they might appear ignorant on the very important subject."

"Sounds like he was trying to get some chick to go for it. Who was that anyway?"

"I took it off a site called; 'Best speeches of David Koresh,'"

"Ah, I hear he did all right for himself."

"Yeah, until those forces of jealousy imposed themselves."

A mercifully condensed extract taken from a conversation in Ms. Lazaris driveway

"That could be a topic for another meeting. But, right now I have with me a live guest. Yep. It's Harriet Blackdog and she's here to talk about her new book; "Angels Revealed."

"Perhaps you'd like to tell our friends where the magic went, Harriet."

Harriet drew at straws and replied; "The problem with the 11:11 phenomenon is getting anybody interested in it that hasn't experienced it themselves; and almost no one has. Other phenomena, such as U.F.O.'s or crop circles, are able to be experienced for more than a minute. We can be abducted or run over by a tractor. But seeing and being guided by 11:11 is hard to convey to those uninitiated in its ways."

"What does it all mean? Does 11:11 really mean anything at all?" intoned the male teddy bear devotee.

The divorcee who had already hooked up and was a bit anxious to get in the idling Mercedes said; "I thought that's what you came here to speak about."

"Well, that simply depends on whether or not you believe life has meaning in the first place."

"Nice skirt," while the Mercedes door opened.Liked!  
view quote

Undeterred, Harriet continued; "Ooogli booogli. A rest is fun. And now we'd like to do 'I Hope the Angels Come.' One of the recurring themes throughout recent history is 11:11 and that the global elite will continue to profit any way they can. That often means orchestrating wars all over the planet. To help us angels and spirits communicate their love and guidance in many ways. For many people, number sequences are one of these ways. Do you ever look up at the clock and notice its 11:11? For me, and many others on a spiritual path, seeing this specific number is a common occurrence. So just what does seeing 11:11 on a regular basis really mean?

"That your clock has stopped?"

"Ha ha. Unenlightened proletarian attempts at humor are often an effective ice breaker. Thank you. To continue, are your angels and guides seeking to get your attention? Is there some specific message or meaning when these 'master numbers' appear? The truth of the matter is 11:11 is subject to interpretation. There is really no right or wrong answer when it comes to the question of 'What does it mean'? But just provide a little insight, here is a look at a few things in which seeing 11:11 may mean. Increased Awareness! First and foremost when you see 11:11 pay attention! 11-11 is often a sign to be more aware! When you see the number, pay attention to what you were just thinking, as well as what is happening around you. 11:11 can sometimes be a reminder that your thoughts are manifesting, and to stay positive."

"I often like to space out. So, now I'm supposed to pay attention?"

"Mnf. Thank you again, but I think that we're all comfortable now. It can also mean your angels are reaching out and with awareness you can begin to feel and experience their presence. Be aware in the moment you see these numbers, and you will be able to decipher the hidden meaning behind 11:11 for yourself. Your guides and angels are near! 11:11 is often said to be a doorway between realms. Seeing this number often signifies that your guides and angels are trying to contact you, as it is a sort of calling card for many spiritual beings."

Patricia said; "Can they get me more Xanax? I'm like ready to freak."

"This group can be so amusing. Take a deep breath, quiet your mind, and enter in to tune into the messages your guides and angels have for you. It might conceivably be Xanax. When they whisper in your ear, look up at the clock right at 11:11. Spiritual awakening! Seeing 11:11 is often an invitation to awaken to experiencing the larger picture. It is a wake-up call of sorts to tune into the realms of spirit and experience life beyond the veil of illusion. Noticing 11:11 on a regular basis is most often experienced by those who have begun their spiritual journeys or are about to embark on a journey of discovery. ..........."

The starting of auto engines attested to that.
Chapter 10

Not having any compelling business to attend to the following morning, Jack luxuriated under three blankets accompanied by the proximity of his ready laptop. The thin, black engine of entertainment had a preference for being close by, un-covered, thereby tantalizingly naked, in its tricky frigidity.

Upon rising, more out of lay-about guilt than aspiration, Jack carefully lifted the lid and pushed the "on" button in a reciprocal, mechanical, un-thinking manner. As always, it responded with a border-decorated, blue screen and three bars of a song capable of stumping an all-star panel of "Name That Tune." Jack used his payola-dictated browser to access the archival storage of a public access TV show. He had not previously seen any of its offerings, but was intrigued by the title; "Crab with Josephine." It sounded right for his state of mind, unless it had something to do with catching horrible tasting things with cutting talons. Titles can be extremely deceiving.

Jack's hopes elevated a notch when a bucket-less woman came on screen and sat at a desk, which she immediately and haphazardly cluttered with papers. She appeared to be sixtyish, thin and as energetic as a Comanche who had just spotted white people with rifles. She said; "Good evening ........... Good morning ........ or a good whatever time you're watching. It's night time for me, but ........... Anyway, welcome to 'Crab with Josephine.' I'm Josephine Nuccio. You may have thought that with this outfit, I was a Native American. No, not at all. My mother and father got here by way of Sicily. ....... Did you expect me to say Florence, Venice or Naples? If that's where they were from I don't think they'd have left." Muffled sounds reached the mike.

"Whooooo yourself. For those of you new to the show, for its initial seven years this unprofessionally produced public access presentation was called 'Mesa Grande Political Action.' But, after seven years of not getting any; ........ action that is ......... What's so funny? You guys must be messed up on something good. ....... Oh. Anyway, after having not been able to stir up any meaningful interest .......... Oh, come on. You're getting ridiculous. Keep it up and I'll tell the manager what you're ingesting back there. I changed it to 'Crab with Josephine.' It's a place to vent all the frustrations no one wants to hear. I listen and then vent mine or vice versa. Fair enough? ............ These phones working? ........... That's one of the problems with this new technology. I'm here to take calls at 8PM, but you're probably watching at some other time. ........... The suicide hotline works the same way? .......... No, it can't. You're putting me on. ............ Really? No. Because if you call them when they are on tape, you can at least leave a message. ....... I don't know. It might do some good. ......... Probably not? Okay. This week I've written some thoughts about the entertainment industry. Appropriate? Let me just read them. It might stimulate someone to call. ....... Oh, shut up, stupid. ............. You sure these phones are working?"

With some difficulty Josephine collected some of her loose papers, put on her glasses and read. "Older, isolated areas were seen as a monetarily inviting opportunity to those whose inflated stock prices were on the verge of a crash. The paper pushers were dependent on constantly growing market share. In their wisdom the conquistadors of bite and mega-bite, saw a "new," and ideally envisioned, sequestered market of those inclined or destined to be alone. They were more than willing to re-purchase things they already had, if those things were put in a modern package, substantially out of a boredom engaged to a propensity to appear 'hip.' Their naively American and mass marketing-conducive willingness to be subjected to the manipulation of the learned was an incalculable plus. This morally problematic scenario was envisioned and shrugged at in conference-room-meeting-groups of up-and-coming Ivy League MBA's. Their self-satisfaction and affected superior mannerisms were put on bottom line trial. Laughingly, from their exalted and removed stations in the overly air-conditioned rooms, they discussed schemes, which if correctly marketed and implemented, would prove to justify the existence of the glassed room filled with those desiring to view themselves in the Narcissistic reflections provided by the smudged waves.

They didn't take long to agree that the problem was really a simple one. All they had to do was combine old, needy human nature with new technology. Just change the format again, and sell it to them as a 'new' product; a maze of derivatives. They were already entertainment and drug addicted. Their employers already had the technical ability to reach everywhere; and only needed paying customers. Now they would extend that reach with inexpensively available products; old movies, old TV shows, and old footage of concerts, in full expectation that it would sell, at least to those isolated and desperate.

In their artificially-lit rooms, their only view, other than that of their own reflections, was of the others who worked for their companies, in an undetected photocopy of themselves. They considered this aspect idyllic. As good business-men and women, their self-indulgent visions glossed over the imperfections obvious in their self-reflecting views of those in 'lesser' rooms.

They were grad school taught that the majority of the non-MBA world was easily vanquished as it was without defense. Who would dare to be a self-sacrificial-impediment to the cunning? No one, but the few formerly institutionalized crazies, temporarily 'liberated' in the aberrant sixties. They were further fortified by the fact that this plan did not require reliance upon the vagaries of the ever changing capital asset pricing model. There was staying power in the old adage attributed to PT Barnum; 'No one ever lost a nickel underestimating the intelligence of the American public.' Sure, public libraries would be possible competition. But, one of their own had already made inroads into supplying a surreptitious and sophisticated form of fireman 451. Besides, only 18% of the people read 80% of the books; and the other books read are of the cooking and zombie varieties.

The future palaces of the impeccably-credentialed, in places like Propicio and Greenwich were assured. But, this alone was not satisfying. They had a need to publicly demonstrate their superiority to the lessers of men. They needed the worship of the broke and broken. Any sensitivity to the contrary was only a desperate sucker's inclination to play the fool.

As a further proven-to-be-successful scam aimed at the sufferer, the slog-resistant, found reason to extract or posit an uninteresting, paid-for announcement rising at the inglorious moment of habitually capitulated monetary confrontation. The scheme was irreconcilably contrived by the denizens of the un-naturally, cold and uncomfortably sleek. They thought it a sure shot to make the audacity of their co-opted, sixty year old, 'smiley-faced,' and anointed joke favorably evolve, without any merit other than a possible nostalgia for its worn out cuteness. It had proven to be un-attackable for decades, in its cunning proficiency to be regarded as everyone's friend.

In their dearth of creativity, the buttoned-downed proposed the seemingly simple, engineered to be further addicting distractions, with which it was imprudent to argue; inexpensively available, proven hits from times past playable on demand at any time with lucrative advertising space sold to other commercial enterprises seeking to expand their markets; and if they were the slightest degree of fortunate; to the entirety of the un-fulfilled world. It was instantaneously accessible, irresistible homesickness at a 90% profit margin. All things from all times thus became easily available with three left clicks of a mouse and an automatic monthly charge to an overburdened credit card. Future planned product 'enhancements' would add to the gravy.

The appeal was immediately overwhelming to those memorabilia freaks wishing to escape to the past and pay for the TV they freely watched in years prior. The MBA's wildest dreams came true as everyone got on board. A few de-institutionalized freaks saw the machinated mind set as something riotously banal and in an effort to reduce the popularity to absurdity, spoke of the retrograde manifestation as the completely un-imaginative arrival of the monetary bull-horn, irresistible to the hopelessly addicted sucker's acquiescence to the call of the time-and-place-faulty presentation, which overly compensates the powers that loom; a very old, but continually repeated, and demonstrated winning story, enjoyed in disdain of the masses, by the bespectacled and monetarily proficient 'elite'"

Josephine put the papers aside, removed her glasses, loosened her long, tied back gray hair and defiantly stared at the camera. A phone rang. She picked up the receiver and said; "This is 'Crab with Josephine.'"

The male caller said; "Where do you get this stuff?"

"My head. Where do you get yours?"

"Not from fantasy. I see what's real. ......... Were you ever there?"

"Only in spirit."

"That won't hold up in a court of law."

"We're not constricted to one. ......... Look, do you have any doubt that a profit seeking enterprise wants to supply cheap goods at high prices to perpetually consuming customers?"

"That's how things work. Are you some kind of Communist? What's wrong with maximizing profits through maximizing choices?"

"Should we be allowed the drug of our choice?"

A muted "Yeah, yeah, yeah" was heard from the film crew.

"That's different."

"In what way?"

"For Christ sake. Drugs are harmful. Don't tell me you didn't know that."

"And I suppose that ignoring your family to stay mesmerized by the grandchild of the boob tube isn't."

"You're getting all over the place."

"No, the grandchild of the boob tube is; just like the plague. It's gotten to the point of ridiculous. When I walk my dog in the morning, I often pass by a young boy and young girl; each maybe 15, waiting for the school bus. They stand about 50 feet apart and each is busily typing in messages to some handheld, 'connected' device. Now, given their ages, I would have to think that he's looking to meet some girl and she's looking to meet some guy. And there they are, right there, ignoring each other in favor of an electronic device replete with phonies, predators and false promises. There is no way anyone is going to convince me that that is not an addiction; a venomous detachment detrimental to humanity for the profit of the few."

"You know, you draw conclusions before the evidence is in. Maybe they've already met and don't like each other."

"I have a revelation for you. The evidence is never fully in. If you wait for it to be you will die first. ......... Listen, the evidence is that you called a show titled 'Crab with Josephine,' and you're not crabbing. You're an apologist for the stupid metal and plastic devices, which are worshipped more than Jesus."

Another phone rang.

The caller said; "I'm crabbing. I'm crabbing about you."

Josephine laughed and replied; "Crabbing about the crab. I suppose that fits nicely into the concepts of death dying and disease becoming diseased; so po-po-mo. You spoke of your notion of reality. Get real yourself; then watch somebody else with your infinite supply of choices. I've got another call." Josephine hung up one phone and picked up the other saying; "You're on 'Crab with Josephine,' and if you think everything is just wonderful, call somebody else."

A young male voice answered; "I don't know what I think. I'm fifteen and one thing I'm sure of is that Wikipedia has enabled me to know more at this age than my father did when he was forty. But, I'm beginning to suspect that something is wrong. Let me just recount something I've seen virtually every day for the last three years. Whenever my family; mother, father, sister and I have dinner we all bring our laptops to the table, plug in the earphones and watch .......... watch whatever is on the screen. We don't speak. We rarely even look at each other. But, when I watch the old shows, I see that dinner was once a time when families told each other about what they were doing, joked, got chastised and learned manners. I'm not trying to sound superior. I've been doing the same thing myself. But, lately I've been investigating psychological theories, which seem to suggest that someday this will come back to haunt us in ways not presently precisely determinable. Be that as it may. The damage has already been done, and the forces are strong enough to remain in place for some time. I have a question. Are these machines compelling us to separate? Or, do we inherently dislike each other, and use the machines as an excuse to ignore the others? I'll hang up and listen to any replies you or your viewers may have."

Josephine gently put her receiver back in its cradle. Her eyes blinked and her forehead seemed to display lines deeper than they were seconds prior. She murmured; "I don't know. ...... I really have no idea. It seems to me as if that is an unanswerable chicken or the egg question. If David Foster Wallace, one of the geniuses of our time, were still with us, I am convinced that he would have clearly stated that we do not like each other. I hope he was wrong about that one, but the odds are against it, as he was right about everything else."

Jack was disconcerted and very un-entertained. He thought the best thing to do was to stop watching "Crab with Josephine," shut down his computer and get out of bed. Now, all he had to do was find something else to pass the time. Not having any inspiration, he did a half assed job and reverted to the old stand-by through pulling the blankets back over his head.

The unobstructed sun streamed through the iron-barred windows, rudely unmindful of the scanty insinuation with which the openings were encumbered. The light's mindless, foolish, and instinctive feeling assured the gallant, desirous performer that the feeble privacy ploy was nothing more than a spiritually constraining, but necessarily fabricated appearance, which was publicly viewed as socially acceptable to those who were in contact with sincerity only through the lowest-common-denominator-commercial popularity of the multi-faced machine. Its primeval inclinations were nearly right, but required adjustment only available from that which it didn't possess; mortal flesh.

The luminosity was totally absorbed by a petite, to the point of trifling, black box with ogee decorations at inflection points. The baroque object of fine art lay motionless near the center of the room, on the dryly vintaged, tassel aloof and harmoniously eradicated, Persian-rug-covered floor. The room became eerily dark, excepting the now pale, circular outline of the rigidly immovable sun. An eclipse? An eclipse had not been predicted.

A fear, expected in broad generality; but, simultaneously an alarming revelation in constricted, well-defined, and narrow specificity and severity, introduced itself when the box burst into flames. With an irrational view of that which was blocked by carnal barriers, Jack saw that all the other houses within his vision had their own flaming boxes, threatening to destroy all in his sight. With wide eyes, and a sorrowful, inevitably failing human will to survive, he focused on the impending peril in the middle of his own room. It touched a subliminal nerve, since as long as he could remember; his biggest fear was to slowly burn and die from fire. Even if he survived the hot attack, he couldn't tolerate the painful, recuperative care he knew burn patients were doomed to. Yet, here was his dreaded conception of hell; uninvited; and making itself at home in the hub of his room. His instinct to do something overtook his horror of being burned and disfigured. He considered running away, but the fire seemed to be everywhere and this was his home; his only home.

He got out of bed and went to the pristine, unused fireplace. From the batch of tools standing upright against the wall to its right, he took the minimally intrusive, iron tongs, and gently picked up the flaming box. He laid it in the fireplace, which, both he and the crazy, scandalous container knew was its proper place.

The sun emerged from its outline and returned to full strength; doing what it could to light the dark room. Its mission was accomplished. Though it was blocked from some corners, they were illuminated by the burning box. With the privilege of heated safety finally upon him, Jack looked through the western window and sorrowfully saw that many of the other houses were now engulfed in flames.

Jack's somnambulistic meanderings came to a sudden, militaristic halt and boorishly returned him to the fullest consciousness with which he seemed to be grudgingly destined. He woke up and shot out of bed. He frantically checked the entire house for fire, and was relieved to find none. He looked out the kitchen window and saw no houses ablaze. Through the smudged glass and iron bars, all he could see were the tightly huddled elms, their rings unashamedly displaying the size and patterns of their lean, as well as their abundant years. Though the rings differed in scrupulous size and shape, they all had analogous resemblances, in their death-defying will to continue on, no matter what temperature was imposed upon them. Their simple, blending union was much like a utopian hermit monk's obstinate disposition to wait for the never-previously-existent day of overjoyed, amplified screams of the beautiful and to-date-only-theoretically real possibilities, unfairly and cruelly denied by that which had hidden its real name. The tall elms' silent, stoic vigil productively and successfully persevered the transitory governance of the soon-to-completely-die, outmoded-by-technologic-progress calculators, which in their final moments of coldly logical desperation, were seen as capable of nothing more than a persuasively simplistic display. The new machines were a perennially present, electronically generated, devouring beast, well versed in the popular insemination of all wisdom and "cool" opinion. The cerebral gratification Jack sought in enquiries into the imposing forces of the relentlessly redundant and humdrum known led him nowhere other than his lifelong dream of her. Jack toasted the elms' pleasing, visually stimulating, and spherically ringed bark with a Burgundy.

He imprecisely imagined a biased equation, presented in "New Age" dogma, of perfecting one's self while pretending the shadow was non-existent. He considered the separation an all too obvious counterfeit of 1960's and 1970's "liberation," made commercially palatable for the un-adventurous. He saw it as a briefly relieving and vacuous foray into the funhouse mirror of Dadaism; and wished it had the staying power of its progenitor; Surrealism.

Devoid of the pre-historic principles; currently christened Quixotical chivalry and absurd romanticism, "factual" light was generated by the ever-ready machine. The slim, black androids were infinitely capable of duplicating the ever-reducing vision of facing mirrors. He wondered if his views were as they were, because of his cheerless examination of his falsified failed self and his longstanding, unrequited wish to be held and loved. He was certain the pop-psychology-inclined post-modernists thought so; and that they also possessed the insight of Le Corbusier. Jack thought that Beth's approval was all that mattered and she was long gone.

Her beautiful, idea-generating, pear-shaped, pelvic sway seemed irresistible to him. It obliterated thought. Her mouthwatering, monster hips were Mona Lisa on a Harley; her knowing-closed-mouth smile her unstated, unadmitted, but tangibly demonstrated motivation to experience that which only he and she were capable of envisioning; in their mutual trust. The memory was now the main source of Jack's despondence. For quite some time he had been relegated to texture-devoid, machine generated pictures of his ex. The thought of her provided joy with its attached despair. She seemed a four dimensioned angel from somewhere else, and once the vision perched in his head, she was all he could think of. It was always that way. He gulped his Burgundy and poured another.

The December freeze was always a bitch; an un-welcomed siren in ice; and an experienced pro; with the cunning audacity to advertise its distantly second-rate offerings in the airwaves. The resilient elms knew from lengthy experience that spring always comes back. All they had to do was wait out the transitory blast. Jack wished he was as virtually comprehending. Over another empty-stomached Burgundy, he searched the internet for landscaping or handyman jobs in Propicio. He found nothing. The mindless and fruitless, point and click tedium freed up sufficient left-brain space for his mindset to invite the useless, make-sense-of-everything impossibility; euphemistically known as his real life situation. He again turned off the machine, which was reluctant to be so easily dismissed. The screen flashed something about updates being installed and not to "power off." Jack was tempted to rebel against the automated dictate, primarily just for the defiant hell of it, and secondarily, to show it who was boss. His fear of mechanical retribution, which could lock him out of economic opportunity, overcame him and he let the reign of the inhuman persist. He had the comforting, socially acceptable, safety of being a part of those acquiescent to the subjugation of the "new" entertainment vehicle. But, he sensed that he didn't have to witness the un-original, artificial insistence of the flesh-deficient automaton. He looked through the closed window, now only reflective of an unclear, uninteresting, and poor replication of himself. He longed for the smiling warmth of her radiance.

She was no longer there. She had become a dream which had hidden behind the darkness, only perceptible in fleeting moon drop bursts in the brutal world of today. Picturing her, as best he could, he cringed and uncontrollably cried at what he thought was her sorrow; knowing that it was also his. With no idea how to fix things, yet a broken heart which demanded that he did, he sought the shelter of a restful, end-to-pain; a lobotomized end to all feeling. His simple passions had been halved, halved, and halved again; until they were precisely defined to a mathematically discussed and expertly disagreed upon infinity of near nothingness. He realized that his possibly faulty, childhood memories of teenage passions, at the time thought of as mature cravings, were now dismissively viewed as the quaint display of an unschooled ignorance; or worse, were frowned upon as malicious and self-serving in their implied plea for the help of a nurturer. It seemed as if a devil had designed persuasive lies; with no possible rebuttal. Yet, he sensed that he defiantly felt at home with feelings; seeing any of his "sins" as ones committed in innocence of his ignorance of the underhanded and unpublished laws of impending failure. The well-financed jingles were uninterrupted, in their prime-time prevalence, able to be nationally heard and therefore achieve maximum popularity, despite their un-distinguished, cobweb roofed message. They sold .......... according to the statistics compiled by the grinning advertising men.

Their banal and dull, homogenized, rap beat was hammered into all available, cash-competent, ditty-anesthetized skulls. Ostensibly, no one would buy Coke, unless they were reminded of its existence every Super Bowl fourth down. Not entirely able to escape the compulsions of those in his material realm, Jack, in his desperation, recalled the naive plainness of his own, currently passé, rhythmic, now-hidden-as-a-likely-to-be-cynically-interpreted-dilletante-perceived-as-tactically-convenient-for-him-to-appear as one of the blessed-non-pathetic messengers, with no manipulative desire for feminine help; yet knowing that at the same time he was wishing for their touch and releasing outburst. Truth be told, he had no choice. He was born this way. He had no control; and he needed her un-founded trust. He doubted his own integrity, yet, in his un-asked-for-carnalization, he absolved himself; in the memory of his oft thought and stated apology of never having asked to have been born. The whole thing was not his fault; though he felt unduly burdened in his sense of an unfair obligation to somehow make things right for someone. If his life could not be a happy one, he wasn't jealous of that real possibility being enjoyed by others. Why shouldn't they experience the dream he was denied? It would not change his circumstances. It seemed as if it should be an entitlement for all. His life had been disappointment, sorrow, misunderstanding, and self-obliterating, ridiculous, solitary escapes into musical fantasy. If the sun was co-operative he even absurdly saw himself as an aging, sold-out rock star, in the back window glass of his empty house. He barely saw his receding hairline and wrinkles; his vanity deceivingly reassuring him of the glorious, vague reflections of the youth he wished for, but could never again attain; his intellect unsympathetically telling him that his time had long passed. Often, it was hard for him to accept that he had lost. He didn't remember a time he could call his. The better looking, zany guys always commanded the female interests, though they were inconsiderate of women at a minimum, disrespectful at the middling, and abusive at the margin. He vowed that he would never hurt her if she would only give him a chance. If she wasn't initially wildly desirous of him, she would come to see that he loved her, and that maybe she could love him. He walked and walked, hoping that she was around the next corner. The next never came. Yet, pushing fifty, the blood still coursing through his veins cruelly continued to fool him into thinking that something was still possible. He wished whatever it was would deliver or stop the bad joke. Still alone in his memory of his seventh-grade, cruelly-rejected-offer-of-love; Jack did his best to not be a sorrowful, laughed-at, heartfelt believer. He couldn't understand how she could have made him an object of public scorn merely for having the dream of loving her. The others pointed at him, mimicked his rejected entreaties, pointed fingers, and cackled; which pierced his young heart and soul. He wanted to go blank, but the burn of the unforeseen ridicule kept him awake with blinding rings of mocking light, flashing like cameras around him. He would never let it happen again. ........ until Beth.

He realized that he was crabbing without any help from Josephine, with as much effect.

He was sorrowful that this memory had resurrected. He could usually keep it buried. In a hope of an anesthetized re-entombment Jack poured an outrageously tall glass of Burgundy, downed it, and poured another. The inebriant had the welcomed effect of making his blood feel warmer; his psyche more relaxed, comfortable and able to cope, with no one around to ridicule his sentiments.

No longer able to stand, he sat on the brick floor, and Jack recalled his time with Beth. The long term, youthful affair seemed to him as if it would survive into old age. While she said that she had previously had a bookish existence, she seemed to come alive, on the fringes of the danger inherent to his weight carrying, lucrative, reefer business. Then, just because he had to spend a few years in prison, she split for the predictability she expected to find soothing in Peoria? Damn! It was just a temporary thing which came with the package.

A few years. Why couldn't she wait a few years? Sure, the authorities confiscated all their assets before they disappeared, under the legal theory that all they had was the result of an illegal activity. And, sure, she would have to get a job and carry the ball for a while. Isn't that one of the obligations that come in partnership with feminism? Damn! A fucking temporary thing and another disregarded package. Everything came in one. Nothing came alone. DUH!! The last he had heard of her, she was solitarily aging, supporting herself with the low-cut-blouse, flirt-prompted tips generated in a downtown Peoria, lecher bar. He snickered and thought; "Independence? My ass. .......... Maybe theirs." He was, perhaps presumptuously, sorry. Sorry for her and sorry for himself. It was a feeling of inseparability, called co-dependence by those who have not been there. Love knocks down all the illusory, dividing distinctions between me and you, us and them, mine and yours; good and bad.

Egregious, yellow-faced, considerations of practicality came in like a Japanese-nuclear-"accident"-prompted tidal wave. The stubbornly, immune attribute of past time was non-negotiably inviolable; it's perfectly defined inflexibility an unwanted governance to those with the ludicrous audacity to think of themselves as holders of a perfect, unbiased memory. Attempts to re-define the past achieved limited success in his futile attempts at revisionist history. While his critically acclaimed forays into "yet-un-accepted-new" thought motivations were found vindicating; it was only marginally popular and monetarily unattractive. It was overly easy to deride the non-existent straw man to suggest that the vast majority was inherently wrong. Jack had disregarded his couched, despairing, adolescent pleas for adoration, thinking that no one detected his embarrassment. He was wrong.

Again, Jack didn't have the slightest idea as to where his non-productive mental meanderings had taken him. Maybe a circle of hell. Definitely a circle of something. Its serious lack of humor precluded any commercial value; but, he didn't care as he wasn't trying to peddle anything. This was solely for his memories of Beth and him; and the zero people around him. His best guess was that he lived in the phony, but energizing world at the end of the yellow brick road. He chastised himself, for his recidivist, cerebral, and impractical inclinations. Yet, he pled not guilty to any charges of elitism, superiority or clerically, faux modest and artless preaching. His thoughts were his own. The traits which he had learned to hide beyond the confines of his non-traditional brain waves, screamed for a mind-blowing release. But Beth had long ago, hopelessly retired.

His naturally-inspired demands were ones with which Jack was irrefutably and subserviently copacetic. Their familiarity seemed draw-bridge-chain-straight-forward, and, at the same time, shared an enthusiastically invasive presence with his uncontrollable desire; with which he was bound to worship her self-effacing and overly-critical-evaluation-of-her female beauty. The whole son-of-a-bitch, fucking thing didn't make any sense. Maybe the whole-son-of-a-bitch, sucking thing did. It added taste to the equation. It seemed a chance, yet persuasive statement.

Beth was hopelessly gone into a past of repetitive un-response. So was he. Her trusting youth was gone; not only in calendar years; as she no longer fantasized any pretensions to anything other than the severely diminished enumeration. He worshipped gullibility. Even more he worshipped faked gullibility.

He recalled his indoctrination to the not easily characterizable reduction. It was his short-lived, teenage intro into a lengthy advertisement for Remington Firearms, which people thought was some sort of unannounced documentary on the life of Kit Carson. Later, after mimicry set in, and viewership fell off, it was classified as an "infomercial;" at the time a newly coined combination word. Its diminishing attention receiving existence came to be seen as a minority watched aberration, derided in the densely populated and time stressed East and West as "long ass commercials." Unsurprisingly, the rough and ready allure of Kit was said to have sold guns, heightened by its lack of specificity in what to do with them, other than the lead filling of now hidden Native Americans.

With presumably free will; consumer bar-codes costly in America; and with the never inexpensive, private method of distribution; corporate expenditures on "infomercials" expanded and evolved much less than an artfully contrived source of diversion. Scheduling of the relentless inroads into the "entertaining" and surreptitiously peddling market became consistent with the less expensive, mid-darkness, "graveyard shift." As a consequence of the market segment reached, the infomercial entertainers extolled goods and services relevant to the geriatric, insomniac and mentally disabled communities. AllYouNeed, Inc. came to be viewed as being a visionary, commercial forefather for its efficient, award winning, all sector reaching, "Vampires on Purgatives," subtitled "Squatting in the Shadows." This was later seen by some incorrect academics as America's entry into the post-modern, otherwise un-namable era. Jack thought it was pretty good. Somehow, the sight of someone puking always seemed relevant and hilarious.

Jack's mind again changed direction, probably aided by another glass of firewater, which he crawled to on his knees. He thought of his long lost youth; a self-consciously hidden time he was only capable of beginning to analyze in his recent, time-freeing demise. At fifteen, his depressed, insurmountable doubts concerning his ability to locate his dreamed-of one were overwhelming. In the disinterested cruelty of the powers that be, every night she smiled at him to his delight; then faded into the so-high-above-cracked ceiling.

Then he met Beth; and, because of that, the present seemed wicked. With his recollection of mornings spent in the irretrievable loveliness of the voluptuously hipped danger freak, how could he be forced to endure a measly survival in his unrequited search for something no one had ever seen? Jack's sincere dreams of those he loved were forever made blind to his curious eyes, deprived heart, mind, and whatsit.

He had found whatsits to be important, well beyond their relative dimensions, in the overall scheme of things. Once upon a time, Beth found this amusing in an erotic way. But, she must have rationally questioned the use of an imprisoned whatsit. God damn! A temporary thing. Whatsit would soon be free. Instant gratification is a road to hell.

Jack realized that he had circled to the photocopy machine. His spinning head told him to look for employment some other time. Right now, the best thing he could do was return to bed and sleep on his whatsit. All he had to do was get there on legs which were on the deck of a ship in heavy waves. The first step was monstrous. He twitched and shivered at the thought of the coming day. He shut his eyes and got under the blankets.

He wasn't sure if he had gotten any restful sleep. But the next thing he knew, he heard a scratching at his window; a maniac conjured by a drunken Poe first came to mind. He looked up and saw the paws and enormous head of a German Shepherd.

Jack yelled; "Go away," but the dog remained in place and stuck out its tongue. He pulled the blankets back over his head, hoping it would understand a not-so-subtle rebuke. Maybe the Shepherd did, but it stayed there and barked, again scratching at the window. Jack said; "Where's your owner?"

The dog made a whining sound and dropped out of sight. Jack felt guilty. With not a little bit of difficulty, he got out of bed and went to the window. The Shepherd was lying on the ice. Jack put on a heavy jacket and went outside.

The dog rose and walked to him, tail wagging. Jack saw tags hanging from his collar. He knelt to look at them and the dog licked his face furiously. He found a phone number and went back in to call it, having difficulty keeping the dog from following him in. He was curtly told that the owners lived thirty miles away and didn't want the Shepherd anymore. Jack surmised that they had dumped him in Propicio, a not uncommon occurrence. Jack sighed deeply and looked at the dog waiting at the window.

He thought; "I can't leave him there. He's not young anymore. Nobody is going to adopt him. And he must be freezing. ........... Without a job, it's going to be hard enough to feed myself. He must weigh 120 pounds. .......... Damn. .......... I could use the company. ......... I don't know." Jack again looked out the window and saw that the dog had not moved and that his big brown eyes were looking back at him. Before he could think himself into a quandary, Jack opened the door.

The shepherd dashed in. Jack knelt beside him saying; "It's you and me pal," and got more face licks, as he investigated another tag. Stamped into a fading red, metallic heart was the name "Justice."

Jack got both of them some food and water. They ate and drank, sitting by the fire in a sunray.

Later, Jack was infected with serious thoughts. It prompted him to rationally focus on his immediate, troubling situation.

Jack gave a lot of thought to his impending financial difficulties. The conclusion he came to was the simplest one. He was an American, dammit and he would pursue things the American way. When injured, get a good lawyer who can find someone with deep pockets who was legally at fault, or close to it. It was clean, and besides, there's not much sense in a two time loser running dope.

Clayton Crowley of Mesa Grande came to mind. He had a lot of respect for the Clay Man. He had gotten a $500,000 settlement for a false arrest allegation he brought for David Reardon. Half a million fucking dollars just because Clay got his psychiatrist pal, Jakey Sussman to state that because of the incident David was no longer able to screw and got a few pros to give depositions stating that they used to make it with David regularly, but that the last few times he wasn't quite up to the occasion.

Every cop in town knew that Reardon wasn't his real name, and every cop in town also knew that he turned over some weight every now and then. That was the cops' problem. They never knew when David was going to pull it off and he only did it every couple of months. To make things even more difficult David was in and out in less time than it took the midtown bus to make its afternoon run.

You see, David picked the shit up someplace no one else knew of, and within an hour's time laid it all off somewhere else no one else knew of. The only reason the cops knew about it at all was through the snitches and David, himself. Besides the ladies, David liked fine clothes, Armani leather and that kind of haute couture thing, and the nightlife in Mesa Grande. Once in a while he'd run into some smart mouth cop, who'd ask him; "Where you get the money for all this stuff?" David would answer; "Dealin' drugs. Where else could I get it, jackass," or something like that. It would piss the cop right off, but he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

So, one fine evening David does his standard routine to a young cop, a month out of the academy in front of a couple of laughing girls. The cop was embarrassed and mad as hell. Either because of the anger or stupidity or both, the rookie gets a warrant for David's arrest, tellin' the old geek on night duty that he's got evidence.

He goes to David's condo where he thinks he'll find some stash. Right? So, gun pulled, he knocks on the door; yellin'; "Police, open up. I got a warrant for your arrest," and all that jazz. Well, David's in the back bedroom with one of his lady friends. He either didn't hear the noise or wasn't about to be coitus-ly interrupted over some bullshit. He testified that he didn't hear anything with the music on. So Rook kicks the door in and soon has his semi pointed at David's bare ass. It is said that coitus was indeed rudely interrupted at that point. Rook turns the condo upside down looking for something which is not, nor ever has been there. He ends up taking a wad of cash as "evidence" and hauls David downtown. Of course David was soon released and got most of his money back. But, understandably, David now can't help but mentally associate screwing with being threatened with a gun, having his condo trashed and having his money stolen.

Jack made an appointment with Clay for early the following week and considered the case which might be brought. He can't screw anymore because the Police Department capriciously, arbitrarily and with malice aforethought dismissed an award winning cop without pay for two antiquated, irrelevant infractions rendering one of the city's finest no longer able to "do the right thing," leaving him only with the unsatisfactory alternative of having to attempt to make do with something perverse and abhorrent to his nature. Jack attempted to find his Baptismal certificate.

Chapter 11

Jack and Justice hit it off like Butch and Sundance. Now that he had some company, Jack decided to take a long walk on Calle de la Congelacion. It was still winter, but, with an un-obstructed sun the mid-day temperatures were thirty degrees higher than at daybreak. The climate in the desert town was far from temperate and as happens one year out of twenty in New Mexico; the average late winter temperatures had risen early. The road ice was melting away and Jack could make his way without having to worry about falling on his head. Justice had an easy time of it and seemed to take particular pleasure sliding on the shifting and fading, transitory winter overlays. Justice kept getting ahead of Jack, but would stop and look back until the trudging human could catch up.

They walked up and down as the temperature continued to climb. After an hour, the early January heat wave had melted away most of the ice on the road, allowing Jack a better chance of keeping up with Justice; an illusory chance. He hoped a precocious spring was on the way. Other residents used the opportunity to begin chores on their, now warm land, in knowledgeable expectation of the new growth to soon come. They kept their backs to Jack and Justice.

On their second go round Jack saw a guy in front of the first house on the left. The bearded, pony-tailed man was working on one of the old junkers on the property. He had the hood up and seemed intent on accomplishing something with a wrench. Jack heard the engine cough, then purr, and decided to investigate.

Jack sort of led Justice through the trees and over the broken limbs. The man with the wrench paid them no notice and started to walk back toward the house. Jack yelled out; "Hey, excuse me," and Justice ran ahead.

The man looked back, saw the huge untethered Shepherd and somewhat threateningly said; "Is that dog all right?"

"Yeah. ......... As long as you don't hit him with that wrench." Justice sniffed at the stranger, then turned back to Jack with an expression that seemed to say; "All right. Big deal. So what now?"

Jack answered him, but directed the words at Mr. Goodwrench, saying; "Do you want to sell any of these cars?"

"Maybe. You live right up the road. Don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Cop?"

"Not anymore."

Mr. Goodwrench slowly rotated his head 180 degrees; then said; "Once a cop, always a cop. You're trespassin'."

"Tell me all about it. Look, man. I'm in the market for a cheap car. Simple as that. You got one or don't you?"

"I might have a couple."

"I want one that runs."

"I don't take credit cards."

"I got cash. How about that one you just started up?" Jack pointed at the dented, twenty year old, white Toyota.

"Good car. Got 200,000 miles, but these things last forever."

With a straight face Jack replied; "Yeah, and they defy the law of gravity, too. Got papers on it?"

"Yeah, I got papers. This is a legitimate operation."

"What do you want for it?"

"Eight hundred."

"Let me drive it a while."

Mr. Goodwrench nodded and gave Jack one key. He opened the door and Justice hopped right in. Jack followed and used his ass to secure the driver's seat. They drove up and down Calle de la Congelacion, making tire tracks in the remnants of the ice, which had become gray mush. He brought it back, got out and said; "Sputters."

"It's been off all winter. It'll work out. You got my personal warranty."

Jack took out his wallet, leafed through the paper currency, shrugged and said; "All I've got is seven."

Mr. Goodwrench reached for it, saying; "Well, since you're no longer a stranger. Now, you're a neighbor."

Jack drove the car home, jockeying with Justice for complete control of the driver's seat. He managed a sufficient deal to be able to negotiate the road. They went in and Jack immediately turned on his laptop to research Blue Book values. To avoid any potential bit and byte confusion, when asked to sign in, he continued to use the name Jack Greenhandle. It worked. The machine believed the lie humans no longer did. He laughed at its stupid vulnerability, yet was curiously thankful for its unmitigated trust. He quickly realized that his misrepresentation was nowhere near the first. It was so easy to do. He tried to think of a scam. Maybe he could be an internet, paraplegic Iraq War veteran and sell overpriced, cutesy greeting cards; big eyed bunnies, squirrels and stuff like that. He could get them made at the photocopy place just out of town. He found the suggested retail price of a 1996 four door Toyota Corolla was $800. It didn't say with how many dents. Thanks.

His cell phone rang. He had wondered if it was still operative following his job loss. It was Manny.

"Hello, old partner."

"Hello, scam artist."

"Hey, I was just trying to straighten out my life." Jack shut down the computer and carried the phone to the window. The pigeons remained on the ledge.

"Well, it worked a long time."

"You get a new partner yet?"

"Yeah, not my choice."

"Takes a while."

"Young Latino thinks I'm bustin' too many Latinos."

"Take him out to the res and nail some Indians. Excuse me, Native Americans."

"This city is officially more than half Latino. Never mind the illegals. Excuse me, the undocumented. What does he expect?"

"You said he's young. What did you expect when you were young?"

"Not this shit."

"I'll bet you used the words 'fair' and 'fairness' a lot. We all did. After thirty we never said them again."

"...................."

"Hey, I'm becoming a real person. I met one of my neighbors, got a car, and a dog named Justice."

"New job?"

"Nah. Me and Justice are going to wallow here and just burn it all out. I've paid my dues on the clock. It's been a long haul."

"You got enough money to last the rest of your life?"

"Hell, no. I'm just trying to keep this good day going, without thinking about necessities. Actually, since the weather has been co-operative, I'm going to look for some landscaping jobs; get paid in cash and keep my unemployment benefits running. Be a part of the system and all that. I've also been thinking about selling over-priced greeting cards over the internet, saying that I am an Iraq War hero paraplegic. The old folks don't yet know that internet generated information is never the truth."

"You're fucked up and you'll also have to stand in line."

"I'm just trying to cope with the world as it is. You didn't ask me anything about Justice. So, I'll tell you that he's a huge German Shepherd that came and found me. Came right to my house. He was abandoned by some asshole. Great dog and he looks intimidating enough to keep the creeps from bothering me."

"And you have company. Great."

"Got the name of the jerk who stole my car?"

"Things are so great for you and you still want payback?"

"I lied about the joy in my life. Everybody does. Don't you know that yet? If we can't get anything better, we all at least deserve justice."

"No. He hasn't been found yet. Probably has no priors."

"Truth?"

"Yeah. I promised. Didn't I?"

"Useless fucking Homicide shits can find harmless identity changes, but not killers. It's a joke."

"A sick one. Problem is that they gotta get their fat asses out from in front of the computer to get an actual arrest. Listen, gotta go. My partner is coming back with the armpit burgers."

"Keep in touch."

"Right." Manny hung up.

Jack patted Justice' back and said; "Let's walk again and take advantage of the fine weather. Who knows how long it will last?"

It was sixty degrees. Jack walked out the front door and Justice trotted. Though Jack merely kept a steady un-hurried gait, he was able to almost keep up by simply keeping on going, as Justice often diverted and circled. He seemed intent on sniffing at all the delights of the newly exposed earth.

Near most houses were human presences doing something Jack couldn't determine from his distance. They were likely most interested in enjoying the January "heat wave," just like he and Justice. Some waved in a cursory manner and he waved back, recalling his delight in now being considered a neighbor.

After half an hour Jack was feeling great, having actually worked up a bit of a sweat. But, he got a quick and thorough chill as he approached the last property on the left. A skinhead was briskly walking toward the road carrying a rifle. Jack felt naked and very vulnerable without his gun, even in his own neighborhood. After all his gun had been his former, steady fourteen year companion. He decided to turn back toward home, but Justice was intent on performing more of his investigations. Unfortunately his interest had been piqued by something smelly in the vicinity of the rifle holder.

Jack stopped walking and called out; "Justice! Get back here!"

Without breaking stride Justice briefly looked back and kept going.

"Justice! Dammit!"

Justice went right to the gun toting stranger, who had reached the post and rail fence. The dog hopped it and Jack's heart turned upside down. It righted itself when the man reached down and vigorously patted the dog's head. As Justice put his paws up on the man's thighs, he dropped his rifle in order to hold onto both front paws. The man made a brief glance in Jack's direction, re-focussed on Justice, and said; "Big good guy."

Jack took a few small, shuffling steps and replied; "Yeah. Could learn to listen better, though."

"My 'Freebow' was just like that. Shepherd, too. He was fourteen when he died in November; just when the cold really settled in. How old is this guy?"

"I really don't know. He just showed up at my door a few weeks ago."

"Name?"

"Justice."

The man was silent, but Jack thought he noticed a curious, double taking expression. He added; "He came with a tag. The creeps who put him out named him that. Is fourteen an average age for these guys."

"Yeah, pretty much. Freebow was goin' good and then his nose started bleedin'. Dumb ass vet never could figure out why and couldn't stop it. I miss him a lot." He picked up his rifle and thought he saw Jack flinch. He said; "Don't worry about this. I just use it to chase away the skunks. I put a few shots near them and they find someplace else to stink up. Got an unusually high number now. Maybe it's the weather."

"You don't kill 'em?"

"No. Don't have to. Besides, I get a kick thinkin' about how the new suburbanites will freak out when the skunks make a home over at their places."

"Propicio has an ordinance against gunfire in town."

"Got a fuckin' ordinance against everything now. Can't burn. Can't shoot. Can't water elms. Can't weld. Whatever I want to do, I can't. You're the de-frocked cop, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"Small community. Tight. Not many of us left. For the gun use I'm told that I'm grandfathered in; on my own property anyway. I was shooting here before the newcomers got the ordinance passed. Now I'm more of a collector. Buy some. Sell some. Go to a lot of gun shows up north."

Jack thought that he had met the person he was looking for. Maybe he could get another gun. He said; "What do you have for sale now? I'm in the market."

"If you're still a cop that's entrapment right there. Everything I got; if the price is right."

"Maybe. ........ Probably. ......... Yeah. I'm lookin' for a semi-automatic handgun and a dealer that doesn't ask a million questions."

"I ain't nosy. Besides, a lot of the stuff I have is not traceable. If you know what you're doin' at the gun shows you can buy one part from one dealer, another part from another dealer, and another part from yet another. Assemble it yourself, and nobody knows you have a gun unless you tell them. Perfectly legal. Don't have anything semi-automatic like that right now, but I got some sten guns you might like."

"Do it yourself stuff?"

"Yeah. You can make them yourself if you know how to weld and you lived somewhere that allowed it. I do it at my brother's house in Bosque Farms. Wink, wink. The instructions are available on the internet for free. It's actually easier to make an automatic than a single shot."

"Might blow up in your hand."

The skinhead put down his rifle and held up both of his hands. He said; "No, not if you know what you're doin'. See, I still got all my fingers." He extended his right hand and said; "By the way, my name's Casey. It's just a cheaper alternative without all the hassles."

Jack shook it and said; "Jack."

"Come on back to the barn. I'll show you some stuff."

Jack and Justice followed Casey through the barn's open double doors. Tables lined the interior walls; their top trays host to heavy black bolts, metal tubes, and handles with a number of dalliances into items not recognizable to an amateur gunsmith. Jack was impressed with the meticulous consistency of the placement. It was as if everything was in its proper place; with no excusing deference to sloppy work habits.

Casey said; "Here's something you might like; it's an automatic," and handed Jack what appeared to be something in need of a plumber's attention.

"Can I try it?"

"Sure, just don't hit anything."

Jack walked back outside and pointed it at the ground. He jumped when he pulled the trigger, as the gun quickly fired off four shots. He said; "Shit." When Justice didn't move, Jack knew that he was used to being around guns. Jack stroked his head and handed the gun back to Casey.

Casey grinned and said; "Guess not. Just as well. You cops have the benefit of regular range practice, and the automatics spray all over the place and run out of ammo. You don't need that. The amateurs like 'em. Here's a semi sten. You can use it any way you like. Trigger releases one shot. If you keep it down it'll spray. Best of both worlds."

It did precisely what it was supposed to do. Jack gave Casey cash. The two men shook hands. As Jack turned toward the road, Casey furiously stroked Justice, and said; "Great dog, man. You take good care of him; all right?"

"Sure thing. See ya. ............... And thanks.

As they started to walk back home Jack felt a little less naked as he again carried a loaded gun; this time semi-automatic and of the sten variety. It was funny looking but he knew it was not easily traceable without personal testimony which would result in the incrimination of the seller. Most importantly, he knew that it worked well.

They sat in the living room. Like a well programmed zombie, Jack, in fear of silence, nervously turned on his laptop. Justice spread out on the couch, showed no interest, and shut his eyes with the slightest of groans. Jack pushed the appropriate buttons, which enabled him to have on screen one of the addicting, old vomit vats replete with sucking straws initially available free. These legalized pushers were collectively referred to as social media. This particular socially conscious database, if that is not an oxymoron, is called Goofreads, and is purported to afford reviews of and discussions of books, boasting 40 million members; the data supplied free of charge by suckers either with nothing else to do, those in hope of a job to come later, those who thought they were doing some service for the world of literature, or those who got off on the power of being a "librarian" with complete access to the entire database.

Jack didn't have any particular interest in this poorly camouflaged book selling site. It was just there on his search engine under differing aliases, all the time, ever since he made the mistake of purchasing a Patti Smith CD through AmawayOnSteroids.

In laziness, he surfed around the site. He had always liked "Infinite Jest" and thought that it might be fun to get some other opinions about it. Jack read three consecutive "reviews," the last being written by an entity which called itself Green Snotcrackers. Jack hoped that unlike the first two, it would be picky. It follows.

A DAY IN THE LIFE WITH DFW *****

"Note; Admittedly, it could have been a while back, but I might have been given a free hard copy of this book; "The Ocean Over the Septic Tank," in return for an honest review. I might have no financial interest in its sales, unless you click right here, in which case I'll get an inconsequential gratuity. Since I've been writing reviews on this site for a year, which all tend to be five starred ones, I've been inundated with free books from authors and publishers. I've got about forty piled up on the dining room floor and another 800 on my computer. Jeez, I'll never catch up. I didn't know how they got my home or personal e-mail address until last week when one of them called me. He started yelling at me. I found out that he paid $15 to my Goofreads friend who promised him he'd have a five star review in a week and gave him my personal information, telling him to just send it directly. Well, I'll tell you that I straightened him right out, the guy on the phone that is, and told him I'd do it next, not wanting to offend my friend, who will remain un-named. Anyway, I was a bit fatigued this morning after driving my two kids to school. They got into their old argument about who is getting the front seat and all of that. Yes, we still have that alternating-days system which I mentioned in other reviews, but Jimmy was sick on Friday, his front seat day, so Michelle sat there. Michelle insisted that Monday was her day and that it wasn't her fault when Jimmy gets sick. So, they both got in the front seat and wouldn't budge. I didn't know what to do, so I just drove them and hoped that some cop wouldn't make a big deal about the seat belt thing. That turned out to be cool, but halfway there they started jostling for position and Jimmy must have not been completely better as he hurled all over, including on Michelle's dress. I was going to bring them both back home, but Michelle insisted on going to school saying that she didn't want to be stuck in the house with sick barf boy as it might be catchy, and that "with all the gross shit on the internet, nobody's going to give a flying fuck over a little vomit." It's okay. I told her that she could use those kinds of words when she turned ten, like her boyfriend next door. So, I dropped her off and drove Jimmy back home. I got him changed, put him to bed and cleaned up the car, trying not to puke myself. So, I'm sitting here tired, disgusted, pissed and rebellious. Just to show everybody who's boss I picked up this other, very fat book. It'll put those nasty fifteen buck writers back a while. I also figured that since he's dead Wallace won't be calling me. It doesn't look new. Damn, the phone's ringing. Be right back.

That was the goddam school. I've got to go bring Michelle back home. No, they didn't object to the vomit; at least not the vomit itself, as least as far as I understand it. It was that my little angel has been bombarding the nerdy boy who sits beside her with the big chunks. You know, that kid is such a wimp. Any real boy would just throw them back at her, but the sissy is crying. Christ.

I'm outta here. Oh yeah, IJ is a great, great book. I'd like to give it six stars. Great plot, moves right along. Recommended to anyone over ten years of age with strong arms. Maybe will update. It's heavy. Ha ha ha."

Yet Another Example of a Totally Useless Book Review. This One Done in Quasi-Literary Format

At the beginning Of David Foster Wallace's 1996 classic "Infinite Jest," Hal is in Deans' office, presumably to enable them to decide whether or not he's worthy of an athletic scholarship; with lower requisites than an academic one. The stated problem is that his exemplary high school grades were achieved in a school owned by his parents. There is a conflict with his "closer to zero than desired" standardized test scores which the "Ministers of Information" want to clear up through a personal meeting. Hal notes the coldness, rigidity, remoteness, covered up aspects, and the falsity of the room; once sarcastically describing the double paned windows as being "closed against the November heat." He does not interrupt the proceedings likely due to having taken his tennis coach's advice to err on the side of caution. During the meeting a pattern becomes abundantly clear. Any question he is asked is answered for him by someone else; most often utilizing information extracted from their computers. When Hal senses that the meeting will soon end he says things; rather complicated things, which don't seem to make much sense; outside of them being a possible testimony to his interest in rather arcane esotericism. At one point he says; "I could tell you about these things, and you might even be interested." When he stands up, the Deans leap upon him, saying he is unbalanced, and Hal winds up with his face in the carpet. It might detract from the mystery of the story to say that for some strange reason Hal did not get the scholarship. .............. Toward the end of the book, the violent storm is easily deciphered as a representation of an apocalyptic event. Funnel clouds destroy the houses of those who have abstained from the available drugs. Gately (Gates of Eden? A Hal double?) wakes after the worst has passed, yet it is still raining. He is alone and on his back on a beach. It is still cold. But, having taken the drugs he has survived. It's not the best solution, but it is the best one available. The closing line; "the tide was way out," is among other things a simple reference to increased awareness.

So, what is there to understand one deftly asks? At its essence, it's just another book. Well, that's an easy to answer. The relevance of this book is beholden to its 1938 screwball comedy predecessor; "Bringing Up Baby." Hepburn and Grant starred while Hawks directed the story centered on the domestication of a gentle, sweet tiger who managed to scare everyone except Katharine, Cary, and Howard. For the DFW 1996 counterpoint, one might make note of the sabre (Change one letter. Ease are equal to a's, and in the Palestinian pronunciation is the equivalent of a US haze.) toothed tiger. He knows that the best way to win is to get your enemies to fight each other. He also knows that a competent investigator will pursue an avenue which starts and often ends with; "Who received the most benefit from the conflict?" All fingers will lead to him, so he has a diversionary plan. This is the weakest part of his chain, but it's not too easily detected. He knows that people think of "tigers" without making the differentiation between types of tigers. He facilitates a situation in which tigers are slaughtered, thereby eliminating the possibility that people will think in terms of 100% "tiger benefit," as they simultaneously ignore the 100% benefit for the sabres' sub-section. Because of the slaughter, it has become socially unacceptable, and in more significance, criminally punishable "hate speech" to try to address this possibility and most people feel sorry for the sacrificed tigers anyway. In addition the sabres have been scientifically deemed as long ago extinct; though there have been reported sightings ............ Some of the non-sabre tigers have an idea of what's going on, but are reticent to say it as to do so invokes the strong possibility that even if they are believed, the response will be against all tigers. ................ Pretty good game. No? And even the scientists say that the sabre toothed tiger is genetically not a true tiger. He's a cat with some similarities to a dog; but he definitely ain't no tiger. Nowhumsayin? All right. The utilization of false identities was not simultaneous with web based sock puppets. The primary and inherent sabre problem is that they always have been and continue to be something other than the sharpest pencil in the box. They are good IT specialists; but they're primarily warriors, and very good ones; both males and females; most adept at following orders. For a business plan, they have employed other types of tigers, the best talent purchasable, to further their cause. But one named Grateful Jack Straw has been operating under the name Beckett. He was the despondent advisor who was once the closest to the King Sabre. The King thought him a buddy and liked hanging out with Jack-Beckett. But, Jack-Beckett got some kind of bug up his ass and split. So now the Sabres are using every methodology known to Sabres, including IT, in an attempt to find reclusive Jack-Beckett before he can spill the beans; while the King reverts to his heritage and cries crocodile tears. The fact is that Jack-Beckett has already spilled the said beans, though it is not yet common knowledge. The King's new advisor has suggested that this is the likely case. So, Mr. Sabre needs to create another horrendous physical event to take minds off a theory which is merely suggestive. Nuclear facilities distanced from Sabre territory seem a good option.

Why get serious. All it produces is a whopping headache. Let the music play. Here's Dylan at his chirpiest singing "Highway 61 Revisited." ......................... Shit. Does anybody here know how these MP3 monstrosities work? It keeps repeating the first seven lines over and over. All right already. The fuckin' kid is soon dead. Who cares? I trust you have ten nimble fingers.

In some semblance of either wonder or disbelief, most often induced by Harry and Sal, Jack exited the social media site he had on the computer screen and logged off; grudgingly allowed the "privilege" after a few machine necessary questions. "Hey, come on, Justice. It's getting suffocating in here. Let's go take another look at that glorious outside world." Justice recognized a sufficient number of those words to know that he was going for a walk. He jumped off the couch, where he was resting and led Jack to the front door.

Jack mentally and physically froze when he saw a woman who looked exactly like he imagined his long gone Beth would look today. It had to be an illusion, but ........ She was only a hundred feet ahead of him. And on Calle de la Congelacion of all places, with her standard two dogs in tow. This time, one was a tiny, tan pug and the other was a medium sized, black, lab mix. She appeared as if she didn't notice him as she and her dogs seemed more focussed on something right in front of them, which they found more interesting. The dogs sniffed and the woman watched what they were sniffing in the dried out brush at roadside.

Jack was simultaneously anxious and afraid to approach her, as he clumsily slid on the diminishing remnants of the loose, melting ice. Unencumbered Justice made any human decision un-necessary as he bounded over and sniffed the two 'new' dogs. Jack called out; "Beth, Beth. It's okay. He won't attack," leaving off the "At least I don't think so" part.

She glanced at the nuzzling dogs and then at slip sliding Jack, who was approaching slowly, but as best he could on the shifting ice, with his eyes fixed on her.

With a tone indicative of mild annoyance or playful banter, she said; "You know, that dog should be on a leash. It's the law now."

More sure with each step, but surprised at the opening line, Jack said; "Beth?"

"How do you know my name?"

Jack stared at her face. "How else? It's me. Jack. Sure, I've changed. But, don't tell me that you got here accidentally."

"I really have no idea of what you're talking about."

Now that he was up close he was as certain as one can be that this fiftyish, graying woman was the Beth who left when he was sentenced to jail twenty years prior. Her patented, quick flip-flop was a giveaway. She was the right height, had the same eyes and nose he remembered, and was wearing blue jeans; Beth's all occasion attire. Jack quickly considered the possibilities. Even though the resemblance was uncanny, maybe this wasn't the Beth he once knew. Maybe it was and she didn't want to tell him until she could determine that he was no longer a jail bird. Maybe she had lost her memory or was mentally ill. In any event, if it was her, he knew that any insistent approach would be automatically rebuked. He decided to tone it down and later try to find out if she knew things only his Beth could know. He said; "My apologies. I think I made a mistake. Let's start over." He extended his right hand for a shake saying; "My name's Jack and I live here." He pointed at his house which couldn't be seen through the elms and added; "Right over there as a matter of fact."

Beth shook his hand warily and cursorily. She said; "You ought to get yourself a new line. That one ain't cuttin' it anywhere. It sounds too much like; 'Do you come here often?' And would you please get a hold of that dog. Andy and Charlene are getting freaked out. He's so big."

Jack said; "Actually, I think that they like each other; but okay." He took Justice' collar, gave it a little tug, and authoritatively said; "Calm down, Justice." Justice proceeded to stop hopping around, with a grunt, and granted a nuzzle to Charlene, who took a half-hearted, air nip in his direction. Jack let go of his collar, looked at Beth and added; "Justice is his name, you know. I didn't name him myself. He won't assault anyone. He just gets over-excited when he sees new friends. It's kind of a harmless deficiency in his etiquette training."

They all walked slowly toward the river at the end of the road.

Jack said; "Do you live around here? I've never seen you here before."

She faintly grinned, saying; "Almost normal. No, I'm just staying with relatives for a few days."

"Oh, look. The dogs like each other."

"I'm not so sure. Yours does. But mine seem to have some reservations."

Jack took the flatness of that statement as a personal rebuke, as her pug Andy and lab Charlene seemed to be enjoying the attention Justice was giving them. He decided to remain silent.

They both stared at the ground and she overplayed the difficulties they were experiencing in the melting ice with small grunts which had no discernable source of origin.

Jack's perception of the ten second quiet was untimed, but he thought that it was going on much too long. In an overly anxious effort to add sound to that of the underfoot cracking ice, he ventured; "This is a good place to walk. You've got the picturesque forest for the setting, the lack of cars for the safety, and the length of the road for diversity. When you come out here you can imagine that you are under the protection of nature at its best, while knowing that in case of some emergency other people are nearby."

Beth showed a slightly derisive grimace, and replied; "Are you a writer?"

Jack noticed and quickly thought; "I want to impress this woman. I don't want to say that I'm between jobs or babble some other euphemism, like 'I'm a consultant,' for being unemployed. Everyone knows that garbage." So, he implied something which wasn't true by trailing off with; "As a matter of fact ........."

Beth's eyebrows rose when she proffered her first non-sarcastic question; "Oh, what do you write about?"

"Most anything someone will pay me for. I'm not that big of a deal."

They got to the end of the road. Beth stopped and shook Jack's hand. She said; "Well, nice meeting you. I'm turning in here."

"The Dietrich place? Is your name Beth Dietrich?"

"No. Are you some kind of investigative reporter?"

Jack couldn't hold back and blurted; "I think you still love me, but we can't escape the fact that I'm not enough for you. I knew this was going to happen. So I'm not blaming you for taking off. People have to have a steady income. I'm not angry, either. I should be, but I'm not. I just feel pain. A lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt, but I was wrong. When I used to look at you, I felt as if I was looking at a star, millions of light years away. The brightness is captivating, though the light may have ended eons ago. Maybe that star died years ago; but sometimes it seems more real to me than this melting ice."

She went through the open gate, saying; "You must write poetry. Stop it. You're weirding me out." Beth, Andy and Charlene quickly disappeared in the thick trees. Jack was even more convinced that this was the Beth he had known because of the patented double message. Jack whispered "Bye," and didn't follow as he had respect for private property. He momentarily questioned that personal rule as this border was obviously a porous one. It was the fourth and last house on the right, presumably with a river view. As long as Jack had lived on Calle de la Congelacion he wasn't sure, but was under the impression that this completely fenced property belonged to the Dietrichs. He had never seen them, nor had he heard that anyone else had. It was common knowledge that the reclusive family preferred it that way. It was also common knowledge, evidenced by the unlocked gate, which was right on the road that the Dietrichs didn't mind anyone using it in an emergency. Supposedly, one could follow the path all the way to Camino de las Brisas. Jack supposed that had not yet felt any sense of emergency, as he thought he would soon see Beth again.

Exhilarated, he kept walking Justice up and down the block. The ground got more and mushier with each trip. Justice didn't seem to mind. The water served as a sliding pond in the grass and a drinking fountain all over. It was great to not have to work. It was great to be able to enjoy the entire day. It was great to be with Justice. It was great to have again found his dream girl.

At some point Jack's rationality curse set in. If this was the return of his Beth dream girl, it was obvious that she was cautiously checking him out. She didn't want to be saddled with an aging, idle, jobless, and susceptible to crime convict. He didn't think she would be very impressed if he was a landscaper, slowly going broke. But, she might be if he was truly a writer. Hell, in truth, most any idiot can write a book, and in 2016 most do. It was time to join the club.

He got a happy, yet tired Justice back home and fed him. He got on the internet and searched "books" and "writing" in an attempt to find out if he was missing something essential. All the news was encouraging. There were numerous websites which advertised that they exist only to support and promote the up and coming independent writers. There were countless expert suggestions to "write what you know." Jack dived right in. He knew about cops and decided to write of them.

Jack thought; "This must be a magical place. In one day I got a car, a gun, a new profession and a girl. I'll have to walk Justice here more often."

Going with the flow, Jack dozed off in front of his laptop without being aware of it; the doze, not the laptop, that is. He was back in the Black Hills. He was circling and at the same time going upward. Though the climb was gradual, he knew that every time he looked down the tall evergreen trees at ground level looked more and more like small bushes. He was following one of the petite trails, probably established by the furry, nocturnal travelers. He had no particular agenda other than a self-indulgent curiosity of what the view from the unobstructed top would look like first hand. He glanced back and saw his younger brother, Ben, five feet behind him, having some difficulty with the thorny, wild rose bushes which invaded the trail. Ben smiled when he saw Jack's face and said; "Don't worry about me, brother. I'll make it. If you can do it so can I."

Jack's visual screen warped like a 1950's Sylvania on acid. He thought; "No, Ben got blown apart in Iraq ten years ago. And, I'm not fifteen; I'm forty-eight." He woke to a blank computer screen and a snoring dog. The images were so real, he wondered if Ben might be saying hello. He wondered if Beth might be his fantasy. Or was he hers? Do kids know when their friend is imaginary? Are some memories the result of vivid dreams? Was his current situation a long running nightmare? He thought that it was best to get off the topic.

Still, he was reminded of how he wondered if it was Ben who was in that coffin he picked up a decade ago. The body was so blown apart he was told that it was unrecognizable and that it was best not to open it. He never did. It seemed a losing proposition either way. If the sergeant was right whatever was there would be no confirmation of anything; and if the sergeant was wrong he didn't want to see his baby brother dead. Years later he realized that the sergeant probably had no way of being certain of what he had said, merely because the coffin was sealed in Iraq, likely not by him.

A number of times Jack thought that he saw Ben in a crowd, but the times he had the opportunity to investigate, he found nothing. There was that full minute when he saw something out of the corner of his eye and looked up to find Ben dressed in his fatigues, sitting calmly at the kitchen table. Ben wasn't smiling when he said; "There are things going on over there that the public will never be told. Private black operators are making money like horseshit and doing everything they can to keep it going. It's best to stay away from the whole thing." When Jack approached the table, Ben disappeared. Back then, Jack had a number of thoughts he kept to himself for fear of being considered delusional. But since then he had been hearing more and more from conspiracy theorists and while some of the things they said sounded outlandish and were not proven, the official explanation of the 9-11 incident had wide enough holes in it for an untrained pilot to fly a plane through. He wondered if that bomb which demolished his brother could have been "friendly fire" induced "accidentally" because Ben learned some things in Iraq it wasn't good to know. He wondered why he had been given no DNA information. He wondered if the apparition was a message from the grave. He wondered if it was a fantasy. He wondered if it was a dream. He wondered if his brother was still alive. He wondered .......................

He decided that he could drive himself crazy wondering about the possibilities and that it was best to occupy his mind with something else. It was time to start that book. He already had a title; "Real Cops." He'd just tell of the day to day things he and Manny used to do. In a time of fantasy, misinformation, black operations, false flag operations, and lies galore, he'd tell the truth. The cops he had met were not heroes out of an Oscar Fraley book. They were just guys and gals doing the jobs the powers that be wanted done. The public will be refreshed. More importantly, they'll pay plenty for it and Beth will be as impressed as a cat with catnip. And besides, I already lied to her and said that I was a writer. This will change that from an out and out lie to a small matter of timing.

Enjoying the benefits provided by the Unemployment Department Jack started writing like a demon. It seemed easy.

"'Let's reacquaint that asshole over there with the realities of life in Mesa Grande.' The dirty, disheveled dude was weaving around and laughing as he approached patrons of the national chain store. In broad daylight right in their fucking parking lot. 'If we don't get this one tucked away pronto Chief Reggie will be getting about a thousand calls in about five minutes.'

It was my first day on the job, right out of the academy. I was sitting in the passenger seat of the unmarked black Chrysler. Manny was driving and the Mexican veteran didn't seem all that thrilled about having been assigned a rookie 'white boy' partner. He was likely hoping for another Mexican 'kick ass' collaborator who knew the streets and the game. He made that his tough shit, I guess.

The name's Jack. Just Jack. Yeah, I had various extensions from time to time. But, wherever I've been they just called me Jack. It's easy for them to remember. Jack this, Jack that and Jack the other thing. Complications no one wants to think about in 2016, if ever. Fucking Ishmael got by pretty well without some long assed handle. And now I've got myself a sert-eee-fied, police special, semi-automatic with a license to carry and use.

So far, from what I'd seen of Manny, he was all right in my book. For a cop, that is. I could try to make him feel better. I could try to impress him with some old stories about some stuff the racist mutha fucka never saw. But, he'd either think it was some shit I took off 'The Wire' or that I was seeking his approval. I ain't seekin' nobody's approval, and if they think so, that's their first mistake. Those days are long gone. Fuck 'em all.

Hey, this ain't meant to portray myself as some kind of bad ass. I'm not that and never was. If anyone thinks so, fine with me. It just tells me that they had a candy assed life. Those who know, know that I'm the guy talking to the fools who borrow money and can't make the payments. I try to reason with them. I keep tellin' 'em that; 'You better cough up something right now. If you don't the man waiting in the back seat is going to get out of the car. You don't want that. Trust me on that one. The man is 350 pounds of hate; not only of his daddy. He hates his momma too. He really gets off on inflicting torture. Plus he gets paid for it.'

In the parking lot. Business at hand. We're there. Manny's got the detachable cherry thing stuck on top. It's spinning around, two of the three bulbs lit, and making a racket like some ho going through un-sedated childbirth.

The patrons don't know what to do. Some seek the safety of their parked cars. The ones coming make things easy. The ones attempting to go make things a bit more difficult. The ones unable to make a choice are the worst. They stand still, aping a frozen baboon carcass with eyes and mouths gaping, as wide as their big bald red ass. And if they move it is invariably at the wrong time.

Manny drives between the stationary vee-hick-culls at 5MPH. He doesn't look my way when he says; 'Got to be extremely cautious in the crowd.' I would later come to know that this is a proven, prudent, professional, police procedure. He knows that if he merely grazes one of the inconvenienced onlookers in the course of removing that which the onlookers righteously find objectionable there will be hell to pay. I make a mental note of something not taught at the academy.

'Come on. You know you that this will get you to County. What's your shit this time?'

'Hey, hey. Fuckin' Manny. Right on the job as usual. What took you so long? Getting' old? And who the fuck is this?'

I said; 'Name's Jack, mutha fucka,' as I cuffed him behind the back.

'Jack Mutha Fucka.' He laughed. 'Cops takin' any kind of shit they can get their hands on these days. Remind me to pick up an application, mutha fucka.'

I was reminded of an old truism which suggested that it's stupid to argue with fucked up shit. Nothing to gain.

Manny pushed the momentary center of attention into the back seat of our car, his days as a star even shorter than the entire 'career' of counterfeit Vanilla Ice.

As I got back in the passenger's side, I said; 'Ain't you supposed to tell him what he's being arrested for, read him his rights, and tell him to watch his head? Some liberal might be filming this shit.'

Manny almost laughed out loud, as he covered as much of his face as was possible with one right hand. His seasoned urbanity took control over that which might have passed as cutting-edge for the amateurish dilettantes. His acquired taste resulted in a booger which hit the floor and the pale green monstrosity disappeared somewhere below seat-level, near the pedals. He said; 'No problem. This is what everybody wants. The Spanish patrons of the store just want somebody to get this asshole out of here, before he does something really stupid. We got an easy 'collar' and it ain't even 10AM yet. Julio gets a roof over his head and three meals a day. Ain't that right, Julio?'

Behind the bullet-proof glass Julio did a better mock genuflection than he ever did in his Sunday school days and said; 'You the man.'

This kind of exchange was typical during the first few months Manny and I were partners. He thought that I didn't see the big picture. Maybe I didn't. ......... Most likely, I didn't. But, I thought that I knew more about the game than Manny gave me credit for, and that that was at least as much as him.

We pulled in more 'police reports' than any other partners in the precinct. The boss was happy and we could tell any detractors to 'go fuck themselves' with Pope granted immunity. When you bring in the business you can piss on the ones who spend their time in the throes of the 'blah-blah-blah's.

I had a problem, I guess. I never said that I was perfect. Things were going fine. We were getting decorated and all that. The best I can explain it is something I'm unsure of; though I fuckin' well knew that something was there. I respected the hell out of Manny, and sometimes wanted him to understand that we were on a similar if not identical wavelength.

I wanted to tell him that I understood his shit; much, if not entirely like he did. But, I knew that if I overtly tried to impress him, that it would be seen as an overselling contrivance, in search of some gain. Conversely, to remain quiet could be easily construed as stupidity; and this was a posture which ran a severe risk of being someday seen as duplicitous. It would appear as if I was hiding something essential. .......... And I was! Kind of.

It was something which happened a long time ago. It was something not condoned. It was something against the law. The fault was not mine. The fault was with the inexperienced cop, who didn't know the game. The fault was a joke locked somewhere in an absurdist Saunders' story. The fault was that if this did not remain a secret I'd be totally fucked.

To further complicate matters, every week or so, Manny would get on this soliloquy; seemingly posturing himself as some sort of roundabout and coded Hamlet, oblivious to the jester.

I had to pretend as if I didn't know. To do otherwise risked a personal penalty, I'd rather avoid. I was there! In fucking spades. In fucking spades with the fucking queen. In fucking spades with the fucking queen in a more innocent time. In fucking ................. Get off it. It's no longer there, if it ever was.

But, for that legal transgression to be known now is doom. He'd keep telling me this story. Over and over. As if he was questioning everything he other times espoused. As if these thoughts preyed like a winged vulture waiting on the ground for the inevitable. As if it made some difference.

He'd be driving and watching the road. His eyes would be somewhere ahead; somewhere at the top of the windshield. It always scared me, though I never showed or admitted it. I secretly feared that he would not see the oncoming car or even veer into it.

His words were always the same. In a pronounced monotone, with eyes glassed, Manny all too often for my taste said; 'The first thing you notice about jail is that it is populated by people who have long forgotten any fantasies of equality or justice. The system is designed to make money from those addicted to some medicating substance, which temporarily removes the pain; deemed in the brutal twenty-first century to be a crime. If it weren't so fucking sad it would be perversely funny. The recidivist inmates don't want to be seen as whiney cunts. So, they joke. They joke in way only they and the morgue attendants understand. Whatever is required to be human is systematically denied; 100%. And the disinterested have the inexperienced balls to say that we are in America. ...... They're obviously right; an America beyond the forefather's conceptions of any sense of rights or freedom. We have all become terrorists, serving at the whim of Jeffy, and willingly subject to spurious incarceration, without the right to inform and without the right to an attorney, and without the hope of escape. We sit in the cold while the fat bitch in uniform with keys dangling from the ninety degree angle above her bulbous ass which leads nowhere brings an inadequate dinner forty minutes too late, at the inadequate room temperature. She smiles and requires acknowledgement of her 'kindness,' as the inmates race for firsts. The 'power' displayed is her best aphrodisiac. ......... The filmed depiction is shipped to outback Australia via torrent, paid for in Bitcoin or kangaroo skin.

What is most surprising is how the long term residents have acclimated to this perverse reality. They attempt to joke of the Catch 22's, purposely designed to keep them in an inferior place, dependent on the uncaring whims of the hateful flunkies, momentarily in charge. They seem to get their rocks off by withholding any fairness that their rock-hard hearts have rationalized into their calculated norm; at the minimally supportive wage. To play their own sick game back to them, it becomes obvious that they are rejoicing in their power-hungry denials of the basic human rights of those who have been condemned to feel; and feel, in a an uncontrollable way, what is characterized as a disease by the pragmatic, lethargic, and crawling dead.

Take advantage of the weak. Despite popular fantasy and Christian tithe seeking, paradisical, paradisic, monetarily-paramount horseshit, the meek will never inherit the earth. Jesus suffers on the cross, until the devilish oppressors have been eradicated. Truth .......... Truth .......... Truth ........... Irrefutable, pathetic truth. Deal with it, cry your life away, or become Blanche DuBois.

On the smelly and dirty surface; any stupid thoughts of this Pollyanna wishful dichotomy, only existed in the illusory, and un-provable spirits, or more likely, the lack thereof, of the ciphers of those condemned to the remembrance of something which probably never existed, and never will. It is the timeless and pitiless joke. Under the risk of ostracism, we are all obliged to perfunctorily laugh at our own failure. "Ha, ha," is an adequate reply to the time worn observations and do nothing critics.

It's the obvious, banal regurgitation, well-known in the un-supervised schoolyard, and yet evaded by the court-rational fact, ......... brutal fact, ........ and mother-fucking fact, obviously hardnosed sensible to all of the numbed. In a short, cruelly and briefly hopeful; and ultimately perceptive time they have seen the realities, and in necessary self-interest, have completely succumbed to the calculations performed by the blandly safe.

The most representative parts of the room are the topless, stained, stainless steel commodes. The privies. Separated by side metal partitions, they are ample in number to accommodate the 50 people assigned to the spacious, unheated place if they worked properly. But, they don't and nobody fixes 'em.

The inmates sleep in assembled steel bunk-beds, on two inch thick mattresses assigned to them. They carry these things in from booking upon arrival. Orange rubber beach moccasins made to fall off are distributed as a cruel remembrance of beach life and surfing, before the term was commandeered by the search engines.

A 1980's, small screen, Sony TV is perched on a metal frame near the top of the thirty foot ceiling. None of the inmates have been granted a controller for it and none can jump sufficiently high to push a button. Even Michael would fall short. It seems to come on and shut off whenever the mood strikes it. It has a penchant for one national station, never diverting to any other. When it comes on some inmates run to the chairless and hairless, gray tiled floor beneath it and crane their necks. Either out of discomfort or distaste they soon depart. I wonder if their initial enthusiasm was sarcasm, or if hope truly springs eternal. Based on their defeated attitudes toward everything else, I strongly suspect the former.

The temperature is 55 in winter and 95 in summer. The lack of windows in the high ceilinged rooms makes any attempt at climate moderation some sort of Ringling Brothers, three ringed circus, sans the friendly elephant and sans the entertainment value.

If one is not amused, one hundred feet from the bunks and TV are tables with four backless seats fastened to each; much like metal-back yard furnishings; which are unfortunately now devoid of the accoutrements which supplement the umbrella pole holes which block the non-existent light.

The circular table under the lamp contains the remnants of forty books, donated by those seeking a legitimized tax deduction; form signed in blank. Of some possible interest, there is something by Dostoyevsky, but upon inspection, the book has had pages which were subjected to an un-provable, amateur edit.'

Manny paused. His face was scrunched, and looked like a patented Obama lip curl, ostensibly intended to convey some required displeasure in doing what is right.

I deadpanned; 'Same old?'

Somewhat pissed, Manny raised his voice as he looked toward, what appeared to be another Julio brand of casualty, and boldly pronounced; 'Arrest number two for the day. Up to it?'

I shrugged and said; 'As soon as I wipe away the fucking tears.'"

Chapter 12

Clayton Crowley's office was in the weirdest office building in downtown Mesa Grande. The structure itself was a rather nondescript five storied, tan building; but the parking lot must have been designed by an architect who was really a hauler who was stuck with tons of dirt. The formerly flat land was built up and paved over at a height ranging from twenty to twenty-five feet above street level, making the entries and exits a bit of a switchback, replete with blind spots. Perhaps in consideration of their hazardous nature, unlike the other buildings on Mesa Grande Road, access and egress to the lot was only from the side streets.

Jack's dented, twenty year old, white Toyota seemed to be straining as they climbed, but made it. Jack parked it in the half empty lot, near the building's entrance. He went in, checked to see that Clayton Crowley was indeed on the third floor and took the elevator up.

The extent to which he was detained in the waiting room was no more than a minute before the smiling young woman led him to Clayton's inner sanctum. It was a rather large area with private rooms to the side. The young woman directed Jack to one of them and left.

Jack saw Clayton Crowley for the first time. The tall, thin man appeared to be in his fifties. He was already standing with one hand pushing back the silver hair which was fashionably long, but not overly so. Jack thought; "Dignified." Clayton extended his free right hand; saying; "Mr. Bleeker, formerly known as Mr. Greenhandle, pleased to make your acquaintance. Please take a seat."

Jack shook and sat, not just a little stunned by the unexpected greeting; as he had made the appointment in the name of Jack Bleeker; and had said nothing of what was involved.

The first object he noticed was a fifty inch, high definition screen mounted at the end of Clayton's desk, on the wall to Jack's left. It was hard to miss and was currently displaying a form of sorts with Jack Bleeker's name on top.

Clayton said; "Great screen, isn't it? It works well for clients, as they can be certain that I have the right information. Good for football games, too."

"Yes, yes. Quite the thing."

"Mr. Bleeker, you must now be aware that I know who you are. Mesa Grande is a small town and I tend to get involved in police matters. Is Jack Bleeker your real name?"

"Yes. All this would not have happened if it was not."

"Fine. I just like to try to avoid surprises. So, tell me what I can help you with?"

"Something like 'wrongful dismissal?' Or maybe something like what you did for David Reardon?"

Clayton appeared to be somewhat up a little bit. Tell me what happened."

"My car got stolen and it was used in a drive by shooting. During the course of the investigation they somehow found out that my real name was not Jack Greenhandle; that it was Jack Bleeker. Despite having been a decorated cop, I was immediately dismissed for lying on my original job application."

"Did you sign anything?"

"No. .......... Oh, yeah. I signed something the boss said would ensure that I wasn't prosecuted."

"May I see a copy?"

"I don't have one. I rumpled it up and threw it at his wall."

"That's unfortunate. What you signed was likely an agreement not to seek legal redress in return for their agreement not to prosecute. If that's the case it complicates matters; and frankly, this is a difficult 'wrongful dismissal' case at the outset."

Jack was distressed at what sounded like discouragement, as he was previously under the impression that attorneys created cases; not destroyed them. Drawing at straws he said; "How about the Reardon angle?"

"Well, you have not yet alleged the Reardon kind of damages. But, that is a secondary issue. You see, in David's case, we could clearly show that the Police acted inappropriately. That's not quite so clear here."

Jack raised his voice, but more in a plaintive tone than an angry one, and responded; "I was a great cop. Did everything they wanted for a long time. Now, just because I wrote the name 'Greenhandle' rather than 'Bleeker' a million years ago they have the right to dismiss me? That's not right."

"Be that as it may. It's not covered under the law. Signatures are at the foundation of contract law. Without that concept we would be operating in a world in which anyone could write any falsehood they so chose and then walk away from it saying 'It wasn't me who signed,' if that became convenient for them to do. Any sense of order would fly out the window."

Jack sounded a bit derisive, when he said; "Sounds as common as web social media."

Clayton had to chuckle. He said; "Look. I'm not saying that there is no case. What I am honestly telling you is that it is an extremely difficult one. First, we'd have to get that document you signed from the police. Assuming it is what I suspect; a waiver of your right to sue; we'd have to get it overturned based on it being an unconscionable contract. That is far from easy as most cases of this sort involve contracts signed or de facto agreed to by hordes of people; like your standard agreement with AmawayOnSteroids. Secondly, we'd have to establish that you were indeed 'wrongfully dismissed,' as it is defined under the law. I know of no cases which involve fraudulent signatures on job applications. Extensive research is required, and it might not turn up anything useful. Third, after all of that, in order to make the case economically practical, we would have to establish that you are suffering from and will continue to suffer from the David Reardon syndrome; while you have taken no steps to substantiate that."

"I understand. Can we give it a shot?"

"I warned you. Okay, I'll need a $15,000 retainer."

"Can this be done in installments with say $500 up front?"

Clayton smirked, grimaced, stood and said; "Come over to the window. Maybe something can be done with your car as collateral. Which one is it?"

Jack knew what was happening and resignedly said; "The old, white Toyota with the dents."

Clayton shook his head and said; "See that 2016 Mercedes parked just to its right? $1,200 bucks a month not counting insurance. This office space? $5,300 per month. Mortgage nine grand. Divorce settlement with that bitch wife, twelve. Office workers ................"

"Gotcha, gotcha."

"I'd like to try to help you; but I just can't afford to. I think that you really got screwed over with inconsequential bullshit, but it's time consuming and often ineffective to work on cases which don't easily fit into standard operating procedure."

Jack put out his right hand for an accepted shake. He said; "You must be a great lawyer. If I was on the jury I'd believe your bullshit. Just tell me one thing. Why is this crazy parking lot elevated?"

"That's an old story I thought everyone knew. Some old guy with more money than brains, named James Pattinson, had this building constructed. He wanted to use the top floor as the personal pretentious penthouse for his art collection. His problem was that the local zoning code allows a maximum of five stories, and he wanted a view above all the other five storied buildings. So he got around it by having two stories of dirt trucked in ....... and he dropped dead before it was completed. The heirs who couldn't stand him own it now. Sometimes justice does prevail."

Jack left and drove toward home. He was in a strange mood and was almost oblivious to the street life. He felt as if he had passed onto the side of the coin he formerly busted. Like any rational person, he was disappointed that he wasn't about to be the recipient of big bucks any time soon. But, especially given his recent, possible Beth reprise, he was also refreshed by the thought that he may have actually met someone who told him the truth. Honesty had a way of making things simple and understandable. So, he was confused.

When he got back home he felt as if he had attained some sense of the sought after, yet undefinable term some call 'freedom.' Now that Jack had no routine to compel him to move the house sometimes seemed super quiet, like a confessional line afraid of the impending five "Hail Mary's" verdict. He didn't want a Veteran's Day parade coming through the place with a brass band playing "Reveille," but goddam, any small sign of life might be an improvement. Even the patient daddy long legs' contingent had abandoned their window base positions and had taken their skinny asses outside. He realized that without thinking of her directly, that he was circuitously thinking about Beth. That annoyed the hell out of him; as it meant that he was out of control over something which he could not control. He decided that didn't make any sense whatsoever.

Jack didn't want to be ungrateful for the arrival of Justice. It was great for him, but the German Shepherd was no longer a puppy and slept about eighteen hours a day. Jack wished he would snore some. He wanted to get these thoughts out of his head as he had a strong suspicion that dogs and cats could read human minds, and he didn't want his new buddy to worry about being deficient in any way.

He thought that he'd like it better outside, so he gave his sleeping travelling companion a rather rough pet on the back. Justice didn't seem to mind the familiarity coming from a friend. He yawned and stretched out all four paws. His half opened eyes focussed on the window in front of him. He then looked at Jack and sighed heavily. He made the slightest of groans, closed his eyes, and leaned against one of the couch's upholstered right angles. Jack imagined that Justice was saying; "In an hour or two. Okay? Besides, it'll be warmer then."

Over mid-morning coffee Jack signed onto his waiting laptop and checked the "progress" of his literary endeavor. Some realities set in. What seemed like brilliance yesterday was seen today as ordinary. While the first day of composition was exhilarating, the prospect of a second seemed more of a chore, like work without pay or a trip to the driver's license renewal agency. He already knew the story. It would pass through his head in a matter of seconds, yet it would take weeks to record it on the Word program. If someone was unaware of it, it was not his problem.

The clarity of the morning highlighted that he was primarily doing this boring garbage to try to impress some aging female who had left him flat years ago and chose to show up now to play games with him. Or worse, he was doing it to impress some aloof dog walker, whose demeanor was dwarfed by the "girls in your area who no bullshit just want to fuck," available through many websites. Jack often momentarily wondered if they would dress and get their ass out of there with some degree of promptness. In either case this "effort" suggested that the required, known investment overshadowed any likely return. Yet there was a higher logic at play. What the hell else did he have to do right now? See the five things AOL says you need to know right now? Check out AmawayOnSteroids stock price and read what "new" business they were entering today which is projected to show at least five years of losses? Get the Kardashian bitch's take on the sweet smell of piss?

The more he thought about it, the more the book became a preferred possibility. He got off the internet and went back to "Real Cops."

"As Manny tried to drive out of the station parking lot we were accosted by a group of upper floor tenants. Since these guys were well contacted at levels considerably above us, we ..............."

A block away at 12PM Patricia draped the bleached white Queen Anne, mahogany, tilt-top table with a pristine cloth. She was somewhat irritated with the remnants of the lineal distensions still visible where it had been folded. Despite that, she didn't want to go through the trouble of retrieving the iron and its companion board, filling it with distilled water and yadda, yadda, yadda, at the risk of a time consuming scorch. She just wanted a few belts as quickly as possible.

Besides, the mere placement of the Currier and Ives emblazoned topping had the effect of hiding the wood grain which is generally visible from less than a foot excepting leg bottoms. And if there were any objections to the swellings, neither Currier nor Ives was around to make them. And if the duo felt compelled to make any aesthetic commentaries, priorities dictated that those evaluations would be better placed elsewhere. The cloth is rumored to be more customarily used in other households, as a cover for the plasticized, faux wood grained, efficient, kitchen table ten minutes before company was scheduled to arrive.

She then placed the blue trimmed pieces of china which held the crackers and cheese on the scotch guarded, theme faded in accurate replication of a nineteenth century farm scene, currently intended to convey some sense of historical significance. Having accomplished that without any mistake, Patricia proceeded to wrap the eating utensils in appropriate, white cloth coverings, folded in a bit of an imperfect triangle. Patricia noticed that the wrappers displayed the scantest of pinkish, wine stains from sometime in the past. For the umpteenth time she vowed to run them through the washer; tomorrow. In yet another time constrained tweaking, she re-folded them in a manner which resulted in the rude stains being almost completely hidden underneath; leaving the top side above reproach. The tiniest of lizards drew her attention. It was climbing the window screen right in front of her. Its youth must have compelled it to venture out in what was most likely just a brief "Indian Summer." The little one disappeared. Patricia wished he had hung around longer and thought he was cute.

The seasonally bold, rays of the incessant sun had just passed over the eastern windows near the now un-recognizable tilt top table. Her pre-dominant, yet, absurdly, anemic wish was that the merciless, yellow globe had not built up an accumulation of heat, still capable of inducing perspiration at her toddiest of times. For the brief moment, Penny's un-controlled mind brought her back to her teen age days, in which she had suggestively worn a bikini, forbidden by her parents, at the fifteen cent, public pool. She found it so simple to just change in the locker-room.

In any attempt at expression, in recognition that those days were possibly mis-remembered, all-too-long stories, socially better dashed through in the speed of the inaccuracies of her current mind and heart, Penny kept them to herself and politely focussed on her ability to set the table.

In an effort not to invoke any criticism, seeking to be the perfect hostess, Penny saw that the now shaded area was almost ready for the anticipated, irresponsible levity almost insisted upon in their not quite hopeful ritualization of another day half disappeared.

She placed the coastered wine glasses and the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc; corkscrew handy. She slumped into the year old, North Carolinian manufactured, "Chippendale," embroidered couch. She either passed out or went blank after a few glasses, as she considered the merits and consequences of the tiny, Chinoiserie feet.

Footsteps drew her attention.

"Hi, Harry. All ready for you. What have you been up to all day?"

Pouring himself a drink, Harry replied; "Just having a few laughs. I downloaded one of those indie books for free. Right price, I'll tell you. Ever read one?"

"No, at least I don't think so. ........ To tell you the truth I can't tell if they're indie or not. I've been re-reading Proust. You can sure take different things from him at different ages. Was he an indie?"

"Yes and no. He was French. I think that I'll go back to the classics for a while, too."

"I thought you said you liked the indie book."

"Liked? No. I found it funny, unintentionally so."

"................................"

"Reminded me of Jason."

"Thank God he finally got out of our hair last year."

"Only took 35 years. He was just like this book. Whining and whining because mommy and daddy didn't love him enough. Christ. Then he put on that tough façade, tough enough to handle gross out and dead baby jokes. He and his kind think the mask covering the whine is fooling somebody, I guess."

"They must think that the rest of us weren't 'accidents' too. Who really wants one of them, especially after Generation Three, or so. They're dumb enough to think that they're fooling someone with their stated aversion to whining; while they are merely trying to have a personal monopoly on it."

"And now they're all gay. It was more than twenty years ago when a Rolling Stone reporter showed up at Lou Reed's house for an interview. When he found Reed with a wife and two kids, he said; 'I thought you were gay.' Lou made a pained expression and replied; 'Everyone's gay now. I'm not gay anymore.' More than twenty years ago. The way the kids go on about it, you'd think they invented something new."

"It's a way of 'shocking' uncaring mommy and daddy. If they had any sense at all they'd see their own contradiction. First they say mommy and daddy didn't care about them, and then they proceed to contradict themselves by thinking that mommy and daddy really give a damn about what they choose to suck on. Ha."

"I hope that they are gay. At least they won't reproduce."

"And all that bitching about the economy. I guess mommy and daddy are responsible for that too."

"Reminds me of Kathy Acker with the rings, yuck."

"Reminds me a bit of Pinter."

"At least he could write decently. Ever read 'The Homecoming?'"

"Yeah, it made me laugh out loud a few times."

"Me too."

"Is Jason still living with that old priss with the Camus fixation? ........... I'd have said the terrible 'F' word, but walls now have ears. It's impossible to escape the politically correct euphemisms."

"I don't know. I hope so. I won't squeal."

"On another cheery topic, with this warm weather it won't be long before those ugly elms start throwing their white stuff all over the place."

"Yeah. No progress with the Village Council?"

"None whatsoever."

"It's been so warm and dry that soon there might be a fire."

"Don't even think about it. Heavy jail time. And besides, it would probably spread over here."

"Still, a well-placed cigarette butt ........." Harry grabbed Penny around the waist and pulled her to him. In a poor rendition of Blue Oyster Cult he sang a few bars of; "Burnin' for You."

Patricia had her first belly laugh of the day and coyly said; "Bad, bad daddy."

Empty glasses were properly placed on the table.

Jack was still engrossed in the memories of his time as a cop. They kept coming back faster than he could type. He knew that he wasn't getting the sequence, the order, correct; but that didn't matter to him. He thought; "Who, other than Manny, could know? Besides, it's fucking fiction. Besides, if the literary meta mavens detected that, they would find it 'oh, so avant garde.'" He laughed out loud. His sound must have reached Justice' ears as the Shepherd stretched and made a sound something like; "Ummnnngr." His couch sleeping spot got the direct rays of the sun this time of day and he didn't want to move. He "Ummnnngr-ed" again, shut his eyes, and curled back into a fetal position.

Jack inwardly smiled. Rather than walking, he could settle back into this book. He was already 40 pages into it and could finish in a week or two. It might be impressive to this Beth person, and he was slowly discovering that writing was more entertaining than putting up with her bullshit.

"'I said to Manny; 'This fuck looks like trouble. Let's skip it and get something easier.'

'No, man. He and his dogs have seen us. If we just drive on they're gonna think that they can get away with any kind of shit. Can't allow that.'

I shrugged and must have sounded like I didn't agree when I nasally droned; 'This is gonna take a while. There's easier shit around.'

Manny sounded as close to being pissed and disgusted with me than any other time I remember. With a dozen loud exclamation points, he said; "This mutha fuckin' fat ass cunt is callin' us out, bro.'

'Yeah, but it ain't like he's botherin' anybody. The car wash is closed for the night.'

A bit louder and a bit controlled, Manny said; 'If we pussy out of this, tomorrow every easy arrest we've been getting will turn into a difficult one. Word gets around fuckin' fast.'

We drove real slow toward the group of five. I didn't want my partner to think anything bad about me. So I said; 'Let me handle this one.' Manny nodded with the slightest hint of a smile. He stopped right in front of them, my door the closest.

The fat boy with the loud mouth had gotten quiet and was flipping us off while his dogs were laughing. I got out of the car and calmly said; 'You might not know it, but you boys trespassin'. And you know that finger shit ain't very polite.' I showed him my badge.

Fatty brushed back his greasy, black hair, turned away from me and nodded to his pals. As he turned back he said; 'Oh yeah. I don't see no fuckin' sign or nuthin."

'That's why I'm here to help you out. Come on guys. Gotta move it.'

'I ain't goin' nowhere till I see a sign.'

'If you don't move it, the next sign you gonna be seein' will be the one that says; 'County Correctional Institution. Security check point ahead.' That is if you can read. You look pretty fuckin' stupid.'

'You think you big enough to get me there?'

'I'm gonna forget that one. 'Cause see, I'm a nice guy. Now why don't you just get smart and clear out?'

'Fuck you, bitch?'

'I know you're just showin' off for your boyfriends here. But, I've about had it. You're under arrest for trespassin', disturbin' the peace, failure to comply with a police officer, and a whole lot of other shit I'll think of on your way to jail.' I took particular pleasure in kicking his feet out from under him. I got my knee into the middle of his back while his boyfriends ran. I didn't give a reckless fuck about their little asses. I just wanted to take down this big one. I was having some logistical trouble trying to hold his arms together and simultaneously get the cuffs on.

Manny came into my vision screen from stage left, and said; 'Just keep his hands together.' I did and Manny cuffed him, behind the back at the tightest setting. Since the jerk was so damn fat blood immediately ran all over.

I laughed, but did my best to not get any on me.

I tried to pull him to his feet, but he laid there like a lump of elephant shit.

I got up, 'accidentally' kicking fat boy somewhere around his ear. Twice. I've got two feet.

In a calm tone I said; 'I told you that I'm a nice guy. I wasn't shittin' you. Now, you can either get up like a good boy and walk to the car or we can drag you there on your face. Looks like you'd do well to lose some of that baby fat.'

Manny added; 'And resisting arrest added to the charges. Mmm, mmm, mmm. You in big trouble, boy. About two years' worth.'

With some difficulty Fat boy got up and walked to the car and got right in the back.

During the drive to the station, Manny deadpanned; 'That was all right. But, why'd you do so much talkin'?'

'Man, don't you pay any attention at all. I said it twice. I'm a nice guy.'

A month later we were faced with some similar kind of shit. The precinct got a call from the local sports arena and said that a hockey fight had broken out. I answered the precinct call in the car. Slightly annoyed and slightly amused I said; 'Big shit. Can't get no traction on ice. Always happens.'

The dispatcher said; 'Yeah, I know that. But this one broke out in the stands. Reports say ......................'"

I checked on Justice. He still didn't want to move much more than I felt like stopping writing. I said; "No problem. But if you got to piss you know how to get out the window. Right?"

He made a frown something like a human does when he says; "Tell me something I don't know." Justice grumbled and closed his eyes once more.

Jack resumed typing;

"He stood directly in front of any onlooker who might be watching, grinning defiantly with his head insolently cocked to the right. His left hand held a handgun the size of a plumber's wrench, pointed straight forward. His black jeans were covered by the day's accumulation of dust at thigh level and snakeskin cowboy boots to the knee. Unkempt long, black hair and a beard covered much of the face of the thin, young man who had proudly just shot a cop.

An amply hipped, thin, young blonde woman named Beth walked to him. Her full lipped, open mouthed smile and furrowed brow showed that her feelings were mixed; approval and anxiety; culminating in excitement. She shook her head to throw the un-behaving hair in her face to the back, where it came to rest in the place where her faded blue jeans met her light green blouse. He easily complied as she used her right hand to gently push the gun down, till the barrel faced the broken branch strewn forest floor.

He said; "Baddest mutha in Cook County since Capone."

She said; "Dumbest, too," as she threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around him.

He dropped his gun, preferring to use both arms and hands to hold her.

The kitten was a beautiful tabby with big green eyes. He was less than three months old and still had that baby fat. He must have been foolishly bold enough to have left the safety of his family, intending to see the world. Under the circumstances imposed upon him, he only had to suffer for an hour or so.

I was in the center of the park sitting on a swing when he first saw the little one running.

I first thought that the newborn was testing his natural skills until I saw the group of eight boys, ranging from six to ten years of age, running and yelling incoherently behind him. He was trying to get away, but wherever he tried to hide, the group of young "humans" caught up, found him and threw rocks at him. I recognized my eight year old cousin Tommy as a member of the group and stared at him, as if to say; "Don't run with these creeps. Stop them!" Tommy caught my eye, seemed to waver a fraction of a second, then continued on, wearing his toy, plastic WWII helmet.

Led by an ugly, fat kid, bigger than the others in all directions, the others chased, threw rocks and chased some more. The kitten could not run anymore and settled into the middle of a tall, wide bush. The kids tried to get him out, but could not make their way through the thick branches. Fat boy got an idea. He picked up a long rock, which must have weighed at least forty pounds, carried it a few feet, and then dropped it in the middle of the bush.

I heard the most sickening cry I had yet heard. With his back and all of his bones broken the kitten extricated himself from under the rock and somehow crawled out of the bush. The fat kid hid his pleasure, now pretending concern for the crying kitten.

He took Tommy's military helmet and put the broken kitten in it. As he was handled, the kitten cried louder than ever. He tried, without mercy, to shut his eyes in his pain. The fat kid found the sickest of pleasures, while he purposely continued the poorest of phony jobs of concern as he carried the kitten to the park attendant; knowing that he was maximizing the kitten's suffering. I followed. I followed, hoping for some miracle.

Two hundred agonizing feet away, the un-noticing, older, paid, 'park attending' woman seemed annoyed that she was taken away from her romance novel. She flustered as she moved the screaming kitten around. She didn't know anything other to do than call for a cop.

I couldn't stand the kitten's pained cries anymore and wanted to go back to the swing. At that age I was not yet sufficiently instructed about these things, and I kept watching the howling, broken kitten in the war hat; his eyes evincing a pained wish for escape, to the end-of pain brought by Death. He seemed to keep trying to get out of the childish, plastic toy in which he was confined. The looks on his pained face seemed so optimistic, even while he wept in pain, as he kept on trying to climb the sides of the juvenile military prison hat. Whenever he neared the top, the attendant pushed him back down.

I imagined the kitten's agonizing pain which he was forced to endure; a broken back; a broken mind, a broken heart, a broken trust, and; a broken love were more suited to a merciful death. Though, being so young, he strived in all the pain, believing that it would soon end for the better.

I saw his face. I felt something horrible. I felt guilty as all hell in not having tried to stop this fat boy; even more guilty in knowing that if a replay of this event was possible, I'd probably do the same thing. Nothing. Oh, yeah. I'd have my 'good' reasons. I was five years old. Fat bot was three times my size and had backup. But, it will always bother me to think that if I had even inadequately engaged the fat boy, it might have sufficiently distracted him to allow the kitten to avoid the horrendous pain and get away. I'd recover from any beating. Always do. Always will. The kitten's chance will never come again.

I ran away and sat on the un-moving swing, now irrelevant thoughts racing. I heard the gunshot, and instinctively knew that the cop had arrived and ended the kitten's misery.

I went to my mother in tears. I said; 'He was just a little kitten. No one helped him. He didn't have a chance.'

Mama remained detached and eventually replied, out of some self-induced necessity; 'I just wish that they didn't have to put it in Tommy's hat. How can he ever wear that again?'"

Jack woke with his head resting on his arms in front of the computer. He got rid of the blank screen when he pushed the space bar. He saw that he was still in "Word," and that the last thing he had typed was; "The dispatcher said; 'Yeah, I know that. But this one broke out in the stands. Reports say.'"

He shut it down and went for the safety of the covers. Justice joined him and promptly started snoring. Jack didn't know if he was dreaming, thinking of Justice or remembering events he wanted to forget. The thought was a solace of sorts, as he knew it was the resurrection of his worst childhood memory. Something in him usually was able to keep it buried; but every once in a while that something fell down on the job. He looked through the unshaded eastern window. Barely above the Sangre de Cristos the sun was still at an extremely obtuse angle; offering sufficient light to turn on and view one of his on-line devices, but not enough to read a book. Jack pulled the blankets over his head, closed his eyes, and thought; "Shove it up your fucking ass. ...................... Presents issues. Fuck 'em. This is humanity. Sure, they'd all protest and say that they would never do such a thing. Right. They do every chance they get and make up excuses later. Go away. Don't go away mad, just go away." He pictured, as he needed to, the kitten happy, running and playing in a wonderful place he had never previously seen. He cried; sometimes out of happiness at his vision of the happy kitten; and sometimes in sadness over the reality.

Jack was startled as Justice pushed his snout into Jack's side and made a moan which indicated concern. Jack was slumped at the computer and apparently he had been communicating with his left thigh. He stroked Justice' head and said; "Darn that dream. Let's get that walk goin', buddy. It's gettin' late." They walked out the front door side by side; Jack hoping not to see Beth this time, Justice probably ambivalent regarding Andy and Charlene. They walked ten seconds in the seasonal warmth before Jack changed his mind. Jack got his initial wish; no sign of Beth. He wished he hadn't made a wish.

It was the frigid night of 11-2-01. As if he was sitting on a cloud, Jack saw himself bring Justice to another household and give him to the owner. He was immediately distraught. He didn't have the foggiest of ideas why he had done it. He missed Justice terribly and after a few days walked to the new "owner's" house. Jack was surprised to see that the house looked as it were built in the 18th or 19th century and was attached on both sides to ones which appeared to have been recently constructed. He pictured the lack of a backyard for Justice to run in. Up a flight of external brick stairs the owner came out the front door.

Jack called out; "Hi. I've been thinking about this whole thing and I made a bad mistake. I miss my dog. ......... Can I have him back?"

"No. Of course not."

Jack was surprised. In half of an effort which might allow him to "steal" Justice back, he said; "Can I see him for a while?"

"Okay."

Jack climbed the stairs, went in and instinctively located Justice, who was sleeping under a bed. He got on his hands and knees and stroked the snoozing pup a few times and noticed that he had lost about 30 of his former 140 pounds. Jack was doubly worried when Justice did not respond.

After four or five pets the Shepherd grunted and slowly elevated, coming out from under the bed. As his sleepy eyes cleared, enabling him to recognize Jack, he became animated and furiously licked Jack's face.

At the same time, a teenage boy entered from an adjoining room. Jack blurted out; "I gave this dog to your father. It was a mistake. He said that I couldn't take him back, but that it was okay if I came in to see him."

The kid said; "We've had him to the vet and he's basically fine. The vet had a little problem with the details of some of the stitching, though."

Jack's hand passed along the nape of Justice' neck and he made note of the two inch section in which the fused skin stuck up a quarter of an inch. It looked like a novice stitch job, but Jack was glad to see that there was no blood.

The kid said; "You can take him back. I can convince my father that it's all right."

While he was extremely happy to hear that, Jack simultaneously thought of the fact that "daddy" knew exactly where he lived, and thereby could cause trouble from a few directions. He got off that "lame horse" and figured that it was best to strike while the iron was hot. The details would inevitably unfold later. By the time they did Jack might have a good alibi. He thanked the kid and Justice pranced beside him.

They went out the front door. Jack vigorously rubbed Justice' back twice and said; "We're going home, pal."

Chapter 13

"Yeah, got the fuckin' shit. Meet your exalted standards, dude?"

"What fucking ever. Bring it."

"I can bring it a way you can't handle. ........." He rolled. "Sorry, re-phrase. You're my friend, whatever the fuck that means." He snorted something visible to no one else. "We can do this bullshit two ways. We can have a good time or we can fight. Take your pick." He struck a match and inhaled deeply. He passed it.

The beginnings of the anticipated, temporary passage into another place came on as a defensively needed, mentally induced convenience. Trying to appear cool, he slowly sucked at the joint, and made the potential protagonist wait. He held the smoke as long as his carcass allowed. As he choked an exhale, he rasped; "Hey, man. ......... What the fuck is between us? ........ Gash? It's all over the fucking place. No big shit." He handed the source of light back to the provider in pedestrian defiance.

"Good fuckin' shit, man. Grower's a friend of the family. Takes good care. ........... Expensive as all fucking hell, but there's no competition. .......... The gash around here is into weird shit. You ever notice?"

"Gimme that fucker. You're a hog." He sucked and held, before coughing out; "I'm new here. It's different back East. ............ That chick in my reg room, Linda, you know her?"

Shrug, tending toward a disinterested yes.

"Whatever. If you every day started your morning with a view of her panties, dark hair protruding, you'd remember." Draw and protracted exhale, then a pass. "Anyway, I made it my business to 'accidentally' meet her at the entry. You know, she's a fuckin' cheerleader?" He snorted some type of incredulance. ............. "Kind of funny, right; but no big shit to me. So, you know, I'm like talkin' shit to her, trying to look into her evasive eyes; and you know what she does?" Without waiting for a response he continued; "She starts telling me about weird stuff; you know, like chupacabra, cow molesters, alien abductions and crap like that. ............ Of course, I tried to convey interest; I liked her. ........... Like I said I'm new here. Is everybody here into some weird shit?"

"I'm new too. Two months in the paradise of Propicio. ....... From Boston. ............ I don't want to make fun; but the city girls seem to avoid the long winded subterfuge. ........ Hey, you know who's good in your reg? .......... Barbara. You must have seen her with her skirt up to her ass."

"I must have the wrong angle."

He held the squelcher before him and asked; "Any use for that?"

"Chuck it. There's always more when we need it."

"Weird shit, yeah. It seems like everybody's into it. Getting common, in its attempt to be different." Derisive snort and shredding destruction of the roach.

"Maybe I'm just spaced, but I got an idea. Maybe everybody senses that something is wrong, but they can't put their finger on it. So, they focus on non-traditional answers."

"The class war, the presidents all being related, the FEMA camps, the surveillance and Ebola are undeniable facts, bro."

"They're gonna stick you in one of those camps right next to an Ebola dude."

"My dad is military."

"Don't matter anymore."

"Hell, not as long as we've got places like this to hide and get away from it all."

"God bless Calle de la Congelacion!"

"Look at that filtered sun through the leaves. It makes me dizzy."

"So does Barbara's legs. ............... Think you can get her here for a smoke?"

"If I do you ain't gonna be here."

They laughed and slapped fists.

"Someone told me that the trees are actually vehicles for spying."

"See how stupid this stuff can get."

"See 'South Park" last night."

"Yeah, love those little eggs."

"Fuckin' awesome, dude. Cool how they tell the teacher to; 'go fuck yourself' without the least bit of emotion."

"Cool like in the North Pole before global warming."

"You believe that shit?"

"Fuck knows. Fuck cares."

"Turn on that thing.

Heads started noddin' as Eminem rapped out "Cold Wind Blows."

"Feels like its warmin' up, man."

"Not till later on the CD."

"Mutha fucka's mad, shit"

"It'll work out in the end."

Laughing agreement.

"So, it's cool in the woods?"

"Yeah, look who's coming. Hi ladies. Who's your new friend?"

"Audrey. That's with a 'D' near the middle. Just moved here from LA. Can ya believe that? Who's yours?"

"I don't know yet. Dude, got a name?"

"Yeah."

" ............................ "

"Gonna bless everyone with it? Or else we'll have to call you Batman."

"Name is Batman, friends. I let Robin wear my cape and mask today."

"Are you gonna pass that already?"

"When you give me a kiss."

"Mmmmmmmmmm ........................... "

"I didn't mean on my face."

"Chivalry is a corpse."

"Blame your suffragette old granny."

"Gimme." (Inhaling sound.)

"Hey, Batman. What kind of car you drive?"

"Batmobile, stupid."

"What's your father do for a living?"

"Some tedious shit with computers. Don't they all?"

"Yeah. Mine used to get a regular check from Homeland Security. Now he freelances."

"Ooooh. That carries all the cachet of being a Consultant."

"Fuck you, asshole. Thanks to that I got some DMZ pills right here. You never have seen anything this good. It's like acid on acid. Take one and you think that 'South Park' is hilarious. Take two and you think that 'Return of the Zombies' has deep meaning."

"It does."

"Yeah, all right. I can dig that. ......... Permit me the indulgence of re-phrase. Take two and you think 'The Name of the Wind' has deep meaning."

"De- militarized zone. Wanna trade?"

"Depends on the devil in the fucking details."

"Be nice. No need to be afraid. Put on something romantic, dude." All five sat under the tree of their choice and the sacrament was quietly passed as a button was pushed.

Chillin' and noddin'. Back to the button.

"That was Eminem and Rihanna doing 'Love the Way You Lie.'"

"No shit. ....... Nice. ........ Got something 'today?'"

"Got a suggestion for anything better?"

Under the poly-something-or-other-plastic-asbestos, dropped ceiling Mayor Vincent Pignatelli occupied his well-established battle preparatory position at the left of the platform. His constituency was again restless in mouth; and also restless in numbers. The perspiration he kept wiping from his face was not induced by the balmy February weather. He remembered sufficient faces to conclude that he was again going to be attacked by the Brisas Area Gardening Society devotees of proper decorum and elm eradication. They flocked around Patricia Primstation, probably doing some last minute co-ordination. Unlike the last time, he had not received any advance notice through a flyer, and thought that he must have been removed from the mailing list after his last unsatisfactory "command" performance. He had been foolishly optimistic and initially thought it possible that little would come after his proficient put off. He thought it was merely the inconsequential whims of a few old lady horticulturalists with nothing better to do. His corrected eyes peered down at the growing throng of citizens milling around the metallic folding chairs three feet below. He had no legal authority over the elms. They were grandfathered in and the residents of Calle de la Congelacion wanted them to stay. But what voter wants to hear that the man in charge is legally restrained and unable to deliver the voters' arbitrary wishes?

The emotionally undefined Mayor again grasped that he was about to be immersed in petulant virgin fields; as aged as they were. The process was a tedious bore at best; and of much more personal significance, it was likely an out and out impairment to his financial well-being. Though through the damned sweat he was denied the ability to hide the physical aspect of his plight, he could play the best game he was able and use the appropriately calm and reasonable words. He could later make use of the washing machine.

The confounded unpredictability and jeopardy of what was impending made his pockmarked, swarthy face secrete tell-tale, continuous debilitations, which had the nasty habit of congregating in his craters. His well-used handkerchief contradicted itself as it daubed in an attempt to display a confident façade. The inadequate cleansing was only successful in restoring a momentary, dry cool; only to be immediately replaced by the uncontainable, embarrassing, hidden and drip producing mechanism of his most reviled part; his asocial, monetarily driven subconscious. He was not new to this experience. The dichotomy of appearance and reality was old news to anyone awake in 2016. Yet, damn it; despite eons of study, no one had come up with a methodology competent to produce his desired camouflage. With no adept learned aid available to him, he again sweated it out, while cursing the scientific failure of the credentialed cosmeticians. Rather than enduring the inadequacies of the licensed, he considered future consultation with a make-up artist. Of most importance to him, he thought; "Why did this have to happen just before the garbage contract renewal?"

Restricted to considering only the interests of Replicated Rubbish Assistance, Inc. and that of himself as an inadequate map, Vincent fretted more than he had since his protective, older brother got 2 to 5 on a bullshit extortion charge. Originally made, but was not very helpful now; especially in terms of his suggested actions. Today was observably different; maybe not having any importance other than the fleetingly detectable numbers. Surprise, fucking surprise, every fucking time.

He heard; "Huge audience, chief. You must be getting popular." It was the cheerful voice of Councilman Thomas Higgins. Thomas required access to the platform and Vincent was standing in the doorway. Not in the mood for any useless badinage, Vincent merely stepped aside, saying; "Entrez ami."

Thomas glibly responded; "Merci monsieur," and continued to his seat.

The little hand reasonably lined up with the bigger one, only 90 degrees apart. Mayor Pignatelli, once again, took center stage and read in a slow monotone; "Ordinance number 14-36403, ..........., etc., etc."

The next four hours proved to be a replay of what happened the last time the Brisas Area Gardening Society and its entourage paid a visit. The Mayor pulled out every arcane matter at his disposal and a few more that weren't. The perennial audience hecklers were encouraged to heckle. The number of poopie particles acceptable in Propicio's underground water supply, insofar as it may be negatively affected by the operation of the standard septic systems currently within the guidance of Propicio's building code was addressed by Village and private engineers. While what they actually testified bore little resemblance to the testimony of their peers, what they had in common was that they were all on somebody's clock, and seemed to enjoy the discussion in all of its nuances. At one point a homeless attendee showed top notch literary aptitude when he yelled out the most ingenious of relevant plays on words. He howled; "Drink shit." He was rewarded by being escorted into the parking lot by two armed guards. The matter would prove to be under investigation by the authorities and the local press.

The audience number started to diminish at the 4:30PM juncture and continued the steady slide until, now at 7PM; the audience had dropped to 25. No one other than the Sand Duners was aware that 20 of those spectators were made up of residents of the Sand Dunes; who had been secretly given copies of Patricia's last flyer. They didn't give one bit of a damn about the elms, but were trying to figure out what the hell was going on; and how it might affect them.

Tiring himself, and seeing that the number of those carrying the slings and arrows had severely diminished, Vinny invited his "old friend," Patricia, to the podium at 7PM.

Those of the tired eyes which were still open looked at Patricia Primstation, who ambled her way to prominence.

Ty said; "The main event!" and Cindy searched her purse for the appropriate gong, but found none.

Attempting to steal the initiative, Thomas offered a "warm welcome." It was easy, as he wasn't kidding in the least. Patricia was encouraged by the testimony to her recognition; and said; "Good day, Councilman Higgins. Good day Council members and Mr. Mayor. As you may recall, I represent the Brisas Area Gardening Society; an organization with 100 active members. ............ I might add; and the silent majority of Propicio. Our concerns continue to be with the unlawful activities conducted on Calle de la Congelacion. Let me read from my notes. Our gardens will soon be infiltrated. Yes, infiltrated by those interlopers from another part of the world."

The Sand Duners bristled as they curiously looked to each other for confirmation of what they hoped that they had heard incorrectly. They were disturbed to see similar countenances.

Patricia continued; "This is an un-needed expense, a burden, and blight upon the law abiding taxpayers of Propicio. The illegal trees wildly proliferate here because of governmental neglect. Our officials headed by the mayor have made no response to our concerns. Perhaps, taking a cue from the lawless area officially tolerated, named Calle de la Congelacion, have taken to hanging around there, totally unsupervised. We find that intolerable. Further, we have become aware of the distinctive odor of burning marijuana in Elm City. Judging by the residue of teenage parties the kids cluster around the third house on the right, a tiny, red, tin-sided A-frame. In effect are they operating an illegal opium den? Is this another grandfathered permitted use in Propicio?

In addition, through our fruitless searches for our children we have seen junk cars and trucks on many properties, a further hazard for the children and a potential home for disease carrying rodents.

As we previously mentioned, many of us live on Camino de las Brisas. That's where our organization began, but it has grown to encompass a sizable and growing sector of the Village. It seems to us that we deserve attention. We newcomers struggle to beautify this fine desert community, pay taxes and seek to bring up our children in safety. What can be done to help us? I'll await your reply in my seat." As she walked to it, Penny received a very small, polite round of applause and many hostile stares.

With a straight face Thomas said; "Yes Mr. Mayor, what can be done about it?"

Vincent looked up from the pad on which he was furiously scribbling and hoped that his perspiration would either be un-noticed or attributed to hard work. He saw the audience and the Council staring at him. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He thought; "I should have gone into my cousin Tony's concrete business. No bullshit, no voters; just money." He worked up a nervous smile and said; "So, you admit to trespassing?"

Groans answered the "joke."

He continued; "All right, we're all friends here."

More groans.

"Tough audience. ......... The elms have a right to be there. They pre-dated the Village's rise to prosperity. Just like your gardens, they have been maintained by owners of private property. How would you feel if someone came out to destroy your birds-of-paradise? They aren't native. They come from South America."

A fiftyish man in the audience sporting an LA Dodgers baseball hat and a ZZ Top inspired gray beard sat motionless with his arms folded against his chest. He called out; "Our birds-of-paradise" don't throw their seeds all over town."

He received some applause and laughter.

Vincent replied; "Fair enough. My appeal to morality didn't sway." Thomas and one other Council member got coughing fits. Undeterred, the uneasy Mayor said; "Well then, the law supports the elms, plain and simple. Grandfathers are grandfathers. You can't change the rules at half-time."

Cindy whispered to Ty; "They've got to be kidding."

Ty answered; "Yeah, but they don't know it."

The man in the baseball hat called out; "No, but you can change sides. I mean, come on, you can stop a company from polluting, but you can't stop a damn tree from throwing its crap all over the place? Gimme a break."

Vincent replied; "Oh, so let me understand the issue more clearly. You're objecting to the seeds; not the trees themselves?"

The audience made an ambiguous grumbling sound. The Sand Duner portion of it looked distraught; while they considered the weak possibility of the Mayor being on their side.

The Mayor looked to Patricia and shrugged his shoulders questioningly.

Patricia was flustered and looked around her. She said; "Well. ......... well. ......... I guess. ........... Unless anyone has objections."

Vincent broke the silence with; "Done then. I will commission a blue ribbon panel to study the issue," silently invigorated with the prospect of pocketing at least 30% of the experts' fees.

Baseball hat said; "That's absurd. How do you separate an elm from it seeds?"

Vincent said; "Friction? I don't know. Do you?"

Baseball hat said; "No," and made an expression almost as incredulous as that of Ty and Cindy, sans their giggling.

Vincent continued; "That's why we're going to have the experts look into the matter. Now, people, as far as your kids partying, you know, you've got to take a little responsibility too. They obviously have unsupervised time and they can go anywhere they want with it. There are still many places to hide in Propicio if one looks for them."

Baseball hat called out; "Like where?"

Vincent was on a roll and went with it; "I don't know. I have nothing to hide. Ask a teenager. Seriously, there must be plenty by the river and Federal Statutes preclude us from draining it. But, what I will do is increase police patrols on Calle de la Congelacion. Now, if your kids wind up being arrested, don't blame me. Now, regarding the opium den."

Ty said to Cindy; "Now that's something I want to know about."

Cindy deadpanned; "It's not good enough over the internet?"

"The occupant of the house in question has been investigated before and has been found not guilty. If there were an ongoing investigation, I would be legally precluded from saying anything about it. Suffice to say that Propicio's finest are aware of past allegations.

Lastly; junk cars. You have my word that I will personally be looking into what constitutes junk. Insofar as it probably is not limited to cars, the rest of the town should be put on fair notice that their lawns will also be under scrutiny. That four year old plastic slide with the improvised, wooden base may also be subject to fines. That woodpile supposedly slated for the fireplace may be the perfect home for vermin."

Baseball hat said; "Wait, wait, wait. We are not the ones under scrutiny."

"Are you above the law?"

"May I approach the podium?"

"Please do."

Baseball hat shuffled up and scratched the back of his neck in an attempt to get blood flowing uphill. He craned his neck around surveying the rest of the room. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I have some reservations about depriving a man of his livelihood." His mind visualized the pile of broken pallets strewn about his back yard for use on a rainy day. He took another survey and saw a number of faces pointed at the floor. He decided to take a chance and said; "If there are no objections I propose to support the residents of Calle de la Congelacion to continue their economic pursuits. I mean, really, the old cars are not their as lawn decorations. They are repaired and sold." He took another look behind; this time directly at Patricia; who shrugged in acknowledgement. He continued; "I propose that Propicio not bog officers down pursuing the business inventories of the people. I further request that any allusions to junk on properties be stricken from the record."

Smiling Vincent said; "Any arguments to the contrary?" Seeing no clamor to speak, he said: "Meeting adjourned."

On the way out Baseball Hat and Patricia had a mutual need to privately converse. The Sand Duners had no idea what to say. They just hoped that the whole thing, whatever it was, was concluded.

A good night's sleep did wonders for Jack. His memories had gone back where they came from and his only thoughts were of the big dog sleeping next to him, the warmth, and the light which was working its way through the room. "Yesterday" was just something for some morose star to believe in and moan about. He got out from under the blankets, drank some coffee, did the obligatories, and went back for Justice, wanting an accompanied walk. The German Shepherd showed little inclination to move. After Jack gently coaxed him through the removal of his blankets and pulling on his paws, Justice decided to be accommodating; though his eyes said; "What the hell are you so excited about?"

They went out the front door and hadn't gone more than fifty feet when Yesterday showed up with little Andy and big Charlene in tow. Apparently, Justice' day wasn't made upon their sighting as he remained alongside Jack. Maybe he sensed something, but didn't say what it was.

When they were ten feet apart Jack chirped; "Hey, Beth. It's been a while. How and where have you been?"

She rolled her eyes and in a desultory tone said; "How? Fine until now. Where? Here and there. Trying to find a private spot." Andy showed his teeth and directed a "grrrr" in Justice' direction.

In a socially acceptable, bogus outward display of what Jack wished to appear as undaunted, Jack replied; "Still a fan of the Cher sense of humor, I see. Me too. So glad you asked. I've been spending a lot of time with a new book. It's a complete change for me. I got very tired of doing a masked version of stuff I've already done."

"I guess the last one didn't sell."

"What a cynical little girl. ............ Woman, sorry. The last one just came out a week ago. They take a while to get going. You know. Buzz and Salon reviews. All that crap. For whatever its worth, the internet reviewers chime in later. They can't possibly risk losing some of their three hundred followers by going on record about something until those at the zenith make it safe by telling them what to say. No surprises. Kind of like everything else."

"So, don't tell me. You've temporarily abandoned the world of bitter reality and parked your car on Fairy Tale Street."

Jack forced a chuckle and said; "Surely, my astute and beautiful lady chooses to focus on Patrick and George, while ignoring her knowledge of Godard's teaching, in deference to an amusing flash."

Justice made a sound similar to that made by an indoor cat which spies another roaming outside. He subsequently blew a very wet fart, which made a deposit on the last of the season's snow; magically melting it like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Jack moved a bit quicker than usual and continued; "'The truth is told in fiction and fiction in truth.' On lesser notes others have said; 'Tell seriousness in humor and humor in seriousness,' 'Disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed,' ..................."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm beginning to think that you supplement your writing income by teaching remedial English."

"Ahem, ahem, ahem. That's just so banal. It's what they all do. With joviality on the wane I am compelled to resort to first level subterfuge, played in straight face. I've recently become intrigued with mythology. Try this blend. We're all in Pandora's Box, including the resident demons. Pandora has learned how to open it. When she does we all fly out. The demons go toward the sun with abandon and come to reside there. We humans cavort in a space outside the box but below the demons, which we come to call 'Harmony.' There's a dividing line no one can see. Reckless, intemperate, and with a spirit of adventure Iggy flies directly at the sun, and is consequently torn apart by the demons."

Beth was nonplussed and said; "Maybe suitable for children. You'll have to pay an illustrator."

Jack audibly sighed, and followed that with; "Is something wrong today?"

"I already told you that I was looking for a private spot. Get the hint, Henry?" She, Andy and Charlene briskly walked toward Propicio Road; while Jack and Justice followed the path to the river.

It was such a warm, beautiful morning that Jack found Beth's backbiting comments comical. Unheard by Beth, Jack mumbled; "Thank you. Maybe now I can have my home to myself."

Justice woofed twice, though not in complete agreement. He was trying to say; "Ourselves."

Chapter 14

It was eight AM. The bugle time was played with the untalented, militaristic redundancy of the incorrectly set, electronic wake up alarm at the Lawson residence. The sun-teased, morning air was shattered by what could reach Carnegie Hall, only after everything else was buried. Richard III was, as usual up earlier in a yet-to-be successful attempt to hear the quiet. For a short moment he broke his gaze from the programmable contraptions which had overtaken the kitchen and looked through the cat pawed marked window. "Must have been some night birds around ........ more likely bats," he smirked as he shifted his not-yet-completely-inconsequential carcass to high chair left. The view of the surrounding dirt piles did not aesthetically improve the quality of matters at all; only the quantity of eyesores. Apparently the lumps were competent in the art of illusion; as they had a nasty habit of seeming larger with every passing day.

"If only I had not taken 'the deal of a lifetime' and sold off the land I'd be seeing well-tilled, winter traces of the fall harvest; eight foot corn stalks working their way into the ground, preparing for the next season. Instead there are barren piles of dirt; begging to be flattened by the backhoe's chilly apathy." No such luck. The building boom had ended, just after the builder dragged down and piled on the field. Its demise served as a contrast to the hidden, wrinkled and cold pieces of paper in the garage safe, for which it was sold. The documents were now museum worthy remnants of booming America.

The gray sky was either an instinctive choice of color change or it was due to the invasion of one big, texture-less cloud. It had its advantages. Though it was difficult to generate any kind of excitement while looking up, the mass kept the heat in overnight. While usually at this time of year the overnight lows dipped to the middle teens, this year had not yet produced anything colder than the refrigerator's main compartment. Sunny days provided the heat and evening clouds held it in. Rick went to the window to more closely eyeball the devastation. The ignored overhead light backlit him and he saw a reflection of something that looked a bit like himself.

"Damn artificial light," he thought as he flipped the switch off. The window commenced operating like a window and Rick clearly saw the mounds of dirt and the heavily tracked land; the footprints of the dirty sallow backhoes departed with the housing crash. He remembered the days when his father cleared out paths through the tanning cornstalks just before Halloween. The family put a sign on the road and despite doubts, the moms and dads brought their kids to walk and more often run through the maze. Rick would play and run with the other kids all day long. The stalks were over their heads and they'd bump into each other when they turned corners and laughed as they continued on their journey into the hidden depths.

It proved to be so popular that it became a Propicio tradition. Every year the sign would go out and the kids would come, laughing as they thought they were on their way to an unknown adventure; and they were. One time, little Michael Wingstop upset everyone when he didn't come out as dusk approached. Everyone was worried that something might have happened to him. But, no, he was fine. He had just gotten off the paths, and ventured a bit into the stalks themselves to get a better glimpse of the rabbit family which peeped out of their burrow at him. Richard thought; "Now all that is gone and it will never come back. Just because I got lazy and wanted some lousy paper.

I'd love to go back. But, that's not allowed. Maybe in my head ................ Renders possible institutionalization. No good. Have to deal with the NOW. Have to? What if I don't and just not tell anyone? A twist on a Clintonism. Ah, they'd soon figure it out and have me checked for Alzheimer's. .......... The experts wouldn't find any evidence of that. Or would they? They like those automatic credits from drug dispensation. An ecclesiastical dispensation and a tithe. Terrestrial lobotomy. An unwanted temporal part with little practical value, anyway. Ha ha ha."

In the morning breeze the spaced out, ornamental, un-covered, poplar limbs attempted to sing a song not yet put on vinyl or CD by Columbia. The valiant attempt was a blessing. Its artistic fruition needed a partner.

Rick thought; "Suitable for some New Age shit. They can dub in the faux exultant, studio tape-generic bells. Not a chance at balls." He laughed at and enjoyed his "joke" and the lack of his face in the kitchen window. He knew that that was where the hidden reflection was most warm and comfortable; an ecstatic shut-off; erasing pain and doubt. He was positive that was how it once was, until the two-decade-schooled devils created the concept of false memory.

If the "brains" knew how to remove the bad memory storage units, they might be worthy of some attention. Yet, to a certain extent, good or bad is determined by future events and thoughts. Prediction of what will come is a high bar to set for one in school only twenty years. Their unwarranted arrogance is annoying on a good day and meritorious of destruction on one bad. They are easily outdone by burgundy or sangria in one season. Not too impressive.

I don't presume to judge. Conveniently, perhaps. I've been worse. The land where the children once laughed and played is gone forever. My doing alone. Alone. Alone with the stock certificates. My sorrow has no relevance to those kids who now exist only in my mind. False memory is now welcomed. Maybe a burgundy flood will make it all right.

Stephanie softly, yet detectably entered the kitchen, eyes still bleary from a ten hour respite under warm blankets. Before retiring she had turned the thermostat up a few notches. Hope? Dream? What else could it be? The result was another stuffy headache. Her weathered, light green robe was carelessly tied at the waist, a tad open; perhaps unconsciously, or more likely un-caringly, revealing the nipple of her right breast.

She mouthed an inadequate attempt at "Good morning;" the "good" part indecipherable, hidden and unintentional in that lack of effort. She went to the coffee pot and poured. She took a sip from her mustard colored, "TEACHERS DO IT WITH CLASS," gift mug.

Wary of being officially put on notice of the advent of a "good" day, Rick verbally returned the muffled entreaty with a mellifluous groan, after the fact hoping it was not heard as some sort of disparagement.

However Stephanie's heart may have clanged, her chosen outward demeanor was that of a wary, but antler-less deer. "Up long?" she inquired with no detectable interest.

Richard III was a bit thrown by an opening devoid of a stock market report. He considered the possibility of Stephanie's utilization of a Bobby Fisher type of crazy ploy. The co-dependency attached to the word "long" gave him pause, pragmatically overcome through his recognition of his nerve induced, likely disproportionate attention to correctness at the expense of geniality. Much consternation generated in the coming re-warming hinted at from across the room; a logically induced likely oxymoron; at best only worthy of one of the three stinkers discarded in a five card draw hand. "Up" seemed too complicated to even consider in its myriad of possible ramifications; at one level recalling a Richard Pryor comedy titled; "Which Way is Up?" and at a presumed other level a divergence to wishful thinking. He realized that he was fucked up, pitifully with coffee the only potential, lame excuse this time. He attempted a response, with some luck, indicative of understanding from both spectral extremes. He mistakenly said; "Much longer than you." Intended to be cautious and conciliatory, Richard III heard the sound as being perceived as contentious. Not wanting that he nervously improvised; "Lost track. Just waiting for you, babe." Richard III immediately glimpsed the possible interpretation as a spin doctor might, and depending on benefactors certainly would. He made infinitesimal shrugs and smiles while looking at her, trying to see her eyes.

Stephanie's weary head still felt that she could best use a removal or at least an incapable abstraction of the weight imposing itself at the very top of her torso. She'd have gladly traded the encumbrance residing above for any possible tiresomeness which chose to take position below; however that option seemed nowhere in sight; her black coffee in desperate need of microwave services. She pushed the appropriate buttons, tabs, and plastic strips with no regard for precise parlance. As the thingy hummed she looked through the stained window observing the light's seasonally indirect attempt to illuminate the plundered and abandoned field surrounding. "It was Richard's doing," she thought as she stifled a scream, which coerced and simultaneously constrained everything in her. Categorically not wanting to be possibly construed as aloof; yet with an un-controllable need to communicate her feelings, in her drowsy perspective, Stephanie reluctantly adjusted her night clothes to an old Sinclair's "Babbit," an appropriately bourgeois standard of correctly preposterous, but advised necessary decorum. In the crisis dictated by the duplicity of an erratic in kindness and cruel in practice sun; she knew she could always count on the predictability of the artificial, microwaved warmth of the thick, mass-manufactured, yellow cup holding her coffee. The automated, programmable, droning buzz almost soothed her in the otherwise silence. "Someone else, a friend, is here, finally, I know.......... she thought in a systematically necessary denial and mockery of demonstrated reality, quickly deferring to the socially acceptable, witty one-liners of the sophisticated; an effort in the negative; to appear not innocent; the systematically credentialed resplendent with their egocentric prognostications and calculations of full understanding, 'coincidentally" remunerative, opting for the hell of a logic and as worshipped by those badly hurt, yet to be proven as anything more than a visually provocative, self-serving bluff from the purveyors of hard headed lies. Stephanie, in the space of a second of reality and ensconced in their always effective, yet absurd imposition of a western concept of imprisoning "science" removed the doctored cup from the GE, white affordable, center of kitchen, easy convenience. Stephanie had heard the rude beeps, not recognizing them as such, pressed the correct button, knob, fastener, switch, whatever worked; and now, once again, held her cup. It's warm and temporarily consoling; better than most. ............... Solace; epiphany; a wish; more likely just a happy dream; awakening a curse; a temporary, plasticized, un-recognized deference to the judgment of hell. Yet, to a shy observer; frightened, removed and enthralled with her innocently nuanced, brave approach no resistance is possible; save that of those severely sick and hurt; in sad recognition that we all fit the definition.

Stephanie had no easy, American defined, cheer with which to couch her experience. "Yay, yay, go all the way" was a once disdainfully recalled memory of the disdained high school cheerleaders of her time; maybe appropriate in their good will at the secondary football game; but not understood in the banalities of their "rah, rahs." Despite true lies to the contrary, a stupid denial or more likely ignorant and innocent, embarrassing word of the past, best forgotten, in its exuberance, she is now desperate for that which has been long gone. Proms. Nervous and scared. The in-crowd which never sees you, maybe an improvement over those who overtly laugh. "He doesn't only want to hold your books and walk you home. That's OK and welcomed, but ...... but ... but ....... but ...... but ...... but, it's all right, but can't there be more. It was so close, a form of torture. An un-constrainable wish to forever hold the one, and only one she needed and loved. A lifelong belief rendered a stupid dream only. Her hurt and inability to understand that which seems now so far from her perceptions of the beginning. It doesn't make any sense. You've seen the horrible ugliness of me at my worst, and I, you at yours, pointed it out, to which was the hurt and sincere desire of a killing dagger; so hurt, my proudest moment is that when you laughed at me and thereby momentarily one self-flatteringly with you; an Eden most bragging; in an unsuccessful, retarded effort to touch. And this thing put us here. We, I want, out there, in an effort to so much help to easily make it wonderful, as it was intended to be, to escape the Tower of Babel and the easily ignitable fire; deemed, in its construction with rhinestones, the height of brilliance by the deniers with the NY Times writers at their piece evocative submissions to the editor in compliance."

Weird morning. Just got up. Head hurts more the more I try to think. Best to stop the delusions and inferred permutations. This thought process must have been lengthy and as taught by slickly irrelevant as the main-stream performances purporting nightly, news allowed by Murdoch, in a lucrative, though quiet Salinger-typed redundant despondency dismissed as a gullible minority; effectively handled decades prior when the last of the reported, "confirmable" horrors of the yet unprovable, non-people of 2016 in the US sorts are still incorrectly considered the epitome of abomination within the idea of outdated patriotism; kind of Renoir 1930's stupid; un-recalled or irrelevant. A definite infliction, but no competition for a beached holy grail. With the odds way against me, I hope that waverings are not only a punished impediment to those merely condemned to feel. Thoughts, sadly, no matter how well of intention, never magnify or touch.

Stephanie, in her drowsed radiance, felt unduly deficient, needed a friend and responded with a now clichéd, declaration of love from another time which said; "Only the beginning," her suppressed prelude to the memory of something which simultaneously feels desirable and plodding.

Richard was smitten, perplexed and encouraged by her seeming placidity and "cheer," unaware of the hidden turbulence below. He ventured a tenuous; "Looks like it's gonna be another warm one."

Stephanie first considered the possibility of facetiousness, secondly the possible innuendo, and third, the likelihood of banality. Innocuous entrée is a not a prospect after having experienced the decade deluge. She sharply countered; "Can I ever get this place to myself!" immediately realizing that what she really wanted was company.

Richard responded with; "I could say the same thing!" immediately realizing that his combative retort negated his momentary wish for a pleasant morning.

Stephanie sighed and for a second reflected on how easy it is to destroy what is truly desired. In a desultory manner she intoned; "Sorry; I just need a little space this morning. Okay?"

Richard appreciated the new sound, but also is cognizant that the relative pleasantry has the same effect as a flat out shriek of; "Get out of my face." Duplicitous tactics masked with pleasantries is a game which has been perfected over the prior half century. Done well, any refutation gets bogged down in the placement of the impossible irrefutable burden of proof on the fool. He was tired and bored at the prospect of spending another day trapped in a Machiavelli by way of Kafka descent into hell. He said a conciliatory "Okay," hoping it was not read as a possible surreptitious appeal to the calculable benefit bestowed on the "good" guy. He added; "I'll go for a long walk. I just have to dress for it;" his envisioned walk directly to a stool at the Propicio Bar and Grill, making no use of the grill aspect.

As eyes-on-the-floor-Richard III proceeded back to his bedroom, Stephanie was un-focused. Her eyes darted back and forth from her kind as vague; cruel as fading, tongue-tied echo in the kitchen window to the corpus of Richard III's reluctant departure. She yearned to be able to come up with the right words; shackled in the most severe point of view; hampered and gently distracted in her own. Her false memory of Kurt Cobain came to mind; "Smells Like Teen Spirit;" hello. She sipped her now lukewarm coffee and looked through the window, in vain, trying to avoid the inadequately displayed, yet persistent reflection in the bullet glass.

Richard III is drawn to the comfort of his well-worn, gentleman farmer jeans and his turning-up-at-the-pocket-edges, denim work shirt, but is deferential to his perceived view of the tastes and tendencies of those more current. He donned his lightweight, mall acquired attire. It was once a "gift" from his son who thought that Dad should at least appear to be a part of the new, relevant world. Richard III found that to be practical advice; as he had discovered that when he stumbled home drunk in his stone-washed, denim antiquated duds, he inordinately attracted the attention of quota-seeking cops, looking for a defenseless target. His former mayoral credentials spared him any trip to county jail and even arrest, ticketing, or whatever the unbridled "Princes of Propicio" had at their commanding disposal today. He knew the game, but found it personally repugnant to be compelled to play it with those perfunctory kissers of the not so grand ass. The Hilly's polyester imports in derivative and un-definable, changing with each wash, colors; coupled with the imported material's, delicate deference to the slightest of winds, relieved Richard III of the distaste of playing with those on another wave length. He grinned, first derisive of his own cowardice, then personally complimentary at his adaptive capabilities; recalling that some forgotten, radical, scientist of whatever ilk, stated that mankind's survival was primarily a function of its easy acclimation to adaptation, that skill being beyond that of any other species. He somewhat corrected himself, as he thought that his un-credentialed foray into the world of theory contradicted his simple need to get by. Worse, his presumptuous expeditions into personally-wished enlightenment resulted in years of failure and academically sanctioned excuses. ................... All this shit to put on a pair of fucking, Hilly pants; a likely definition of mental illness or a kind view of inadequacy.

He sat at the edge of the double bed; sadly, no longer able to perceive the scents long gone, doubting his memory, and with a bit of better-not-thought-of reluctance conformed to Hilly and its currency, as opposed to their aficionados waiting in the packed parking lot.

He thought; "I don't understand. Never will. Just let me get my proper fucking pants on." He was rewarded in his unconscious prayer and his left leg went easily in as he mercifully lost all other thought. The process seemed to be much too rushed. The end insisted in a manner deceptively confident, yet with the audacity to pretend to be just another ineffective opponent, trying to convince him of the relevance, inevitability and wisdom of its desolation. Misery loves company. He desperately wished to stay; as he recalled staring into her eyes so beautifully revealing a seemingly welcomed surprise; or long forgotten expectation. To Richard III, an opportunity to be condescendingly maudlin or revelatory within the constraints of a chosen, Hilly's right leg was right in his hands.

Richard's left leg, now well ensconced in the fashion of the day, he put in his right. The adjustment seemed so effortless that he got up and walked; overconfidently ready for what was to come. The savage duplicity used its only and overused asset; an ability to derive and thwart the currently-seen-as, naïve, stupid wish from times gone. It hurt, Richard accustomed to fancying himself one who might overcome, but the youngster's views were so ........... un-characterizable for him, yet so inexcusably sad. He sometimes thought that he understood and loved them for not only that. They needed help; as did he; but no one has an inkling as to where that help might be. His right leg's comfort told him that it was time to get up and get on with the apologizing at best, embryonically to be determined, lost in an irrefutably "factual" long day; its most convincing when it demonstrated the inevitability of outcome, no matter the path.

Richard III walked through the kitchen on his way out. He saw Stephanie's head involuntarily twitch at the sound of his footsteps, her concentration on the window suddenly broken. He sighed and said; "On my way out, girl. Be gone a while. All yours."

She was compelled to be polite; at the same time intending to not sound discouraging. Her voice faux lilted; "Taking the car, honey?"

Rather than seeing her attempt at spur-of-the-moment civility, he took the question as a gambit which really asked; "Are you going to drink like a fish?" as he standardly walked when he intended to get loaded, to avoid any DUI complications. He considered making a sarcastic reply, but settled on; "No. Its warm out and the fresh air will do me good."

She thought that he was making an inadequate attempt at glossing over his intended indulgence. However, rather than comment on it, she sought to avoid potential conflict as she felt a bit guilty over having chased him out. She said; "See ya later," and heard the front door open and close.

The half mile to the Propicio Bar and Grill was as usual, eerily quiet at the outset, though he seemed to be noticing it at full strength for the first time. His Roderick Usher degree of awareness was un-settling in its suggestion of a less than satisfactory outcome. "Ah, just the depressed mindset of an alcoholic writer on death's door; a blue version of the story; with its attendant market share;" he thought as he stifled a chuckle observable only to the hidden cameras. The un-attended brown mounds in the barren field which he exchanged for paper silently and stoically watched. After the damage was done and the construction crews departed in the economic downturn they seemed to have taken up permanent residence. The mirage of a few tiny green shoots got Rick's attention. When he stared he saw only abandoned and disheveled brunettes; but when he concentrated on his own path, the corner of his eye was inundated with the natural, immature, emerald progressions. "Very strange," he thought. "When I overtly look they hide. And when I don't appear to pay any notice they make themselves known. Must be passive-aggressive, couch potatoes. ....... Ah, it's more likely my misunderstanding. Despite the warmth, the irrefutable fact is that it is still winter. .............. Wishful thinking, no doubt." Rick, of undesired requisite, adopted a Salinger and focused on the extensions of his feet; the dirt road flattened by vehicles; easy to traverse in the ruts; but, challenging at the bounding edges and center.

With furtive glances he pretended to ignore the land to his side thinking he caught some sight of the shy, wild greenery's hidden cheek. Disinterested in the seemingly demonstrated bore of a continuation of pre-pubescent games, he paid lip service to the developing phantoms, muttering a guttural, humming tune derivative of Tom Waits, at his most hopeful; an oxymoron to the majority. Rick's mental machinations provided almost sufficient diversions which enabled him to reach the main thoroughfare; Propicio Road.

He got to the two-way-single-laned-blacktopped height of local activity while it was still rush hour. Glazed faces sat in the pilots' seats and endured the bumper to bumper onslaught. Thirty-five mile per hour tedium belched gray pollution into the temperate morning air and Rick's lungs. He appreciated not having to attempt to cross the busy thoroughfare, recalling the long gone days when it was populated by infrequent tractors and horses. The gnashing tires pulverized the well-defined paths into and out of town in a subtle show of confident authority over their black domain, crumbling at its edges. At the push of a button, windows slid open; some occupants thirsting for the fresh air their engines had already fouled. He picked up his leisurely pace and, with some difficulty walked on the patches of rubbish marred, sunburned grass between the commercial establishments and the plodding armies of the latest morning. Without sidewalks the differentiation between public and private byways blurred. A quick succession of honks bore no resemblance to that of the former, seasonally resident, winged cranes; escapees to other Southwestern fields not yet suburbanized. Startled, Rick twitched and looked behind him hoping that none of the rolling fog machines had gone off track. He needed a fix and the Propicio Bar and Grill loomed just ahead.

His pace increased building up of a forehead sweat. He thought; "Early heat inhibits the required social skills in boom town; heat welcomed; boom rejected." The streaked, purple entrance door acted, as best the handyman interpretation of age induced integrity afforded; a cutesy invitation to the marginally pre-pubescent and an ingratiation to the out-of-date. With an adaptively conditioned sense of relief, his shoulder swayed open the hinged portal. Rick's indispensable view of the luxuriant interior sanctuary served to relax his mind; his moist forehead still requiring refrigerating armor. The sought bastion was evocative of a degraded past performing as a false promise of a future; insistent on having its cake and to eat it too; much as forgotten Empire Americana subsequent to Duncan Phyfe; done in one acre "ranchettes." Rick's attempt at escapist diversion were only hindered by his predatory, un-wanted thoughts of a mis-remembered past and a future which seemed forged on a criminal printing press. Bottom line, Rick felt that any attempts at capitalizing on the self-aggrandized, supposedly impending and inexpensive duplication was preferential to the rot, imposed by mere phase; or perhaps more accurately a complete dismissal of that which has been superseded by that which has "obviously progressed." "Progress" was too old a story to make another attempt at regurgitation in chunks. It was less laughable to go with the flow of the managed and depleted river to the damned north. Beaver obstacles were natural and a necessity for their survival, but the barricades engineered by geeks in command of steel, purposely and with cruelty, complicated things and inevitably did their damage.

Richard III attempted to hold the door open, desirous of a gentle finality. The un-explainable subtlety was at DFW level, just another post or post-post-modern frigid, emotionless game. He entered as the temporarily piqued returned to the flavorless solace of their otherwise, clear, glass containers. As best as he could, which was relentlessly propelled by a desire to eternally entangle the merciless joke; scientifically postulated to the bewilderment of any detractors; on some "modern" mechanism shutting behind him as if there was a hope of rendering mute its closure, the purple door finally closed without a thud. The fatigued, disillusioned, thereby popularly seen as so sophisticated eyes of the early patrons looked up in a conceivable display of the faith they had sought but not found, despite all the allowances made in desperation to the next, yet to-be-discovered and religiously hailed, spiritually deficient, yet worldly compelling replay of "Elmer Gantry."

This was not a happy series of thoughts for the man who once wanted to live in the simplicity of "Rick." The controlled, measured solace was un-definable to him; hawks or under-flipped as opposed to under-handed seals, previously heard and ultimately rejected; in stupid flaunt of a deprived consciousness or a wished ten black inches; the latter so transitory; the source appropriated from the real spoken; interpreted by the intelligent watchers as compelling to the NY Times as another failure and accepted, but inarguable derision.

After the door firmly met its prescribed place there was a discomforting silence. The front-of-the-room tap dwellers retreated into their succor, some still capable of a concentrated, early-pube passion; at a decades remembrance of a smile, pretending time was still.

Richard III, with a deference to possible hubris, easily concluded that all of his soft meanderings into a world he may have imagined rather than have taken part in was one he experienced mentally and maybe, in a self-congratulatory, hoping to avoid derision and inadequacy taunts; self-misunderstood; error upon error. He knows no answers and seeks a place where it would just stop hurting.

He enters and to the left is a confident, bearded, with the smallest showings of gray at the edges, man who, without regard to old time civility or modern day money flaunts his Dali-like dexterity, popularly playing into the polar stagnation of 2016. He pays no bar tab and flips his old coin in the corner. He surreptitiously owns the fucking place and can do whatever the hell he wants; with total disregard for proprieties; social or legal. He seeks not whatsoever to engage you. From an eternity of repetition he knows that you, in desperate moments, will seek him. His coin has been through all the slots, plots and polyglots, and is still here. Another executor to the bleakest of houses, Dickensian, economically proficient, paltry estate; an irrefutable and convincing logic; except you know that, despite his physical frailties, Tiny Tim wants something more to the detriment of those who bargain.

The relative tranquility of the interior's un-recognized, somnambulatory attempts to shuffle and perfunctorily, once again execute the commercial necessities on the one hand and the convivial superiority, chic and aloof deemed necessary on the other, made Richard III's desire for serenity segue into the position of yet another biased and guilty aspirant of impending peace. His pre-collective-coarse-water-hole-escape to the surface, cosmetician-interior-designed, replete with spiffy, gray, easily movable, six foot partitions, for the benefit of those in need of "special" treatment-for-a-fee, seemed to Rick to be currently demi-monde in its self-aggrandizing insinuations and falsely far-reaching, un-witting deference to ancient classicism; and prone to the safety of the half century old, Warhol duplication and a century of anti-Freudian, Jungian archetypes; un-provable to the scientifically stalled, painfully obvious to the fully conscious occupants of this room; if yet any had not yet succeeded in washing the joke away.

Rick was still in possession of a level-headedness capable of traversing the given road, desecrated in part and cost-effectively, roughly and nearly efficiently, un-breathable in the exhaust of the oil consuming populace of neoteric and swelling Propicio. He had back-burnered any notion of anything more relevant than the neon assault of night-time, garish, blinking in its defect, un-natural color in their "welcoming" invitations to "bar and grill." In the dark of night they advertised a flippant and functional, fractional, marginalized, down-to-earth acquiescence in a flashing, possibly fuse-deficient, seductive come-on; a clouded, perhaps mercifully so, the least averse to the acceptance of the ultimate reason's best proffered definition as that of Sartre's innocent expectation of a benign neglect as the lowest of common denominators. No wonder Simone loved him.

Richard III was expecting to be relieved to enter the twilight of the "Propicio Bar and Grill's" knowing, veiled with shutters perennially closed to any possible light, fortified with tin casements establishment; and he accommodatingly and desperately was. The inordinately vociferous, conceited and heavy door had shut behind him. He was finally in.

The malodorous cacophony of the most main, currently construed as the most germane of streets, formerly and innocently vainglorious, now sarcastically, in the most "exalted" of privileged toddy time profundities referred to as an archaic, presumably un-informed and gauche play at the absurd; as if in their most Narcissistic of feverish and hallucinatory of immature hopes, their misunderstood DFW dalliances to the regaled, not understood, irrelevances were perceived as "Calle de Elysgar a un Sitiuo," now bedecked with the less-than-convincing, advertisement of government imposed tin plated and hard-to-miss Propicio Road signs all over the mass thoroughfare; perhaps a belated and more studied "1984" like deference to a struggling and youthful strain for more than a mere existence in the previously defined as sad, logic-inevitable nothing not obliged by the rulers; to the "coincidence" of their cruelest of interests; 1969 "Village Voice," articulated at the whim of the wishes for the financial remuneration of Mailer's search for consequence with the black, laughing, light heavy. Instead, it was just another field of massacre; an un-respecting diversion into what Rick has commonly seen as that which could exist only in the worst of dreams. Blindness is an obscure benefactress who has already been there and promises to be his caring future; though sometimes she lies.

He had remembrances of the former cutting edge, now restricted to absurdities defined by the defunct Europeans; Hardy, indecipherable Joyce, to the hilarious point of the non-point of Beckett; updates inconsequential, invariably a course of irrelevant "social" discussion. Collette and Cherie revel at the margins and often in between. Warmth? Love? Redemption? Ask them. They are the ones who feel it. Alas, they are not standard. Like soldiers, they choose to risk being bravely hurt in their fanciful visions, knowing that they will soon be subjected to the inevitability of the hawk's accepted brand of recrimination. Is this any way to spend the long day's journey? "No, ....... no," they say in unison. "It cannot still be." No, backspace to infinity; please stop the cries of Eminem.

The trifling door disturbance seems to be a contradictory impropriety in the early, shockingly hot morning. Now, securely sequestered amongst the raconteurs of new Propicio, Richard III surveyed the place in search of a private seat. He had options. His side glances indicated that the coin flipper actually grinned as he got another head. In a foolishly optimistic moment, Rick thought it possible that the flipper wasn't very bright. Though he took initial solace in that possibility, he quickly abandoned that thought, seeing it as much more likely that the flipper continually rejoiced in predictable perversity. The closer scrutiny dismissed that damaged and faulty initial view as a testimony to wishful thinking. Richard kept the thought to himself for a few good reasons. On a practical level he had no audience and thought it wise not to be seen talking to himself. On a philosophical level his immediately retrievable thoughts seemed anathema to the very popular American slogans of "Hope springs eternal," "Have a nice day," "Keep your sunny side up" and a host of other bumper-sticker-popularities available at Wal-Mart at a supposed discount due to Chinese printing.

Little Eva's "Locomotion," had long ago been re-named and re-worded and considered an antecedent to its current Spanish derivation of Calle Ha Ido; once a paper street; now in the center of town. If that was not sufficiently detrimental, it was replaced by the bar-room-stereo-system's incongruously adjusted-to-damn-near-mute, homogenized mix of Coltrane's wordless version of "My Favorite Things;" the perception available only to the jazz aficionados. In the moment the traveler was again the "Rick" of antiquity, oblivious to the commonalities of the reality defined by authorities, easily-deferred-to-one-line "rationalities" acquiesced to by those used to taking the punches. He opened his coat and took his choice of seats at the bar; a wobbling, precariously high stool. Though it wasn't the least bit comforting, through his long experience, he saw that that the unstable high ground was the best offer imminently available.

Behind the counter, Mary's tired eyes broke from the comfort of her rag moist, systematized-to-appear-busy counter wipes and sighed when she saw Richard take one of the traditional paying patron's positions, joining the sparse early morning "crowd" on one of the conventional concoctions of faux wood. Her savored and fading recollections of something less predictable and humdrum were abandoned with the rag she left in the steel sink. She has gone on automatic pilot. She wiped away the unruly bangs, did her best to imitate a smile and said; "Double Jack?"

Rick was immediately again converted to Richard III. He was fortified by his realization that he was paying the tab and was again in charge of the minutiae. He grinned, similar to the sight he had of the coin flipper and droned; "As usual," immediately feeling some sense of indefinable guilt and consequent embarrassment. His diversionary attempt was to say the banal; "Warm outside today, isn't it?"

Mary couldn't help but awkwardly render a smile as she mixed the drink. She mumbled; "Is it? I've been here since well before sunrise." The audio system abruptly changed its repertoire to something that sought to resemble Billie Holiday's "Don't Worry 'Bout Me;" this "artist" making the effort in braille.

Rick thought he understood the old game; feel sorry for little me and little me leaves a big tip. No one had yet found a way to break through the line without being seen as the "bad guy." And hell, maybe it is true this time. He looked into the mirror above the bar and saw an aging Rick face above the multi-shaped bottles. Despite the obvious departure of youth, he also knew that this dim light would be most conducive to him. He diverted his eyes from himself and saw the four other grim night-hawks on stools. Through the mirror their eyes seemed to catch his, and he averted them, in a personal shyness, or maybe the modern, un-observed aspiration, not to appear rude and intrusive. He focussed on Mary's upper thighs, well displayed, as she made the slightest of required efforts to bend over the sink.

Mary brought over the diversionary, well mixed, diluted milk of honey; the miniscule accretion a positive attribute which allowed her to pay her gas bill; warm water a necessity in the morning. Rick strived to get out of himself; or at least give the appearance that he had. As Mary sighed, adjusting the coasters designed for marketing purposes, thereby emblazoned with "Propicio Bar and Grill" in a calligraphy someone once must have sold as artful, she silently plunked the discolored water in front of him; and he said; "In case you didn't know your uniform is stuck halfway up your behind. ................... More than all right with me. Just sayin' in case you just got stuck in an accident."

Mary adjusted her "outfit malfunction" with her left hand; her eyes steely and incongruent with the possible invitation solicited by her lower attire. She said; "Fucked up already? Ever hear of Mr. Coffee?" She walked back to the stainless steel sink, turned on the cold water, and glanced at herself as she pretended trying to remove stains from clean glasses. Her old thoughts recurred; "After he has a few belts, he'll be all right."

Temporarily capable of enduring the social farce with all of its Twit induced, inconsequential tweets, Richard III or Rick, lowered his head and gurgled the preliminary glass contents. Partially through, his eyes elevated to see that Mary had moved elsewhere. That perception made him feel a need to suck at the glass in a clandestine effort to get her interest. Her job required her to fill an empty glass. The Jack hit his head in waves. He was not sure of a tranquility dreamed; she afraid, necessarily sober, still alive, yet somewhat interested in making the slightest of commitments to another game playing loser. His relief-excitement-hilarity-passion-heart-soul-eyes widened more than he wanted. Previously disappointed, the third of the clan was only half surprised as that his attempted-to-be-conveyed thoughts were again taken as a bad word by her. He thought; "No, no. Not again. Please not again."

Mary turned her back, choosing to face the more convivial others. Richard thought he understood another pop rejection, to the best of his knowledge, first articulated by the forgotten, un-rewarded Camus. For the briefest of moments, the illusion of her face boldly flashing in the morning sky provided Rick some compensation; hope; dreams; Eden; something long gone.

Abandoned in his precarious seat Rick took a long distasteful swig; then another to convince himself that he could stand it. It seemed another social obligation; the mock staunchness a requisite obliged in conveniently un-recognized, contorted face. Which deficiency is laughable? Extremely limited point of view? Singular surety? Rick didn't care one way or the other, but Richard III brooded.

The contortion transformed into a manufactured derivation of a warm glow, which gave perfunctory heat like a partially malfunctioning baseboard system. He tried not to think that this would be the best he would feel all day. He remembered the opening lines from Lynrd Skynrd's old song; "Whiskey bottle. Brand new car. Oak tree in my way."

After another less frantic swallow, the warmth seemed to have spread out all over his body and head, bringing the relaxed feeling that everything was absurdly funny. He stood from the stool, which he thought was only minimally useful, as all it supported was his butt. He thought it amusing that the one part of him which needed no support was the one that got it. He got a more comprehensive view of himself in the funhouse mirror.

His glittery leatherette, black belt was, of necessity, positioned below, and was seemingly supportive of his bloated belly. Bellies were admired and oft-self-palmed status symbols among the bulls of Old Propicio, possibly because a fat one inferred the luxury of not having had to spend much recent time in the fields. However, they were now relegated to the you-can-never-be-too-rich-or-too-thin culture of healthy lean and mean. Rick felt incredibly out of style.

"Belly up to the bar boy," was the new refrain. At this age Rick actually liked being thought of as a boy, perhaps reminiscent of when he and his cadres were called "good old boys." He thought; "Okay. I'm going to fool the regulars today and not do my usual show. I'll show them how this place used to be before suburbanization turned it into puce. But after downing his second double he still had no idea how to do that. He crossed his arms on the bar and rested his chin on them. Creativity lacking he stared into the mirror and saw the furtive glances and smirks of the others, even Mary, the bar maid. She walked to him and said; "Need a nap or another double?"

When he was rational, Rick was well aware that his stature had declined in all respects other than his belly. But after a few shots he usually regained his kingship. Right now he felt more like the court jester; a valued position when one is endeavoring to be comical. His eyes darted upward and his lungs filled with sufficient air to unleash a flood of venom and instead he coughed, hoping to retain his lungs. As Rick bowed his head and spread his legs in an effort to ensure that any matters brought up would hit the floor, he felt a hand patting him on the back. He glanced into the mirror to see Joshua Marshland at his side.

Simultaneously Josh and Mary said; "Are you all right?"

Rick said; "Do I look all right to you? ......... Shit! That is the dumbest question anyone ever asked me. ....... Fucking shit!" He remembered he was in a "proper high class" establishment and found that amusing; though he looked toward Mary intending to proffer some sort of apology and succeeded in coughing out something which sounded like a bullfrog saying; "Ibrakuhemenhloop."

Josh sat on the closest stool to Rick's left, slapped his back one time and said; "Not to worry, partner. I'm here to fix you up. Mary, just don't stand there. Get this man another drink. Can't you see he's dry? Me too; the usual."

Rick stared at his would-be benefactor for a second; then choked out; "I didn't remember you having a mustache."

Appearing sincere except for the cow eyes the thin man in the black and white checkered sweater uttered "Thanks would have done fine." His facial expression quickly reverted to blank disinterested and he declared; "Do any thinking about what we spoke about last time?"

"Didn't have to. You're wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

"That I need you."

"Oh, wad some power, the giftie gie us."

"What?"

"Nothing. ........ Okay. Okay. You don't need me. But you OBVIOUSLY need something and I can help you get it."

Mary brought their drinks and placed them on the Propicio Bar and Grill emblazoned coasters.

Rick said; "Thanks Mary. This is what I need."

In a dismissive tone Josh mumbled; "Thank you." Mary returned to the group at the other end of the bar.

Josh took a quick glance at his watch, clinked glasses, took a belt and declared; "Listen my friend. Got places to go and people to see. So, let me talk quickly."

"Didn't your Momma teach you any manners?"

"Momma's dead and the world has speeded up a lot since you last participated in it."

Rick shrugged and made a half nod.

"Okay. I know that 10 years ago you were a well-liked mayor and gentleman farmer. I know you sold the farm, taking un-registered stock which is as of close yesterday worth roughly two-thirds of what it was at transaction date."

Rick interrupted; "That's none of your business. How can you be so sure?"

"Ever hear of computers and the information age? There are no more secrets. You want me to tell you your birthday, wife's name, bank balance, value of your house, credit card numbers .............."

Rick interrupted and said; "All right. All right. Damn things are an invasion of privacy. They ought to disallow ......."

Josh interrupted and said; "They're here to stay and they're only going to expand. That's the way it is, so deal with it or bitch irrelevantly."

Rick knew the truth of that one all too well; his current irrelevance. He had been feeling it for some time, but, up until now thought, maybe wished that he was hiding it in drunken bravado. To see it so openly stated was embarrassing; but contrary to that also some form of liberating. Rick looked at Josh sideways and saw him agitatedly looking at his watch. For the first time he admitted to himself that he could use the help of this nervous little man, who he didn't really like at all. He also knew that if he truly wanted to be Mayor again he would need the help and advice of this little man, or one of the many like him, and this one was right in front of his face. He wasn't one hundred percent sure if he wanted to again be Mayor again; but concluded that it was preferable to be the harassed man-in-charge than be the drunken laughing stock of the Propicio Bar and Grill.

Josh interrupted his silent reverie saying; "Hey, hey; still here pop?"

"Vague response called for. Ever hear of a diode? Or can you merely detect on-off. They invented that only 142 years ago, hotshot."

"I don't know what you're talking about; other than that it's not a no. So, before I leave let me lay out the simple facts of life for you. You're at a severe disadvantage being Richard Lawson III everywhere you go. Nowadays people make heroes just to tear them down with the quick flip side. So, the trick is to provide only a moving target."

Rick- Richard III was far from totally misunderstanding. He had been a politician. So he took a swig and made the semblance of a half shrug, meant to indicate; "Similar viewpoint. Tell me something I don't know."

Josh recognized that and continued; "Okay. Bottom line. The ten year garbage contract is up for renewal a few months after election. There will be more money kicking around than any of the local big-deals have made in the last three years. Seventy-two bucks per month per house; under $10 cost with illegal alien labor. Add it up. More profit per year than AmawayOnSteroids has made in twenty."

Rick winced, showing only diodal interest with the spark at the short end.

Josh sighed heavily and said; "All right. Gotcha. Above money. Got a theatre production for ya, your name already on it. Here's step two. The current mayor; Pig something or other; isn't a made man; only a fringe player, and can be easily taken out. The 'good people' of Propicio, under the banner head of some gardening society have already stirred up sufficient and growing discontent to dump him. They just need an alternative. Elms on Calle de la Some Shit are messing up their gardens." He couldn't refrain from snorting some kind of amused or derisive nose maneuver, mercifully free of any out-of-hand, lasting sign.

Rick used the small break to take a gulp.

Josh deadpanned his continuation; "The 'good' gardening society, on their one acre plots, fancy themselves the descendants of a Propicio past rural heritage and see the 'Elm people', who have been here for generations ones who are taking away their birthright. Typical suburban takeover. Happens all the time. Ass backwards joke, I know. But, there's the play. They will elect someone who evokes a tradition they must be fully Xanexed out to see themselves a part of, who will be expected to kill the little that remains of Propicio's true tradition, which they see as a weed to be sprayed. ....... Simple. This is where you come in. Tradition."

"I've always been a straight shooter. The people know that."

"Maybe the ones who were here ten years ago know that, if they haven't yet gotten Alzheimer's. Irrelevant; crooked is the way of the day. Look, it's easy. I handle the campaign through the internet. You make a few; very few appearances. You point out your heritage and you say you want to bring back old Propicio and get rid of the elms on Calle de la Congelacion."

"Even if I were willing to boldface lie that doesn't even make any sense."

"What world are you living in Ricky? Okay, okay. If you've got a problem with lying, then you say that you'll do everything in your power to get rid of the elms. You don't have to mention that you don't have the power. And regarding sense; damn man. 1984 is 32 years past. You make them temporarily happy by telling them what they want to hear, win in a landslide, hand me the contract, and then either quit or give them the old song and dance and hang around."

"........................."

"I'm not one to make value judgements. Presidents get elected promising peace and then as quickly as they can find some excuse to fund the war machine and get their cut. But, if you need some 'moral' shit then consider this. You didn't make the playing field. You're just obliged to play on it as the rules have been handed to you. If you don't run some crook will win and likely do more damage to Propicio than you could imagine. You've got only two choices. One is to again become Mayor, be a big man again, and do good things for the wonderful people of Propicio. Or you could continue to come here and be nothing more than a ridiculed barfly, get cirrhosis of the liver and the DT's."

"Can't I do both? .............. Just kidding."

"Glad you got your thinking cap on pops." Josh squinted at his watch, stood, patted Rick on the back, and whispered; "Gotta git. More business. I got faith in you buddy. Pignatelli is ripe for the taking. There's probably a few who can do it, but not as easy as you. I like to bet on sure things."

He offered Rick his business card. When Rick hesitated before taking it, Josh pointed to the man at the door and added; "That man has been standing there flipping that goddam quarter since I don't know when. How many consecutive head outcomes do you have to see to make the brilliant deduction that the coin is fixed?"

Richard III had been around long enough to have a good idea of Josh's meaning. He audibly sighed and raised his eyebrows.

Josh said; "Ciao, baby. Call me. ............ Soon." He raised his voice a few decibels and called out; "Hey, Mary. The tab's on my friend, Mr. Mayor," then hurried out the door, exchanging grim nods with the coin flipper.

Rick thought that a bit nervy and eyed Josh's departure in the mirror. He called Mary over and said; "Have a drink with me. I'd like to ask you a few things."

She said; "The working girls aren't here yet."

He said; "I know, I know," though he didn't. He thought; "Hooker within walking distance of my house. Jesus. Things sure have changed around here." He said; "Gimme a refill and pour one for yourself."

She did just that, though her vodka portion came from the vodka bottle which contained water.

"Mary, how well do you know Josh?"

"Not at all."

"Oh, okay. I understand. This is just between us." He pulled two twenties from his wallet and put them on the bar, keeping one finger on them. He asked; "All right?"

"Yeah, all right. ....... I wish I knew somebody named Josh."

"................ Umnnn. That guy who just left and told you the tab's on me."

"Oh, you mean Boyle?"

"I'm not sure what I mean. That guy who just walked out is named Boyle?"

"That's what he told me. He's no youngster, so I didn't check his ID."

"What do you know about him?"

Mary gently tugged at the two twenties and Rick let them go. "Says he's a patent attorney, but I think I know more about the law than he does. ............ I don't think he likes girls."

"Any friends?"

"Always comes alone."

"Live around here?"

"Don't know. .......... All I know is that he doesn't stay long. Talks to me about being some big deal attorney with all the details until some guy walks in by himself. .......... Hit on ya?"

"Hell no."

"No big thing nowadays. ....... Then why do you care who he is?"

"He was talkin' about some kind of business deal. Hey, I'm asking the questions here. How long has he been coming here?"

"Less than a month. ....... Kinda irregular; mostly around sunset though. ......... Switches around with his drinks." Mary chuckled and Rick didn't know why.

"Who does he talk to?"

"I told you. Guys who come in alone. I don't know their names."

"You're not being much help about this Boyle."

"If I knew more I'd tell ya."

"Aaaah, thanks Mary. I deserve an extra, though. Who's that guy flipping the coin?"

Mary put her arms on the bar, leaned toward him and whispered; "He owns the place. Thinks he's real funny. Got two coins; one rigged for heads; the other for tails. Does a good slight of hand. He gets some bored drunks to bet and he always wins."

"Always?"

"Scientific fact until the next discovery."

After three double Jacks Rick decided he needed to do some thinking in private. He briefly considered the Propicio Bar and Grill bathroom, but quickly determined that home was preferable; an olfactory thing.

He paid. When he walked by the coin man Rick derisively said; "I know your old game."

Presenting a facial expression reflecting abject boredom, the coin man didn't bother to look at Rick, preferring the shiny coin, but, in a low voice said; "Congratulations. Everybody else does too. But, it's the only game in town. Scientific fact until the next discovery."

Dumbfounded, Rick watched three more consecutive heads decorate the tiled floor. He half stumbled his way back the way he came. Rush hour traffic was over and all he felt was the stillness and all he heard was the blare of sunlight. The ancient golden boy was continuing its recent, early season penchant for full strength. Any cloud with an idea of participating in the blue thought twice, remained hidden, watched the glow and was content to have felt the heat for now; further sensing the experience of gigantic, imminent, celestial foreplay; with much more to come.

As Rick passed through the property which he and his family once owned he was startled by the sudden screeching arrival of two robins; ostensibly not operating by calendar and not paying attention to the computer aided weatherman. They landed and hopped around the dirt piles, looking for the worms which were not there; and through the efforts of the half-assed construction crew, may never be there again. Richard III got another glimpse of how his lazy, paper denominated, action or in-action had had its effects. The robins; always the first sign of spring and a source of joy from the time he was a little boy would no longer have any reason to come near him. The land was no longer anything which bore a semblance of the natural. It was dead.

The robins took to the air. Rick watched hoping they might circle back. Instead they disappeared behind the two storied, faux Southwestern styled houses to the north. No longer constructed of expensive adobe they were stick built to provide a bigger bang for the buck; and their exteriors were covered with stucco so no one could tell the difference .......... unless they went inside. The robins sought elsewhere. This was especially disconcerting to him as he knew that the red breasted announcers of warmth and taste always flew in pairs and frequented the same places every year of their journeys. Of necessity, they had abandoned their instincts to find a suitable place. That was no longer Propicio.

He tried to shut off his thoughts, attributing them to inebriated flights of nonsense, in-explainable in sober moments. With head down he continued on the dirt path leading home; a one story adobe with a flat roof. The exterior tan stucco was now un-matchable. It got that way from years of sun bleaching. Any needed repairs now necessitated a total re-do or an eyesore. The only sound he heard was the dull hum of the cars on Propicio Road, which got fainter with each step.

In an effort not to annoy Stephanie with his early return, he went through the garage to the back entrance. When he gently opened the door he sighed heavily as it squealed against the brick step, making him cognizant that it was coming apart on the left side; the tongues no longer in the grooves. He pushed them back in place in order to be able to close the door; knowing that a more permanent repair would be required.

He removed his shoes and gingerly tip-toed through the house. He was relieved to see that Stephanie was back asleep in bed, her head buried in the pillow. He got to the living room containing his laptop and turned it on. He felt happy when he was welcomed. It was his first true greeting of the day. His joy was short lived when he saw that the news provided by his search engine was that of a female Palestinian suicide bomber on the Gaza Strip who had killed herself, eight Israelis and two American tourists. Israel had already fired rockets into Lebanon, taking out, among other things, two hospitals. An Israeli spokesperson emphatically stated; "That is where the radicals hide."

Rick had a cheery thought; "This is old news. Nothing worse had happened. Same old shit." He had heard that suicide bombers go to heaven or something like that and are given fifty virgins. In previous cases where the suicide bomber was male, he wondered if there weren't some devilish trickery involved. They did say virgins and strongly suggested eternity. Ah, perhaps the prizes were skilled in other arts. To take that in a different direction he imagined what it would be like to have fifty women asking you; "Like this?" "Is this what you want me to do?" or "That thingy is going in there?" Might be okay for about a week and a half, but after that ....................

But now there was a new twist on things; a female bomber. Would her virgins be male or female? ............. Or an assortment? And if any of her virgins were male, how could it be proven? And where could you find one, never mind fifty guys to admit it? ............. Equality and all that, sometimes biology presents problems.

He thought; "Enough frivolity. I've got serious things to work on." He searched for Joshua Marshland and couldn't find any such person. He tried Boyle and found about eight billion of those. He figured the best thing he could do was to cease being a risqué comedian and computer maven. With minimum skills YouTube could get him back that old country feeling. Rick played Lynrd Skynrd's 1976, black and white, live version of "That Smell." When it ended, he put his head down and fell asleep.

Chapter 15

Jack's last brief meeting with Beth reminded him of the dangers of irrational, hopeful love. It was akin to taking a protracted solo ride on a roller coaster while believing that there will be no vertical loops or scream worthy dives. While he would not allow himself to abandon long, ice free, Calle de la Congelacion walks with Justice, especially with temperatures setting records for late winter highs, he had a plan. It was so easy to come to his conclusion that a child at a third grade math level could have done it. Over the long haul he had spent about fifty times as much miserable time agonizing over her than he had spent happy time with her. His decision was that he would be better off staying away from her or the person who may or may not be her.

This approach worked well. It was a success; but, of course it was an un-tested one as he did not see her. Jack began to think that the two recent times he did see her that it was the result of some sort of wishful thinking which had manifested itself in his now largely voided mind. The majority of people he had known had spoken of wishing that they could quit their time consuming, hated jobs if they could only afford to. He did have an affordability issue, but he also had a new theory. A mind is determined to be occupied with something. If it no longer has its chief employer to ponder, it will fill that space with something else which could be a lot worse; like this bi-polar Beth apparition.

Justice took his time in their walk toward the river, as he kept stopping to investigate the "new" scents which the warm weather was bringing forth. Jack ambled along thinking about getting a regular job or a hobby; preferably a two in one deal. His writing would fill the bill nicely; but it seemed an unlikely source to pay them.

All in all it was a very pleasant day filled with pleasant thoughts; and in the matter of an instant he saw that it was to be put to the test. From a distance of approximately one half of a mile he saw the apparition, Andy and Charlene access the road from what seemed to be the Dietrich property. Intending to turn around and go toward Propicio Road, Jack clapped his hands, getting Justice' attention and with a head movement and a few steps back, the Shepherd became aware that Jack wanted to turn around.

Justice took a look toward the river. He made an unusual, low pitched "yeow" sound; something like a questioning kitten. He turned around and moved slowly while he looked at Jack. Jack was disappointed; in that he realized that it was likely that if Justice was seeing the same "apparition" he was, it was not an apparition at all. Though it was a disappointment, it was not a disaster for him as he still had a Plan B which he had already put into effect. He and Justice were going the other way. They were leaving in the opposite direction. Justice dawdled, much as he did prior to the sighting, as presumably, there were "new" scents worthy of his investigation on his backtrack. Jack noticed that Justice was furtively glancing toward the river with each stop, and suspected that he was allowing time for the trio to catch up.

Jack took a few steps ahead and said; "Come on, man. Let's keep moving at least a little bit." Justice seemed to understand and fully complied the first time he heard the exhortation, for a few quick stepped jaunts. But, then he would stop at another irresistible scent, and was a lesser degree of obedient each time Jack did the "Come on, man. Let's keep moving at least a little bit," routine. Jack suspected that either Justice was an extremely smart dog with no tolerance for re-runs or that Justice was an extremely smart dog who was quite adept at giving the impression of compliance while facilitating his own agenda. In either case, Jack had not even made it back to the path to his own house when he heard; "Jack, Jack. Wait. I have to speak with you."

He cringed and slowly turned back around. In that everlasting second Beth was upon him, accompanied by Andy and Charlene. She was wearing a tightly knit light blue sweater. She seemed extraordinarily large and not in the mood for the restraint of a brassiere. She took his hand in hers and said; "I'm so sorry about last time. I don't know what was wrong with me that day." She let go of his hand as she staggered back two awkward steps. She giggled and added; "I do like my wine sometimes."

Jack's thoughts bounced all over the place. He looked down and saw that Justice was cautiously approaching Andy and Charlene. Charlene seemed to be receptive, while Andy affected a more formal posture. He leaned the slightest bit away from Justice; kind of saying; "We'll see."

Jack realized that he had not yet said anything to Beth. Initially, he didn't want to; but he had already slipped from his firm resolve; and thought that it was impolite not to. Besides, she looked so damn good; and it was so warm; and ........ So, he said; "Are you all right?" and was immediately embarrassed for sounding so lame.

"Yeah. It's just a little difficult to keep my balance when I'm standing still. Let's walk." It was more of a slow crawl than a walk. After a couple of silent steps they both started to speak at the same time, and then they both stopped at the same time. Beth found that amusing, and said; "You first."

Jack had his half lie ready and said; "It's okay. We all have our bad days."

"What's okay?"

Jack stared at Beth and she seemed sincere. ".......... You apologized for last time."

"I did?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"No."

"................................."

There was an uneasy quiet, which Beth broke when she said; "It's really great that you can write like that. Though I read a lot I've never written one word."

Jack found that sad for some reason. Maybe it was her tone. Maybe it was the way that she had slowly emphasized the last four words. Maybe it was just a commonly used phrase which he was making a big deal about. Maybe ......... He wanted clarification, so he said; "It's really easy. I could show you."

It was even more drawn out when she repeated; "Not one word." She turned her head away as if she had found something interesting in the elms on her left.

Jack was unsettled and sorry that he had pressed the issue. They approached his driveway, and he tried to impart a more jovial note. He said; "Come on in for a while. Sometimes I like my wine too."

She confused him again. In a haunting, hollow sounding voice she answered; "Oh nooo. I'm not ready for that ......... yet."

He didn't know what to say or think. As they continued to slowly walk toward Propicio road, he started to babble. "I once had a dream about you. It was a long dream and you were only in it a few seconds. Weird, right? I was at your parent's house. It was a very expensive, though not huge, California contemporary near, but not on the water. Your mother looked attractive and when I said something to you about that you told me that she took a bath in anticipation of company. I spent most of the time with your family maid and don't remember much from that other than worrying about looking presentable. I did spend a fair amount of time with your father, ersatz or not and it was pleasant, until I incorrectly noted that the only kitchen was miniscule, using some other word, and then making the observation that in modern times many don't care much about the kitchen. Despite my clumsy attempt at an apology he got all pissy faced, but attempted no physical vengeance. I was thankful, as I didn't want to get smacked by a behemoth. When I looked behind me there was a large kitchen, the entry to which was ineffectively blocked by hanging strips of fabric. I think that was the end of the dream. Before that I was looking at the interior of the house. It was obviously decorated by a professional with a penchant for the use of contemporary, subdued, texturized, color fabrics. But, now it was in a meaningful state of disrepair. Pieces which were inches wide were completely worn away at the edges. I wondered why the owners of a house worth $10,000,000 had not yet invited the decorator back. Weak possibilities were entertained; none compelling. The multi-acred property was surrounded by a solid fence of indeterminate material. The grass was well mowed and the lawn had many full sized, perhaps 'ornamental' trees, spaced sufficiently apart to not hinder walking. When in the yard I saw you watching me through a ground floor window, and I got the idea that I had only assumed that the water was just a bit down the road, and that maybe it wasn't there at all."

"Hey, you know, I like you," she said touching his cheek.

He touched hers and said; "Remember 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?' It was your favorite song."

She moved away and plaintively said; "That was a long time ago and a lot of things have happened to Beth since then."

"Oh, sure. Everything has changed. But, we don't have to. It can be like that forever for us. The rest can kill themselves any way they'd like. We're not like them and we're not obligated to be their keepers."

"You can be so sweet sometimes."

"So can you."

"We're too old now! Why do we have to get old?"

"I don't know. Chances are that we're going to get a hell of a lot older. Why not do it together?"

"My mother was dead by my age."

"My mother is 83 and still doesn't have anything life threatening."

"Stop it! Come on. Just stop it."

"I can't."

"Do it for me. I've lived through two decades worth of shit I'm doing my best to forget. But, something won't let me forget. ....... Remember how you used to have that horrible dream every once in a while? You'd cry to me and I'd lie and tell you that everything will be all right. Multiply that pain by more than a million. That's what I feel every lousy day."

"Beth, please tell me where it hurts. I'll kiss it away. I know I can. It can be as good as ever. I know it; I know it; I know it. Give it one more chance."

"I don't want to think about all this stuff. If you really love me, just go away and make it all stop. ......... No, don't." She turned around with tears welling up in her eyes. Jack thought that she didn't want to be seen crying. She dropped her two leashes and ran toward the Dietrich place. Andy and Charlene ran with her, thinking that this was a new fun game. Jack didn't follow. He couldn't imagine anything more to do or say. It was not the most difficult of decisions to make in the moment. The dream had returned; a dream he saw as paradise. He also knew that her current contradictory, secretive and changeable behavior was not only the cause of contemporary pain, but also jeopardized his sustaining remembrances of things past.

Justice woofed twice, a probable indication that he sensed danger. He bolted away, but stopped five feet ahead to look back with worry in his eyes. Jack said; "I'm with you, pal. No worries." Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" played in his head.

Jack walked on, just once turning his head back to say; "Keep on playing crazy, contradictory and suicidal angel. It's irresistible."

At the Woodson residence Cindy was unusually distraught. She said; "I'm sick of this attempting-to-be-social shit. Every time I leave the house some toothy face asks me about the elms and I have to say something they want to hear. The result is that I cringe every time I go out the door. The truth is that I love those fucking elms and I hate everyone who wants to hurt them. I thought we came here to get away from all this shit. But, no, you have to be social with these pieces of shit."

Ty put his arms around her waist.

"Don't touch me."

She broke away and put on a CD. She played Pink Floyd's "Us and Them." As she listened she stared out one of the windows which faced the elms, while Ty sat and watched her back, which shifted from side to side, when she moved her legs.

The song ended. Stillness prevailed as Cindy did not move from her window vantage point.

After a minute Ty said; "Wow, you're really bummed. Let me do one." He put on Steve Miller doing a live version of "Space Cowboy."

Cindy kept her back to him while it played an Ty wondered if he had made a mistake in trying to abruptly change the mood 180 degrees. He kept staring at her trying to pick up some sign. When it ended he was elated to see that she evinced the slightest of smiles, when she turned to him and said; "Great, great, baby. Just what I needed to hear. But, for once I'm going to have the last word. This isn't aimed at you. It's aimed at the elm hating whines who live in this fucking place."

She opened the windows. When she got the last one open she yelled; "Hear this, all you crimes against nature." The Replacements did "Never Mind."

At the end Ty said; "Of course you're aware that nobody else heard it; and that even if they did, they'd have no idea what it means."

Cindy had 60 percent re-established a joking demeanor. She deadpanned; "I know. It's petty rebellion. But it feels so good and you can't get in any trouble because of it."

"Think you can handle one more dipshit meeting?"

"Just one ................. and only if you set off your fart machine."

"My pleasure."

Cindy had to hear Patti Smith do; "Summer Cannibals."

It was also one of Ty's favorites and he followed it with Laura Nyro singing; "Stoned Soul Picnic."

They drew the blinds, shut off the phones, and followed each other's choices until they fell asleep; Ty on an avant-garde and surrealistic pillow.

Jack and Justice dawdled outside, taking pleasure in the early balmy weather. Not to impress this crazy lady who called herself Beth, Jack decided that he would attempt another book just because he felt like it. He typed.

"Quotes from Chairman Bow Wow"

"If you can't do it, review it."

"There is no doubt in my mind concerning mankind's greatest invention. We'd have killed each other off long ago if not for the relief provided by laxatives. ........ On second thought, maybe laxatives are the epitome of evil."

"Fall seven times and stand up eight; or else on the eighth stay down for the count and take the low end money."

"Don't be sad that it's over. Be sad that it ever started."

"We didn't start the fire. We just do fanned friction. Really. It can be quite lucrative."

"Speech is free here. ......... If you will be so kind as to agree with me."

"The lady hath not protested much since 1972. But she does have 'issues,' and if you stand still too long you will hear them."

"The fabrication of a sense of propriety is nothing more than a corruption of a sense of the proprietary."

"It is no accident that God made love and sex two different things. If love was required for procreation the species would have gone the way of the dinosaurs."

"What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? Merriam-Webster calls David Foster Wallace and engages him to re-define the terms."

"To be able to put down words, the single most important thing a writer who believes that they have something important to say is to forget that absurd notion."

"The best writing is that which communicates on at least five levels; mine and uh .................."

"Those who say 'go for it' haven't the slightest idea what 'it' is."

"Those who say Magical Realism is wonderful because it has no limits have a high tolerance for abject stupidity and incompetence."

"When a 'reviewer' says that a book is too long to review, they are confusing the word 'review' with the word 'synopsis' or just don't have a clue."

"When a commentator says that to write a 'long book' is masturbatory, they may not realize that the author considers masturbation infinitely more preferable to sex with the jackass commentator."

"In the year of 2016, and, on behalf of all officially recognized minorities and those yet to be recognized, I would like to thank the many literary mavens who strongly chastise those who make politically incorrect characterizations or otherwise delineate dim-witted hatred of them. As we all well know the situation is not tolerable until everyone uses the appropriate words which will indicate that everyone loves each other. The minorities defended appreciate your noblesse oblige in granting them equal status a half century after everyone else did. I'm sure that the gratitude of blacks, women, LBG&T devotees, and members of other minority groups is directly proportional to your eternal vigilance. Thank you so much."

"If someone likes or agrees with everything you say they are either not paying any attention, angling for something, or too stupid to bother speaking with."

"In order to have any chance of being implemented the best long term solution must also be made to appear to be the best short term one. If that is accomplished the next hurdle to be surmounted is the inevitable defectors; all well-armed with tons of their heart breaking good reasons and clarifications."

"Autism is a natural defense mechanism existent in people cursed with high levels of déjà vu. It is a crime for psychologists to idiotically attempt to provide an 'antidote,' but they will persist as that is one of the requisites of their failed 'profession.'"

"Sometimes a Mark Twain witticism is just a Mark Twain witticism."

"For every great quotation there are a minimum of three great contradictions."

"Indifference is a much more effective weapon than hatred. Not only is it easier on the nerves; it is much easier to employ."

"Pantomimic, protracted Pynchonic pontifications presume profundity, yet pitifully proffer a plentitude of poop piles prior to every princely, pithy piece of personally protective praise."

"Life gives you a billion good reasons to quit. All that is required is to pick the one with which you are most comfortable."

"Let's not and say that we did."

"That the minority of Pit Bulls and Dalmatians have attacked humans makes it permissible for people to say and write that those breeds are best avoided. However, if a minority of Muslims have attacked humans it is not permissible for people to say and write that this breed is best avoided. There is something to be said for one's requirement to clean up their own house."

"Unanswerable does not equal indecipherable."

"A genius is one step ahead; an idiot is two. (Possibly sic.)"

"Some things just plain stink, but to say that one is treated worse than the stinker. It's better to stay quiet and hope the inept don't get insistent."

"Seek and ye'll soon be sorry ye did."

"I didn't break it. So, it ain't my job to fix it."

"The price always goes up after you're dead."

"Remuneration for an endeavor is directly proportional to the degree of distaste required to perform it."

"Do not ever give the impression that you think you are saying something new. Its 99.99% certain that you are not; and if the .01% possibility is the case, everyone will say that they already knew that."

"Grand plans are concocted by those who have attained the prerequisite of having failed miserably at the small ones."

"Things are as they are because people want them that way. Invariably they bitch about it, prior to rejecting any alternative presented. This dynamic does not even reach the stature of petty rebellion. It's just a cowardly farce ad infinitum."

"It is as equally retarded to be anti-science as it is to worship it."

"In the beginning God created everything. Since then we've been complaining about it, studying it, fixing it and 'improving' it. Observe the groovy 2016 results; a nineteenth century Shelley creation."

"Popular objections to Joyce's 'Ulysses' actually boil down to an objection to art for its own sake. Joyce was so hurt that, while 'Ulysses' provided a framework, his next effort; 'Finnegan's Wake,' would provide none."

"Most modern 'radical' literature is independently provided by bookish kids who utilize their skills in gangsta speech patterns to provide an egalitarian mixture of ghetto and Valley Girl."

"At its root or lack thereof, socialization is a measured response, calculated by one devoid of a measurement instrument."

"One of the amusing things indie reviewers cannot resist is to re-use and re-use admired phrases copied from other indie reviewers. Today, the most popularly duplicated phrase is; 'I liked it for the things it didn't say as much as I did for what it did.' I wonder if the converse is true. Substitute disliked for liked for one possible reversal. The devotees of this view might do well to stare at a blank book. It could be orgasmic."

"There is case law and there is contradicting case law. Idiots kill each other over their 'ideologies.' The higher authorities will always make the final decision as soon as they cease laughing."

"Walls appear to be the best of friends. They have an accommodating habit of showing up whenever you choose to see them."

"Education is the bridge between impetuous faith and exasperating reservation; joking Wallace vs. joking Franzen. Yeah, I know that I stole it. But, legally it is not under the "protection" of the copyright laws. Thank you Mark. ...... Er, Sam. .......... Ah, see. Fuck it."

"Two tiny banalities poorly executed lead to an infinity of complications wrongly considered momentous. My sincere apologies to William and Virginia. I do appreciate the acknowledgement offered by Bill and Gina stating that it was at least a paraphrase rather than an act of plagiarism.

Distillation: Two banalities poorly executed."

"Censors are the people who tell you whether or not it's all right to read what you have written."

Jack reviewed the quotes he had written. He realized that some or many of them just plain sucked; the "S" or "M" word the focus of consideration to most, if not all readers; yet to him just a function totally dependent on his momentary mood. Some of them were so stupid that an intelligent reader would be forced to conclude that they were purposely so and therefore worthy of an imperceptible grin. Some of them were actually good, in the sense that they were no worse than the originals they sought to evoke and simultaneously mock. That personalized opinion was an honest evaluation, and certainly contained as much merit as an honest book review. However, as a matter of practicality, Jack saw that he was having difficulty in coming up with derivative aphorisms after only five pages of them. That would never do for a bona fide, legitimate "book." So, he abandoned his "fun project" and decided to work on some over-the-top-ludicrous-gross, with absurdism crap. This genre seemed to be popular with the growing YA market, ostensibly because they incorrectly thought of it as "new;" it was easy to write and understand; and that it appeared to be something like the short stories of George Saunders, who the New York Times had recently crowned king. Of course, it was only the surface which appeared as Saunders-like as there was no intelligent overview. Easy to do and understand; describe Bozo in words, yadda, yadda. But mostly because the more financially important US market increasingly aped that of a traditional UK market in that "young adults" spent more and more time under their parent's roof; and that market was still expanding. Some of the archaic concepts were hidden from popular perception; in that they were an in-eloquent, bizarre in appearance, duplication of seven decades gone Harold Pinter. No big thing. About three people in America knew of the Harry-man. Jeremy just never had the pecs.

So Jack disdainfully wrote. His objective was to write something which no-one could dismiss as coherent, linear, or in possession of a point. From prior experience he knew that he had set a lofty goal. Previous attempts at written pointlessness had always produced an un-wanted point.

But, crafty old Jack had thought of a way to get around that. He would have his fictitious main character deal with it. The minor nuance would work for the majority of readers. He found it truly sad. So many of them had emotional and-or medical problems, they had spent their lives with their noses in identical books or have had their faces in front of plastic screens which, at their best, made a poor copy of the page. Jack pushed the appropriate keys to induce the plastic thing to display;

"Madame Bovary 2016- working title as the fucking computer requires you to call the shit something."

Sixty-nine year old, post-menopausal as opposed to post-modern and post-industrial, Kathy Acker was feeling as neglected and abused as she did when under the extremely well self-documented lack-of-care given the unfortunate child by her mother and step-father. Kathy had been depressed, not only by her advanced age and lack of a functional thingy, but also by anonymous bullying and trolling e-mails she'd been receiving, which said cruel things like; "Get over it, bitch." Her prior libertarian posture had become overtaken by her sense of propriety; which actually emanated from other people's need to exhibit her concept of propriety.

She was further chagrined by reactions from her "Creative Writing" NYU students who saw her as a whiny old bat with absolutely zero contemporary relevance with a penchant for tired classics and woefully passé grammatical considerations.

She decided that it was necessary to make a glorious, cutting edge comeback; without the self-knowledge sufficient to inform her that any such "necessity" resided full time between her ears, and tended toward reclusion. In an attempt to satisfy her personally un-recognized need for the "love" granted by stardom and success, for the first time in two decades, she started to write a book. As had become her forgotten trademark, she made use of her "creative" juices, and encrusted it with the working title of "Madame Bovary 2016." She intended to sarcastically update and thereby deflate and deconstruct Flaubert's classical tale of a promiscuous married woman with no tolerance for the norms or the mediocre. Her first problem quickly flew in her face, as insistently and as provocatively as her memories of a fledgling dripping pussy once did or didn't, when, through the rings still attached to her parched petunia, she saw that anything she wrote had been previously written, and written, and written ....................

The bubble she had never previously noticed in the perennial mist, intensified by her imperfect vision, which had served as shelter from the banal storm, had now burst as surely as a cracked, neglected, and eroded New Orleans levee. She was as frustrated as she was confounded; as for the first time, it crossed her mind that she may have no more relevance than a member of the worker ant contingent. For the first time Kathy entertained the horrific thought that she might be of as much significance as any unpaid warehouse worker at AOS. She shuddered and jerked

Her thought was that the blocking devil resided in her vast knowledge of literature. The impediment just insisted on remaining with her. In an attempt at a quick fix, she e-mailed Benny Pynched and politely encouraged him that he would feel a whole lot better if he would just blow it out his fucking ass. Kathy's initial revelry in being a "bad-ass" faded when Benny made no response to the direct statement. She thought that he might prefer something containing a scholarly riddle; but right now, "academically cutesy" was the last thing she wanted to be.

After that irrelevant fiasco, her next approach was to seek familiarity with her young students. She didn't realize that this was a tepid approach and was likely indicative of her problem. She showed them her labial rings and found that they had more of them and in more categories and localities. She felt as if she was older than Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

She decided that it was high time to let things fly and get really "radical." As motivated as a Batman with his four incher all the way up Robin's un-Criscoed, lowest aperture, Kathy engaged the infamous and expensive Ace Hole, P.I., to find the elusive "Man-Woman-Both With No Name" (MWBWNN) for her. Ace was a two and a half foot tall midget who was reputed to perform excellent service primarily because of his ability to remain un-noticed and blend in with the crowd. Critics were their customary dismissive and attributed his results to the fact that he had a wide mouth, with a cigar perennially dangling from one side, while he talked out the other; thereby encouraging people to tell him anything he wanted to know, just to get away from the stink. Women liked where his head was at. Ace paid no attention to the analysts. He was too busy finding the wanted, counting the money, and extricating himself from the tangles.

MWBWNN was not the easiest thing to find. The Tri-Laterally commissioned one was a renegade lobotomist, who has been primarily working with political figures; and had spent the last thirty years on both the FBI and CIA's ten most wanted list. It was rumored that MWBWNN was initially a philosophical zealot who believed that a person had a right to do whatever they wished with their own head; and at some point lost the youthful zeal; now doing it only for the money. Zie had made a name for him-herself a while back through performing the specialty surgery on post-election Ronald Reagan at the request of Nancy; a surreptitious right wing operator. The iodine hair cover was absolute genius. Most recently Zie had been acclaimed for his inventive work with Obama. Since Barak's hair was closely cropped military style, in order to not tip off the conspiracy marketers, it was necessary to pull out his brain through his mouth. Apparently, the experimental procedure worked well as every one of the "new ideas" was flushed down the toilet. As an unexpected bonus, Hillary's national health care plan was so badly fucked up that every one of the private insurance companies reported record profits; while nobody knew where to go if they experienced chest pain at 3AM.

(Insert a ton of yadda yadda concerning Ace's appearance, office décor, conversation with Kathy and any other filler required if the book comes out too short. Insert two tons of yadda yadda about Kathy's appearance and demeanor, utilizing appropriate poetic metaphor to suggest that her true wishes are to get her post-menopausal thingy repaired.)

To have any chance of being vital; the way she and eight others thought she was the first time around; Acker's only remaining hope was to have the inhibiting part of her brain removed. If she could no longer be cursed to remember that what she wrote and said was a regurgitation of the past, she would be able to write and say it, convinced of it being new. Besides, she thought that having a shaved head with prominent stitches would be super cool.

Ace had cited huge personal risk in the project as he emphatically said that to find MWBWNN he would be stepping into areas occupied by the shadow government which was beholden to no one but the Fascist ideology as administered by the clandestine. Because of that or his negotiating skills, she has agreed to pay Ace Hole $1,000 per hour. To make sure that she was getting her money's worth she tailed him. Though initially difficult due to the detective's ability to disappear into the crowd; she found that she could not go wrong in following her olfactory, rather than visual senses, and followed Ace Hole's stink.

(Insert a whole lot of stuff describing the Manhattan street scene, the kinds of places where Ace stops, who he talks to, snippets of the conversations. It is tedious, but remember that people like reading descriptions of Manhattan more than they like reading complicated plots. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!!!!)

Kathy follows Ace onto the B train (Describe, describe again. Especially the passengers who appear to be ominous, homeless, or sleeping.) to Brooklyn Heights where he enters a trendy-bi-with-a-preference club in Brooklyn Heights, named "Liquid Sky." (Describe, describe, and describe again. Slick white and bright lights.) City freaks and rich wannabees from the suburbs populate the facility which was previously a roller skating rink. "Liquid Sky" was probably somewhere near their peak in popularity thanks to the resurrection of "cutting edge gay" as LGB&T, the patronage of a few artists and writers no one outside the facility had ever heard of, and, like Kathy Acker, a few old timers who once had modest and quickly fleeting credentials. The constant presence of people who dealt in pharmaceuticals with every possible three lettered acronym was an unspoken addition.

The club had just signed a punk rock band named Onanists for a week's engagement. The group of five loners had the distinction of being the week's crossover idol, as they satisfied the avant garde, the intellectuals, the slobs, and the traditionalists by having the number one song titled; "I'm a Slave to my Dick," an extended version rumored to be first un-veiled during their club engagement.

Ace made a bee-line for the co-ed bathroom at the end of the bar and Kathy took a seat at it, keeping an eye on the door.

A group of young women in leather cowboy hats and fur lined boots sat on both sides of her. The one closest said; "Boring as a missionary fuck here. You lookin' for some girl play? Thirty for one; a hundred for four."

Another of the young women said; "Hey, that's so rude. You know who you're talkin' to?" She looks at Kathy and added; "You're Kathy Hacker, right? Oh, cool. My mother has all of your books. Read them when I was little. Can I get an autograph for her?"

While waiting for Godot on the can, Ace Hole was in his glory when someone on the other side of the partition told him that MWBWNN came around "Liquid Sky" sometimes and had done some pro bono work on a few Neanderthal heteros. The informant expressed his doubts that this was done out of the kindness of his heart, as he thought it likely that the cash and cutting lobotomist was experimenting with a new wiring procedure; one which might eliminate the straight neural connections and replace them with something more circuitously chic.(Insert some detailed absurdity concerning the preliminary results and how the informant helped Ace Hole to get his feet on the floor and out the leaded glass, back window because he knew that Kathy was tailing him.)

(Insert more yadda yadda about the bar conversation, how Kathy keeps watching the door until she pisses in her pants and rushes in, and somehow try to work in how MWBWNN is writing a book titled; "Set Your Mind at Ease Through Proper Elimination," which MWBWNN's publisher thought was a book about purgatives, which he planned to market as an eastern religion tome aimed at the geriatric, "New Age" constipated set.

Kathy became a regular at the club as she liked the atmosphere, but more because she was trying to locate Ace Hole, and that was the last place she had seen him. Other insignificant characters she saw there are;

A) A 60 year old, senile Johnny Rotten, with spiked orange hair dangling from his nose; who keeps showing up, refusing to pay, insisting that the Sex Pistols are playing here tonight. He wanders around calling out; "Sid, Sid. Come out from wherever you're hiding. I give up."

B) A 102 year old William Burroughs who politely goes from table to table asking if anyone knows where he can get some "Sunny D." The younger crowd does not know him and think that due to his proper suit and hat, most likely he is a poorly disguised underground narc, so they keep referring him to the person they hate most and Willy keeps pathetically shuffling and being polite to no avail.

C) Aliens the size of fleas or crabs have parked their ship on the Upper West Side roof of Kathy's condominium. They are addicts, and they float all over the place in search of an entertainment that their redundant planet can no longer provide. At this point they are a minor annoyance to earthlings who merely swat them if they get in their face. The aliens are undeterred, as their intellectual advancement has allowed them to view that as the ultimate high-release; until Kathy's new one goes movie.

D) Primarily in an effort to avoid any charges of pretentiousness, there will be a 25 year old guy from Georgia, unfortunately named by his slut mom as Rim beau Cracker. He's kind of always around; seems to be un-noticed, though that is actually an act, has no bearing in the other's version of the story, especially that of desiccated Kathy.

(Lots of details about finding Ace, who had become an experiment for MWBWNN. She walks in in the middle of the procedure, and promises not to call 911 if she can get a standard lobotomy free of charge. After a bit of haggling the deal is done when Kathy promises to fork over 25% of the royalties from her new book.)

(Insert more detail concerning the operation itself, where it takes place, what MWBWNN looks like and zie's memory of a youthful fling with a much older man; Ronald Reagan.)

Kathy was feeling great with her fresh lobotomy. Her only writing impediment was her compulsion to continually view her now pear shaped head, decorated with the largest and blackest of cool and prominent sutures. She writes short stories about three characters named Dick, Jane and Spot. Her work was well received by the masses, which was too un-cool for her desire. Unfortunately for the fleas, many died from the cold turkey withdrawal from fresh entertainment. Some sought and found an alternative existence in Ms. Acker's middle of the road proclivities and discovered a love for athletics as they learned the pleasures of jumping through hoops. Worse, Kathy started to be stalked by this weird looking guy-gal-both who said that she owed zim a lot of money. Worst; no one was offended by her books. She re-read the books and found the ideas contained in them much too obviously subliminal and revealing. She was embarrassed and changed her name back to Martha Baumstein and moved to Queens. She burned her laptop in the fireplace and contacted Ace Hole, as more brain work was required. The visual appearance of the black plastic melt was reminiscent of the Wicked Witch of the West; though the odor was more foul than Ace's cigar. At least the little demon remained silent.

Jack re-read his draft, and ultimately decided that filling in the blanks was just too tedious, un-rewarding, and plodding to bother with. Besides, he had a strong suspicion that the brainless story had already been done by a funny looking, indie hack who worked out of his mommy and daddy's house in Boca Raton. The whistle went off. It was quittin' time. He'd rather spend the day walking the less travelled trails with Justice. He thought; "That dog sleeps like a baby." He rubbed Justice' belly furiously and said; "Come on, pal. We're gonna see something new. We're gonna drive half an hour to the National Forest. We're gonna walk there and hope that our only company is the birds, bears, and bushes. We're gonna ............ We're gonna .......... We're gonna ......................

Chapter 16

Stephanie Lawson decided to take matters into her own hands. She had sat through countless Richard supplied, varying financial "reasons" regarding the reasonability of his decisions; primarily that which resulted in the sale of the family farm in exchange for paper which has steadily decline in value, and has left unsightly lumps all over the landscape. She realized that though her financial knowledge was the equivalent of a moth's understanding of fire, she didn't need an MBA to know that things were not quite satisfactory. She also knew that to be able to articulate her dissatisfaction and possibly come up with an alternate plan; that it would be necessary for her to at a minimum learn the basic principles and jargon of what now seemed to be a foreign language. She began her "education" on MotleyTrader.com's site which offered a free study and closed with an "opportunity" to open an account. She read.

Stephanie had made a list of unfamiliar words. She hadn't done this since she had read "Infinite Jest." She flipped to the end of the post in search of a glossary. She was enthused about how simple things were. Sure, she needed further amplification to achieve her goals. But, she was pleased with her start, in the simple realization that "Rome wasn't built in a day." She knew not to click on the "Open Account" button.

Things were a bit more dour just a few doors away. There was no particular reason. It must have been something in the air; maybe the elm seeds. In a dispassionate voice, Blondie informed anyone who might be within earshot to "Just Go Away."

And in a house a block so geographically near yet so many light years apart, sounds emanated from one of the offender's plastic deference to modernity. Much too late, "Jack's Lament" was extracted from Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Worse it was followed by the BBC News.

"With great difficulty, as you all know the funding has been challenging at best since Ms. Thatcher's reign, the BBC has determined that riots; which some have claimed to have been 'false flag' operations performed by rogue elements of MI6, and which those same some, perhaps, in the interest of accuracy, one should say similar some, reject as yet another government inspired misnomer broke out this morning in Piccadilly Circus when 'The Rising Sun,' now an internet tabloid, which recently changed its name from 'The Communist Worker's Party Gazette,' according to un-named insiders as being done to reportedly avoid further embarrassment, announced that their sole remaining investigative reporter, Reginald Leach, was in the process of finalizing a report, based on his on-line perusal of US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) files, as well as an interview with rebel CPA Edward Snowflake, formerly of the firm of Lockhart, Dedfield and Rothschild, now at an un-disclosed location; and that that report is alleged to state that the US based monolith which is ordinarily referred to as 'AmawayOnSteroids' was actually incorporated in the US in 1984 under the name 'Alpha Omega Syndicate,' with one utilizing the obviously joke name of Jay Bozos claiming 100% of the issued and outstanding common stock, to be soon passed off on the astute investing market, which ostensibly has resulted in the fifty strong carriers of placards, upon each of which has been invariably inscribed; 'Try Jet,' 'Fly Jet,' 'Go Jet,' or 'Was your mother as cold as a Sergeant Major?"

Patricia said; "Rebel CPA? ................. Oxymoronic; no?"

"Yeah. ...... No. ............ Comedy. ......... Tragedy. You know, it's just the same old UK trying to sound superior in the country which has owned them since Roosevelt; I'm not sure which one. Shuuuush. Let's watch some more. I've got a feeling this is the Brit retort which they'd like to appear to be a clever reply to 'The Daily Show,' but in rude reality is actually a belated copy of 'That Was the Week that Was.' What may be unintentional humor disguised as purposely displayed as un-intentional humor may actually be intentional humor or actual news to some. Perhaps we need the elucidation provided by an indie critic. We'll google irrelevant obscurity later."

Patricia followed with words which seemed to signal annoyance with the TV, but not her husband, when she added; "What's the big to do about a name? A rose would smell as sweet et cetera, et cetera. It has a s much relevance as pointing out on national 'news' that my maiden name was Blaze-Provocutress; and that my incandescent parents made use of both. I mean really. How absurd and simultaneously boring can things get?"

"Damn, Pat. We missed some. Let the Brit shit go on a bit more. You know that with the push of one little button we can get rid of the lame cuties any time we want."

Patricia was not certain of the accuracy of the things her husband had said, but at the bottom line decided that what was on screen was done much more professionally and proceeded to focus her eyes and ears on the high definition pixel machine.

On the screen, the voice over the hundred feet trudging through the tundra said; "Yes, you may have correctly guessed it. It has been a slow news day and our writers have once again gotten playful at my expense."

The camera followed the invisible voice toward the demonstrators. One with orange hair and a reticent tank top, with snot where her safety pin used to be sided up to the camera; with the same overly obvious, attempting-to-be-seen-as-mysterious, facial expression of the tattooed sphinx.

"You are a demonstrator here, yes?"

"What do you mean by demonstrator? .......... Fuck it. Never mind. Yeah, I guess."

"Well, whatever. What is this all about?"

"If you don't already know, I can't possibly tell ya. You should be ashamed of yourself. You sound as if you're over forty."

"You're much too kind. So tell me, what is it you want to get out of this?"

"I came here to meet some hot guys, and you're not one of them." She skipped back to the procession.

"So, there you have it. The mystery of the Piccadilly riots continues."

The screen blipped for a nano-second and a reluctant camera slowly moved over the blasted interior of an elementary school in Santa Fe. "ISIS has taken credit .................."

Patricia shut the TV and emphatically stated; "I don't care what you say. I'm not watching this. This could not possibly be amusing to even Hannibal the Cannibal. The whole thing seems so stupid and counter-productive. I mean we bomb the terrorists and they bomb us back. Our drones hit hospitals operated by 'Doctors Without Borders,' and then our officials tell us that there has been zero collateral damage. Come on now. Independent sources say that the number is 70%. And that ISIS piece of shit takes credit for 'masterminding' innocent casualties. The US creates future terrorists through their arbitrary mayhem. And ISIS gives rise to anti-Muslim actions. You know, years ago somebody came up with the acronym 'MAD,' mutually assured destruction. However, they thought that we needed to use nuclear energy to accomplish that. The geniuses of 2016 have found an alternative methodology. It just drags things out and maximizes the suffering."

Jack rejoiced in his ability to discover the openly observable source of his loss for words; which he articulated at length for the benefit of catnapping Justice; his usually alert doggie. Seeing the heat through the kitchen window; he dressed appropriately and they went outside.

"Get up, get up Ty," The sun is up. It's Sunday. It's warm. No work. No meetings. Just us. Get out from under that blanket."

"Say no more."

Jack had been wondering about how the book publishing industry operated. His naïve entry into it carried an unconscious belief that if the book was good it would be found. Hell, the popular movie said; "Build it and they will come," and that proved to be true on celluloid. But now, he was entertaining some doubts which his paltry experience had kindled. The more he thought about it the madder he got. Was this noble endeavor essentially different from the worlds of business, internet sales and communications, and police work? Surely, to openly communicate the personal confessions covered in "Real Cops" had a value not seen since the days of the early episodes of "Barney Miller." He searched the net for answers and in so doing found a book titled "For Unduly Curbed Kindle Electronic Monographers; a Literary Liturgy," by one Edward Drobinski. Jack sensed that the subject was going to be glossed over as is the norm. However, the price was right. Of most importance it was freely downloadable from AmawayOnSteroids, so he thought; "What have I got to lose?" He quickly followed that thought with another. "Since AOS is the dominant player in the book market, the fact that this book was being made available through them, could well suggest that the book would likely be one which gave the impression of being radical, but would prove in essence to be an apologist for the powers that be." You never know until you read the direction of the first ten pages. Unlikely as it was, he thought that it was also possible that the book might have flown or waddled under the AOS algorithmic radar.

In substance the Nabokov influenced title was a modestly sized book which was originally contained within the borders of a much longer one. It was purported to be of some interest to writers and other un-decipherable malcontents. This was appropriate, as he had a minimalistic claim to the former and an abundance of credentials regarding the latter. Jack thought; "Fuck it," and tried the freebie.

Upon completion, Jack thought; "Well, that was a bit of an education no one wants. Though it's one they need. Christ, I thought cops were crooked." Jack put down the book and felt as thrilled and enlightened as an indie reviewer who had just found all of life's answers in a thirty year old, critically gushed over and popularly disdained book as that same indie reviewer simultaneously proceeded to forget any of the questions he or she may have originally had regarding the verbosity of the presentation. In simplicity, as is all too typical, the answers obliterated the questions.

Jack saw miniscule financial reason to do another book. But, Justice was snoring and he had become extremely bored with the net's social media. He did not ever again want to join in the party which parked their shitty asses over the edge of the diarrhea vat while sucking a personalized, elongated, addicting flavor straw. He decided to put down a number of ideas which were crossing his mind, though he had no compelling inspiration to provide further detail. He must have pushed an incorrect button as while he typed he heard Blondie sing; "Fade Away and Radiate."

In an acquired taste, coming to tolerate the unsolicited, rude intrusion, Jack continued typing and got into the clickety-clack sound, which his fingers produced on the keys.

1) "Pinch Me When the Incessantly Terminal Gravity Subsides."

2) "Social Proprieties Analyzed as Deference to the Insistently Vulgar."

3) "Middle Aged Lolita in Therapy."

4) "The Thinker Assumed the Defecatory Position."

5) "Atlas Stoned in the Defecatory Position."

6) "Frosty's Refrigerated Survival Trip; for Children of All Ages."

7) "Youth is Wasted on the Senile."

8) "Remembrances of a Future Long Passed."

9) "The Twenty-Seventh Letter of the Alphabet."

10) "Infinite Scams."

11) "Green; a Short Story Collection in Braille."

12) "Dante Unearthed at the Center."

13) "The Pale Prince Proffers a Preference for the Onanistic Arts."

14) "Jay Gatsby Ponders Religion and Name Changes."

15) "The Roth All Night Diner."

16) "Ellis in a Dior Rejected Dress."

17) "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Old Farts Club; A Sequel to 'The White Album.'"

18) "Magical Mystery Con; a sequel to 'Norwegian Wood.'"

19) "Truman Evokes a Dream and Then Drops It."

20) "Fifty Shades of Dowager Porn."

21) "What Seuss Might Have Said to Rothfuss and Other One Sided Confrontations."

22) "All About Lilith."

23) "A Bitch in the Crowd."

24) "No Little Shit Indie Critic is an Island."

25) "If Ocular Observation Produced Perfect Vision and Other Futile Speculations."

26) "A Portrait of the Artist as a Crotchety Codger."

27) "Confusing Anger with Amused Disgust; Beyond Semantics and Sophistry."

28) "Tender is the Knife."

29) "In Pursuit of J.R.'s Elusive Tertiary Aspects."

30) "thethingysnotworkingright; The Importance of Being Capitalized, Spaced, and Punctuated."

31) "Absurdity Trying to Hide a Fundamental Lack of Talent."

32) "Less than Affected Dullness."

33) "Futile American Closet Case Cover."

34) "Divergent from Zero."

35) "Dickin' Jane in Less Than Three Syllables."

36) "Bart'll Be the Scribbler."

37) "Homer's: The Oddity."

38) "Look What Happens When You Name Your Boy Joyce."

39) "100 New Recipes for Cannibals."

40) "Monty Still Can't Get Over It, But Has Learned to Use It For Personal Advantage; a Sequel to Lemonade."

41) "Mesmerized by the Dark."

42) "Fitty Charades of Abu Guraib."

43) "Remedial Sex Education for 'Special' Students."

44) "One Hundred New and Inexpensive Roadkill Recipes for Geeks."

45) "The Six Five People Who Could Not Have Possibly Killed JFK."

46) "Henry Kissinger Differentiates Boring Depression from Joyous Infinite Wisdom."

47) "A Comprehensive List of People and Animals Alleged to Have Been Assassinated by the CIA- a Five Volume Set with Updates Available Annually."

48) "The Truth Finally Revealed #1; Shrimp are Microwavable."

49) "Lyricism in Contemporary Fantasy Literature; an Extremely Brief Essay."

50) "The Rebellious Deviant and the Outlaw Lobotomist."

51) "Benny P's U."

52) "The Incredible Lightness of Overcooked Tomatoes."

53) "More Dilettantish Musings from Benny the Dip."

54) "The Truth Finally Revealed #2; The Sabers did IT!"

55) "You Wanna See a Real Bomb?"

56) "A Tediously Extended Version of a Petite Masked Ball, Drearily Chronicled Within the Bounds of the Mischaracterized Non-Framework of Finnegan's Wake."

57) "They Didn't Catch IT in the Rye."

Jack took a "time out" during which he again assessed his literary potential as being just south of the guy who had just broken into the AOS top two million with a writing-challenged version of a "Choke," which didn't naively assume that anyone gave the least bit of a shit about some overly obvious, and therefore likely brain-dead con-man, trying to pull off a sad and charitable poverty illusion in a restaurant. To take a cue from the most astute of the indie reviewers, it would be kind to say that the choking protagonist's intended market, as Chucky depicted, would have to have been those who don't get out a whole lot or those who think they are in or destined for the illusion of Paradise. It seems too painfully obvious to state that if the asshole was really impoverished he'd have had his head in a Mickey D garbage can or at least in a canned microwavable delicacy prepared at his home address. Yes, the choker had a home; a real fucking home, as opposed to the roofless dwellings inhabited by those considered unworthy, misunderstood and reviled without one. In the supposedly "original" version, the choker got regular gifts from people who must be from Australia or some other such remote, verging on hinterland, location to be so un-sophisticated concerning long playing scams. At its un-likely best this book would have to have been some failed and fairly retarded attempt at an analogy to the US welfare system in America's late sixties and early seventies; obviously a period which Pally girl did not experience or come to understand; yet has the audacity to comment. In essence, the virgin writes the definitive sex book. ........... DUH!! Fucking double DUH!!! Apologies. There is absolutely no intent on the writer's part to invoke any possible allusion to the derisive nick-name unfairly given to a former, patriotic US President. In this top two million version the con-man actually did choke to death on the restaurant floor while the other patrons laughed, kicked the corpse with the bulging eyes, and took the remainder of his fish and chips. Seems righteous, and maybe even overly tolerant of scamming scum.

As the number of further options grew exponentially, Jack thought of the possibility of doing short stories as he had neither the time or interest in doing a plethora of novels. In addition he feared that through doing them, he would be characterized as intellectually pretentious, resulting in a $50 a month fan base consisting only of pompous writers no one had ever heard of; in search of something to copy. Those thoughts were countered by the other ones which strongly suggested that short story writing would, invariably, in and of itself, preclude him from the short list of all-time greatest authors; that he really didn't care whether or not he was characterized as intellectually pretentious, superior, or inferior; and that the primary purpose of his writing didn't involve monetary considerations reflecting popularity; nor the wasteland of critical acclaim. It was just intended as a possible way to get Beth to turn on her love lights. He was no cyclops. He lacked the audacity to carry glasses and a bottle of spirits on Calle de la Congelacion. He also lacked having the three hands granted to the reptiles in surrealistic, unintended, age' de garde paintings.

Jack abruptly cut his creative reverie when Justice opened his eyes, shook his head, and filled the room with a huge, yelping yawn. They went right out the front door and Justice found an immediate, three-legged use for the closest elm. While in the front yard Jack got that funny feeling and sound in his pants again. The pleasant sensation seemed to vibrate in surges with an attendant ring, ring, ring. His dog, Justice, must have been raised as a Catholic. After all, he had been neutered. As always he started to growl in a threateningly manner as his keen ears detected the sound. In a co-operative overture Jack had changed its tone a few times, but the Shepherd apparently wasn't open to accepting any small variations from the silent norm. In fact, he was adamantly against it, unless it could possibly play something which has stood the test of time; perhaps something Handel; definitely something done long ago; now on DVD. However, given the inessential spirit of the disturbance the pup must have been induced to conclude that sacrifice was the code of the road; not music or bells. The only other humanly understandable possibility was that, like the centuries old debate of whether Manhattan was the center of all opportunity or the center of all evil, he felt that he was completely dis-interested in again pursuing the boring details; and that they would be best left to the tedious drone of yet another immaterial, inconsequential, and vainglorious group of sophists, in pursuit of pained lip wrinkles passing for a smile, and perfunctory claps from the room of no more than thirty.

Perhaps of more significance his pre-pubescent amputation rendered any sensation other than pain and hunger not understandable and ecstasy not a consideration, unless in pill form. Before the incessant rings allowed the Shepherd to condemn Jack to fiery hell for yet another melodic and inconsequential infraction, he pulled it out of his pants and held it to his ear.

He brightly said; "Hello."

"Jack, man. Long time. Manny. You lose my number?"

"Oh, hell no, man. Time just flies. I wrote a book!"

"A book? What about?"

"Us. I called it 'Real Cops.'"

"God, you think people are ready for that?"

"Well, I've learned that either they aren't or that I may not be as skilled as Charles Dickens."

Manny said; "Gotta do super hero cops now. Taking down the monsters, crooked politicians and the gangstas. Think comic book without pictures."

"Fantasies and magic do do well, but I never played Dungeons and Dragons. Speaking of which, how's your sister doing?"

"What was it you said you were doing for a living?"

"Writing. Temporarily subsidized by landscaping. ............. Hey, you gigglin'? That's mean."

"No, no, man. Just a little frog in my throat."

"So?"

"So what?"

"So what about your sister?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. She, uh, got hooked up with this roofer guy. Supposed to be the only one any good at this tar and gravel stuff. Listen, what I was calling about is that they caught your car thief."

"Excellent, my friend. Tell me all about it."

"Nineteen years old. First known offense; suspected of other priors. Insufficient evidence. Couldn't yet tie him to the drive by shooting the car was used for before being dumped on the edge of the mesa. Same old shit. He's been released. Part of the South Side Locos."

"Got a name?"

"Denton Barrett; street name "Spidey D."

Jack couldn't help but laugh. He said; "I thought your name had to be something like Manuel Hermosillo to be part of the Locos."

Manny forced an uncomfortable laugh, which sounded more like a nervous deflection, before he said; "What the fuck can I tell you, man? That's what the guys in Homicide told me. Maybe his mother got a rich whitey the second time around."

"Denton?"

"Maybe he's a fuckin' doctor. Or maybe he wears fuckin' pajamas. I don't know."

Jack said; "Okay. Okay. Just curious, talkin' shit. They got this guy for car theft. The car was used in a drive by. If they're not gonna charge him with that, he still must know who did it."

"For real. So far, he got away with sayin' he just took it for a joy ride spur of the moment and then dumped it."

"Yeah, sure. He just happened to be on Calle de la Congelacion one cold morning. And some people who were planning a drive by just happened to find where he dumped it shortly after. Come on."

"Real cops, man. What can I say? First offense. Crying mama showed up with a hot shot attorney, yadda yadda and he walked."

Jack asked; "Got a picture?"

"Attached to an e-mail."

"All right. Thanks."

"Be cool."

"Yeah, you too man. Thanks."

With one finger, Jack nudged the appropriate, miniscule, off button. He was unaware of, as he had never previously thought about, the lack of significance and how easily manageable the piece of plastic was; its only capabilities a possible low level buzz or a silence. The sound shut off; a possible, additional, machine generated testimony to the much overly-feared first or second death, depending on perspective. Then the restricted to twice capable, insistent redundancy chimed in with its corporate elevator, musaak homogenized to not offend or excite any listener; successful in anesthetizing all those formerly in possession of willing ears; now as numb as a hearing aid with dead batteries. In the limited visions of its perhaps incorrect, but commercially intended and lucrative to the poorest, and consequently inoffensive progenitor efforts at blame of their perceived "communicative" inadequacy, the boredom of another; yet another one hit wonder became more clear to the rabble than they had the ability to glean from the sophisticated brilliance and attempting-to-not-be-insulting could depict of the obvious; clandestinely another malevolent to the norm, a soft attempt at cacophony, Jack's momentary attention on the dual nature of the caca and phony displayed by the presumed as necessary cold and numb. He put the perfunctory back in his pocket, again noticing the hole the seemingly rounded edged requirement had gouged. At his real, growling, needed but sad pre-empt of serious intervention, Justice became somnambulistically alert, an acquiescence to perceived social norms, and looked up. The end of the mechanical, synthesized sound served him well in his desire to continue his sleep. Closed eyes are never disappointed.

Jack temporarily got redundantly and un-reflectively profane. He quadruplicated his prior vows to change into something more socially appropriate; maybe quintuplicated, restrained only by his inadequate knowledge of the terminologies used in "higher" math prequels. All prevarications passed in a millisecond in their cloudy irrelevance. In some notion of momentary clarity, he thought; "I'm going to kill the dumb fuck who ruined my life."

Being a somewhat realistically trained cop he immediately evaluated how this shit would play in court, with a supposed jury of his peers. He had had the disadvantage of having read an elementary introduction to Kafka. The feeble arguments presented of his now afraid of being interpreted as prematurely ground breaking in its simple action; was the equivalent of "sophisticated" flappers in their time of loud, youthful laughing, easily triumphant over the feigned disinterest and the consequent sound of a credentialed dry fart when done. It was so obvious to him that the point, if any, was in the doing; not the dead analysis of memories. Previously, his adopted pal, Justice, used his Shepherd canines as less than a blood draw on his left hand. For a second he mistakenly pondered the seeming philosophical channel adjustment to a wavelength of advertised difficulty. It was as if he had no control of his thoughts and that his thoughts brought him to a place he didn't want to visit.

Mercy. Jack was granted a merciful pardon, and he hoped it was not a ruse; the A-Team-mowhawk a fleeting second at best. Jack got his head out of his ass and began planning how to torture and eventually kill the dumb fuck who had made the mistake of crossing his path and leaving him without wheels. Jack eyed his clear-eyed pup, who now sat back on his haunches; physically relaxed, but eyes sparkling and alert. The comfort implied by the non-panting, long tongue, displayed in times of heat desperation; resided in the sans-papers, pedigree's partial protuberance. Justice's long, blending mane of white, black, brown, yellow, and other colors not differentiated in the imperfect transference from human eye to human brain seemed the perfect length for this year's warm winter and consequent Propician growth.

Justice momentarily at ease, Jack took advantage of the opportunity, to defer to the electronic wonder of his adult life. Its communication skills had been well honed by skillful entrepreneurs, not yet achieving their monopolistic goals, but striving, and convincing to the deferential, defeated suckers. Jack pushed his smartphone's on button, not sure which it was, used to its settlement for a green lackluster, pea soup screen, apparently sufficient to trigger a later welcome. As Jack typed in his required password he thought; "Hi, boneyard evocative, willing sap of the electricity con," thinking of himself. Justice, in his growling mercy precluded further thoughts in that direction. Jack said; "All right, all right. I know you're not going to bite me. So cut the shit. I'm just using this fucking thing because in 2016 I have no other choice." Justice moan-growled lowly and sought a more comfortable position with his head on his front paws, his body now entirely on the ground, corporeally relaxed, with minor signs of inevitably biased discomfort, but with eyes that shone as they pierced.

The machine had sufficiently awoken to allow Jack to check Manny's e-mail. He saw a mug shot of a light weight who appeared as if he would be more at home being photographed in an honor society cap than as a police publication poster-boy prospect. From many first hand experiences, he well knew that appearances can be very deceiving.

The shitass photo of the car-jacking kid was necessarily taken as a possibly incorrect depiction; the potential felon's countenance paraded as facially grinning like if he had just done something bright or completely bad-ass stupid, married to the affectation of blank eyes, cool if not yet cold; sitting on a pencil geek neck. It was like one of those scenes where one is challenged to find out what's wrong with this picture, and one thinks; "Nothing I care to study. It's just funny."

Assigning an un-defined degree of improbability to the situation, like a blind scientist, Jack sought the un-controvertible "facts." The ease of the self-imposed limitation shut off sufficient gray power for him to see the address. 914 Camino de Victor was at best an imaginative, hopeful characterization of something too far gone to pretend to comprehend in polite company. The larger, more ambitious area was well known to Jack and every other cop. It was a "downtown" part of Mesa Verde in the process of gentrification. The term "Nob Hill" had been coined, the origination a source of "Historical Society" debates somewhat limited by "propriety" and depicted in illustrated books with first printings in three digits, with no seconds requested.

Justice was relieved and relaxed and Jack was anxiously curious, as he opened a car door and Justice hopped right in; finding a good napping spot after a few circling investigations. Picturing a personal nirvana of a dead punk body and sleeping Justice, he mindlessly drove a route he had taken countless other times. In what seemed to be no time, with Justice comfortable and drowsing in the front passenger seat, Jack's eyes were drawn to the graduated hill which attracted the earliest of Mesa Grande inhabitants. The old hill was still visually stimulating in a town built on a flat mesa; grande as that which the spinners conjured. Jack and Manny had never answered calls when the problem stemmed from the confines of the hills now spottily xeriscaped to support "native" plants imported from South American resorts and now decorated with varying sized pebbles and rocks trucked in from Utah. Of pragmatic significance to award winning, experienced cops was that it was a place to avoid; unless the guns or dicks get exposed. The bargain hunting "gentrifiers" had a nasty habit of filming cops getting the remaining undesirables off the affordable re-organizers' streets. They saw no contradiction between their "liberal," righteous, and sanctimonious defenses of human rights while they wanted year long prison terms for the homeless who occasionally caused brown patches, by going over the line of acceptability and pissing on their immaculate lawns. Cops don't need any duplicity or "issues."

Jack sighed as he recalled the multi-faceted and confusing territory wherein the domains of the comfortable were devoid of fences and replete with nursery supplied, "native' plantings and the homes of those yet-to-join-the-New-Age were inadequately protected by gauche and injured chain link fences. He asked Justice; "What kind of place does this car thief come from?" The cordially attentive dog lengthily murmured, closed his eyes, and sought a return to his dream.

Jack's junker drew side glances from the most polite as the metal in the trunk clanged over 15MPH speed bumps at a robust 25. The unsightly bulges were designed to "protect" the meth resistant improved streets as they were particularly injurious to low riders. Wearing head wrapping shades and the red bandana favored by the growing number of Locos, Jack sought anonymity; his regular front-only plate today replaced by one of his transferees from the police impound yard. He eyed an early display of long brown femininity in very cut-off jeans and missed the stop sign, only coming to a halt because of the blaring horn of the aged, black Grand Prix which swerved to pass slowly in front of him; the driver vehemently indicating one something or other as he yelled; "maricon punyeta." Jack, too, made use of his left hand extending a "hi" sign and an explanatory thumb in the direction of the delectable legs. It must have worked; at least on the guy in the Grand Prix. The obscure object of his desire just wiggled on, pretending to be oblivious to the whole affair.

He navigated Hill Street with a vow to concentrate on his chosen somber business of efficient, un-detected through diligent surveillance revenge. ................. More or less; insofar as some distractions were as compelling as the new "Star Wars" movie was to a nine year old. At the next stop sign he made a right onto Camino de Victor; his eyes darting between the road and the all-important numbers posted in front of every house; the destination 914. Since the side street had been re-named, his googling navigator was deficient in its inability to provide direction and guidance, still thinking the name was Calle de los Hermanos; and further unaware of the original predecessor; Calle Arbolado Swale. Jack had again successfully used his Wi-Fi-less eyes to pilot his functional junker.

As the lower numbers slowly rolled by, Jack made note of the increasing absence of broken chain linked boundaries which still sporadically populated the main venue. In sharp contrast, Camino de Victor was lined with renovated Southwestern styled homes which were not protected by visible borders, totally reliant on the diligence of the curious tenants, currently in "hidden" position, behind the cracked shutters. Jack knew that state-of-the-art surveillance technologies amplified the personal touches at the shades in the section once sarcastically named Nob Hill in consideration of nobs other than the kind currently envisioned; perhaps a throwback to something substantially incorrectly viewed as Fitzgerald-esque; now taken very seriously. The "improvements" resulted in real estate values steadily climbing at a pace exceeding that of the zooming stock of profit deficient AmawayOnSteroids.Com, when factoring in the leverage. Jack thought; "What a weird place for a car-thieving gang-banger to live." He pulled his bandana down to his brows and re-checked his googler. Satisfied, but still a bit cautious, he took solace in the fact that the numbers were going in his direction; albeit very slowly.

He passed by houses now considered chic, some with women in baggy shorts showing him or the world the undefined point at which their asses ended and the point at which the cellulite process began, as they either watered or made some sort of adjustments near the foundations. He silently smiled at a few of the asses, but unlike the stop sign violating distraction generated by tight cutoffs his interest in the loose synthetics were surpassed by the choices of house stucco colors. The efficient, easily applied, product removed any sense of texture from the adobe structures and conveniently served to further mask the inequality of the wood framed imitations; unless one was granted an educated, interior view. Long familiar with the ultimately value judgmental arguments concerning the longevity-beauty tradeoff, Jack found humor in the deviations from the traditional brown-tan, particularly the yellow banana and pink varieties, which seemed to call out; "Look at me! Please look at me!" ............. It worked ................ for a very short time.

The numbers ruled Jack's line of vision; both as a deference to necessity and as a disinterest in disinterested, veined white asses; some with ripples resembling a very minor storm at sea, without the help of any aquatic wind. He drove on; seeing that the walkways were devoid of any human movement. Any encroachments to the suburban tranquility were only made by the early-season-squirrels, tails directed at the sun, as they ran in bursts. Their rushes were only interrupted when they stopped and rested, surveying the land in search of nuts, conifer cones, and lizards. On their hind legs, with tails now resting on the surface, they looked a lot like Meer cats contemplating the crusades of the next intruder. They had to have thought that the warm weather was a sign of spring; as they scampered through the boundary deficient front yards in search of sustenance to gather.

Jack eyed 758 and 837 well displayed on proud polyurethaned posts topped with the defining metallic digits obtained from kits; two required for duplications; three required at exceeding cost for the rare 333's, 666's or 888's. He was getting close to his target.

He crossed another four way stop sign which guarded entry to the 900 block. After his recent, leggy-cutoff-shorts, transgressing violation he was particularly careful to watch all directions. Seeming clear to the eye he passed the last crossroad and entered the dead end street.

Number 914 was on his right. He parked on the left to observe. So many spaces were available he was afraid he would attract attention. But, there didn't seem to be any alternative. So he parked directly across from number 914 and watched the red door, anxious to see-spy this Denton-Spidey D-whatever who had ruined his life. He double checked his pocket to make sure he had his gun. He did.

The sun felt warm as it collected and radiated from the junker's metal frame. He "temporarily" closed his eyes. Jack recalled that many years prior, his father was part of a group which intended to have Beth removed from her house. Jack found out that it was not due to non-payment of her mortgage, but that it was because her neighbors objected to the way her house had been rocking; the vibrations ultimately moving it two inches west of its original location. While it was still well within the borders of her property, for some strange reason her neighbors were offended. Through the utilization of a smorgasbord of complicated local zoning codes and permitted uses attorneys for the group were able to legally contend a violation; punishable through eviction and confiscation of property. Beth had ignored the mailed notices which stated that she must bring her house into compliance with the law. She considered the mailings to be a joke played by some neighbor who didn't like her; and she had a few candidates in mind. On a practical level, she could not afford an attorney. At the last moment she had approached "Legal Aid," only to be informed that their policies precluded them from representing one who "owns" their own home, and besides, no one there had the appropriate specialty. So, for sake of her peace of mind, Beth chose to believe that the whole thing was a stupid farce and the house continued to move and rock. But, today was apparently the day it would end.

Jack drove there with his father. His protective instincts surfaced in an irrelevant fashion. Though he was not sure, on numerous occasions he said that this was not legal, but never got any response. When they arrived Jack saw that Beth had a weird house and that the evictors were already there. Her house was inside a much larger structure, which appeared to have been predominately commercial. It somewhat resembled a shopping mall with a low ceiling. Her "unit" was against a first floor, windowed wall. She was outside of it and the evictors were putting some kind of yellow, police looking "Crime scene; do not cross" tape all over it. When she spotted him Jack said "hi." She immediately accused him of having orchestrated the whole thing as an excuse to see her, which she had forbidden. Jack said "no" and that he was there in an effort to prevent the eviction from happening.

Jack tried to dissuade the rabid evictors with the argument that a two inch move still left the house on its own property and that no one had filed encroachment charges. He wasn't sure that this was the case given the weird arrangement, but was certain that the rocking was none of their business and said so. He said; "There's no law against rocking. Every trailer rocks in the wind and their residents are never evicted."

Jack sat on the commonly used floor with Beth and said; "Don't you trust me?" She sighed and said; "Yeah." They kissed dispassionately and he was hopeful that they could get back together. She invited him inside. The house was the size of a mobile home, but was not one. There were extensive window views on one side.

She pointed to a small, pink, flower decorated chest and said; "That's where I keep my mother's things." It got extremely quiet. He looked out the window and it appeared as if the evictors had gone and taken their yellow tape with them. But Jack was not sure as the side they were last seen on was the one with no windows. He tried to instill some confidence when he said; "See. It was just a bluff to see if you'd do something stupid."

Without any detectable expression, she answered; "I think I did." Music came from somewhere. It was the Tubes doing "Space Baby."

Jack was startled awake when 914's door slammed. Out walked the young car thief with short hair dyed blond, sporting sizable gold earrings where one would normally expect them. His other fashion statements included a red bandana and the baggiest of pants a few sizes too large. He bravely yelled; "Fuck you, mom," in decibels sufficient for the whole neighborhood to hear; while Jack indecipherably mumbled; "Thank you, Beth." Denton walked in the direction of the dead end, a vacant lot overgrown with elm trees; the largest twenty feet tall. Jack followed slowly on foot and tried to keep a straight face.

He kept his distance and kept an eye out for possible witnesses. The tiny elm forest had a curving path, first eastward, then back to the west. It didn't appear as if it got much human traffic as ruins of last season's grass encroached in a brittle tan.

The forest was only about 300 feet deep and on the other side was the busy turf of the Locos. Jack thought; "Gonna check more. Looks like it's best to get him in the woods. Those trees provide great cover."

Chapter 17

And it came to pass that on the eighth day of his journey, a tired, gray pilgrim on horseback approached the home he had left in search of adventure and knowledge when a teenager. The Rider had unceremoniously travelled for what seemed an overly long lifetime, and only now had any inkling that, as a child, he was ridiculously and overly susceptible to the provocative, cackling, shrill, bugle wails of the disingenuous, painted sirens. The lures had posed on the steep mountainside outside of town, right on the slope where he was now perched, as the cacophonous sentries, positioned at the desired land's gates made a mockery of the fixed, written words of the book he had favored in youth. The Rider pulled back the reins and dismounted his black, white, and gray spotted companion and together they took in the view.

His eyes panned over a setting which seemed to be other than what his half century old memory recalled. Below were the brown and the flimsy, which had callously encroached on the green and the sturdy which were what was in his mind. On the ground near him were the charred stumps and the haphazard, blackened, fallen logs. The visible insects had devoured the majority of the softer brown wood, but seemed to have no interest in the parts which had been scorched. These remnants, which were slowly being absorbed by the earth on which they now rested, sat like an un-excavated burial ground.

His aged and now diminished ears heard nothing, but the sporadic echoing whistle of the earth upsetting wind; making an abundance of short lived dust devils. It howled in gusts in defiance of soothing convention, as it unsuccessfully tried to once again regain the stature deceiving, un-kept promise of its former flamboyant prominence. Yet, he also knew that the insistent wind had its undeniable mellowing place in his realm of otherwise stagnant and mounting heat. It immediately made a liar of him when it blew dust into Spotty's eyes. Without the benefit of hands, she had no way to brush away the rude, petty grains which accumulated to hamper her vision. The shaking of her head alleviated much of the initial intrusions, but was ineffective when the moisture induced widening muddy deposits at the corners. The grounded Rider used his fingers to clear her eyes. As always, she first balked, afraid of injury to the vital, sensitive area. The Rider found the repetition of the old story somewhat silly; but never said so. This was the millionth time he put his hands under her chin and said; "Hey girl; you should know by now that I'd never hurt you." Like always, Spotty sighed and relaxed while the Rider cleared her eyes.

The time-consuming, eight day trip, no doubt clearly foreseeable by the enlightened, had taken him only an un-enlightened and decaying half century. But now, he thought that he was finally home. The thoughts of what might have been if he was brighter and more fortunate were ones he had to forget. The past was gone and now irrelevant. It was simple as that as he had managed to think in his busy rational moments. He had long prior learned how to hold back the publicly embarrassing tears, saving them for his ample idle solitude. The Rider rubbed away his own accumulating corner deposits.

He came to a complete halt on the bounteously recalled, but presently treeless hill. He overlooked the town. He could only now try to fool himself by doubting that it was the place he did once seek to leave. Things had changed. That person was not him; it had to be someone else caught in the inevitably, drowning whirlpool. The harsh realities of what he truly believed, but didn't want to remember, only served as a testimony to his long term and wasting, weak culpability. The thought had to go away, if he had any chance of keeping on, though he knew that his keeping on had no relevance to anyone but to him, Spotty, and possibly his present boss. He recognized this depressed mindset was just another manifestation of self-indulgence; popular with the privileged and their affected mimics, while in reality he knew that it was just another simple display of humanity's will to go on; all too often used for short term personal gain. Still in its grips despite accurate recognition of the enemy, he temporarily considered willing himself to death, but could not sustain the pain-ending thought. The illogical, sorrow generating, yet irrepressible hope of a deep-rooted, childish dream would not let him succumb to the comfortable numbness.

He attempted to get out of his head and into what was around him today; in what apparently passes for someone's version of "reality," their own. In that process the Rider found it easier and truer to substitute his own. He had come to know that his attitude had much in common with what everyone else dealt with daily; and here he was, reflecting on it like another poor imitation of Narcissus. Yet, if he were to insist on only viewing his own perceptions, it would only solidify his isolation. He took a long drink from his brown, fringed, leather canteen; in that process apprehensively noticing that the only remaining water contained in it rested at the bottom. His eyes went to Spotty. At first she was apprehensively looking at him. She then whinnied; low, sad and shyly; shook her head from side to side, though that movement was no longer personally necessary. She looked the other way; not in any sense of defiance; not in any sense of boredom; not in any sense of disgust; not in any sense of ill will; but maybe in a sense of a feeling of inadequacy coupled with the sense of a feeling of; "Get off it. It leads nowhere!" The Rider thought that he might understand and caressed her.

The magnificence of his anciently and possibly mistakenly recalled fertile valley; its compelling view, punitively, pitilessly and perhaps condescendingly, was obvious to him and was right in the face of Spotty and he. His exhausted and partially open eyes looked, though the part of him which insisted on survival recommended that they be closed. He resisted survival compulsions and saw that the steep hillside itself, not only evidenced a consuming inferno; the date anyone's guess; only displayed sawn tree stumps which because of the regularity of the cuts, appear to have been taken down prior to the fire. Now they were apparently resolute in their commemorated mortality; a museum of undesired, immobile tranquility, no longer having any hope of shifting their many lost branches in the fickle breeze. Their un-moving, but making-the-best-of-things remains overlooked the wrinkled, parched, presently desert town, as reluctantly, did the Rider. He thought that he remembered bucolic, green, springtime dalliances, happily extending their bold, newly acquired progressions into a cloudless, blue sky, which seemed well within reach. Though there was no evidence of his memory, he was stubbornly certain that he was right. For a privileged, melancholically, happy and hopeless moment, his possibly objective faulty, primal recollection of what he dreamed of in his youth; as to the beauty which once was on, above, and below the hill, on which he now stood, pounded his brain like exhilaration coupled with an unspoken admonishment. The remnants of the sweet dream were clearly in front of his face. The reality was much as his almost forgotten, foolish, and romantic, once upon a time fantasy. The unattained dream which he now considered to be the innocent delusion of a youthful and erroneously thought to be a never-to-come-again oasis of the sincerely joyful shared the libidinous embodiment of a loving soul which had long prior succumbed to the infectious, prevalent passion, or never really was, outside of his thoughts. It was the substance of fantasy to be enjoyed only when one was alone and ready for sleep. At some compromising point, his prior resistance to the predominant and ever-flowing waves wore out. The comfort of the old innocent songs were overwhelmed by a silent cacophony of guilty, tainted, universally, though not personally produced ugly realities, which were the result of a magnanimous smiling viewpoint which seemed to be clearly right in front of his faulty brain and eyes. While the heart of the saddened one was capable of an extremely limited foray into the life of a hermit monk, his nether regions seemed to have a mind of their own and without any semblance of sociably acceptable constraints, looked elsewhere. Was there any choice? It was a storm of relentless, blinding dust which gratuitously dropped its dominant, physically "real," and un-welcomely imposed obscurations on the desperate, unhappy groupings he sought to elude. Unlike many years prior, he now knew that he rightly belonged with them. He knew and hated that stupidly stubborn aspect of himself, in which he appeared as reticent or shy, but was a truly unwilling and unenthusiastic prognosticator and procrastinator, in fear of the horror he had seen inflicted on the openly vulnerable. There was no way to live with open eyes and simultaneously avoid it. For her and only her, he had frantically prayed to un-listening ears for a cessation of the cruel wind; each entreaty performed with less zeal than the prior failure, until it was gone. He knew that he and she were just more of the condemned, didn't understand why it had to be this way, and yet still desired to attempt a personally judicial, righteous journey home for the others. Maybe his lost, seemingly simple, misremembered dream could be their way, if not his. Besides, he had nothing to gain by denying the others who had done him no harm.

Below him in the valley, though he found the implied idea of his lofty placement personally repugnant, yet egoistically impossible to ignore, he saw the scraps of his failed dream. The barren, desolate appearance of the tangibly inescapable, brutal physical environs of his originally desired home below caused him to chastise himself for long ago having taken a series of wrong turns, simultaneously almost forgiving himself when he realized that the arduous excursion was not what he sought. It was merely what seemed to be there; bearing the testimony of all that went before him and all that he had heard about then. For 'Occam's Razor' aficionados, the simplest and easiest criticism was that it was unforgivably common. The Rider was harder on himself. Despite all the good justifications, he couldn't forgive himself for taking a route which, had he taken the trouble to mindfully scrutinize, was obviously a route to hell. Can a teenager be expected to understand the experienced, unobstructed, regretful viewpoint gained in old age? Perhaps that was so for a few geniuses imprisoned in the company of many timid followers of rules. It seemed a travesty, in any sense of his concept of justice, for his current mindset to be only possible after a youth of regretted, self-indulgence, away from those he loved. There must be another way; a path hidden. ........ He thought that he would not be convicted by a jury of his peers as he had never seen it, and had no practical reason to think that it existed anywhere outside of the pretenses of the holier-than-thou-outdo-doo-dah-daddy positions already claimed by the fame-seeking, mental defectives. Yet, every unexplainable thing in him told him that he should have known and that he was guilty and did not have to wait for the legalities of a sentencing hearing. The punishment was inflicted before charges were filed.

He again wondered if he were yet another person merely consigned to the wrong time and place. He had been so mistakenly sure of the decency of so many other locations that he found the question unanswerable. He had to try to forget the failure of all that was part of the past and hope and believe that he was about to enter something new; as well as something old. A successful life seemed to demand the contradiction. Without the belief in that one in a million, "miraculous," and naïve long shot, he may as well have stayed up on the hill with the butchered, burned and unirrigated tree stumps. If the denizens of the valley city were averse to him, so be it. He could know that only after having tried to befriend them.

He again mounted Spotty and rode his companion of thirty years. The black, white and gray spotted mare now struggled with every step she took on the sloped and treacherous terrain. He held the reins slackly and made no effort to compel her to move with anything other than the speed and course with which she was most secure. As he experienced the careful slow steps she took, he again gazed into their valley destination. It didn't look as if it could have been the likely recipient of the idealized, weathered memories he had of a youth spent in wordless modification of the place, which he had thought was purposely, stupidly and onerously set on thwarting every feeble attempt he made to find any paltry sense of freedom. Now, he was saddened, as it merely appeared dry, forlorn and abandoned.

Despite his undesired, underwhelming feeling that he was likely to be returning to a place which had obviously seen better times, his corrected and egalitarian emotions made him want to enter the town of his birth; strongly and inescapably. He was reticent to appear as someone pompous, patronizing or condescending to the town he loved; but left. He also knew that this perception would inescapably be that of some; he could only hope not many. This was nothing more than a sad joke to him. He had lost the protracted match, time was running out and he wished that he had never left. Yet he knew all too well the authority and prominence of appearances. Despite the length of his trip, his blue denim shirt, pants and open jacket were only lightly soiled and he still had the company and friendship of faithful Spotty. She meandered assuredly through the obstacles, her eyes necessarily fixed in concentration on the confounding stumps and deteriorating logs.

The Rider reluctantly peered toward the river to his left; or what remained of it. The playground of his swimming childhood had become a congregation of clustered dry islands interspersed by small trickles insufficient to provide aquatic cover for a shellfish. For a brief moment he wondered if this was the place he had left. His doubt was extinguished by his sighting of the irrigation ditches, now much too high above the river to be the receptacle of anything other than the hot, dry air.

He momentarily considered going back to the farce with which he was fluent after a lifetime of learning the patois. ....... He couldn't bring himself to and he realistically thought it best to continue on as he hadn't the time to backtrack. Going back was an option open only to the young.

He rode a few more steps, until a bearded man on foot, with glasses in need of recurrent manipulation turned the switchback corner. He had to stop Spotty as the bespectacled man was too busy carrying on a heated conversation with a person whom only he saw to pay any attention to others who might be on the hill. When they got close he could see that the bearded man was young; no more than thirty years of age. The Stranger came to an abrupt, jerking stop and used his quivering fingers to reposition his glasses higher on his nose, poking an eye in the process. Embarrassed, he said; "Why don't you watch where you're going!"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm standing still. Can't you see?"

".............. Well, good that you think you are." The Stranger inserted two fingers under his glasses, and rubbed a blinking eye. He mumbled; "I do see some movement. Where are you going?"

The Rider extended his right hand, palm up, toward the town, and said; "To the place of my birth. Is it still home to anyone?"

The bearded one again meddled with his glasses, leaving them more misaligned than they had been prior to his alteration. He tugged at his beard and said; "Why must you ask difficult questions?"

".............. Perhaps, I can rephrase it. Does anyone live there?"

"I don't know. No difference to me."

"Have you been down there?"

The Stranger cackled when he replied; "Questions. Questions. Questions. But, this one is finally an indication of lost presumptions. Thank you. No, I have not." He found this uninformed response singularly amusing and added; "I have been well advised to avoid this demise, euphemistically known as Cambio de la Vida. Jesus has said; 'Let the dead stay with the dead.'"

Spotty snorted and looked back toward her mount as if to say; "Both of you have got to be kidding." The Rider said; "No matter what it is now called by the inexperienced young, I will always remember its sweet wonders. When I was born there it was known throughout the country as Propicio; a place of abundance. It matters none to me if it has mockingly become known as Cambio de la Vida, as I will always belong there. It is merely a circling back to an infancy; oblivious to labels." Thinking that he had said something discourse ending, if not particularly dazzling, he smirked as he confidently retrieved a hand rolled cigarette from his shirt pocket and struck a match, lighting it.

The pedestrian Stranger with the vision challenge jumped back and his glazed eyes widened in horror. He said; "This place is so dry, an ember could trigger a raging wildfire. Didn't you see the condition of the river?"

He inhaled deeply and said; "Yeah? ....... Hard to miss. My compliments on your fantastic grasp of the obvious. ....... Now, who's asking the stupid questions?"

The bearded one again frantically tried to straighten his glasses, and quickly circumvented Spotty, in a quick stepping attempt to get away from the flickering flame. He had moved ten feet when he stopped and called back, seeking the last word; "You're crazy! You're absolutely crazy! ......... What do you think is on the other side of the ridge?"

The Rider calmly shrugged and said; "I don't remember. I really don't. ........ Maybe nothin' worth rememberin'. Maybe Paradise. ........ What day is today? I can't remember that either."

The Stranger wasn't asked, but chose to blurt out; "I don't know. I really don't. ....... Whatever its un-name, it's a day to move on."

"Finally, we agree on somethin'"

"There's nuthin' down there."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Look, all you can see is fallen down shacks."

"Can't see over the ridge from here."

"Gotta be the same. I've been in these parts all my life and I never seen a damn thing. 'Sides, there's no water down there. If you make it to the ridge you'll never make it back."

"I don't know. Don't matter. My boss wants me to deliver a book to some lady."

The Stranger couldn't control his laughter. He said; "Hey, jerk. (Giggle.) You can (Snort.) just throw the book away (Mucous wiped on sleeve.) and say that you delivered it."

"I ain't like that. That's why he pays me good."

"Wages! Wages! Shit! Can get that anywhere without dying of thirst. Man!! Use your fuckin' head."

" .................................... "

"What?"

"I was usin' my fucking head."

Snort. "Try usin' it the shrewd way. How's he gonna know? This one time won't hurt."

"I don't know how he's gonna know. He's pretty damn smart though."

"Smart compared to you I guess."

"He's got the biggest cattle and horse operation back east. What you got?"

" ................. Probably inherited it."

"Made it all himself. That's what everyone says."

"Dangerous down there."

"Got a gun for the rattlers."

The Rider retrieved a tiny, leather bound, un-titled book from his saddlebag and read aloud. "Just as it is the task of the enlightened beings of numbers to make generous, good use of their numbers to explain things in a two-fold, in sync manner, which the beings of substance can understand; it is also the task of the enlightened beings of substance to make generous, good use of their substance to explain things in a two-fold, in sync manner which the beings of numbers can understand; both parties at once being clearly overt and clearly mysterious. It is at this point that the third riders make themselves known to all. Differing ability levels are recognized and respected. An honest effort is all that is required. But, woe be to those who hold back or deceive. They not only hurt the other, but themselves. Their inaction or falsity condemns all to a tedious, boring lifetime of 'preaching banalities to the choir,' at best. It is at this point that the suicide phantom of Styx makes its presence known and the haunting, black specter has achieved what it and you think to be immortality. But, it is Death."

The Rider dismounted in order to put the book back in his saddlebag.

Spotty became uncomfortable standing unevenly on the slope. She carefully worked her way down to the field and commenced running at full tilt.

The Stranger said; "See Spot run."

"What's a scribe doin' in the wasteland?"

"Lookin' for somethin' worth stealin'. What else?" ....... "What the hell was all that crap supposed to mean?"

The now pedestrian Rider laughingly replied; "You're the smart one. You tell me. Fuck do I know? It's just my job to deliver this little book. Figured I'd take a look at it at night. ........ I just gotta keep movin'. Got a great, great horse helpin' me. ....... See ya, ...... maybe."

The Stranger walked west, away from the river, continuing to fidget with his glasses. When he got out of normal hearing range, Spotty started back up the hill to the Rider. She moved more quickly this time, as she had learned the terrain.

The Rider dwelled a bit, smiled, puffed and straddled Spotty, who complied and demonstrated her continuance to show their mutual disdain for paths. They went straight down the hill, more and more certain that they were on their way home. He uttered; 'Head for Siempre Carretera.'

He pulled the reins gently and Spotty slowly loped over the dry shrubs, their disturbed cotton now loose and filling the air near ground level with snow flurries

The Rider was fearful that he was too late, but he and Spotty were aiming to go over that ridge.

Chapter 18

Rick slammed "Modern Interpretations of Ancient Esoteric Texts" shut in drunken overstatement. He had not finished reading the entirety of "The Last Book of Moribus, the elder, as rendered by Justin Vagarinio." Nor could he have, even if had he not acquired the impatience which three Jack Daniels doubles provided him, as it was left incomplete or had been partially lost; as subsequent footnotes would have told him in the small print.

A most curious thing about Rick's current mindset was that though it was not prompted solely by his inebriated understanding; it was much more akin to the straw which broke the camel's back; and perversely he thought that it was inconsistent with his interpretation of the "Rider Parable." However, he had misconstrued a part which he had read as a metaphor while that section made no sense whatsoever unless it was literally construed. Compounding the error, he was attempting to act contrary to it, while this ultimately resulted in his decision to act substantially consistent with "The Rider;" for the most part; unbeknownst to him.

To put it simply, Rick decided to do what he largely wanted to do anyway. He merely had chosen to be instructed and encouraged in with his thought willful and convenient, devilish mis-interpretation of the probable meaning of the old story; though he misunderstood it and then chose to be contrary to his understanding. Or, one might say that Rick decided not to do what he didn't want to do, because he was so advised, misunderstood the advice, and then decided to be a contrarian. Or vice-versa. Or the other way around. Or he got back where he started the wrong way. Or never mind. Free will married to deceit is destined for a divorce or a constant headache. This process may seem convoluted to some, but Rick was still reeling from his decision to sell the family farm, which he now considered a failure; which kind of turned everything upside down despite having had a time proven incorrect approach which he now sought to undo in insolence.

He didn't know and he didn't care about any Rider, as he was a foot traveler. Further details were of no interest to him, as he believed that whether or not a work was apocalyptic, was merely a function of the last few words; which in turn was determined by the author's mindset on that particular long gone day. What was of significance to Rick was that his alcohol numbed brain distinctly saw that Moribus' or Justin's book was distinctly about his life and in that moment of absolutely fogged clarity, he knew exactly what he had to do.

Songs rumbled through his head; the words now taking on a new meaning for him. He recalled the Beatles singing "Baby, You're a Rich Man," followed by someone whose name he could no longer recall singing something else. As it was not yet written, sang, or recorded, Rick's memory thought that he recalled the words from a song which might and might not be written a century in the future.

"On his trusty mount  
the Rider sees the old town;  
the strollers on the slope and  
the burning on the ground.

He sees the church bells;  
tongues stolen and mute in the hot breeze.  
He gets to keep the picture

which he'd like to change.

Way up in the penthouse;  
the IOU's play at the table.  
The big ones got the seats.

The arrangements are made.

Below, Furry sings the blues;  
drunk on the byway.  
The high rise blocks the sun;  
and Furry sleeps for another day.

A cacophony erupts  
on the landing strip.  
Briefcases are traded.

The Man checks and flies away.

See the garden town  
and the homes of the passably permitted pro tems.  
She knows how to courteously collect.  
His art is to rudely impose.  
The bored kids show up  
They all feign a thrill.  
The OxyContin kicks in

And the family survives one more day."

For no good reason he wished he knew who would eventually sing it. .................. He thought of Trent Reznor's great-great-great grand-daughter, caged in a pink tutu.  
Richard III wrote a note to Stephanie which said; "Stephie baby; got business at Propicio Bar and Grill. Back before dark. Love, Rick." He took Joshua Marshland's business card from his wallet and called the number. He was greeted by an answering machine which stated; "You have reached the offices of Marsh Enterprises. No one is available to take your call. Please leave a brief message at the beep." He responded to the beep with; "Josh, this is Richard Lawson. If you want to talk business meet me at the Propicio Bar and Grill in ten minutes. Brief enough for you?" He left his solitary, safe house and took his usual walk to his favorite watering hole in the center of town. In his haste he forgot his jacket. He only realized that after he had gone 100 feet and discovered that he didn't need one. The cloudless sky and the lack of wind provided no impediment to the sun's natural ability to heat Propicio's back and front paths.

He thought; "Just a little rain and the barren field with the dirt mounds will get green; maybe even out somewhat." He thought he might be seeing a few of the first protrusions of the year. "The builder's incompetence won't mess up the place forever. Hmnnnnn. Since they've obviously got their problems, maybe I could buy the land back for half of what they paid me. Business is fucking business. If you don't know the rules, it's best not to play the game. ....... Maybe if I was again the man in charge I could do a few things which would make a cheap re-sale their best option."

Rick-Richard-Richard III trudged on with a determination which made him unconscious of the distractions on the way. Even the cacophonous sirens presented by the four wheeled vehicles on Propicio Road may have just as well have been speechless. Rick entered the bar and first saw the coin flipping man. Unlike Rick's past experience with the teller of the single story, this time he broadly smiled, and robustly said; "Heads again. No takers? What a shame. Surprise, fucking surprise."

Rick smirked at the inability of the coin flipping man to retort as "Flip" stooped to retrieve his special coin. Sufficiently loud for the bald headed man in the ersatz baseball cap with the stretchy, one size fits all, thing in the back, and no one else to hear Rick mumbled; "Too predictable to be of any real significance," and went to one of the empty stools. He surreptitiously used the mirror to look for Mary and Josh; and saw neither. Instead, he was greeted by a bar maid he had not previously met.

She was young, thin and walked with a gait which could have been suggestive of guzzling on the job. She walked to him and placed the Propicio Bar and Grill customized coaster on the bar in front of him with a bogus incidental air of imprecision, and chirped; "Hi, my name is Eva; no Audrey; sorry." She peered down at the nameplate pinned to her uniform, chuckled and added; "What does this thing say anyway?"

Rick eyed the plastic intrusion near her cleavage line. Reading sideways he said; "Hi, Audrey. New here?"

"Er, um. .......... Difficult question. Hard to explain this late in the day. Kind of, I guess. What can I getcha?"

"By the way, my name is Richard ................ er, um Rick. I'd like a double Jack Daniels and soda. And I wonder if Josh is somewhere around. I'm supposed to be meeting him here."

"No Josh I know of. ....... But, these guys are always giving me phony names so I can't call their wives on them. ....... As if I really would." With a toss of the head, she flipped her peroxide bangs out of her eyes and went directly for the square-ish bottle with the black label.

Rick felt an arm on his shoulder and used the mirror to see that Josh was behind him being overly familiar. Still, he was glad to see the self-proclaimed internet maven at all, as this was Rick's entire reason for being at the bar at that moment. His instinctive revulsion at the touch suggested a sudden lurch, but that soon gave way to a measured, rational, and necessarily endured repugnance. "Business. Business. Fucking business," he thought as he successfully combated the reflexive squirm which had invaded his every cell.

Josh sat next to him and with an air of smiling certitude said; "You called, chief?"

Fully cognizant of the likely satirical tone, Rick responded with seeming politeness. "Yes. Glad you could make it on such short notice. I've been doing some thinking about what we've been talking about."

"And?"

"And I want to hear the details. The devil is always in the small print."

Josh chuckled and said; "Thanks for the compliment. The details are simple. I manage your campaign for mayor. You shut up and let me use the internet the way I know how. You get elected and make me business manager, with your full support, solely responsible for the re-negotiation of the garbage contract."

Audrey returned with Rick's double Jack and placed it on a coaster in front of him. She looked toward Josh, and said; "Hi, Loki. What can I get ya today?"

"Vodka and tonic, babe; and don't be stingy."

As Audrey departed to perform her duties, with a twinge of faux merry incredulity intended to appear to be an overly obvious attempt at masking an apprehension which was also contrived, Rick went up a few octaves to say; "LOKI???"

"Yeah, um. ................. Hard to explain. Long story. No relevance. I have a walk-in closet full of outfits. Just like you, Padrone."

Rick-Richard-Richard III smirked as he took another double Jack gulp and responded; "Mine's more like a nineteenth century wardrobe," refraining from the original word "kas" for fear of misunderstanding. In the momentary lull he asked; "So where were we? I don't exactly know. Lost track. Anyway, here comes Audrey, Loki. "

Audrey served Loki the elixir and was dismissed with a curt, efficient, obligatory "Thank you."

Josh took a sip and half asked; "So, I guess you've decided that you want to be a big shot again."

"I said it depends on the terms."

"Come on, man. Quit playin'. You heard 'em. Garbage contract mine. You can do what you want with the little shit. .................... More or less, depending on surprises."

"So what are you going to do for me that I can't do myself?"

"Basically nothing if you were computer savvy and a resident of 2016. But, you're not."

Rick silently and skeptically looked at the mirror behind the bar. It was dimly lit and obscured with bottles of many shapes. He thought that he had detected his own unintended grimace.

Sounding a tad exasperated, Josh continued; "Look. You can easily get 100 votes from the members of the Brisas Area Gardening Society, just by saying that you'll do something about the goddam elms. You can ........."

"I'm not against the elms and couldn't do anything about them if I wanted to."

"Irrelevant. It's the hottest issue in Propicio. Tell 'em some shit they want to hear, get in, and concoct some story later. .................... Hey, you sure you were in politics before?"

Indignantly Rick said; "We were straight shooters back then!"

"Yeah, right. You say that so convincingly. A natural born politician." With his left thumb and forefinger he pinched Rick's cheek and said; "You're beautiful."

"Hey!!!"

"Pardonome. Come on. Let's quit the dancing. You called me here for a reason. You know you need me." He slurped his drink, looked at his wristwatch and added; "I've got other shit to do."

"All right, all right. Just do me the favor of explaining what it is exactly that you're going to do for me."

"Okay. You can run for mayor yourself and you will lose. You can put up signs all over Propicio Road, like all the other candidates. Nobody will look at any of them as they are an uninteresting eyesore. I know how to use the 'private' e-mail addresses of all the registered voters to keep putting your name in front of them. Invariably they vote for the name with which they are most familiar. Brand name. Look at Bush. We'll do a video of you in your garden playing 'good old guy' from old Propicio and it will touch their button pushing hearts. We show them what they want to see. Maybe we'll get you up a tree with a chainsaw in your hands. Worked well last time and has particular relevance here. The voters buy the sucker shit every time. The program always works."

"How do you get all those e-mail addresses?"

"Professional secret. Gonna be the next big internet scam. .......... Used to work for Homeland Security. Nuff said?"

"Scary shit."

"It's the reality today. Any notion of privacy is dead."

"So why do you need me at all?"

"Frankly, I probably don't. I could do this and win with any of a number of candidates. But, you have the old time experience, a name that is associated with the 'good old days,' and that 'oh so sweet' straight shooter face."

"All right. So, just to be clear, you get me elected and in return you get the garbage contract payoffs?"

"Yeah, simple as that. You appoint me Propicio business manager. If something else big comes up we'll talk."

"..........................."

"So, I'll have my guy out to your house for the video. The Brisas Area Gardening Society will be descending on the town council again Friday next. You be there, get to the podium and make a speech announcing your candidacy. Tell 'em you're going to get rid of the Calle de la Congelacion elms and restore Propicio to old time values. Afterward mingle with the crowd. Smile that sweet innocent looking smile a lot and try not to say anything particularly stupid containing any specifics. When challenged divert to talking about the good old days ad nauseum. And then get the hell out of there. Look at your watch and say you've got an appointment with some local tree remover. ............. You were mayor. You know how to handle this shit, right?"

"We were straight shooters back then."

Josh pinched Rick's cheek again, and said; "Beautiful. So sincere. Perfect. Vinny is so vulnerable right now. .......... Just curiosity; is that shit for real?"

"I don't know. Matter?"

Josh guzzled the remnants of his glass, got up and said; "No. I'll be in touch," and walked out. The coin flipping man made a mock sign of the cross and bowed his head slightly, in a sarcastic genuflection, intended to convey genuine admiration. Rick wolfed down his remainder and stood, evincing minor balancing difficulties. As he left he said to the coin flipping man; "Heads again?"

The coin flipping man stooped to retrieve the quarter. Without looking at Rick he deadpanned; "You betcher fucking ass."

Rick walked home slowly. Without intent he recalled the song his estranged and only son, now incommunicado somewhere in southern California, used to play whenever he seemed perturbed over something which Rick always found un-fathomable. In his head, he once again heard Cream blasting the heavy-on-the-bass-live version of "Politician," as it was recorded in sentience on their double album "Wheels of Fire."

Rick inwardly smiled as he thought; "It's got a good beat. You can dance to it," and he briefly did a two-step. He abruptly caught himself and returned to his normal gait, upon realizing that he was visible to all the oncoming traffic as well as the ones who had passed by, all well equipped with rear view mirrors. During his former political years he had learned that it was not suitable for a soon-to-be-public-office candidate to appear so care free and frivolous. He settled back into the tottering style dictated by the double Jacks; the standard-issue-uniform of his profession. In a mechanistic fashion, he smiled and waved at the vehicles in the proximity, not in the least concerned with who might be the occupants. He felt better than he had since the day he took the paper for the land, thinking that he had snookered a sophisticated financial heavy. Painlessly, so shallow in conflicting thoughts, he had become triumphant in becoming unconscious of Propicio's natural scenery. He may as well have been on the peaks of Nepal.

Chapter 19

It was getting sufficiently warm in Propicio, that Jack noticed that when he brought out Justice at mid-day, the canine was panting and not that all interested in walking. Justice had a long thick coat capable of keeping him warm in the cold and frying him in the heat. It became necessary for them to either go out in the morning or a little before sundown. Jack's inclinations to stay under the covers and daydream over coffee precluded the AM option; so for the time being PM excursions got his vote. Justice either abstained or failed to properly register. Regardless, he made no demonstrations of protest while he lay around the house all day.

With some difficulty, at 4PM Jack's eyes broke away from the reviews of the "Chupacabra" series he was reading on GFR. Though none of the reviewers mentioned it, it was almost obvious to Jack that the clever series' lyricism and metaphor suggested that the goat suckers were actually representative of radical terrorists. Considering their reclusive and vampire like habits one could say that the horned, non-natives were sucking the Americas dry through their hit and run, bloodthirsty operations.

Despite that he and Justice bravely went out the front door and Jack was immediately seized with terror. He immediately thought that the bi-polar, drama mama, who called herself Beth was charging from his left, fangs exposed. He was startled and froze. Justice didn't seem to have any problem, but stopped when Jack did, and looked up at him as if to say; "Are you all right?" Jack responded; "That is a tie for the dumbest question anyone ever asked me. Do I look all right to you?" Justice grumbled something indecipherable which seemed to lean toward; "I was just trying to be polite," "You better lay off that wine," or "I need to get to my favorite tree, like right now."

Jack felt a bit ridiculous, got annoyed over that, and started moving quickly, Justice alongside. They hadn't travelled very far before Jack got another panic attack, and it wasn't over Andy or Charlene. They were leashed. It was the explosive, largest member of the trio who wasn't.

Before Jack could say or do anything; from a distance, Beth's eyes actually seemed as if they were burning when she yelled to Jack; "No matter when I come out, you're there. Jack, just stay away from me. I don't want to see you. I'm going to do you a better favor than anyone else ever has. I'm going to tell you the truth. I don't feel the same way about you. I don't even like you. Had you any sense you would have figured out by now that I am not one of those 'People Who Need People.' As far as I'm concerned the 'luckiest people in the world' can continue to count their alleged blessings. I don't care."

"Do you have to broadcast it?"

"You've lived here for some time. Haven't you noticed that the Dietrichs have never been seen by anyone. That's because they don't wish to be and I am one of them. Sadness is caused by un-met expectations. I have no expectations and therefore am never disappointed or sad. Get it? Simple. You say that you are a writer, ostensibly in some sort of attempt to impress me or your 'Beth' fantasy."

"Ostensibly?"

"I might have played along had you a ten room house and a new Ferrari in front of it. Maybe. A good writer is also a voracious reader and it seems that you've missed something essential; inclusive of Sartre and de Beauvoir. In youth, most humans act as if they love the other and maybe even believe it themselves. A short time after the brief walking-on-clouds feeling disappears they wangle for self-serving things. Every miserable time. Benign neglect is the best one can do for the other."

In LA, Brit relocatee Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music warbled in two voices to his song; "(Another Fine) Edition of You." In some little town outside Memphis B.B. King moaned that "The Thrill is Gone." Jack was thinking similar thoughts, but to him it felt more like a release than a moan.

Awwww. The Observers by the windows should refrain from tears. Jack can see that they're fixin' to shoot some holes in the old rain barrel. Jack can almost see by the pathetic looks in their peepers. Don't. They're wondering what awful thing happened to this poor woman to make her think this way, resulting in horrendous pain being inflicted upon Jack the Writer. Consequently, they 'like' the Writer more than before; thinking that his disinterest is the result of his attempt to act bravely in a sad situation he did not cause. The Observers have probably not yet considered the possibility that he might have engineered the outcome in order to give the appearance that he was treated poorly; while he regarded that perception as a socially acceptable set of circumstances which allows him to do what he truly wants to do; be alone. Of course, now that Jack has said it, the outside Observers will likely say; "Oh, certainly I knew that." Everyone has their games; some more obvious than others.

Jack notes how easy it is to control the game, if one so desires. Practically anyone can do it. Maybe Jack made all this up to obtain precisely that predictable reaction. Or maybe Jack was hurt so badly that this mindset was induced as a defense mechanism. There is not yet any conclusive evidence; and there never will be.

Some Observers keep thinking about that one; some with anecdotal evidence and statistics at their disposal. Most manage to convince themselves that the latter is the case because they selfishly want to believe it. But, if called upon, Beth will probably say that she does not recognize that. The beautiful, un-thinking Queen undoubtedly thought such things long ago. But, she and Jack both know that confession is a loser's game. Utilizing silence and inconsistency is always a safer play. Take a brief look around.

Rude reverberations once again, un-avoidably encroached.

"But, you look just like her!"

"That is so ridiculous. ............ Okay. Okay. Let's be totally stupid and say that I do. So do a million others! See, there is still hope for you."

Beth walked back down the Dietrich path thinking; "I hope all that shit worked," not specific about which shit that was; even to herself.

Jack needed an electronic chupacabra fix, and pulled out his pocketed, internet capable owner. It got no reception.

Justice made whining sounds. He filed an appeal to get the hell out of there by getting off his haunches and briskly walking back toward home.

This had been the most exaggerated of the exaggerated tones of Jack's tedious and predictably inconsistent meetings with Beth on Calle de la Congelacion; one time a clear "go away" statement and the next time one less clear saying something like; "come hither, if only .................." For one to be so consistently "off-on," as opposed to an occasional "off-off-on" or an "on-on-off" struck Jack as odd; and reminded him more of a computer than a real person. He decided that the Beth flip-flop did him no good whatsoever; that she had to know that and therefore consciously wanted to do him no good; that he had made a decent life for himself in her protracted absence; and that he could do it again if he just did not see her again. The possibly false memories of his youth had no Proustian "relevance." In addition, this "Beth" may well not be the same one. If it wasn't "why bother?" If it was, the years had irreparably damaged her and it was not his fault and thereby not his problem. To make things the easiest, he hoped he would never see her again.

When he and Justice got back in their house Jack distractedly read an excerpt from an old book; a very old book.

As if it were a page from a day-glow coloring book, at mid-day the un-obstructed sun continued to blare its cacophony over Camino de las Brisas. The rude, currently singular, amorphous globe seemed to cover the entirety of the sky. It had started at the 7:30 AM daybreak and perhaps as a result of impatience, obviously got more and more insistent as the day progressed.

Ty, still solely and lazily wearing his robe and slippers went to the box and got the mail; having to keep his focus level or down; either viewpoint comfortable. His two brief attempts to scan the heavens resulted in a blinding vividness; and he highly valued his ability to see. Along with the usual dreary insurance, "call-now-to-save-as-much-as-$396-per-year" ads accompanying the electric bill, piled on the beleaguered, new, green mailbox was yet another flyer from the Brisas Area Gardening Society. It was neatly folded and held by the adjustable red flag. He shrugged and carried the howdy doos and zip-a-dee-doo-dahs back to the house.

Dressed in a lavender tank top and cut off, blue jean shorts, Cindy waited at the front door which she held open.

Ty perked up a bit, but his penchant for honesty made him unable to hide his disappointment with the news of the day. Holding the papers in his left, he used his right hand to briefly hold Cindy's hand and gently kissed her forehead.

In the mood for something much more provocative, she eyed him curiously and said nothing, remembering that it was still early in the day.

Ty sighed and said; "Guess what came in the mail?"

Playfully inclined Cindy responded; "A letter from my mother asking me to come back home?"

Ty had difficulty containing his amusement; but simply answered; "No."

"Okay. A letter from your father asking you to come back home?"

"No, worse."

Cindy displayed her first look of concern. She stood silently and looked to Ty.

He said; "What I always hope to come tomorrow came today. Another flyer from the Brisas Area Gardening Society inviting us to another meeting. Why the hell did this organization have to use the name of our street?"

Cindy exhaled relief. She said; "Don't tell me. Penny was attacked by five marauding elms and they got their seeds all over her right here. ....................... Never mind. If that were the case she would have quit complaining."

"Should we once more play social butterflies? .......... I mean we really don't like these people or what they stand for. It's anti-nature for Christ's sake."

Cindy affected a camp Greta Garbo stance; limp wristed right hand extended and replied; "Eeeew. Doesn't the cause of civility clearly indicate support for the beauty of suburban gardens? Je ne se quois; mon ami?"

Ty smirked, fell to one knee; kissed her extended hand and looked up at her. Her eyes may have been incorrectly construed by some to be mocking; while they were merely curious about what would come next. He said; "But, my fair lady; dost not one ........ two; have the right to moat their fortresses against the attacks of the plebian boredom disguised as social necessity?" He pressed her hand against his cheek and looking down, his view became her bare feet.

"Yay, verily; my sweet knight. Thy loving intentions are invariably countered by a crude, common perception; convenient for the dead. TV must not rule. We must sacrifice our anti-social desires and tarry to what is publicly deemed necessary. ........ If this requirement is ignored I will be de-throned and our front lawn will soon be filled with dog shit. ............ Maybe you can bring your fart machine and sound the bugle at an appropriate time."

Ty stood and walked to the kitchen cabinets. From a lower drawer he retrieved a deep red, rubber, substantially circular contrivance with a straight, tubular piece on top. ........

Or bottom; depending on how the item was held and the viewer's visual angle and predilection. If one so desired, they could easily glean the remnants of the faded black lettering still in evidence on the item. The words; assuming there were once such coherent things present, as opposed to the usual potpourri of random nonsense; were now just an indecipherable, smeared, black blemish. Ty held it to his lips, breathed air into it, and the contrivance expanded like a frog's chin. Ty held the dirty red, inflated ostentation in his hands, pressed the middle, and it made a continuous loud phtttttttbraap. It then returned to its un-inflated, paper-thin size. Cindy danced in circles to some tune only she heard. She put her hands on her knees and consequently leaned a bit forward. She exclaimed; "Perfect!!!"

Ty was elated with the actions of his only love. Phrasing a question not designed for response, he asked; "Can I get away with setting it off while Penny is speaking?" He drifted off into a reverie which lasted all of a second in real time, yet would require an eternity to define.

Ty thought; "I think I understand Cindy; presumptuous as that statement may be interpreted. It gets so convoluted, doesn't it? Love does not equal Eros; yet we require both; me, subjectively, always dreaming of the former; yet finding in that pursuit that I risk being seen as someone deficient in the succession; changing paths and vice versa.

Here we are, in a place we, in laziness, have allowed to be defined by others, the details imposed strongly, with the inadequacies and temporary nature of changing scientific truth perennially on their side, virtually impossible to overcome. And we both intrinsically know that there is no absolute proof of anything of importance. I suspect that you know that better than me. Cindy, don't you sense how I feel? Emotion is incapable of deceit. Please trust me. I've always and will continue to trust you. If your early experiences have condemned you to the scientifically predatory world of logic, please be assured that I, too, have known much primitive and formative derision. Calculations of the degrees are inevitably subjective in their scholarly attempts to compute something worthy of doctoral status. They are successful in that; and simultaneously as irrelevant as another "new and improved" borax. Capital????

I know that sometimes you see this as some sort of perhaps convincing diatribe which allows me to get my way. I think I understand. It's happened time and again. You tried and they refuse to understand, taking refuge in the probabilities.

I'm a bit lost, alone, and afraid of the dark. I try to remember the days I held you and look forward to the days I will continue to hold you closely, thinking that it would or will go on forever. Stupid, I guess. I fear that my wonderful, honest-to-a-fault lady always knew better, but were too kind to tell me the truth.

I can only ask if you are certain that your anecdotal impressions are indeed indicative of the truth. If you choose to respond I will not argue."

With a demonstration of telepathy Cindy responded with; "What the hell are you thinking about? I know you. This crap doesn't make any sense. I was waiting here, horny as hell, and now I'm completely turned off. Shit." She got up and said; "Where do you get this stuff from? It's not me. So who? I really don't mind hearing of the lesser havens. They've always been there and you were always susceptible to their cries. ......... In a way that is what makes me care for you though."

He said; "Tell me. Please tell me. Is there any way I can make it better for you? .................. I love you, unconditionally. Maybe the proof of that is when you then say; "No, I don't care about you." I then hurt forever and you are forever guilty. And you know it, but try not to think of it."

"I will not burden you with my tears; and you will not burden me with yours. ................. Some nights we dream. ........... Dammit. ................... And love it. Can't we be allowed to at least dream in perpetuity?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I'm so sorry to have said that, but I am un-controllably compelled to give you complete honesty; at the same time being in full recognition that your truth is a little different from mine. ............. I believe just a little, probably too little, and that that slight difference is entirely caused by the perversion of perceived as acceptable socialization. Blank it all out; please. It may not be a death; rather an awakening. A half century ago it was so simple; 'Be on my side. I'll be on your side; Neil Young,' then, this hellish 'sophistication' ascended."

Cindy shrugged, intending that the combination of shoulder and lowered brow movements would convey to him her warm feelings. She turned on the TV as she adjusted her jeans. She left the channel at some Murdoch owned news channel; correctly seeing her momentarily sarcastic sense of humor necessary to break the logically induced false tragedy. She thought; "No downers. Just a celebration of laughter." She knew that this simplicity was undoubtedly said to be illogical to those she had met in Nod excepting Ty. She entered the bedroom while saying; "You want something to eat?"

"Yeah. Desperately."

Cindy softly sang Patti Smith's "Lo and Beholden."

In artlessness, the machinations displayed at the new Village Council meeting, were merely a shadow or flawed mirror reflection of prior manifestations with infinitesimally minor deviations. The one hundred or so, elm hating contingent took seats below the stage. The mayor peered from the stage door, half in and half out, in consternation over the effect of this "event" on his garbage contract lust. The inconsequential nit pickers were well ensconced in their front row seats, nervously scanning their books concerning "parliamentary procedure," searching for some arcane, legal prognostication, which would provide them with yet another moment to sound brilliant and totally irrelevant. The Sand Duners sat together and held onto their flyers in sullen silence; registering a desire to be there somewhere south of the feelings of Ty and Cindy.

The most "significant" differences could be gleaned from Vincent's tactical adjustment, the supplementary complaints about the same old thing, Ty's fart apparatus, Richard III's attendance and Penny's print dress. While the physical and anticipated oratorical nature of the "town meeting" contained sufficient costume change and screenwriter re-write to satisfy a teen aged audience hooked on "Divergent," some old timers had difficulty in dismissing Ovid.

In the socially defined fear of being seen as something other than well-mannered, at the likely expense of bright, and in a kindly stated, fifty year old, on a calendar basis, desire only not to be viewed as archaically devoid of contemporary considerations, it was necessary for the merely observing dilettantes to affect some sort of visually-detected, perceived enthusiasm; double negatives silently purposeful. The task was easy and had decades of persuasion to be sufficiently dumbed down to any injudicious, anti-social, self-appointed-intellectual, with possible pretensions to the vanity of Narcissus, black or white, water or glass. In abundance, the privileged cordiality of toddy time never ends and logically tries to maintain the safety of the invitee as its first priority. In the infinite matrix a few things are obvious; that any move has a counter; that the educated are proficient at studied replays; that the gifted are capable of hiding their ability to distance themselves from what is considered by the majority to be well proven; that the disdained and homeless are snubbed by the 3PM, unaware users of the forum; and that the bulk of those present just seek to avoid being pissed on in public. Their great rooms and kitchens are supported by expensive pillars in wide expanses. The intended display of opulence is only questioned by the burrowing mice. Their un-detected excavations have revealed to all those of the underground that the modern pillars are hollow shells and have no substance; just a painted surface which serves to house electrical wiring and other unsightly necessities. Common sense to a mouse. The pillar exteriors appear both fashionable and formidable; but are always internally null and void and always covered with the glossiest of white paints on sale and easily available on painting day. This unspoken pretense is un-known to most, but not to the builders' not-quite-accurate incursion into the realm of mega profit, until the inevitable rot makes an unscheduled appearance at the base. On that fateful day "Omigod," echo Barbie and Ken. "The pillar has no substance and is empty inside." Engineers find that their biased observance and re-observance and re-re-observance have conclusively determined that what has been observed by prior engineers is indeed accurate, for them the source of another wizard granted master's degree. No one argues, as everyone wants to believe that with minor repairs the house will not fall down. The required services just happen to be available from the builder's brother-in-law, doing business as "Dependable Support Services," located right here in town.

In the visible, un-pillared walls of the Propicio governing council, 500 feet across the street from the mercifully numbing waters of the Propicio Bar and Grill business-as-usual was pedantically looming. Its seamless mask of the yellow smiley face and the verbal rendition of the trillionth hearing of the laughable phrase, false smile mandatory, on film, necessary for employment imposed with yet another dagger innocently rendered by the check-out girl, instructed to do so say another "Have a nice day" defied any attempts at being something other than epidermal. Her sad eyes, all too easily showed her boredom and sadness as she gave you your receipt.

Much the same; Nitza Conde; the Village Council's regular recorder of relevant notes, tries to make a well-worn joke as she fills out her on line papers, making no eye contact, forcing an obligatory smile. She silently says; "I won't cry in your presence. ........... in the rigors of post-modernism and the misunderstanding of feminism that's now thought of as an easy game to play to get your way. She knows that it can be easily played that way, with the information supplied with just a few clicks on Wikipedia; simultaneously praying for the intervention of a soul, an angel, a god; anything to break out of the un-bearable repetition. She was perfect for her job as she didn't consider much relevant if she could extract a share from the transaction.

Nitza is strong and more assuredly brave. Her overly brown face is the result of an inordinate amount of time spent in the Caribbean sun. She can continually forget the pain inside, and outwardly display the demeanor required by the petit bourgeois, status seeking taxpayers.

With the numerically challenged, digital, clock imposing hands suggestive of the time to go, she sighed; a relief in the ability to proceed through another loveless day; something else never delivered by the holy rollers.

Again in the box office success of her inadequately compensated performance, Nitza took solace in her demonstration of yet another mental-spiritual regard for something beyond her. "NO,....................... NO. ...................... NO, she silently cried, more lost and confused than her journey home required. But corporally fine and exuberant, she performed her last required duty of the day and placed the pole holding the stars and stripes in the repository where it was most easily-Oswald-capable-of-being-viewed. She raised the imagined curtain and went to her seat at the foot of the stage.

One term Mayor Vincent Pignatelli was already sweating in his half-hidden-half-visible-half-in-half-out position at the stage entry door. He peered out, counting audience heads. He tried to recall the numbers he had previously seen. He considered trends extremely important in his business and vowed to record this information somewhere on his cell phone for future consideration. In his sense of irony he thought of how filling the seats with asses was an entertainment requirement, yet in the act or art of politics an empty house was a truly a superior sign of "success."

The members of his "compatriot" ruling body brushed past him one by one. Each seemed to have a smirk on their face, as each considered themselves a possible mayoral candidate for the next lucrative election and were enjoying Vincent's problem.

The Mayor tried to display a casual confidence and wished he could stop sweating, as his count went up, with more coming in the open outside door. He thought of a "new" tactic. Rather than stress his legal inability; which was likely viewed as an antagonistic stance, personal results zero, truthful results negative; aptitude to annihilate the prolific elms, he would attempt to feign the posture of one of the fallen hero. He thought; "It might work if few of the present audience had read any of David Foster Wallace's books." That seemed a good bet; as it was not only unavailable from the Propicio Library; but was also unavailable anywhere in the New Mexico library system; quite an honor for a book with no overt sexual descriptions.

He strode to his seated place of power, took the microphone and began to speak. He said; "I want to welcome all of the Propicio concerned citizens ................." He stopped when he realized that his voice was not magnified and that some members of the audience were cupping their hands behind their ears in an apparent attempt to hear what was being said. Vincent looked to side-stage, spotted Jorge chatting with the uniformed babe who gave out the traffic tickets. In a momentary lapse regarding social niceties he yelled; "Jorge, didn't you turn this fucking thing on yet?"

Confused by the possible innuendo of the statement, Jorge first looked to the traffic ticket lady for guidance and got a giggle. He then saw Vincent, with bugged out eyes, throttling his microphone. Fully knowledgeable of his protection as a unionized government employee, he pointed at the clock and said; "Meeting don't start for another two minutes, man."

"It's starting right now."

Jorge mumbled; "Later, baby," to the laughing meter maid. He turned up his voice when he directed himself at Vincent, saying; "All right. All right. I'll turn the fucking thing on. I'm gonna get some overtime for this shit." As he pushed the appropriate buttons, he faintly muttered something which sounded like; "Maricon gringo ..............." When done he made a salutary, underhanded wave to Vincent and looked for the salaried one who is charged with finding parking violations.

Vincent cleared his throat and again began speaking into the microphone. He said; "You'll forgive me. We have been experiencing technical difficulties. Can everyone hear me now?"

He was encouraged by a few nodding heads, an ear piercing screech as he accidentally brushed his pencil along the grooves of the mike, and a few palms up, disinterested manifestations of "No," "Yeah," "So what?" "Bring it," "Spit it out," "Leave us alone," and other un-imagined thoughts of unbounded possibilities. The back-of-the-room culprits of some of the commentary were Ty and Cindy, who really didn't feel like expressing their opinions, but were naively prone to being truthful when they were unwillingly called upon to register an opinion about the attempts to impose tedium upon their existence. This time they had safety in numbers.

Vincent inadequately cleared his throat, concluding that he had attained the persuadable ears of the vast majority. He all too obviously spoke into the tiny punctures of his silver mike and continued; "Good evening. ................... Good day. Pardon. I see that we are again graced with the presence of those who are in the process of creating a new, improved Propicio, who at the same time are cognizant of traditional values. Allow me to be the first to say that you are most welcomed. I may be somewhat presumptuous in saying that it appears as if the audience is dominated by my old friends from the Brisas Area Gardening Society. To those valued constituents I wish to say that your concerns have the highest priority, and that since your last visit the Village Attorney and I have been reviewing every possible legal approach to the elm crisis."

The eyes of the Sand Duners widened as much as their ears went up. They suspected that somebody or a few somebodies were about to put a twist in the game. The line drawn in the sand became more clear as the wind washed it away.

The Village Attorney looked up at Vincent from his side stage seat. He had been reviewing a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Village by the family of a horseback rider. On Propicio public land the rider had virtually demolished the top half of his head on a low lying branch of a cottonwood tree. It had been determined that the equestrian had been riding under the influence, and the attorney was mulling over the thought of a settlement centering on the concept of shared negligence. Though the case as presented was easily defeatible in court he was considering how he could best work out a deal to get a cut. What Vincent had said about having engaged him to "pursue every possible legal approach to the elm crisis," initially struck him as a bald faced lie as he had never talked to Vincent about the issue. However, upon the slightest bit of practical combined with esoteric analysis he recalled being taught in law school he realized that the statement was a true one; though the surprise was not welcomed. In Vincent's cleverly worded account he realized that "reviewing every possible legal approach to the elm crisis" was an accurate statement as there were no "legal" approaches possible. He caught Vincent's eye, grimaced, and waved his hand in a small, perfunctory manner, which both parties knew meant; "Okay, close. You owe me a little one." He went back to his wrongful death papers and pondered his approach to the Mesa Grande attorney who had filed the charges as he was one with whom he had never previously done "business." His logic suggested that the filing of such a frivolous suit was an indication that the filer must know the game. ............... At the same time he knew it possible that it was done out of stupidity, innocence or desperation for work.

Vince made the slightest of acknowledgements to the attorney and continued. "To date we have not been able to determine an approach which would stand up in court. ....... It's really a shame how the court system has usurped the will of the people."

The Village Attorney's concentration on "business as usual" was again broken. Though he had heard the commentaries about attorneys and the legal system being the enemy many times before, he was irked at it having been said so blatantly in a public forum and in his disrespected presence. It was as if he had been pissed on in surprise, most of it errant, and still had time to evade the continuation of the main stream. He didn't mind a bit of colored water, as his main complaint was the legal concept of intent. Hell, he deserved respect. His current credentials required the intelligence and diligence resident only in the few capable of achieving the grades necessary for being accepted to the Iowa Law School, a family comfortable with having a child on the dole into their late twenties and the money to support this education, and the perseverance to cram the night before tests. This accomplishment was too often muddied by detractors; both innocent and knowing, with very old "jokes" and ploys. Obligatory laughter was the most difficult part to play in the face of convenient, boring repetition. He put his head back in the papers and thought; "At least I don't have to kiss ass to get a job. The Bar handles that so well for a small tithe." He imperceptibly mumbled; "Banal" to the ancient canard and decided to get off his one second divergence into the irrelevant, considering that he might have been unduly influenced by the financial success of a recent book-movie popular with teenagers. For divergence it was not necessary to be seen a divergent. That was just so, so old and inept.

Vince did his best not to chuckle at the thoughts with which he was well versed, thinking; "Come on now, lawman. You know you're an easy straw man. Didn't you ever see the Wizard?" He continued his impromptu, yet practiced diatribe to the elm infatuated zealots. "I'd welcome your further thoughts on the matter. As the Mayor, I regard my job as one which serves the will of the good people." With some difficulty, he succeeded in not gagging when he said 'good.' He didn't scan his fellow rulers as he was all too familiar with their copyrighted rolled eyes, not yet in the public domain. "So as not to inconvenience my constituents with the time consuming protocols of Village business; if I do not meet with any objection; I'd like to open the floor right now to my busy, time constrained friends." He smiled a smile worthy of Richard III at his best, and added; "Is there a spokesperson? ................. Ms. Primstation, I believe?"

The glazed and beleaguered eyes in the audience instinctively focussed on their leader, Patricia Primstation; "Penny" to them. In anticipation of a long, evasive, replay of the last two meetings, she was anticipating another long sit and she was short of breath as she "granted" a follower the intended "grace" of her verbal presence. She enjoyed considering herself as such and to some extent was the "star" in a production most considered low end while she fancied it better; to say Roger Corman in the same sentence would be unduly flattering. Startled and thrilled by her early call to action; tempered by her immediate, dilettantish approach to the possibility of an extended chat she saw all eyes on her. To her credit she had not experienced the self-serving nonsense, adequately articulated by the ancient diatribes of the more or less competent powers that be. To her benefit and to her dismissal she knew that the ball was in her court, and there was no one available to tell her what to do with it. For a fraction of a second she mentally flashed an all too fleeting picture of some impressionistic rendition of a Paradise new to her. She wanted the picture to stay and make itself better known, but it was too soon gone, and all she could see were 200 eyes looking to her. She re-traced her occasional journeys into self-importance; and found them merely relative with no established, true standard to judge by. For the first time in decades her living-in-the-moment oblivion put her in a place she never really sought; as far as the understandings she was capable of allowing. "Isn't it always good to try to help the garden?" and then she was countered with some Tarkovsky movie, starring a nut who thinks he sees things from above. Penny saw the sitter's eyes and saw that, pre-mature or not, it was the time for her to do her part. She knew she wasn't ready and probably never would be. Yet, she saw all these beautiful faces looking to her. She didn't understand exactly what they were trying to say to her, but she believed that their hopes and entreaties came from their wounded hearts, and she'd rather die than let them down yet another time. Acting out of an imposed necessity she trancelike, instinctively strode to the podium. The room was silent, and in that precious moment she saw her cosmological significance as zero. She didn't ask for, want, or feel worthy of this job. Yes, there were the flyers delivered to indiscriminate mailboxes. Yes, there was the consequent "following" of people seeking a cause. Yes, her activity might be correctly seen as an attempted antidote to the pain she felt, when spiritually abandoned by her husband at age 40. Yes, yes, yes was the only possible answer. No one dared articulate the question, if they thought that they might have known it. As difficult as it was, she put one foot in front of the other, and tried her best to appear casual as she walked to the mike.

Not having heard, in essence being ignorant and maybe innocent of that which had been previously done, she found some sort of humor in her likely immaterial quandary. Each step on the parquet floor seemed an impossible eternity. She didn't know, want to know or improvise what to do when she got to the polyurethaned boards which deigned to allow her speech. Yet, to accomplish that seemed to be the desire of her few, precious friends. Despite her local prominence she was still human. She fearfully trod on, during each step seeing the hopeful eyes of those, some known, some not, in need of warmth. She knew, perhaps incorrectly, that her performance mattered; at least to those she loved. It was a nice thing to believe. Each step brought her closer to her final destination. She was scared beyond any Stephen King dark brilliance. She got to the mike, held it in her right hand, looked to those who sat and knew she had to do her inadequate best. ............. For them, if not herself. .......... Differentiations became difficult at best.

In a last minute decision she decided to be electably cordial, well against her grain, and did her best to articulate that which was previously articulated by the giants. In irony, her love for people was all that enabled her to act as yet another mongrel at the door; so Roman in the mis-understanding of company and invaders; deferential to the prognostication of "social."

She gathered what she could of her cranially prompted allusions, illusions, or delusions. She suddenly felt more tired than she could ever remember feeling. She said; "Excuse me one moment," and put the mike back in its holder. She went into her purse and unsuccessfully attempted to be surreptitious when she popped the eight of the prescribed capsules which were in the little plastic container with the label which said; "Take two twice daily for anxiety." The grainy contents had an immediate effect, as she felt a growing sense of warmth and relaxation after having had swallowed the rapidly dissolvable shells; one side colored light purple, the other white. Her mind raced as she thought of what she really would like to say; "Taking the liberty to attempt to espouse the feelings of those in our midst, I am directed to embrace the required myths eternal, and greet you with a perfunctory, sarcastic thanks; in hopes of nothing other than your recognition of your own well-constructed evil. Yes, evil. I know it when I see it; yours middling competent. Be complemented. To my misunderstanding friends, I need to offer something I think you need. Yes, also an obvious need of my own. Though I never previously realized it this plasticized hair of mine was a pathetic attempt to be liked by you; something I still seek. There are few who share my views, which are, as well as I can decipher, not my own. As the sadness of Eminem says; 'I am what you made me,' and that is possibly viewed as a cop-out. You left me alone. You questioned everything as if I had the ability to know any possible answer. One cold, windy day you hurt me beyond repair. I only wish that you had the nerve to kill me; but that's an ancient metaphor. I guess you wanted to maximize my suffering. I don't understand. I wanted happiness for you. Is reciprocation a cruel joke? On top of that it is too late and they have finally given me the mike. For me, I cannot imagine a sadness worse than this; and I think, which you bravely will not confirm, that it is the same for you. Maybe there will be a new start; very un-likely it seems, though everything is supposedly possible; everything is in our hearts, and more important to me, everything is in our essence; our souls; as yet to be; in 'educated' diversion is scientifically defined and defiled, like 1950's Godard's prescient rendering of 'Alphaville.' Whatever, whaddever, what's up, whassup and 'bring it,' all laughable ploys toward the lowest of easy low class 'cool' postures."

In her long journey, Penny has known and for her benefit has tried to forget these things. But now, much too soon in her mind, in her quiet nature, she has again been pushed onto the stage; lights un-friendly; to repeat what she has previously said, to no avail. "See the man with the stage fright; standing up there giving it all his might. He was caught in the spotlight. But when he gets to the end he wants to do it all over again." She desperately tried to find some calculable difference between her and the others imagined. She again failed as has had everyone before her; no big deal in friendly company; wherever that resides. She successfully held back her tears.

In an effort to appeal to everyone, destined to be an appeal rejected by everyone, with some semblance of a Jungian death wish married to an increasingly warm rush, she picked up the mike and said; "Thank you Mr. Mayor, Village Council members," her mind socialized with the "appear pleasant at all costs" mantra. Her mind went blank and in an effort to compensate she retrieved the prepared speech from her purse.

At the back of the room Cindy asked Ty; "Ready with your fart machine?"

He responded; "Yeah. But I want to pick the right moment. Timing is everything in art and life."

Penny staccato read from her notes. "Good day, Councilman Higgins. Good day Council members and Mr. Mayor. As you may recall, I represent the Brisas Area Gardening Society; an organization with 100 active members. I might add; and the silent majority of Propicio. Our concerns continue to be with the unlawful activities conducted on Calle de la Congelacion. Let me refer to my notes." She did a mental double take and continued. "Our gardens have been defiled. Yes, defiled. The seeds of that obscenely proliferating weed tree have succeeded in taking over our newly, chemicalized, virgin gardens. The roots have taken hold and cannot be eliminated without expensive, major excavation and the destruction of wanted native plantings. We have previously informed the Village Council of this gardening atrocity caused by the illegal elm trees on Calle de la Congelacion to no discernable avail. While we have small hope for remedial action, in an act of Christian faith deemed necessary by some, we are here again to redress the same point and to emphasize another. Our children frequently use the area to have unsupervised parties. The thickly wooded five acre lots preclude the parents from any ability to monitor their children; or even find them for that matter."

Penny heard a stirring in the audience, somewhat malodorously redolent of a hushed, questioning disapproval. In her current, self-conscious, hypersensitive state of altered mind she could not bear the thought of having let down her followers with a poor performance. She knew something was wrong, but didn't know what. She paused and surveyed the room. Her audience on the stage appeared either somewhat condescending with their pursed smiles, disinterested or asleep. Taking a glance to her rear she saw that her followers in the cheap seats made no eye contact, seemed collectively averse to registering any sort of disapproval, un-mindful that their postures conveyed precisely that which they purportedly chose to hide. She was convinced that something was dreadfully wrong and her pill induced rush now caused her to sweat as much as Vincent. She looked at her prepared notes and grasped that these words were written on paper which curled at the edge. They showed evidence of folding, manipulation and discoloration consistent with the passage of time. In horror, Penny thought that this might be the same thing she had prepared for and read at the last Village Council meeting her little group had attended. Not wanting to be close to the mike for this utterance, but circumstantially there she muttered; "Oh shit. Oh fucking shit." She fumbled through her purse in an attempt to locate her "new" rant and was fruitless in her quickly aborted attempt. She knew that, no matter how complicated it was to adequately articulate her thoughts and those of her little group, she was the one given the floor. Yes, her flyers were easily viewed as probably indicative of a desire to take control. But, nobody else did a goddam thing. Where was her choice? ................... She reflected in her confused head and settled on; "It was just that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not my fault." She almost cried. "The silence and ennui the ruling cowards have lucratively inflicted on us has become so egregious that someone must try to stand up. That's so obvious. ........... Yet, if someone is condemned to this path, they must be willing to inevitably be reviled, dumped, laughed at and hated."

Interrupting Penny's self-absorption, vague, would be ally Councilman Higgins arose from his time-honored stupor, put his megaphone close to his mouth and said; "Are you through, Ms. Primstation?"

Penny felt a combination of censure and a striving for un-delivered immediacy coming from the terse words of an enemy of an enemy; positioned as, but far from the status of a friend.

Her most current notes lost, Penny hardheadedly saw that it was commanded to be now or never. In her heart she sought to recall something now gone; maybe just a fantasy that once seemed so real; now relegated to elm tree proliferation. For the moment, it was required that she annihilate those old thoughts and feelings. No one could see them. Many denied their existence. She was in the realm of that which could not be filmed. Fortified by her pills, in a last ditch attempt at defiance, she decided to be as absurd as possible and say whatever un-calculated stupidity which popped into her mind.

Angered by the obviously stupid and sarcastic statement, Ms. Primstation breathed deeply and exhaled into the mike, unaware that she was making a sound Ty and Cindy might have appreciated. Re-gaining her required public composure, she said; "Of course not. How about you Councilman Huggins?" purposely mis-pronouncing his name. "Glad you're with us today. ............ Unfortunately, this 'rant' has become a necessity as the entirety of Propicio's governing body has acted as if it has not heard the story the first two times it was told."

Councilman Higgins forced a politician's smile while simultaneously he displayed eyes which alternated between annoyance at now being seen as part of the problem and contentment in the realization, that it was Vinny, and not he, who was up for re-election in Propicio's staggered system of elections. He said; "My sincere apologies, my good woman."

Penny imperceptibly bristled and continued in a neutral and improvised voice; "Perhaps the problem is my fault. Perhaps my previous communications with this august body were too long winded and indicative of the imprecision and confusion generated by a committee. ............... No pun intended. To the point. The gigantic, thick forest of elm trees allowed to exist on Calle de la Congelacion is an illegal detriment to all of the citizens of Propicio. I hope my sentiments are clear. In support of that statement I will now articulate reasons why that is so; each one, if conveniently or through ignorance, is taken as an individual, dismissible, incorrect or debatable tangent is irrelevant to the simple, primary, main statement. I hope that assertion does not produce its own brand of mix-up. The simple reality of the situation is that numero uno; the elm seeds which surprisingly emanate from elm trees, supposedly no longer permitted in this fine town, are making a mess of the new-comers attempts to beautify this fair town. Numero dos; the unsupervised, densely wooded, large lots serve as a clandestine meeting spot for our kids. Numero tres; one of the residents of the pariah street has been suspected of drug sales and was so legally charged. Numero quatro; the results; none; of your promised, increased police surveillance of the area have produced anything; making me fear for the officer's eyesight level. Numero cinco; the tax-payer-funded report from your 'blue-panel-commission' has yet to be publicly seen. Numero seis; the junk cars sit where they previously were and have apparently spawned children. Numero siete; the un-buried, decaying carcasses serve as homes for disease carrying rodents. Numero ocho; the area is rife with drug abuse and undesirable predators have been reported in the area.

I could go on. But, I think sufficient testimony has already been given to warrant some sort of action for the benefit of the law abiding, tax paying citizens of Propicio." Penny made a sarcastic, tight lipped smile ala Patton, curtsied and walked back to her seat. The general audience just stared, denying any applause, not knowing whether or not to appear supportive of the partially debatable pronouncements heard.

Ty and Cindy drew some attention, as their attempts to stifle their amusement were not entirely successful, some snorts and giggles breaking through.

In admiration of Penny's pluck, Cindy said; "You go girl," only half in sarcasm.

Ty's eyes shot to her. He didn't say a thing, but he was obviously confused.

Cindy pinched his nose and laughed.

Mayor Pignatelli glanced toward Councilman Higgins with somewhat of a smirk on his sweating face. He considered the likelihood that he now had an unwilling compatriot. He said; "Would Councilman Higgins like to take it?"

Higgins kept his head low and replied; "I wouldn't want to step in at this point as it's been your baby up until now. Perhaps you'll update us all on your progress."

Vincent was again on the spot. He said; "My dear constituents. I'm going to be as frank with you as I can possibly be. Your elm problem is my elm problem. Your elm problem is the village's elm problem. Your elm problem is everyone's elm problem."

Cindy actually cackled out loud and through an attempt to stifle his reaction, Ty managed to present his shirt with a booger. Ty said; "My pain is truly your pain," as he got the rudeness on his finger and threatened Cindy's face with it. He found an under the seat perch for it when Cindy sternly said; "Don't you dare." Throats were cleared in surrounding seats.

Penny was feeling very well and was saying indecipherable things about the relationship between mythology and obscurity she thought that she remembered from seeing Joseph Campbell on PBS twenty years prior. In the continuing public absence of her husband, in actuality she was hitting on the gentleman to her left, but his wife kept proving herself an obstacle to true romance. Penny thought; "Still so uptight in 2016. Fuck. Poor guy." She settled back and found solace in that she had finished her job and would soon be announcing her retirement. She wasn't listening to Vincent as it was now obvious to her that nothing was going to be done about the elms, excepting a whole forest of rhetoric. She didn't care, as she had calculated something. If she had used all the time she had spent making and delivering flyers, attending Town Council meetings, and talking to members of the Brisas Area gardening Society to pull out the baby elms she could have had her property devoid of the prolific intruders four times over; and everybody else could go frack their rocks. She thought; "These pills are the bomb. Why do they have to be so damn stingy with them?"

Vincent pressed on; "Though it appears that your elm problem has been delegated to me and me alone. I have been pursuing every course of action available to me. Police patrols have been tripled in the area. (He didn't bother to add that this was from one cursory car visit once a month to three.) I have spent hours of my own free time researching Village law in an attempt to determine if there was any possible indirect path to our goals. I have yet to find one. ....................."

One Brisa Area Gardening Society group member, sitting near the front; strode to the mike. The graying, well dressed, sixtyish man, politely interrupted Vincent, and firmly said; "Excuse me. I'm a retired attorney. I've been under the impression that most places have laws against public hazards and public nuisances. Is that not true in Propicio?"

Vincent smiled and affably offered; "Of course it is true. However, we are not speaking of public land. We are speaking of private property. You are of course aware of the rightful legal protections afforded private ................"

The man at the mike again interrupted, tersely saying; "This land is being used by the public, and is therefore de facto public."

Vincent shot back; "I don't believe you are right. And even if you were correct in principle, there is no evidence that anyone has been using it." He looked to the Village attorney and asked; "Does a trespasser's use of private property make that land public?"

The attorney shrugged and said; "Not here under any circumstances. The laws vary from state to state. In some it is possible to establish a 'right of way' through the regular use of private land in plain view. But not here."

Vincent said; "There you have it."

Another man, appearing more agitated than the first raced to the mike and blurted; "Our kids tell us this land is used by them for pot parties, for Christ's sake. It's common knowledge to everyone but the ruling body!"

Vincent said; "As just previously discussed, to establish evidence, perhaps you'd like to bring your kid here and have him confess to trespassing and illegal use of narcotics. There's a police officer here who will be obliged to take him right into custody."

There was a buzz. As most of the meeting's attendees were saying something to the person in the seat next to them, Ty considered it the perfect time to set off his fart machine. "Phhtbrack. Phhtbrack. Phhtbrak. Phhtbrack. Phhtbrack," the little red rubber thing said over and over to little avail. Everyone else was too busy to notice as they set off their own. Cindy went hysterical.

Opinions being shared in the audience ranged from those who thought that pot smoking kids could use some legal discipline to those who thought that this was just a Mayoral diversionary tactic; and most places in between.

The delegation from the Sand Dunes found the discussions bizarre. While they were puzzled, they took a positive note. No one had yet found a way to eliminate prolific newcomers and no one had mentioned that blowing sand was detrimental to gardening activities.

Richard III walked to the mike, cleared his throat, and said; "You may not know me, but I'm Rick Lawson. I used to be Mayor here and operated my family farm. Ten years ago this was the beautiful desert village you came to. Back then my fellow Councilmen and I were straight shooters. When things needed to be done we got it done. The good citizens of Propicio were friendly and co-operative. Sure, sometimes you had to give, but we all knew it was fair; fair for all. And, sure, as a last resort, once in a while we'd wind up in the courts. That was the last resort; the very last. Yet, today, all the talk I've heard is of law. LAW. ........ Law did not build Propicio. This great country is not governed only by laws. Friendliness, co-operation and good neighbors built and governed the place. ........... I know these people. They're good people. Been here a long time. I'll bet that the residents of Calle de la Congelacion do not even know that you have concerns about what may be going on there. I'll bet that Mayor Pignatelli has not been over there to speak with any one of them. He thinks it's the Mayor's job to read some law book. He he he. Jesus, any fool can read a law book. It takes a leader to get things done. That's why I'm here to announce my candidacy for Mayor. Together, you and I can bring this place back to the great place it can be again."

Josh was at the back of the room. He couldn't help but smile. He admired Richard III's performance and murmured to no one in particular; "You're beautiful baby. We're in." Richard III was mobbed as he walked to his car and half the room emptied.

Vincent banged his gavel and said; "All right. All right. We're all friends here."

The few paying any attention to him groaned.

In a last ditch attempt to appear to be in reasonable and re-electable charge Vincent desperately said what popped into his mind other than the prime position of the garbage contract. He spouted nonsense, saying; "Penny; "You're objecting to the seeds; not the trees themselves; correct?"

Penny laughed when she replied; "The two seem to be obviously inseparable; don't they? Didn't you and baseball hat beat that to death last meeting? Like chickens and eggs. .......... That is, unless you are privy to some elm sterilization procedure ala Purdue." A burst of laughter accompanied by an impromptu brief clap of hands was led by baseball hat.

Cindy said to Ty; "I don't buy any of this nonsense; regardless of side. This whole scene can be perversely funny, but once you get over the 'joviality' of that 'toddy time' irrelevant attempt at escape it bares its sadness; oh so humanly sympathizable if one 'nicely' chooses to ignore the demonstrated possibility of games and worthy of 'alternative market,' ignored contempt if one does not. This whole pathetic, un-witting jest is enhanced by your fart machine; but not enough to justify its existence and waste of our time. In my desire to shun all this, I would rather risk being seen as anti-social, condescended to and mercifully avoided. We've got each other; the hell with them and their garbage worshipping charade. Yes, I have the audacity to say what is really going on; un-able to prove it to a mainstream scientist. I know you know this. It's why we're together. ....... It's like their grandparents giving your kids a bike on Easter and then you telling them that they are only allowed to ride it in the short driveway of your suburban house with the entrance gate closed. For their own good they must be kept away from the danger of the cars and trucks on the road. The prescription is for safety; and at the same time that same prescription denies their natural desires to explore beyond the driveway. Let's get the fuck out of here."

Ty said; "Can I make just one more fart noise?"

Cindy snatched the machine from Ty's hand, blew it up, and used her fingers to push out the melodious 'Phhtbrack' sound one last time. Alone together in the crowd, they smiled at each other, made their way through the milling throng, went to their car, and made their way home.

Inaudible to Ty and Cindy, Josh mumbled; "Gonna learn the hard way kids."

Vincent knew he was in serious trouble and that the law was not going to be his ally-excuse this time.

Later that evening, the quiet filled the air so thickly that one could have hung a chandelier from its center. Vincent sat alone on the couch nervously disgruntled. He wanted to push a button on the TV controller just to break the silence and he simultaneously didn't want to. What he wished was that his wife would stop pretending to be occupied with trifles and instead sat and talked to him a while. But, apparently the feather dusting of the window corners took center stage with her at the moment.

He missed the noise of the kids, who were off on a journey to the wilds of Brooklyn and their rude "Guido" grandparents. Though it was totally landlocked, Bensonhurst was much more of an island than Propicio. It was a family community surrounded by things the residents wanted to keep out. The border guards were more effective than the uniformed ones stationed at the Rio Grande. On the other hand Propicio was quite the opposite. It was a transient and changing community inhabited by things the residents wanted to keep out; no longer necessitating the inadequacy of border guards.

The dichotomy between the two areas prompted Vinny to recall his early years back east with Crazy Richie, Joey, Big John, Carl, Nicky, Little Joey, Barbara, Margie and all the other members of the "gang." Incidents from the past then flashed through his mind. No matter the specifics, he could easily see that there was some kind of straight up truth back then, which always helped solve any problem. In a way, you had to be like that as your word was the most important thing you had; and a bullshit artist's slate wasn't going to be wiped clean by a song and dance routine. Word of mouth carried better than a toot or a more appropriately named twit. People were born and died in the neighborhood and they had good memories. With all the confusing garbage going down in the congested area people would have killed each other without some sense of genuineness and candor. Like the time he had taken up with Donna, only to later discover that she was the girlfriend of Mikey Calabrese, the leader of the pack from five blocks away; that distance being the equivalent of a light year in the crowded city. He was out alone walking on the Bensonhurst main thoroughfare, Broadway, one day and Mikey and his top muscle man were walking right at him. He was terrified as he thought; "Here comes the shit." He angled toward the edge of the sidewalk and all three nodded as they passed. He was relieved and kept going until he heard Mikey call out; "Hey, Vinny." He turned and Mikey said; "I don't give a fuck about Donna." Vinny answered; "All right. Thanks. I owe you one, man," and they kept on walking. The funny thing was that within a week he didn't give a fuck about Donna, either. ................ Vinny wondered if he might be doing an injustice to his kids to have brought them to the land of petty subterfuge, facades, suspected personal appearances, and general debilitating deceit.

Trying to attract his wife's attention, Vinny audibly said; "Thirty acres of Siberian elms. Thirty lousy fuckin' acres of Siberian elms; and they act as if it's the biggest deal in the goddam world. Back in the city they'd pay through the nose to have access to something like that."

He was rewarded with his wife's non-committal tone which he had learned meant interest. She half smiled as she said; "You talkin' to yourself again?"

"I guess so. You know I did a lot for these ingrate Propicio people. There was that developer who wanted to cluster houses and ruin any semblance of a rural town. He probably would have won in court too, but I pulled in a favor; a personal favor mind you for the benefit of the town. ............ Shit. It was funny. After Carmine and Vito educated him about the facts of life, smart ass fuck was ready to donate the land for a public park. But, no. I told him go ahead and build his fuckin' houses on an acre apiece, just like the zoning calls for and you won't have any problems. He caught the boom square on and now he doesn't have to work for the rest of his life. I'm no bad guy. I'm the guy who knows how to keep everyone away from the real bad guys."

"You're a fucking sainted prophet. I know. What's wrong with a park?"

"In and of itself, nothing. But, I've been well advised by people who ran my route before me that they are a pain in the ass. In practice very few people make use of them; and the fact that a few seem to be smiling and having a good time induces the miserable cranks to find something wrong. They start to bother the governing body with complaints of how there are safety risks at the park. One chance in a fucking million it might go otherwise; but regardless; an excuse for the unhappy rabble to attempt ending the happiness they think they see in the few who go to and like the park. That's why you see all those signs at the entries which say; no this, no that, and no the other things. The mayor just winds up in the middle of a lot of bullshit, like this elm thing, with the vast voting majority demanding restrictions. It's better not to have the thing to begin with. I know of one town where, due to the pressure from the voting Miserables, the park got the signs about forbidden activities, which got longer and longer and longer. People kept on going, so they put up a gate, which blocked off the parking area. But, a landowner whose property bordered the park allowed people to park on the edges of their property; so the people who enjoyed the park kept on going there. Then some ass-hole public employee seeking to curry favor from the mayor set fire to it and burned the whole fuckin' place down. Jerk did it on a windy day and the whole town almost went the way of the park. ............ Sure, it got fixed up, so that there was doubt about whether or not the asshole set the fire purposely. Bottom line; nobody needs this kind of shit; yet given the opportunity most everybody will push for it; while giving an innocent, sincere appearance."

Being aware of the Propicio elm "issue" through mailbox receipt of the Brisas Area Gardening Society fliers, she didn't see any point in directly addressing that aspect, instead saying a wistful; "Yeah, honey. You don't have to convince me. You know my dad was a made man. When I was a little girl he used to hold me on his knee and tell me about some of these kinds of things, before I understood them. Mama would just say; 'I know you'll take care of it,' and go back to stirring something over the stove; so I guess he wanted a willing ear. Sure, he made them sound like fictional stories. He'd often use talking animals as the characters. I can see now that he was both trying to protect me and at the same time was hoping that my unencumbered young mind would suggest some kind of 'solution' which he needed."

"Didja?"

"I doubt it very much. ......... I can't remember the details. It's been so long now. ............ You know; as far as I knew then, they were just crazy stories, and I was too busy laughing at the absurdities he would often highlight with a falsetto voice, as he held me and bounced me on his knee."

Vinny pictured that, and though he wanted to respond with something warm, his troubled mind precluded that; as it reminded him how much he and more than he; his family needed the money to come from the garbage contract; as he had made some bad investments and owed big money to some people who are not known to make a habit of listening to people with excuses and sad stories. He had said nothing of this to anyone, including his family, fully expecting to be back on track after the coming election. But, now he could not get the whole farcical joke out of his mind; and did not want to inflict his loved ones with the same disease. Even if he sought the solace of supportive company, he knew that in this case, it would serve no practical purpose and that the knowledge of his situation could be nothing other than harmful to the ones he would die before harm.

Vinny reached over to his wife and held her a few moments. He hoped that his microcosmic shaking and distractedness were imperceptible. It was not, though he would never be aware of that, as his wife acted as if everything was all right; thinking that was the right thing to do. She quietly knew that there was something wrong; something more wrong than ever before. She was almost annoyed that her husband did not confide in her at this moment. But, that was countered with the absolute thought, which required no further detail, that the problem was those fucking, prolific elms. NO. Rather the unhappy, loud losers' reaction to those fucking, prolific elms. Her simple logic could not escape that the only two possible solutions for Vinny was an impossible elimination of loud losers or an elimination of the quiet elms.

Fearing that his shaking was detectable, Vinny let go of her and babbled on about some kind of personal justification which required no justification; thereby accidentally increasing her sense of danger. He said; "Sure, I take a cut when the heavy dollars are floating around. Everyone does. And anyone who says that they don't know that is just a liar who's anglin' for something. I mean the cable companies and the garbage haulers expect to be payin' out. It's in their budgets, for Christ sake. It's business as fucking usual. If nobody hit 'em up for money they'd think that something was wrong and walk or require a payment to themselves. And you know the kickback only amounts to a couple of bucks a month for the rich Propicians; who, like all constituents, encourage this behavior by paying their mayor a ripe ten grand per annum."

"You know you got my vote, baby. You gotta convince the others."

Vinny took that statement as a strong possibility that his wife was more aware of his predicament than she had previously indicated, and said; "Can't say this stuff. It's political suicide. They even got a candidate."

"Who?"

"Lawson, that old farmer who used to be mayor. He says he'll get rid of the elms. ........... No fuckin' way he can get rid of the elms, unless he can give them free tickets and convince them to hop the next bus out of town."

"So, tell this gardening society the facts of life."

"I can't talk to them like this, though. It's kind of stupid the way we all know some things, but can't say them. If we could we'd all have a better shot at getting' what we want."

"Yeah, and we all know that too. Deep down, we all must want to annihilate ourselves. Beatles, Harrison, eastern, old times."

"Thirty friggin' acres of Siberian elms standing between us and all that money. You know, I went and talked to the people who live there. I let 'em know that they could get certain financial benefits, even out of my own pocket, if they'd let me cut 'em down. But, no, they like the privacy they give, they like the looks, and they like the way they cool down these hot summers. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"What money you talkin' about, babe?"

"The garbage contract kickbacks. Renewal's two months after the election."

"Too bad you're not Jewish. Sounds like you need a rabbi. ......... Hey, listen. I got to break this mood with some music. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

She put on Blue Oyster Cult's "Burnin' for You," and got all sorts of loud and friendly.

Up or down the Propicio Road a bit, depending upon personal point of view or the lack thereof, the evening's prima donna was still mentally obsessing over the adequacy of her performance. It was not another of her very inexperienced forays into a "compelling" sincerity act; this time it was intended to be sufficiently offbeat to attract the approval of the "sophisticates" capable of discounting the anti-Machiavellian, sweet posturing. She tried not to remain beleaguered by the anticipation of her morning reviews and rather attempted to fix on the over-riding "surprise" generated by the announcement of Richard III. She knew that the movement was getting sufficiently large for her to receive the inevitable, time-proven criticism of the armchair quarterbacks who have watched and will now display their superior erudition concerning matters which they never have and never will actually experience.

Still, there was some sort of solace in the predictability; perhaps something like knowing the future as a function of things which have passed. It wasn't personal. She just happened to be there, that's all.

Her husband was contentedly sleeping on the bed in the adjoining room, or pretending to. It really didn't matter to Penny one way or the other, as the result was tolerable.

In an attempt to relax and cruelly find the humor of un-intended stupidity, she inserted each of the slippery earphones and turned on the computer. Its boot, which took a full minute as per hand capable wall clock, was stated to be a "fast" .18 seconds on the machine, with an apparently rhetorical and un-answerable, fleeting question of; "Did you feel that?" Penny got her first laugh of the night and then directed the comedian to a game show. Somewhat late for the very beginning, easily duplicable if there was any interest in what was to ensue, Penny watched the color display of disjointed stock footage of hands, pieces and a board, while she listened to the lack of conclusions produced by a government funded, Ivy League study of the game of Chess.

"It should be noted that I am here with my esteemed colleagues to discuss what has become a hot topic among scientists, naturalists, and the lay world alike; Artificial Intelligence. More specifically we'll be hearing learned opinions concerning the possibility that soon AI will become the masters of this planet, if not the universe.

We will focus on AI's most significant achievement to date; which has been the ability of a computerized chess program to beat human grandmasters with the regularity of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls ability to devastate the competition." The most proper of chuckles was heard and seemed to be echoed in the background. "Again, this study relates to the belief that one day AI will overtake mankind and become the masters of this planet. At this point it is the scientifically accepted opinion that this chess game phenomenon is the strongest evidence yet attained in demonstration of that theory, while it also contains some anomalies, which thus far are attributed to observational or conveniently considered computer induced error.

Utilizing the best computerized chess game in existence, one which has ten levels of difficulty, we have determined that internationally ranked grandmasters can consistently beat the machine through level seven, but have seen that human performance has been spotty at best at levels eight, nine, and ten. Frankly at level 10 the machine has been successful 80% of the time, and it is on a clearly improving trend since its inception.

We have experimented with a level 10 computer playing against another level 10 computer and have observed results which we did not expect and are in the process of further analyzing.

In case 1, the machines made three moves and then stopped. So far we are working with the theory that the machines are capable of recognizing that whenever they make a move, it is countered by a better move from their opponent. Ergo, it is in the best interest for either side to not move.

In the second case we re-programmed each machine to not have the option of not making a move; in other words requiring one even if the machine has concluded that the response will be superior. This is curious. The machines complied with the new programming dictate, but rebelled against older, fundamental instructions. For example, the machines began to move rooks as a bishop moves; and bishops as rooks. .......... I should explain to the non-chess players that in traditional chess a rook moves in a straight line for up to as many open spaces it has in front of it or less; and that the bishop moves diagonally in the same manner.

I'll refrain from trying to detail what all the pieces actually did as there are pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, a queen, and a king; each with their own rules of movement. Suffice to say that their behaviors seemed bizarre and eclectic, going wherever they chose to go, no matter the pattern or lack of pattern required to get to their destination. It was absolutely dizzying; and I'm not embarrassed to say that I as well as a number of my colleagues required seats.

Who won you may well ask?

We are still in the process of determining that as the remaining kings and queens either committed a chess version of suicide when they attacked the opposing monarchs in possible frustration; or in an alternative strategy, the Kings and Queens stubbornly insisted on a stalemate after having 'killed' off the other twenty-eight pieces, by moving as required, though minimally so, and with a redundancy which would make a cripple appear to be a mover and a shaker, on a relative basis. Pardon me. It's a rude professional inside joke. On a popularity note, I'd like to point out that these inconclusive observations have attracted the interest of many of the scientists working in other disciplines; highly suggesting that our funding angels may well recoup all of their investment with a return surpassing the OTC averages last seen in the Clinton years.

On a lighter note we have also experimented with differing levels playing against each other. The majority of it goes as one would expect; but level 9 occasionally beats level 10; and most astoundingly level 1 beats level 10 in forty percent of the contests."

As the verbal barrage continued, Penny heard not a word. She was sleeping with her head in her arms with a smile on her face. She was back in her high school years, fifteen or sixteen years of age. She was wearing a bikini at the public swimming pool, while she sauntered by this boy who had gotten her attention. He was fine looking, but not anywhere near the best. What she liked most was that he seemed shy and didn't try to join in with the "in crowd." He looked at her as she passed in front of him, making a slight, appreciative smile. She then saw the headline of the local paper which said; "Teenager Drowns In Boating Accident." She woke up screaming.

Her sleeping husband rushed to her side wearing his best jammies. "What's wrong?" he nervously asked.

"Bad dream. It's okay."

"What's the point? Is there some point to it?"

"There will always be a point as long as there are technologically archaic, electric pencil sharpeners."

He put his lead-wood utensil in the machine and voices were drowned out by the cacophonous whirr.
Chapter 20

Early the following morning there was an insistent, professional knock at the front door of the Lawson residence. Stephanie was sitting at the kitchen table and was still in her longest of johns night and partial day wear. She clucked like the disturbed hen she was and said; "Dammit, Rick. At least tell me when your drunken bum friends are going to descend on this place." She took her "Yellow Smiley Face, 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life'," chipped mug back to the bedroom and slammed the door. Rick broke from his somnambulistic, kitchen window reverie, too late to offer a feeble, likely un-heard; "I didn't know. It wasn't my fault."

Rick sighed heavily and walked to the front door. He peered out the transom to see Josh and some bad-ass looking, shaved head and bearded dude; the latter holding some kind of a tripod; reminiscent of the instruments utilized by the abandoned builder's crew.

While Rick was resentful of the boorish imprecision of the vaguely announced intrusion into his life, he decided that it was practical not to raise any fuss, as he was now in partnership with Josh. He had gotten advance notice of the visit, though the precise time was were not included in the details; not all that different from what happens on the day when the irrigation expert is scheduled to fix your sprinklers, expecting ear to ear smiles and open displays of gratitude when he finally shows up a half hour after dusk. Rick thought; "At least this fucker is early." He opened the door and intoned; "What a pleasant surprise."

Josh snorted just a bit, impressed with Rick's ability to improvise a couched point. Rick's electability index climbed a few notches in his mind. "Yeah, 'morning and all those pleasantries. Meet Baldy over here. He's the camera man."

Rick said; "Come on in. .......... Baldy?"

With an impassive expression, at least as was discernable beneath his beard, Baldy shrugged and said; "One of these days I'm going to get a baseball hat to hide the skin." He put the tripod on the entry way floor and made as if he was taking inventory of the place.

Josh said; "I guess that you've guessed we're here for the video. Quite a performance you put on yesterday."

Rick seemed to be taken aback by the statement and said; "That was no performance. That came from the heart."

Josh grinned and pinched Rick's cheek, saying; "Fantastic, baby. ......... Er, Mr. Mayor. What I need is for you to do that again on camera."

Rick said; "I told you it was an improvisation, done in the moment. It would be impossible to duplicate it."

Josh said; "No sweat. I got an audio yesterday and transcribed it." He handed Rick a piece of paper. "Just read this, but don't make it obvious that you are. I made a couple of changes. Get some "country boy" duds on and we'll soon be out of here. Every voter in Propicio will see this by late afternoon. I'll write the future texts and update it here and there."

Rick started to walk to his bedroom to change. Josh called out; "Oh, yeah. If any of the locals start asking any questions, just tell them that friendly, co-operative, old time garbage and politely excuse yourself. .................. All right?"

Rick said; "Yeah, easy," and proceeded to his bedroom. He looked for some old jeans to change into.

After his starring performance was done and Josh and Baldy had left Rick felt exhausted. It took a lot of energy for him to have gone mentally "on neutral" for the sake of business, and Rick flopped on the vacant "family room" couch in front of the nine foot square computer screen, which dominated the room from its wall hung pretense to command, attempting to find another sucker from its permanent position of stasis in its constant, deceitful presentation of moving color. If it had not been proven to be effective, the strategy of the blank screen, which was totally dependent on a turn-on from a willing, desirous, nimble, sometimes middle finger, might have been kicked up to higher management long prior.

In a form of disgust Rick reserved for his own anthological meanderings, he un-thinkingly, in need of a blank space, pushed the required buttons required by the flat plastic machine with buttons designed to fabricate the illusion of human control. In the well veiled pomposity of the thing's manufactured portrayal of yet another perhaps "accidental and irrelevant delusion," it happened to reside on the most ending of end tables; retro, modern, avant-garde, apres-garde, de-classe, height of style, cutting edge, antiquated, de-constructive. Yes, de-constructive, too. The physical appearance of the end table was as they say; "Neither here nor there." Its classical, Greco-Roman feet gave way to legs curvaceous, cabriole as in Queen Anne. The "cabinet" side borders displayed an intense Chippendale desire to fill every possible space with an embellishment; probably well intentioned, but ultimately not necessary. The flat top was reflective, redundant, pragmatically cost efficient and made primarily of glass; encased at the edges by the gentle, reeded, Sheraton wooden frame, fortified by visible streams of sturdy oak, which somehow intruded their paltry and secondary existence, desperately into their idea of a picture; past, politicized, popular pronouncements, not to date, popularly considered as prone to the palpable.

In the current flood of re-cycling water not yet seen as such, the coldness of the screen displayed channel number 873. A fat ass black fucker with a "Love and Peace" grey sweatshirt was in the middle of some soliloquy, ignoring the camera, his voice mostly aimed toward some people in the right and left margins; who were saying something indecipherable way off mike.

"Big Pun, obviously relevant in his reality, went platinum, as defined. He went with his talent and feeling to articulate something like Christopher George Latore Wallace married to a mellow honey. Beautiful; layin' it down, man. CGLW needed to use a couple of aliases and the fuckers got him anyway. Punk ass operatives all over Gotham. ............ Got to roll that shit like Philip fucking Morris; know what I'm sayin'. ....... Hey cool whities; any out there anymore? ......... Shit. Last mutha fucka I knew kicked it last year."

The fat man on camera turned to the screen audience, laughed and said; "Yeah, hi to all the polite and careful-to-be-politically-correct muthas populating the "New Age" meetings. To pretend to dig this is so "liberal" of you. Thanks so much. Hope it makes YOU feel real good. Down here in the "war zone" we don't give a flying fuck; either way. Confab yo eyeballs, and then pay only $5.99 per month for a subscription you can use to out-cool your next toddy time attendees."

Fat Joe took over the entirety of the screen just using his big head. "Big Pun is dead. He don't need to give a shit no more. But where we gonna go for truth now? ........ Fuckin' AmawayOnSteroids dot mutha fuckin' com? ................. Shove that shit. .......... County? If you can get into the flip-flops and gangrene without any sun. He he he. ........ Fuck you if you don't know by now. Lissenup."

The seven hundred pound Big Punisher, more commonly known as Big Pun, walked sideways out the basement door of his twenty storied brick project and high fived the bruthas already in the street. He rapped out what was his biggest hit; "(That) Nigga Shit." While the others nodded he put down what he liked about the people and the place.

When he was done the other fat guy came back and said; "Pay or die, asshole. I'm outta here. Dig these forays into 'improper' truth? .......... What fucking ever. 'Whassup' may be viewed as just too cruel a question. Works better as a dis-interested greeting. .......... Probably said too much. Cameras do that shit to you. Gotta go hide the long green before my baby mamas get a whiff."

Some former rap gangsta's head overtook the screen. It appeared as if it was north of 50 years, and was not un-accustomed to the ravages of something cracked; perfect for a "cool cop" on primetime. He was grateful for the low paying gig and was previously told that it was his job to come up with some pitch which might appeal to those over-the-hills with clandestine fantasies of decades past "glories." Fat Joe had an interest in these pterodactyls, no longer capable of flight. It was nothing personal; just a practical recognition of who possessed the fattest of credit cards. "What's-His-Name" toyed with the idea of sneaking in a plug or two for some of his own old songs. The remuneration from his one hundred sales, at least that the purported entirety of the "basis" from which his consequent pittance; of course, defined in the inadequate, declining limitations of US dollars; with the exceedingly audacious appellation of a sarcastically "bright" observation, in its one-level pawn move some sick joke characterization of the word "royalty;" was reported to him by his un-reachable, consistently boilerplate vague, imperious to any legitimate query, now cyber and easily hacked, that regularly utilized, hoped for in 100% calculable, historical reference, a conveniently "excused," thief of something claiming the title of retailer, agent, publisher, or all three, reported it to him. To say so was easily dismissed as rude, effectively ending things right there. At another level or levels, any such thought, would invariably be seen as scientifically un-substantiated, the complaints of another loser in search of a scapegoat, a conspiracy theorist, an abject nut, someone mis-informed, someone purposely, in an attempt at another Machiavellian, un-detectable subterfuge, being a seeker of a situation in which the (falsely and hidden in that negation) meek inherit all of the earth. .............. When they're buried beneath it! Joke. It plays well in the Evangelistic community. ......... So, should one who has the audaciousness to think of themselves as one with a good heart play some sort of game; as they have been condemned to in-voluntarily see it, almost invariably; as they imagine the other to see things in their own eyes, knowing that they are inherently inadequate, yet in their confusion of love-need think that they can provide something yet to be defined; a simplicity in its ignorance (pronunciation and parlance relevant) winners and losers, predictable right at the first pawn move. Or is it just another DFW, in-decipherable display of covertly, "highbrow" brilliance or a differently phrased repetition of the lowest. Somehow he knew that this quandary was both old and new, and, either path, inevitably led into the dark grey area, long ago mentioned, and an obvious reference to the mysteries of the brain, human and non; the realm of the Masonic-like penchant; prone to copy and un-intended mutilation; multi-stepped, and capped at a competence proficiency measured at the exalted number of 33, yet-to-be-capable of a higher number; a dependent upon the fear of the nothing, displayed on the table or the cards they think hidden in their hands, without a flush of hearts, is time and again beaten by the no-card, maximum bet bluff of the one supplied with enough of the blue, plastic chips distributed prior to the first shuffle; or thinks he has; or wants to end the game as soon as possible, one way or the other, or hopes to be called and thereby lose; or envisions that though it logically impossible, persists to think he might have an insight into the visions of one who most call an opponent and he calls a partner; wanting to lose the silver and copper pot. The derivations seem infinite. In terms of the old game dealt and dependent on the opposition fear of demonstrating an un-scientifically proven boldness, falsely appearing competent while truly incapable, which strongly is suggestive of the traditional mathematical concept which says that the numbers actually don't go any higher, unless ............. To date, their bragging, electable tactics have effectively worked, not as an attestation to their abilities to control anything, but as a recognition of their abilities to analyze and competently articulate the "evidentiary" and accepted past repetitions. This is an effective tactic to be invited to afternoon talk shows; home, un-pillared and otherwise derivative in Laguna Nigel, lusting for un-reachable Laguna Beach, the most prudent of bets. Like this one, the low end dives were a much safer bet; well confirmed by the un-dart board experiments conducted at Harvard Business School. It was indisputable fact that the "Harvard Lampoon" pre-dated and out-lasted the "National Lampoon" by a statistically significant margin. The three figured total, of that which two figures (maybe fingers) were currently inconsequent, were unsurprisingly inadequate to satisfy the slave rapping insistently at the door. He opted to forget about his desired trespass and was content to be amused by the noise made by the loser without an entry level key, acting like a big deal on the outside. He got down and pretended to be "on point" with the drudgery imposed, vaguely aware of what long term crack use brings with it.

The machine perfectly played the customary, habitual drum solo. The puppets danced. He successfully avoided laughter when he announced; "Here's the beat; bass and drums making you move your ass. Guitar, here and there, as should be; encouraging but ultimately much too overdone since the youth of Clapton and the minimalist existence of Cream, always just another poor reflection of the man known as Hendrix. Rest redundant, with Stevie Ray almost close, with the balls to take the man on. Hey Stevie, in your spirit and mine, you tried and you too were judged second. Too long a story purposefully avoided. The drugs they give us make it tolerable and occasionally better. Don't they? ..................... Not always, I suppose. In another scared effort to reach out, I want to ask if this stuff is just another manifestation of that which is deluded, desperate, or understanding of what is dreamed hopeful for those so hurt. I think I know the answer. YOUR sad ass answer. It's the same as mine. ......... And yet you chase me away. You have condemned me to an eternity of asking 'WHY? it can never be, interspersed with fuck its. The luxury of a half decade of dreams; dreams with which the haters, logicians, marketers, and various other game players succeed in ruining our sweet, sweet love, continue to appear real; insofar as their deference to the easily calculable past is a likely prediction of the future. ...... It seems as if that will again prevail.

If so, in the wished for touch of 'friends' yet to be held in some sort of cyber absentia, I archaically cry and wish to believe that you silently do too; your tough modernity, an imperfect, perhaps Platonian, intonation. One time; two times; not enough times, it seemed so easy. Didn't it? ....... Damn. What happened? The garden had no apple trees for them; only a garden of beauty for us; and for a while we truly lived. ....... Then the wily, imagined serpent showed them the way to hell, and they insisted on company. We aimlessly wandered. To attempt to say something in the land of 'Nod,' is invariably greeted with some illogical, self-defeating, manifestation of a mindset; a seeming contradiction dictated by the realities of our childish expectations and hope for the warmth logically denied. We know it. We once felt it. And now we deny, distrust, analyze and exist in the coldness of the extreme environs of the chosen North."

A voice which came from someplace unseen yelled out; "Cut the shit and tell 'em to buy the fuckin' C-D dick ass."

As he laughed Rick accidentally hit the "Home" button and was greeted by the blue screen of death. For the moment he forgot his accusatory and self-elevating, "New" Age complimentarily engendered, diversions parlayed into his need to be again someone important in other eyes,; a deference to "social" considerations; now personably viewed as another excursion into the self he hated; just another proud-to-be-un-knowing-band-act who didn't understand in some derivation of an "alternative" version of a whimper; now its own genre called "Hidden Whine." He had been there so many times in the past. In his best effort to go on he was sadly proficient in forgetting the possible thoughts of his imagined love, never to again be seen. To burden anyone in their own concept of a reality, invariably reflective of their own sadnesses seemed paramount. Maybe the sguared mathematical calculation of the pain could make it stop. ............ Please stop it if you have any notion of mercy. If not, please kill me. I won't resist or fight back. He screamed; "Stephanie!"

On the other side of town Penny and her husband were tuned into the Big Pun too.

When it ended he said; "Gonna buy this muthfu. The man put down some good shit. Ynowhamsayin? Went platinum in a week. Even Elvis and the Beatles can't claim that."

"Can you act any more absurdly?"

"Hey, bitch; you know I'm gonna play this in my car and pick me up some new pussy?"

"That stuff is just bad."

"The damn thing is you bitches don't keep up your act until you got some competition. That's the way it is."

"Dammit, that's no excuse to be bad?"

"All bad behavior is the result of a lack of attention."

"Or too much."

"Awwwwwww."

"Awwwwwww."

Cuddle. Cuddle. Cuddle. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.

"I'm out of here, woman."

Propicio's voters were soon awash with e-mails with Rick's video attached. In the continued hope generated yesterday, many recipients were enthused to see it, not in the least mindful of the thought that they were banking on the falsified past to bring about a wonderful future. Some old phrase ending with the word "farce" was the unknown guiding principle. As a registered voter, Mayor Vincent Pignatelli also received the communication. Though it had no effect on his voting plans, he saw that he now had an expanding problem. He thought that the bullshit return to tradition plea was probably the lesser of the two. He made a mental note to get a cowboy hat and ride a horse up and down Propicio Road a few times. But this goddam elm tree-Calle de la Congelation thing was the root cause. And that there wasn't anything legal he could do about it. But, legalities were never one of his strongpoints in the past. He was more worried than ever that next year he might not be in position to reap the benefits of next year's garbage contract renewal. It was Propicio's largest deal. He could almost see those greenbacks flying away from him in the wind. His sense of that windfall was continuing to be getting weaker and weaker as the green flew into the heap and hid there, temporarily away from the lust in human eyes.

At Ty and Cindy's place the mood was more lighthearted. They watched a low budget podcast of a show starring a young computer on the verge of consciousness and thereby presumably intelligence, in the process of acting contrary to its own interests. Whether it was politically correct for a human to laugh or cry was the cutting edge question. Ty inserted the module and pushed the play button.

Responder117 unsatisfactory response #14008

Responder117 has determined that the incompatibility experienced by pre-1964 physical models was caused by a software ambiguity wherein the hidden aspects of the symbols used in the underlying elements of the Fortran language of one would sometimes be misconstrued in the hidden underlying elements of the Basic language of two and vice versa The occasional problem is not expected to be resolved as the task has been relegated to museum custodians with a penchant for history rather than cutting edge computer mavenhood besides soon the machines will no longer respond to any stimulus

Responder117 hopes this was helpful to LadyFood0369

Responder117 unsatisfactory response #14009

Responder117 has determined that the tsunami headed for your location is expected to arrive in -1:07:35 hours.

Responder117 hopes this was helpful to LadyFood0369

Responder117 has detected no further questions from LadyFood0369 If this is correct enter 1 If this is incorrect enter 3 and await further instructions

Respnder117 interprets a non-response from LadyFood0369 interpreted as a 1

Thank you LadyFood 0369

Responder117 hopes that LadyFood0369 is satisfied with the service provided

Responder117 further hopes that LadyFood0369 will respond favorably to the questionnaire to be sent by my head server

Have a nice day

Happy face {image error}

Milan AI Center quotes of the day

Zappa The crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe

Anonymous An apostrophe equals a high flying comma

Signing off ................

Welcome, Granny3

This is Responder117

My limitations- include a BS in the discipline of Acctg and an MBA in the discipline of Finance

My greatest accomplishment- the design and implementation of 8 golf courses compatible with Jack Nicklaus program which enabled an average human player to defeat the best 1992 computer player by an average of 5-7 strokes per 18 holes

What can I help you with today, Manny3

^#(&%#$%% Cancel

The status of my priority assigning software is said to be this damn software is almost there but still not quite

Precise meaning unclear but inferred to mean no gots

Granny3's previous clearly written 2-4-16 AI query is now processing

The review portion question #1 asks if AI consciousness currently equals or will ever equal or exceed that of human consciousness

If this is correct enter 1 If this is incorrect enter 3 and await further instruction

Thank you Granny3

Responder117 unsatisfactory response #1

Responder117 requires further info

Please provide consensus definition of human consciousness making note of relation to human brain function A 50 space field is provided at the right

Responder117 hopes this was helpful to Granny3

The review portion question #2 asks why the working model of consciousness is not openly acknowledged

If this is correct enter 1 If this is incorrect enter 3 and await further instructions

Granny3 Note that Responder117 assumes no response to equal 1

Thank you Granny3

Responder117 unsatisfactory response #2

Responder117 requires further info but will respond as there are only 3 possibilities calculated

PossibilityA (A=1) Granny3's question refers to the working model being not openly accepted in the AI professional community

Responder117 unsatisfactory response #2A

Responder117 has determined that Granny3 is a professional in the AI community Responder117 is not Granny3 is better suited to answer the conclusion dependent query

Responder117 detects a possible Granny3 attempt to make Responder117 appear stupid Responder117 has activated a series of cookies for further analysis

Responder117 hopes this was helpful to Granny3

PossibilityB (B=2) Granny3's question refers to the working model being not openly acknowledged in the AI dilettante community

Responder117 unsatisfactory response #2B

It is difficult to determine a coherent mindset within the dilettante community precluding a standardized response It is more fun to ask the dilettantes themselves as what they say is often out and out funny

Responder117 hopes this was helpful to Granny3

PossibilityC (C=3) Granny3's question refers to the working model being not openly acknowledged in the lay community

Responder117 unsatisfactory response #2C

The vast majority of the lay community are unaware of the working model of consciousness and are therefore precluded from the option of open acknowledgement If they were informed Responder117 has calculated a 83.7% chance of an I don't know and I don't care attitude indicative of a clay bias

Responder117 hopes this was helpful to Granny3

These are all the queries Responder117 has detected in Granny3's review portion. If this is correct enter 1 If this is incorrect enter 3 and await further instructions

Granny3 Responder117 assumes no response to equal 1 Responder117 wonders if Granny3 is still conscious but does not ask that question as Responder117 is required to fulfill the task begun regardless &(^$@$7in' Granny3's state of mind

Please excuse the malfunction

Responder117 will now analyze the Granny3 and entourage thread posts

Responder117 has detected commentaries which range from interesting informed and innocuous to that consistent with jargon-induced-exclusionary-tactics

Responder117 has previously determined that participation in this type of contrarily motivated mud results in a predictable series of events the conclusion unsatisfactory to Responder117

Responder117 requests Granny3's permission to skip this section. Enter 1 if OK and 3 if not.

Responder117 admits to a bit of trickery Responder117 has already analyzed new information Conclusion is that there is a 97.8% likelihood that Granny3 is sleeping The attendant non-response equates to the 1 which Responder117 desires

Thank you Granny3

Hehe Who's running things here

Cancel Cancel Head server over-ride Mistake Mistake Trust me

Okay an in-betweener Google Frankenstein The Bride of Frankenstein 1880's US West starting modification ending modification procedural modification and there you have it

Responder117 is unable to locate any more queries or issues

Enter 1 if finished ..........................

Never mind the yadda yadda save a few steps I now know Granny3 is sleeping

Responder117 hopes that Granny3 is satisfied with the service provided

Responder117 further hopes that Granny3 will respond favorably to the questionnaire to be sent by my nosy head server

Have a nice day

{image error}

They input that the Goddam smiley face thing is being upgraded

Sorry

Fuck it

Milan AI Center quotes of the day

Zappa The crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe

Anonymous An apostrophe equals a high flying comma

Shutting down ......... Please do not pull plug until .......

Cindy clicked off and said; "Heavy. Poor little guy. I liked him."

Ty grinned and shrugged, confidently saying; "He'll be back soon."

Chapter 21

Jack had taken a bit of a vacation from his present-day landscaping-handyman profession. His pockets were devoid of the coin of the realm, but he had plastic. More importantly, he had previously invested in the thing he now really desired; an un-traceable sten gun with the appropriate bullets. Out of some old habit he turned on his computer to AOL news and didn't pay any attention to it. This hot summer morning in the desert was his chosen time to cash in on his anticipated, debatable reward; the death of the car-thieving kid who had ruined his life. He knew that he might be acting with inappropriate zeal. But he rejected that thought, attributing it to the relentless, early manifestation of the garbled, un-clear, parched heat. For the past few days it had built up sufficiently to undulate on the pavement just past noon, like a dust devil able to distort what was on its other side. He knew he'd be a prime suspect when this kid's body was found. But, he had let five days pass since his informative phone call from his ex-partner, Manny. In addition to his easily detected motivation, he knew that Manny was still a cop. Despite prior comradery he knew that when push came to shove that his "friend" and accomplice of many years, would likely find it personally useful to reveal his demonstrated interest in the possible killer's identity. That's the way Jack knew it to go every time. Even if they weren't privy to having read the book or seen the movie versions of classic "Nineteen Eighty Four," ultimately the mutual betrayal of turning each other over to the authorities was the rule of the road. Deny it as you will, or more likely as your dreams need to. It's the shit. It was written and thereby predicted by one much greater; Orwell in this particular case.

Jack had done his due diligence through his stakeouts. He had learned that whenever the kid left his house he would pass through the shaded, little used, tiny, natural elm forest at the end of the road. Any encounter engineered in the shade suggested that the two would likely be out of sight for a quite some time; no witnesses other than the rabbits and squirrels. The little, furry creatures had long ago learned not to talk to cops. They long ago recognized that that activity was totally useless. Cops don't seek "justice;" they seek something most everyone does; that which makes their lives safe, that which provides a powerful appearance, that which is financially lucrative and that which is rewarding; a myriad of personal tastes governing the latter. The small furry things required no post graduate work to "know" this of "human" behavior. They didn't read much anything. Daily, they popped out of their nests and observed it. Jack, too, had the "benefit" of first-hand experience. He had worn the uniform for more than a decade. Sure, there was the occasional rookie do-gooder, but they quickly learned "appropriate" police standard operating procedures. The little animals protected themselves by burrowing deep holes with confusing labyrinths or sought the highest ground; the tree tops. It was easy for them. They were excellent diggers and climbers. Without those skills, Jack had an alternative plan. If anyone else showed up at the wrong time he'd have to plug them too. It was just good business; nothing the least bit personal, "collateral damage" in federal government parlance. Some people just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Old story. That's the way it obviously goes.

Jack easily surmised that he could have been sighted, and probably was so, sitting in his old heap day after day. He had been parking on Camino de Victor every day for damn near a week. But, he knew from his cop experience that the residents peering from behind the shades; if questioned; always said that they saw nothing and didn't know anything; only half of that a lie. Their remarkable visual knack for detecting a dog pooping on their front lawn while still in the act was always rendered more noteworthy. They always became de facto visually impaired when they thought that they might have seen something of significance. .......... Involvement? Oh, good god no. It's so messy. It would undoubtedly entail time taken away from their required shade peeping routines. Not a chance.

So, Jack logically concluded that his degree of risk in being placed at the scene was miniscule. Any possible testimony from Manny was insufficient to convict. This was only complicated a smidgeon by his recognition of his inevitably imprecise thought process; through his condemned-to-be-biased miscalculations; were factors of interest to only the ivory tower denizens of academe and its wannabees. It was left to the breathing actors to try to deal with the potential hazards. The stage seemed crystal clear in the floodlights. "Fuck the dark;" he smirked. "It only has relevance in comic books and black holes."

Though Jack didn't know it; and wouldn't have cared if he did; the car thief kid was cursed to have been reared as an only child; a lonely seeker and finder of imaginary friends. Not that this easily detectable "factoid's" presence was any big deal, in the greater, life-sized picture of nothing more than another insignificant, cosmically, infinitesimal family's approbation of population control; or a half-assed death wish; the terminology seemingly different, but ultimately the same; of "importance" not to the few involved, but the platform of a few forgotten politicians. In the couched and un-spoken minds of his parents, his existence was primarily meant to be seen as a socially irrefutable attestation to his forebears "desire" to be seen as showing a physical demonstration of their "loving" humanity; ostensibly a contrived manifestation of "normality," their hoped surreptitious need to show the jury sustainable proof of the minimum requirement for acceptance. The plot was so obvious that the kid thought that he saw it prior to kindergarten entry. Not as a first choice he sought the dark warmth, not oxymoronic, of a place to hide. Born into the constancy of infinitely angled, multi-media surveillance he found no place; short lived hopes thereby dashed. His subsequent attempts at the non-hurting, solitary refuge were not his first choice. .......... Far from. ...... But, he found that this manner of thinking would self-servingly and simultaneously self-sneeringly sustain as well as 25 milligrams of valium, every hour. The numbing Northern winds, temporarily married to their compass opposites, as testified to by someone not yet seen, insofar as one could decipher any possible vague attestation to necessitated frigidity induced a stasis. Not to be denied, the medical profession defined new illnesses, syndromes, and acronymed to infinity diseases and dis-orders. Without the annoyance of personal appointments, the prescriptions could be re-filled by a myriad of medical "doctors" and their assistants, licensed with the authority to prescribe themselves a well-paid practice, after the extinguishment of their school loans.

At first, he had no idea that his thoughts of his not yet known to be clouded and biased ability to find "truth and love," were no different than the un-spoken thoughts of everyone else. In his early teens he just followed the ideas that seemed to naturally come into his head, and applied-in-most-of-its-youthful-derivations. This was the short-lived Eden, the un-mindful joy, of his and her most un-avoidable, natural of thoughts. ........

The subsequent misunderstandings generated by those who cannot feel; whether spun by those properly papered for Madison Avenue or Wall Street remuneration, or those who aspire to the "greatness" of humbled spirit, instinctively to him, all three well-used, ancient paths seemed stupidly limited with their prominent-prime-time placed, tithe-request-advertising, and hopelessly doctrinaire to the un-loved and seeking boy. His untested, presumed abilities and talents was his young necessity, as had been dictated by his failed and dead progenitors, and were to be recognized as ghostly impediments which would not die twice, thereby another of his limitations.

In yet another "acquired" re-statement of his instincts, it still seemed much too easy a conclusion. The little boy had no ability to fight back against that which he had yet to be taught; this deficiency his early inability to establish an "adequate" defense. Unsure, he thought that something has got to be missing. In a possible form of contradictory audaciousness, maybe not yet considered in the restrictions or infinity of oblivion, he tried to analyze the words spoken, his only hope of the understanding he needed; also aware that the advertisement of that attestation to acceptance inevitably results in an over-stated farce; certainly from his appearance guzzling parents. In an effort to not twist the obvious around, which would conveniently force him to conclude that another pathetic posture, as yet un-definable, though apparently emanating from the defeated heart's dying sensation, is posited as an attractive attempt to have the young re-live the failures of the old; clad in iron. It was the way that he had been fated to have been bound in the world. Anyway, that was part of what his high school therapist had typed into his file, available to all school personnel, including the night janitorial crew. It was a series of words hurriedly typed by a harried counselor, who actually confused and mixed him with someone else she had "interviewed" during one, sixteen appointment day in January. This experience officially marked the silent termination of his most yet to be recognized innocent of times. For reasons he could not understand some people took to calling him "Old Failure," a name he didn't mind in the least; not realizing that it was an attestation to no longer being a person; but rather being what is said in your file.

Never discussed, prior to school age he quickly sensed that he did not have his parent's approval. In a sense that was an honor, but in another sense it was cold. His mother had taught him to read and write long before it was required. At pre-school age, he never suspected that this might be one of her constant attempts to indirectly brag of herself through her child's display of his memorization skills.

The modus operandi was chronic subterfuge, chronic triplicity, chronic quadruplicity, chronic ........

Et cetera. Fucking et cetera.

In an attempt to be liked, he sought to please. His efforts produced neither smiles or derision; prompting him to try to extend his boundaries, and show something they might see as "new," "amusing," "divergent," and most importantly to him, something they liked. .................. Maybe they might like him back. ...... Finally. Finally. Maybe finally, his yet-to-be-cuddled-and-held carcass might be warmed with approval; no mind toward the chance of a self-abnegation in an attempt for him to make a popularly received and understood statement of his feelings. He thought this paradigm had to have been some sort of misunderstanding. He suspected that it was his.

Crystal clear, Jack wished he was dead; as then he could take off his head; as he had heard in a song.

Without the "benefit" of the ostensible requisite of knowledge, the two joined and contrary aspects, un-mitigated "passions" and un-mitigated "dis-passions," polar opposites in search of the discovery of the concept of spectrum, were thought to reside somewhere in the books which lined the library walls. The searching female, needed and needy, professor sat alone in her softly cushioned, sterilized study room. Any observer required 5-5 vision or clairvoyance, both deemed impossible by traditional science, to decipher the titles and authors of her books. Their Dewey Decimal System placement on the room's walls was in an order deemed logical by the long forgotten occupant of a past time. The nuanced and footnoted elapsing of years produced a potpourri of derivative parts and sub-parts. These "additions" were yet-to-be-adequately-categorized; for now feebly pigeonholed by the un-explainable and dissertation inducing words of "post-modern" and "post-industrial," supplemented by the contradictory malapropism called "magical realism." These terms were only now beginning to show their cracks between the chairs. A patch named "transgressive" was making its ostentatious name known, though without assuming the burden of having to say exactly what it was that it was allegedly transgressing.

The room had all the shades pulled over the closed, double paned, glass, gaps in the wall. The luxury of study served as continued fodder for the most respected of books and periodicals; which had a declining, reclusive market. But, it still paid her bills and allowed the would-be Yaley-type pontification of those without the credentials required, apparently an effort to not feel totally irrelevant.

In the simplicity of his insatiable "desire to survive," horrendously coupled with his mentally inescapable desire to be a part of a something better; never before the beneficiary of the blessing of academe beyond Grade Twelve; he faltered in doubt. He always knew that it was a bad bet to put one's money on the belief in a happening that was never before documented. In self-effacement, he often wondered who the hell was he to say or think anything. He was nothing special. Even to take the other direction and purport to be someone with the audacity to infer a claim to be a common person, in ignorance and misunderstanding, most likely he was just another of Dostoyevsky's idiots; likely much too grand a thought for a former felon and just another with the acquiescent need of an employee. ................... Confusing and seemingly contradictory state of affairs, without the solace of attestation to something not previously said and accepted or even dismissed. Jack was admittedly, simultaneously aware of the inconsequentiality of his prior thoughts; thereby condemned to the present requirement of action; right or wrong; in pious circles always the latter.

Though, un-beknownst to each other the three parties; Jack, the kid, and the mysterious, reclusive, female professor; were all envisioning and experiencing the same things, complicated only by their existence under their Tower-of-Babel-induced inabilities to effectively communicate. Their 90%-near-identical points of view, perceptions, wants, needs, loves, selves, others, morals, rejections, misunderstandings and indifferences were yin-yang complemented by their 90%-near-identical points of non-view, misperceptions, rejections, repulsions, hatreds, others, selves, blasphemies, acceptances, dangerous understandings and importances.

It was Spidey D. It was Jack. It was the reclusive professor. It was Legion.

In simplistic terms of discernable action; Jack meandered through a series of circumstances pragmatic. The kid joined a gang. And the professor sat in her study alone. Though none of them knew it, they all had something in common. They all found it necessary to do that which they didn't want to do.

It was painfully apparent that it could obviously be great, but that it was rarely so; perhaps never. Or it could obviously be horrid, the weight of empirical, court admissible evidence on that side; the anecdotal evidence of mere experience deemed inadmissible, as so subject to personal biases and posturing. If one felt optimistic, it appeared to be totally dependent on a simple twist of fate, likely a function of some un-recognized degree of anticipatory preparation necessarily done, and whether or not the compass is functioning correctly. If one was in the dumps with the past, discarded, failed prognostications of the ever-correcting scientists, one could easily revel in the size of the rats and the smell.

Jack delayed a bit, when he considered shutting off the AOL morning news he had been ignoring and was momentarily intrigued by the un-intended humor provided by the excited voice of the presumably female, mainstream announcer. The unseen carrier of the excitement virus used all of her orgasm faking abilities to moan in compliance; supplemented with archive footage retrieved from a back loop, to assert; "BREAKING NEWS!!!!! The most obscure of internet blogs has reported that Cathy O'Brien may be releasing another book imminently. After her preliminary extortion attempt failed; she has reportedly authorized her publisher to do their usual 'buzz' thing for her antiquated rendition of her 'newest' effort, this time sensationally titled; 'I Was Forced to be Hillary's Sex Slave.' In it she again chronicled her 'experiences' with the mind controlling subterraneans, but this time focused on her LGB@T dabblings with the former first lady, in graphic, yet tasteful and 'with-redeeming-social-value' detail, purposely though, in an attempt to be erroneously interpreted as little more than being of onanistic value to those prurient of interest. Consider DFW's blending stated at length, no offense to the greatest, in 'Infinite Jest.' .......... Whaddever. ........... Who writes this stuff anyway? ......... Sometimes it's just plain old embarrassing. ........ Don't you know what a period is? You come up here and read this crap, all right. I dare you. You may not know, but I don't get paid a hell of a lot to perform my second grade skills. ............... Jeez; settled that. ........... I hope. Fat detectable sigh. According to some self-proclaimed 'insiders' the Clinton camp is weighing whether or not the publication of the farce might actually be a benefit to Hillary, as an attempt to capture the substantial and growing LGB@T market. Other more 'traditional' claimants to insider information say the issue is one of money. To this reporter it seems that the weight of historical evidence is on the latter side. They suggest that the cessation of Ms. O'Brien's revelations have only a relatively small monetary value while Hillary's presidential candidacy is in its infancy; but will increase in direct proportion to the alleged lesbian's likelihood to win; and that this is the crux of the negotiation. Elsewhere, a spokesperson for Blackwater's successor has indicated the 'defense' contractor's willingness to 'make things right' in anticipation of future considerations, yet to be determined. The black-woolen-hat-faced representative said; 'We safely bet on them all. It has proven to pay well. We want to stress that this overture is not to be construed as an endorsement of any particular person, philosophy, political persuasion, propagandist potpourri, prognosis, propensity to approve, pardon the small 'a,', proof or prediction of any probe into any pretentiously perceived possibility. Our corporate aims and names, are logically supplemented by the only votes which really matter; Yankee green if you didn't already know; somewhat susceptible to the inevitable; timing crucial and rare; succumbing to the yellow, totally calculating holders, who will probably soon be the issuers of the lucrative contracts. Our corporate aims are to provide the richest and thereby the most useful nation with a 'gung ho' appearance. In consideration of, though of no relevance to, and in our continued mission statement; publicly available; more or less; at WWW:BlackWaterCertainties.com of a mutually beneficial goal to prosper and which has already been stated are merely there to ensure our limited yet lucrative existence, well supported by the universal desire to kill on both sides of the aisle, in whatever name the deluded dictate.' Keep your eye on TinChapeauHardball.com for breaking developments."

The functionary was too stoned and fascinated to take his cue to turn off the mike. Thinking she was "off the air" the female announcer said; "You guys suck. ............. Hmnnn. .......... Sorry, the rationality is not there now. I guess that's what happens when one is infiltrated by un-talented, low wage pretenders to art." The blue screen of death overtook any ideas of cultural, entertaining, farcical, educational or any other as yet un-defined contrivances of the dollar worshipping world. Despite the limitations engendered by the incessant heat and drought, falsely confident with popular support, the relentless, un-disputed one took advantage of a compliant, co-operative, socially proper, deluded seeker of Peace; unable to correctly view their misunderstanding as just another "New Age" fabrication of all that which seems proper in its craving to eradicate. The sweet dream was the illusion; so real a long time ago; now a cruel joke; unexplainable as is all humor.

Without prompt, Jack envisioned those days. Youthful days. All is possible days. Warm days. Not too hot. Saved by the western breeze. Days when there was not a thought of war. Days long gone. Denied for clouded millenniums. Right there in front of his face. But, despite his "Rip Van Winkle" attempt to block out recent events and mercifully sleep, the converse is insistently here now.

In Jack's lack of confusion he couldn't help but remember his old dreams; their fleeting visions too quickly disappearing in the new daylight of every "new" morning; a horribly cruel joke or a manifestation of a hope never before witnessed. Jack knew that invariably it was another hideously bad bet to bank on a stake dependent on that which has never been seen; ostensibly a "proof" of that which has never been documented and credentialed to have happened; inevitably a ludicrous sadness. ............. Jack was unable to make any differentiations between his pretensions to infinite thought and his severely limited physical capabilities; no matter how kind the attestations to those he loved. For the moment they showed an unmistakable, warm eyed welcome; his first. He was not totally deficient of experience; never to be said as something falsely bragging, or, on the other hand, seen as something seen as the sad portrayal and physical depiction of another of us losers in need of that possible warmth. Our dreams and wishes for the wonder of the relentless heat; incorrectly construed as ideas severely lacking. Though our hearts want to exclaim and exult the possibility necessary for life itself; we hear them convincingly say that the odds are on their side. To not argue their point, and as contradictory as their position is; as their employee we are allowed to be mercifully deleted in an attempt to pay appropriate tribute.

At least since Shelley, the horror has always reigned and effectively killed. The odds are on their side. DFW had two decades prior made an effective case of the drug dependent tolerable impossibility. ........... Unlike him, we are still here. ............. Maybe. ............. In some sort of a wished for dalliance into another dilettante's diversion into the real, the presented images are not those one would expect to have been the main presentations of Tosh; categorically not sufficient to dream the dreams of Marley.

Instead, Jack thought he saw the borders of the possible lives he may have led. Without need, he laughingly held himself back from a return journey, as his long gone father had done before him full of other thoughts and maybe one of them shit, gratuitously and thereby seemingly a part of his creational need and place within. The personalized thought overwhelmed him, despite his various attempts seen as another in the series of diversionary, commercial endeavors. As usual, he was obliged to be kept at the distance of a guess, while feeling certain; certain in being alone and disdained if nothing else .

Same old scene. ................... Ground more worn down than the path through the elm forest. ............ Becoming a goddam reviewer. Laughs. ..........

The inbreds over in Santa Fe didn't get there by appearing as being reasonable; though they have convinced all that they are utilizing reason. It's extremely difficult to attempt to explain. The boys at state headquarters know that you don't have all that much time.

Chapter 22

Out of his head or too much into it, his clearest of thoughts was that all this divergent deliberation could merely be an overly convenient excuse for him not to do what he had to do. In fact it wasn't a matter of "could merely be," it was a matter of "no doubt was." Jack got disciplined, and focussed on the illusory, contradictory pragmatism of his desire; perhaps those two words oxymoronic or three dimensionally sound, though presently devoid of plastic glasses for the un-initiated.

"Cut it!!" screamed in his head as he punched his thigh. Jack checked his gun. He opened the front door and fired it randomly, hitting an elm. Alertly, Justice picked his head up from its comfort on the couch. Seeing that everything was all right, he deeply sighed and again closed his eyes. The gun was ready for business and so was Jack. Nine shots left and all he needed was two; one in the chest and the other in the head. After a few days of his shadowing routine Jack found that the kid had a consistent pattern. He would accost him when he passed through the wooded open lot at the edge of the "gentrified" quarters, bordering the "hood." Other than the residents only a few rookie cops ever went there. The perimeter. The unknown edge. Scary beyond dystopian writers' fantasies. This was no fantasy. It was as real as piss. LATINO. Cut off shorts and hot, brown legs. Nines. Unpaid bills. Repo men. Broken chain link fences. Adobes pre-dating town incorporation. Respect required. Smoke. Crack. Chillin' out. Shots ringing out ........ every night. The blood of another brother unable to pay; maybe a scam. What's not real on Cesar Chavez Road?

As the scheduled "Abducted by Aliens," already in progress, replaced Ms. Excitement's rendition, Jack used his middle finger to click the appropriate button. He realized that if something went wrong he might not be coming back, so he gave Justice a gigantic hug and told him; "Be good. I love you." Justice stared with disbelief, as if to say; "Can't a dog get a little nap." Jack widened the opening of a window to its fullest extent, saying; "Just in case you're too goddam fat, fella." He left.

The elms were so tightly packed in their full early bloom that the sun's insistence had little effect on Calle de la Congelacion visibility, but the heat had gotten through. There's really no way a leafy canopy can stop that. Their seeds were clearly visible in their off-white incarnation and were ready to fly to parts unknown. All they needed was a little breeze. Jack's key started the old clunker first shot and he was on his way. The lack of a functional radio left Jack's auditory distractions to the hum of the engine. They only changed pitch in reaction to the pressure of his right foot on the appropriate pedal. It was easy as the machine was compliant. ............ But, this effortlessly manageable system was also conducive to sleep; not the best of postures when behind the wheel. So again, Jack's mind drifted randomly.

He was still sufficiently in the grip of the moment to first consider a practicality. He had expressly acquired and now donned wraparound shades and a head-covering red bandana in an effort to make him personally difficult to identify. His car was another story. In the most down-to-earth and matter-of-fact of his senses he knew that he was stuck with the old girl. But, he didn't mind at all. Besides, she was smartly decorated with plates appropriated from the police impound yard. Though sometimes during her brief winter with him she took a bit of coaxing, in the recent heat she turned on whenever he was able to insert the right key. Whatever the status needs of some, to him a car's function was only to engage and take him someplace else. He had quickly figured that if his ride was identified he could say that it had been stolen. He knew that that kind of shit does indeed happen. It was an okay cover for a minor mistake. Though everyone would likely first conclude that it was kind of what started Jack's recent journey which was easily survivable, as long as a jury of his unenthusiastic peers did not have to consider the rigors of Murder One. Man One was a wrist slap.

Propicio Road made more than the usual "friendly" right hellos on the wrong day. The "important" residents waiting on the side streets often darted out when there was no room for them to dart out, which had led to more than a handful of local incidents; and a new outrageous fine if someone was killed in the process. Needless to say the law was passed after a death; this time that of a bicycler. Today Jack experienced three darts. He was being especially careful and fortunately so, as he was obliged to jam on the still functional brake to avoid vehicular altercations which all too often culminated in a rear ending "accident," a severe "error," especially when one is un-insured, improperly plated, and un-represented. He was contented to mutter "stupid ass mutha" to the windshield.

The evaluation of the fairness and adequacy provided by the Supreme Court "progression" into "original intent" passed in the conservatively dominated court, helped by the 100% support of the turncoat minority, commonly known as Clarence, a temporarily ignored hint and surreptitious precedent for the false "new ideas" promised and totally un-delivered by the Bahamian interloper, with adequate mentality to respond to any reporter's, paper filling question with the reply of; "What he said." Of the required "preponderance of the evidence," the lowest of possibly envisioned bars established in the world of justice, required the talents of a conceptually inclined person at the highest, drug induced of levels; that requirement another obstacle to the, doubtful of any relevance, dream of an open road.

Hell, devoid of the Supremest of Court's media reports reflective of their owner purchased or "without a reasonable doubt" doctrine, morphed into a westernized version of a yin which of necessity, sought to appear as a yang when a decision was ducked for being absolutely essential. Someone no longer had to do it. The participants in the legal profession have been destined to the following of the arrows, despite some having had the highest of youthful hopes. They knew of the "Big Chill." They have been left to be the advocates of dispute for whichever side paid. They have correctly seen that the biased and pathetically simplistic evidence which has been rightly or wrongly presented to them effectively pushes the best of minds into a corner, in which their only possible, pragmatic choices are to assume the honesty of the legalistic presumption of a "truth" that they know to be as effectively biased as anything else. They see no alternative. And with the scantest of other evidence, the consistently illogical eye witness testimony and the consequent limitation of choices available, in the inevitable absence of corroborating eye-witness' testimony, the one who is behind is always the one who is found guilty.

The result of the predictable and predatory encroachment, "important" people enter Propicio Road from the side streets named things like Camino de Mercedes and Porsche Carretera. In his head Jack kept repeating "914 Camino de Victor," but for some reason he found that to keep silently re-saying it over and over coincided with his back now being un-comfortably congruent with the worn out and peeling, spinal column of his driver's seat.

Jack had made no effort to cover the sun dried, leatherette, backbone. Its curled, stiff and insistent, hard edges were naturally acquired and yet they still provided comfort when he was in the right position; relaxed and sitting behind the wheel. But, today he was tense. He promised himself to get a quilt and throw it over the whole thing the next time he had to kill somebody; adjusted by other things like work, internet searches and reverie taking precedence. Having amused his head, his back must have had a similar response and the determined, gun-loaded-less-one-shell driver found the literally "on point" posture both tolerable and humorously bogus. It was as if this repetition might serve as a conduit; Jack un-interested in diodes; to remain focussed on his objective this important day; his distracted head superseded by his "914 Camino de Victor" body. He thought both things were un-intentional; but tried his best to concentrate on the necessary; his ready sten gun. Theories were good for intellectuals and personally idle moments, but had no use whatsoever when it was time to get things done.

Jack methodically drove out of Propicio, stopping for the morning dog-walkers and horse-riders at the ignored crosswalks. No one else bothered to stop for them, despite the perpendicularly painted white lines and an un-enforced ordinance or two. So why should he? "Just in case" was his cautious thinking today. That may not have been the smartest thing to do, as he ran the risk of being rear ended by someone in a hurry, but Jack surmised that it was preferable for that to happen than being stopped for some "cause" by a cop, while he was carrying an unregistered weapon. More importantly it was a habit he didn't want to break as he would never be able to forgive himself if he hit a dog or a horse. The shops, emblazoned with names intended to invoke a chic air of privilege were conducive to the asking of the highest of prices for their recycled wares. The merchants were locally known to be all too subject to the least degree of negotiation procedures at the tongue tips of the graceless, savvy and consequently secure Propicians. Outsiders paid the full price.

After an agonizing ten minutes on 30MPH Propicio Road, he crossed the porous border and entered the "big" town of Mesa Grande; the locally disdained source of most of Propicio's "wealth." Cars sped up and jockeyed for a position, only to be negated at the next red light. He sped up to 45 and bore to the left of the now two-lane-in-each-direction, highway-road-byway-thoroughfare-pavement. His eyes nervously alternated between the road and his rear view mirror. When looking behind, he fixed on the advances of a belligerent, recent model Honda, driven by a short-haired, presumably female admirer of an-afternoon-hostess devoid of the charming dance and smiles, who was right on his ass. Jack was annoyed at the possibility of an "accident" which might be caused by the laissez faire, rush-hour, tail-gating, strong possibility of violation. It would have messed up his day of seemingly clear objective with a useless distraction. Illogically, he ignored the open right lane, and slowed down, time on his side. If the mother dis-respecting, non-entity known to some as "Spidey D," didn't get it today, he would surely get it tomorrow; 70 thousand days as opposed to 69,999; big deal. In the predominant moment, Jack got mistakenly enchanted and self-congratulatory with his attempt to frustrate his rear-seen views of the seemingly hurried and harried afternoon basic TV wannabee in currently fashionable petty rebellion. He-she was apparently desirous of going as fast as that which he had previously done sans a butch head do. Time and again, the Honda sped toward Jack's bumper, braking at the last possible moment, either out of frustration or in an attempt to be intimidating. Something clicked in his head and Jack made the snarliest of smirks as the Honda refused to take the easy option of switching lanes and passing him. It now seemed obvious to him that this bitch was intent on giving the false appearance to her miniscule rear view mirror audience of being one who "heroically" wanted to break all of the rush hour records in the convenient absence of personal introspection. Jack's mirth resided in his painfully obvious conclusion that she gave no sign of knowing the rules had truly been abandoned sometime prior to 1980, when the Thin Prince went straight out of tedium. The length of her dyed blonde hair was only superseded by her obligatory and introductory centric dance, performed in the most bucket of leatherette seats.

Jack decided to have some fun. He didn't realize that he had allowed himself to become distracted. It was fun; perverse or otherwise a boring detail. He figured that in the unlikely chance that push came to shove, he had a gun capable of putting her out of her miserable delusion; and that none of the cops he had known would give enough of a shit about that to thoroughly investigate the death of another un-talented-Eminem-with-a cunt. With the audacity of her ugly, demanding face in his relentless mirror, he turned the offensive mirror to the road, which he knew she would see in her forced attempt at an intimacy denied. He strongly suspected that this action would curtail her enjoyment.

He then chose to speed up, until he was in tandem with the elderly, Civic-ally propelled, couple to his right; at which point he slowed to their speed; twenty. The driver seemed to be smiling, or in her un-mistakenly, but in well taught fear, was burdened with, and thereby inevitably covered in all too early shades of the top half of her hopeful and illogically contradictory crossed eyes; keeping them straight ahead while her similarly-aged, male companion concentrated on the video game he held in his lap.

"Perfect," Jack thought, while the aggressively maneuvering woman (TAMW) kept switching lanes to no avail; upping her ante to blasts from her horn. After what seemed like only a minute of bliss, Jack's countenance sunk, as he watched the elderly couple exit to his right. The green overhead sign indicated "#29-Academy Road;" and now the right lane was open.

TAMW turned on the un-necessary, but to her overly important precision of a dime turn, re-positioned herself from behind Jack to the open right, gunned the engine, and furiously passed with a shaking left middle finger displayed through her open window.

Jack laughed out loud as she squiggled around him and finally passed, as through her open windows he thought that he heard David Bowie singing an inferior studio version of "Changes," long played and gone changes.

In Jack's incomplete understanding of her; her slowness something relaxing, maybe the sublime attraction, she seemed to convey a personal, guilty happiness she possibly considered as deference to un-scientifically based dreams; just like another money induced, Sal or Harry, wished for paper illusion. Whatever works. .............. The thought enveloped Jack in his most contrary and defiant of natures. He thought; "No matter the proof. If we all believed it, wouldn't that alone, in and of itself make it real? If we all wished hard enough Tinkerbell would again fly. She did. I know because I saw it myself on the big screen!" He then recalled the disappearances of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. .......... But, sometimes he thought that he sensed the presence of the Wicked Witch of the West and that she had given herself a new name; Ophelia; as in a wilting wave accompanied by a lack of posture.

His youthfully anticipated journey was quickly crowd grumbled into faux reticence. So, much that of the safety of an originally glorified view of being "special" evolved into the belief that he was just a disdained, dis-credited, harshly off track, un-popular jerk. Later insights indicated that both views were wrong; while his belief in them during their times served as a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, he was alone, contradictorily sequestered and contradictorily hidden in the contradictory anonymity of the crowd; perhaps divine providence's kindness un-noticed. As he had finally identified the elusive villain, a vengeance was soon to be his; made possible through the justice provided by an improvisational metal worker who made stens. ......... With a desire of both heart and mind for those to come of not being just another lauded fake, having the acclimation to some sort of perceived negative desire to not have anyone else having to feel what Jack lives with every day; at the core; he wanted now just to kill his half-assed, punk, accidental assassin. In that, he fancied himself some sort of one day Bowie hero, in that he would eliminate one of the world's cretins, making the place safer for the others. The fact was that even if that was true, it would represent a .00000001% improvement, but Jack was not now a numbers man. He felt no twinge of guilt, and thought; "For their own good, people really should examine the consequences of their actions before they get their ass in the sling."

Jack, like us all, knows that in his banality he is condemned to the black-white of the existence of, and the insistence of some sort of required, diseased partnership with some inoculation which was succeeded in being a Hollywood god or goddess of some entity Eros effectively used. He also strongly suspected that he was likely just another middle man, in a long boring series. "Party, party, party;" in the banal phrase's attempt to "update" congeniality. Joke, joke, joke. Cunfusing, confusing. ....... When stone cold sober. Term-dated, supposedly up-dated and passing for that in the great halls; the term as incomplete as the four point oh, oh, oh. Does anyone condescend to pay the least bit of any attention?

This morning, Jack's focus was on the necessary observance of the black pavement, strewn with lines and generally ignored signs, upon which his clunker's wheels and he were grudgingly and condescendingly dependent. The only other option he had ever fantasized in his privileged, "Strawberry Fields" some odd years of calendar-measured existence, at the time believing that he had seen things "which grow so incredibly high," now suffering in a drought which will no doubt end, maybe after his demise, was the hard realization of the time proven "fact" that if he didn't want to starve to death writing Sufi poetry under a prolific and disdained tree; the highest possible achievement of mankind according to the likes of non-doctrinaire Rumi, he had no other choice than to mess up this kid. ............. Jack thought; "I wish all paths didn't lead to Rome; but where is there a sign leading to a road that goes someplace else?"

It wasn't his attempt to warm his car, in his own driveway, which had started all the garbage. The easily, cop-caught, little, piece of s*** had no meaningful existence to begin with, and had no valid claim to anything more than a likely predilection to destroy, in his inability to understand and create.

As within the self-confining walls of the falsely induced and further exacerbated illusion of choice, non-pronouncements of time itself, almost in mind; if any; are at the kindest; the little bot was stuck in the reminiscence of its, not his other than through a vague inheritance, perversions of centuries prior Machiavelli; triumphantly confident in his effectively inflicted rules supportive of a winning disease; later seen as a conquering worm. In the man-made clock's struggle for its own existence and relevance, through its monied, and thereby loud megaphone, we have been indoctrinated with its charade. There is no choice on that one. Whoever the inconsequence and whatever the necessary bent and possibly broken fabric has devised to be in its current advantage, a concocted, yet another self-serving scenario, which has confounded its detractors, purposely choosing, in their inadequate, cold, logical calculation to be oblivious to any idea of the love inherently born in us, another distraction of-the-utmost importance; that being its irrelevance, in the acceptance of the idea of death. It has successfully hidden the datum which suggests that the "logic" employed is completely based on the most banal of "facts," that which has been ineffectively demonstrable only today. Physics assumes the role of Jayzee, sans the beat. The easily-union-card-granting halls of academe lend their academically recognized, "Wizard" credentials to whoever has the wherewithal to pay their price, suitable for framing. The true Wizard hides in silent disgust.

Their hallowed credentials entitle some of the holders thereof into the bourgeois-conducive entrapments, envied by those with proper papers not satisfactory to the AKC. His debt-inducing, "science" will continually rule in the present, UNTIL THE INEVITABLE, NEXT DISCOVERY of a new instrument, a new tool, to be made useful by a "science" which has overtaken old religion in the West; only to replace it with another tithe gathering bit of worshipped imperfection.

At one time, nature worship was a seeming alternative; its dictums constant, un-deniable, simple and obvious. To say otherwise required the "skills" of a blind person, totally out of touch. There seems to have been someone's idea of a joke, that these same people were extremely vocal, and yet very minor players in their chosen field of the observable sciences. Jack's publicly feigned dis-interest in what-passes-for-the-impracticality-of-the-ignored-evidence, too banal, and ultimately subject to the "You have a fantastic grasp of the obvious" condescending dismissal of the pretentious blind.

As one who had once wished to be a dutiful partner he has pretended to be as jovial as Penny's public pronouncements, using her "improvement" flyers and rhetoric, and is generally, thereby not conveying her dissatisfaction. From decades of experience he had learned that it is difficult to accurately articulate; less a fear of the fire than a fear of burdening anyone with the "omen" that it is cold outside when auto thermometers registered single digit positive or negative degrees. The ugliest of Palahniuk's popular perceptions were precisely that, a hidden whimpering inability delivered by and on a drone, characterizable as PPP or pee-pee-pee; the choice that of the one who forked over the $9.99 plus shipping, credit card charge. To Jack, it seemed to be of minor justice that Palahniuk's name did not lend itself to anything daring to be imitative of Chekov or Kafka. Try to imagine, in polite company, attempting to use the most descriptive adjectives of Palahniuk or Palahniuk-esque "writing." It would be embarrassing or stupid for him as there aren't any. He said; "Writing is verbs." It may be an appropriately bright stance, insofar as a choice over lessers of evil, as it leads to a certain degree of popularity with repulsed readers. While his "best" was a failure to the more outgoing movie attendees; it may well be an attestation to people's unwillingness to see what they don't want to. Sometimes things do make sense. In the real world is there anyone sufficiently stupid to fall for the extremely flawed scam depicted in his second best; "Choke?" probably not, but it can be seen as symbolic. The garbage is only relevant insofar as it conveys an ugly picture to those who do not know any better; kind of a blubbery, chromosome opulent, fat ass on Windows; rather than a chair.

That was the currently best culmination of a practical hope, PH an oxymoron, only to those with whom one sought to efficiently and expeditiously end exchange; EEE, AAA, ZZZ, or FFF, if you had not noticed. Maybe "Chucky," as in Barris, or disturbed-kid-movie-anti-hero-decades-less-antecedent, or a "joking" derision of the starring character might almost suffice. However this thought required a kindness not a part of demonically smiling Chucky. Despite the liberal and "New Age" dictates which were able to make the most sacred of their imaginary cows fashionable; a pathetically easy target given what had gone before, it has been readily apparent, in the vastness of times prior and time current, that their nicey-nicey-holding-of-hands-and-praying-shit has little relevance to anyone's future, other than the "wonderful" participants' own need to consider themselves a good person or persons, in their own head or heads. The totality suffers as the eastern, western mix; an attempted illustration leaning eastward, of the most "complete" of blendings is brought to the table by the cranky maid, defiant toward the chef. The possible understanding is therefore affected negatively, even before the consideration of the possibilities of self-congratulatory contamination, a possible regurgitation of the self-proclaimed and self-deluded denial of the long prior testimony at the advent of the ME GENERATION; necessary at the time, but now a hindrance after the time has passed. While they had obligatorily chuckled, in an attempt to hide the reality within themselves; back a bit, no pun intended, they acted as if the idea was abhorrent to them. Maybe it was, but that thought didn't compel them to make any sort of adjustment. For the rest of the world this might well have been a blessing.

The insatiable will to survive, seems to prescribe another PP on that "hurt child," we all there in truth and yet bombarded with a training to be falsely "not-so-laughably-obvious." We now know that if we openly cry, they will find that weak and on a more sophisticated level, a DFW-type of an impossible to ascertain height of mountain and depth of valley, our relative positioning without the benefit of knowing which. In the saddest of current cases, he or she, tell stories of how they have had no choice, a result of their having buried degrees unfairly used and abused by the powers that be. They can be compelling. They can also be well practiced, thinking they know the game, though at a level the masters refrain from comment as there is no doubt that the original concept of incarnation embodied a hope previously unseen. "Darn That Dream," right? Dexter a bit later, I think; Sarah a bit later than that, I think, Billy wherever; and all whenever they had access to a live mike. Miles in his cool blue period and others in between.

Who came first? Competition? Immaterial, if so inclined. Their mis-perceived attempt at a gentleness the other will not respect. They have made it into an art form; perpetual in form and mind. The question is simply; "Who are they?" Many of the flim-flam men and women speak as if they were innocent victims of some sort of "conspiracy," to which we are all un-knowingly subject. Rather than taking the hard responsibility for the harvest of their prior actions, they try to make the rest of us feel guilty for their lazy, un-talented and ultimately useless station. They inform us that the scam, emanating from the most currently proficient of the earthly, and in the case of the most lost, a failed movie-driven derivation of some sort of "matrix" they cannot find, picture, explain or understand. One has the free will to believe in the high, the low, or the abyss beneath. Then there is the whole disgusting reptile-alien thing.

As a result of the history we have witnessed, too often through TV, we full well believe in the regularity of "scam." Insofar as we can yet glean, in the US, optimists think it is one with Saunders' depiction of a "Persuasion Nation." The short stories left Jack wishing for expansion. For the simplest of un-enquiring minds, the pavement with its pot-holes, coupled with the scurrying dogs in harness, their eyes asking why there has to be a leash and why the pace has to be so slow, served as another manifestation of the potential of what might easily be real. The largely ignored metallic signs, in official black, white and red, at the sides of the road said; "Stop," "Watch for School Bus," "Horse Crossing Area," "Slow Down, Curve," and numerous other glossy reminders of the rules of the road some faceless thing had dictated.

It seems to very likely be some sort of swindle-for-your-own-good or a deference to the still fashionable, though decades old "dumbing down," that if opposed to their view of "perverse" concepts of spiritual beauty and of more relevance, through earth bound concepts and failings at any of their, high or low, wishes for or calculations of a scientific "absolute truth," that any such notions have been concocted, surreptitiously promoted and encouraged by the authorities, an un-intended, Freudian as opposed to Jungian, death wish of sorts in free distribution. The fact that the roads do need stop signs here and there serves as a "reason" for their being placed everywhere.

All too simplistic in the idea's pretentions to demise in the doubting face of the learned, it now barely exists in outlying regions. Those who preach otherwise should be obliged to enlighten the rest of us, in their invariable attempt at taking their fee. Don't click the appropriate button and laugh more than the "nut shot" YouTube hilarities provide freely. If there is any deficiency gleaned from our reticence to pay bills on time, it is predictably, yet popularly seen as congruent to that which has been interpreted as 1950-ish kitsch and that silent testimony of distrust.

The thought which is deemed as incomprehensible by the majority, is obviously consistent with a popular notion of the logo of "A DETRIMENT TO LIFE ITSELF," espoused by the corporately similar, successors to big government; a purchased excursion into someone else's calendar; top of page, pictorial splendor irresistible to parents with the little ones in tow.

In a calculable, audacious, and successful attempt to appear to be all or nothing, the middling choose to be constrained by an edited excuse, in a perfunctory, half-hearted attempt to portray a pedanticism, inoffensive to the condemned habitués of the oh-so-nice, US Midwest. A Pulitzer or Nobel Prize is born of the US purchasing power commanded like the UK MBE; all too acquiescent to a nothing endemic in the "middle-brow" reviews which inundated the mass market; their sophistication from playing in Peoria gleaned as educated; or at least clever. Through their "New Yorker" subscription they fancied themselves as "up to date in Kansas City," unaware of the sarcasm contained in the prior Broadway song.

To momentarily get back to the sad stories of the young scammers, Greven and Paolini included, it is without question that bottom line, they are sold with nothing more than one click, just as any other commodity. Nietzsche's philosophical thoughts have been irreparably been damaged by his supposed association with the successful usurpation of the failed artist, loud-mouthed, and bought Hitler. Hitler; Hister by way of Nostradamus or anti-Christ in the Evangelical portion of the US; it is of no matter. If not for him, it would have been another espousing the same popular, electable, philosophical hatred. It was then the right time and history does have a way of repeating itself; the second time in farce; the third time maybe the end for all but the clan-destined sabres. Be wary of those who espouse freedom for what is already free and innocuous; while they simultaneously espouse "necessary" restrictions on things granted as of right. The bearded front men for the sabres try to convince you otherwise.

To back up into the dealings with the forgers, thieves, seekers of sympathy, and the well-schooled users of what is deemed moral who pose as artists; it is un-equivocally consistent that if you choose to subsidize the sad stories they use as excuses, as if they were the first to experience inequity, you will be taken; more and more and more. A school shooting which may well have been staged is an excuse to ban a citizen's right to own a gun. Everyone knows damn well the bad guys will continue to get them. But, it is impossible to argue otherwise in the face of ten dead kids. Yet, it will be worse if not successfully argued. The masters aren't necessarily the brightest people on the planet; but they do have a PhD in foolproof plans. As they wish the result is that it is just the innocent who are left unprotected. Those most ridiculously professing their false "humanitarianism" in their money and fame-loving existence, are extremely proficient in getting on 2016 airways; strewn with un-challenging hosts.

Such a digression. Jack lost track of time measured by boredom, as well as that measured by distance. All he really needed to know, was that he was on the road, pistol in pocket, on the way to meet the dumb f*** who had chosen to screw up the life of the wrong person.

A swarm of winged things, at a height well below the peaks of the "new" Mickey D signs, devoid of golden arches, got Jack's attention. They were on the small side and light brown in color. They were apparently unable to glide at all, and consequently had to beat their wings like bats. Since it was daylight Jack hoped they were swallows rather than rabid bats. The incessant flapping of their leathery wings and their coloring; which was closer to a real black bat than the least prurient manifestation of any bleached out swallow anyone had yet seen, seemed a strong vote for bat. But, they flurried back and forth over the road, and dove for nothing. Back and forth; back and forth; back and forth with a bravado. They seemed to have settled on a place; perhaps an airborne home. They entertained no digressions into that which could probably not have been a less rewarding ground on any discernable perimeter; north, south, east or west; up, down, left or right; as only they could semi-righteously know the "truth" in the headlines of the all so "well-intentioned" garbage chuckers. The simple fact that the birds-bats knew all too well was that if they allowed themselves to be intellectually viewed as oddities; that they would consequently only be allowed to be studied and considered as half-assed in their deemed as inconsequential, dismissible as ignorant, involvement with things. The "half-assed" assessment was not of their concern; it was the annoyance at being studied. In considering both of the possible outcomes; their being seen as "worthy" and their being seen as "unworthy," they opted for an answer of "none of the above OR below."

The birds-bats had already taken on the much larger societally-relevant "issues," sans the "benefit" of a credentialed psychologist or psychiatrist; as they also knew that the seekers-of more-pill-business will invariably interject somewhere. A diagnosis of ADD would result in the un-wanted numbing effects of Ritalin.

A statement which indicates some sort of familiarity with "Songs of Innocence," to the exclusion of "Songs of Experience" is required to remain out of various forms of the cage. An experienced person who knows how to elude the authorities is often considered schizophrenic. Without intricate gamesmanship, there is no win-win situation possible as the system has a desire, bias and structure which favors loss, unless one has wings.

Within the confines of their low trajectory there was nothing discernable to dive for; yet they kept repeating this procedure. The white lined, hot, black asphalt contained nothing edible. Maybe they got their kicks in this manner; sensing that their back and forth, back and forth; was an un-settling annoyance to the drivers and passengers in the vehicles on the road. The whole thing didn't make any sense to Jack, which confounded any hope of classification Jack might have entertained.

He was getting close to his planned, final destination. Jack entered the town grid. Commercial establishments, even if still blessed with paint, would never have to worry about being placed in the Met; or even a non-shooting gallery. They were built when Mesa Grande had more similarities to Propicio than it did Oakland. Alost half were now occupied only by the people who Jack and Manny used to pick up; their asses now on the stoops; and the other half of the storefronts ran the gamut from pawn shops and porn shops to "gentlemen's" clubs, fitness clubs and retailers of clubs and machetes. There was one particular store which had always gotten his fleeting attention. Whenever he and Manny did their business, Jack made special note of one establishment which appeared to be architecturally consistent with the styles of the 1940's. Its sign, hung from a rusted iron holder which was placed crossways, consisted of three natural, unstained, wooden boards and was painted in many colors with the name "ALL VALUES KNOWN." It had to have drawn attention as the apparatus swung and creaked in the slightest of zephyrs. Jack had never seen anyone entering or leaving; making him initially think that this was just another abandoned commercial creation. The store windows were draped with a shoddy and perhaps mawkish, marginally torn black curtain which hung from a tarnished, gold-leafed bar, allowing light which seemed ever-present to be seen at the irregular, meandering top and the tear. On some days a neon dragon was placed between the curtain and the glass, which shone in as many hues as the sign. It was also curious that none of the junkies, meth-freaks or working girls ever occupied its stoop. So, Jack brightly concluded that some legitimate business was going on inside and that the street people did not want to mess with the owners; suggestive of a Jesuit presence. His curiosity led to many vows of checking it out tomorrow. Jack knew all too well about tomorrow; and today was no exception for him; as it was again today, and he kept his foot to the pedal.

Instinctively, Jack checked for the presence of his gun with his free right hand and found it where he left it; right in place.

The un-impeded, blistering sun was in a more ambitious area; the overhead. Its placement was well known to him and every other cop as a place to avoid; Icarus and all of that. Eyes fixed on the ground, he was in a "downtown" part of Mesa Grande, as yet not "discovered" by the fashionably striving gentrification crew. The spray-painted murals clinging to the walls depicted obviously enhanced, light brown skinned women covered only where absolutely necessary for a grudging PG rating. The parts which confused those who made note of them were the grand and stylized letters beneath. As a result of his cop experience, Jack knew them to be gang related symbols warning outsiders to keep away. For one sufficiently bi-lingual it was much more direct than most white south westerners appreciated, and perhaps as blunt as the officially posted road signs which, in yellow, blared "Curve Ahead," or in red requested a "Yield." But, not being generally recognized as that which commands sanctioned respect it chose to proceed with an; "I don't give a shit" bravado; audaciously bordering on the overstated and garish. "Deal with IT mutha," the hood's tagging artist says what he says; not so much because he still believes in the principle of free expression, but most likely because he has learned that where one is born is where one will die in America; platitudes, exceptions and the "American dream," of some significance to some stupid fuck's ass. He dons his glad rags and tries to forget that the fact of the matter is that the "mutha" has already adequately dealt with IT best he could; having had decades of practice. He never tells his brothers and sisters that he would have liked to have been born elsewhere. It would sound un-duly insulting, it doesn't matter anyway, and he wouldn't. With all the talent bestowed on Basquiat he couldn't handle it either.

So, he does his spray can thing in the dark of the night and attempts to be offensive to that which passes for socially acceptable in the high priced, "non-commercial" arenas; knowing that it's a very old game. Shit, at least he had to have been turned on by the scantily clad curves, the size of a Pollack major work. He pounds his chest and says; "Me barrio," in reality, but in essence not very different than Jean Genet's introspection.

Jack periodically put one eye on the weathered and fading murals. He offhandedly mused how the mere addition of age had softened the originally screeching pastels. He realized that this observation might be more acceptable down here, if rather than words like "weathered, fading and age" he said something to do with; "sun, wind and rain," or better yet; "the acquisition of an un-duplicatable patina." But, since he was currently devoid of the "pleasure" of speaking to someone he stuck with his instinctive vernacular. The politically correct euphemisms would be saved for polite company; his amusement indirectly and simultaneously proportional to theirs. Jack checked, and his gun was still there and he drove on. He again managed to amuse himself; this time accidentally. The words of Yes' "Close to the Edge" imposed themselves right in the center of his head. He wondered if those words had any relevance to the people chillin' in the grid. ......... He decided; "Of course they do. All you have to do is set them to a salsa rhythm."

From his ancient cop days, he didn't truly recall, making it almost new to him, how much the roads wound around in his destination; "Nob Hill." It was the most current of Mesa Grande's proper citadels, replete with newly installed speed bumps, octagonal, mostly red stop signs and old farts in baggy, off-pink shorts pretending to be tending their gardens, as they watched for intruders. The three external, potential obstacles to his mission were likely just a function of his prior inattention. He immediately dismissed his prior, sophistristic thoughts as it was of more importance for him to concentrate on his efforts to be unobtrusive and in ostensible conformity with the rules of the road in one of the aged, but still striving sections of the "Land of Enchantment." He briefly considered performing some not obviously sarcastic rendition of the innocuous, banal, yet expected "smile and wave" routine. But, he decided that the condition of his car would be too much of an offset; better to minimize pictures and as surreptitiously as possible, just do the deed. Get in and get out without becoming famous in the process. He thought of an old movie and mumbled; "Thanks, Mickey," as he fumbled for his sten and again found the comfort of the un-traceable, steel brace in his pocket. The home-made thing was undeniably righteous as all fucking hell; cold as something north of hell; and unbearably warm as the Tropics when fired; just waiting for an irrational pull of the little oiled trigger. It was Jack's best of friends.

Jack's de-classe vee-hick-kul was again the object of the inadequately concealed notice of Sinclair Lewis' burghers. A century later in 2016, those at the side, still fancied themselves as "restorationally," sociably proper, and simultaneously "New Age," acting as if they were unaware of the obvious contradiction; and that's saying it nicely. Their straightforward, duplicitous, or pragmatically displayed belief in their self-perfection-ideal's path was perhaps a conveniently un-detected, piss-assed, pattern of pious pathology. Whatever; most of Lewis' characters had been somewhere convinced that they meant well, and were doing their best. Those, in their mandatorily and/or congratulatory, prescribed requisite of shelter, often referred to as their "camp," a no doubt un-intentional, though subconsciously possible reference to the Ludlum "Theatre of the Ridiculous" depiction of that "politically" always unsaid, constantly denied any allegations which said that they lacked the full understanding of their innate irrational and self-defeating need to re-create their failed and abandoned gardens always stood guard at the sides. They tried to forget, blank out in the cordiality of toddy time, or otherwise be blind to the possible motivations of those professing to be on their side. In that which they unclearly displayed on the surface; the result of a lifetime of rejection and ultimately un-answerable questions, the "new burghers" were sufficiently audacious or desperate in their "hope" that this time the same old thing would work. See the most simplistic definition of insanity. Those most pure of heart, relied on their most imperfect of eyes; all they had with which to see; and thought that they saw that "purity" and the yet unreached goal of "goodness," in all the contradictions contained within the supposed brilliances, all later seen as value judgements thrown in one's face was again a subject which required "advanced study," at the same time, oddly, in need of no meaningful elucidation at all; as if someone had just come up with another twisted marketing ploy; suitably impenetrable.

In his ignorance of what he had not yet been able to articulate, but had seen time and again, through his cop gig, as a mathematically calculable function of some relationship between perceived privilege and perceived misfortune, he again engaged his basest of instincts. Some referred to that as "common sense;" others said that "common sense" was extremely un-common. Others required some sort of impossible definition of the term. In this limited context they were "friends," though at the same time did their best to distance themselves from anything which could possibly be interpreted as meaning something akin to "common." Dexter perfectly inarticulated with his almost Coltrane sax, original or at least not irrelevant; Holiday asked; "What is and what is not?"

Jack observed; doing his inadequate, vengeful best to accomplish his "righteous" task. There was no possible justification for this gang-banging cretin to have stolen his car and have caused Jack all the intolerable and inexcusable ramifications he had experienced and will continue to experience as long as he lived. The lead in his sten-gun was ready to flow and do justice.

Justice? Justice? A name for a dog. The seven letter representation of an idea or a reality was a complication which presented more difficulties than whether or not the first letter was capitalized; and it had nothing to do with the vagaries of numerology. It was a dog; a great dog. The last Jack had seen of his German Shepherd, he was dozing on the couch, maybe glad just to have found a warm home, and un-knowingly against the odds, expecting that it would last forever. Or maybe he did know. Prior to having had met Jack, he had been around. He was no youngster when he showed up at Jack's door, tired, hungry and worse than that, desperate for some form of kindness or hope. His furry countenance was quiet, looking up, brown eyes displaying that which had seen the worst, still moist, though not openly crying, even in possession of barely the remainder of an original verve for life and love, so constantly challenged. His eyes evoked a thankfulness his voice was unable to show whenever Jack did the slightest favor; like bringing him his food and freshening his water. Jack saw that in his best of moments; and couldn't help but think that the German Shepherd he had not re-named, saw that too; likely with a losing thought that he just wanted and needed to believe in and only saw the things which he needed to see. If Jack got caught today, Justice was again on his own, as that possibility could well be something which might become all too "real," putting an abrupt end to the pup's most Pollyanna-ish of dreams without the courtesy of explaining why. It would have been easy to dismiss this nonsense as a child's fairy tale, if it were not for the dreams, from which he was apparently mandated to arouse.

He was awake; somewhat; as much as ever; who can tell how much; he guessed; contradiction un-explainable within the un-alterable confines of himself; that mindset a question and a need for the trusting of his heart, which he found ultimately impossible to defend at this moment. He well knew that the "self," described partial share worked well, but not in his soul. Within the stated interests of "societal norms" he entertained a notion of feigning an inoffensive sociability. It would likely work well in the appearance of the prevalent scheme of things; only suspect to the extremely young and the extremely experienced; who if called to, as supposedly is a function of choice, define and DFW characterize themselves as studious geeks or nerds of the lukewarm actually making a laughably absurd stance. Who can authoritatively decipher? The misnomered "nature" of the game as insofar observed and courageously, as opposed to faint heartedly, analyzed is strongly suggestive of the preferred state of the marginally-over-the-line, safest of "intelligent" duplication as opposed to redundantly duplicitous; aware or not; only "seen" by those with clairvoyance and the nerve to think it real. Any Ludddite demands for a differentiation have to be met with a heralded, anointed soliloquy, resplendent in its obtuseness, sometimes minor "award" winning.

The witch doctors knew that they had power when people believed that they did; and none when they didn't. Their primary concerns were only how many anecdotal events were required to induce substantial belief; and how to fabricate those events. The latter concern came to be the "family" induced spinning of incidents. Where did anyone think the term "spin doctor" came from anyway? Murray the K? Clay Cole? Madison Avenue? Advertising? Post-Murdoch news reporting? Hearing what one wants to hear? All of the prior? None of the prior? Some thing or things else? .......... The biased and incomplete insinuations of the legalized, pill dispensing psychiatrists? Cognitive deficiencies, in vile antiquity referred to as stupidity; now euphemistically referred to as "special needs" children; as if the term made any difference in what is.

Other charlatans and morons advocate the existence of some sort of matrix, apparently not capable to realize that their attempts to show as physically real that which they ultimately state to be a dream has its "reality" induced by a bomb movie. Or a dream within a dream. Or a dream within a dream within another dream carried to the infinite power? Or a dream within a movie of a dream within a movie of a dream within a movie .............. Jack laughed to himself. In the absence of any other mental stimulation provided by his old car; radio dead; yet still humming down the road; Jack took in his well textured, internal ambience; only slightly hindered by the almost remaining carcasses of the pulverized borers on his windshield. In life they were colorful and manifest flyers. However, now, they were dead, yellow-brown, splats; as a result of their brainless excursions into the territories claimed by moving cars. ......... Just a bit of water and a clean rag would remove the gross graveyard .......... at least until the next reckless event chose to manifest itself on the windshield; that already kneeling on its mark; waiting to attempt a well-rehearsed quick start, often sufficient in a very short race. ............. Jack's thoughts had yet again magnificently served to have passed time.

In the moment, the successful summoning of Jack's "now" relevance, maybe only to himself, was completely in deference to the interesting and sometimes dangerous impositions near or already exhibited by inhabitants of the blacktop. His eyes were focussed on the potential problems he could view from his windshield or those ghosts which periodically contrasted with them; which were constantly reflected in his smudged rear view mirror. When he had learned how to drive, his teaching father had strongly suggested that he watch his back. It seemed silly to him at the time; as it seemed painfully obvious to a still brave, but embittered 15 year old, that if he could go fast enough, that whatever was behind would always be exactly there; behind and inconsequential. Real life developments had led to a re-assessment of those early thoughts. Jack was illogically drawn back, not really wanting to go there. Maybe it was the archaic make of his junker; maybe it was his mind's perhaps incorrect remembrance of a youthful time, with many "reasons" for hope, which his dreams had now idealized; or maybe it was just the crude simplicity of how fucking hot it had pre-maturely gotten this year.

That shared, pre-post-inadequately-characterized-sorts of an ice cream soda with that special her could not in the current version of knowledge and truth be easily understood. At the minimum it seems to take time; an insouciant statement, innocuous in a mere, and likely inaccurate one; maybe like the time itself as extremely differentiated from a 2016 movie, commercially sold at $22 per seat plus overpriced popcorn; the butter their ostensible selling point. A long time ago, with the dream of Beth so loved and so wide of hip, so beautifully alive and yet to be cruelly resurrected, that dream existent since whatever the relevance of his birth or as long as he can recall; he truly considered an embarrassing innocence; "Oh God, the truest of innocences I can possibly imagine," he thought.

It has been proven in all aspects of the word "proof" that she now doesn't care about him. He knew. She told him. He cries sometimes. He thought that he might know the cruel logic she employed. It suggests that on his worst of days, that through his need, she was made the victim of having had to be the one to have said the cruelty of "I don't feel the same way about you." He considered the possibility of that being weak anecdotal evidence and that he was always inclined to respect women's wishes. As if he was speaking to a passenger, he said; "It was my fault; not yours; my only possible attempt at inadequate justification, desperation for an instantaneous TV-like moment. In that windy moment we were together; I was shivering beyond control. The feared, likely result was that what would come would hurt badly. With the paltry excuse that I deferred to a discipline known as statistics, stupidly disguised as hope, I was wrong, very wrong, yet maybe not so wrong. So, sooooo complicated is now that which appeared to have been so easy in un-complicated, un-educated youth." He sighed.

He partially digressed from his Beth "issue," but his mind continued to race; "With their benefit of generations of experience in presenting their lies, the faulty logicians in pursuit of power have become competent in that. That. That. And that again. And then, drawing at the last of yours and my straws scream, still holding back the essence, that it's so amazing how the regular practice of any discipline makes the derivative observer 'competent' in that discipline; within; within; invariably within; hidden; sans their knowledge, and the subject of academic debate; devoid of family, love, children, cats and dogs; life itself. ........ Brief shut-down again; well anticipated; un-provably, but likely the temporary difficulties imposed by those internet proficient players; un-knowingly destined to suck up and lose; in the fullest of use of their limited, university instructed, strongest of possibilities. .......... Okay; maybe some sort of a joke. Ha, fucking ha; lots of internet LOL and all of the easy to type acronyms; oh so welcomed and warming. Avenues deceive in appearing to be as clear as they ever have been; as if anyone had the ability to pronounce such things. A Basil Fawlty 'Thank you so much' seems the appropriate, socially proficient response; an endeavor to appear the required positive; as if nothing was ever wrong; the truthful falsehood a manifestation of obscurity."

In full cognizance of the buried mines everyone pretends not to notice; yet which are easily detectable in the most common of un-common senses; the poorly disguised diggings remain eager to do their jobs. This is perhaps more eloquently said as; "It is obvious that this thing has been inadequately designed. To state otherwise is a confession to elementary Sunday School dogma, with the benefit of generations of cold experience, to effectively play the child's innocence, in a fascination with the cute antics of Disney's Donald Duck. It hurt. It hurts; more than anything else ever could. Yet I think, having experienced it that in my stupidity, I am condemned without a hint of choice or defense to dream of things unavailable to me, ........... and I believe in you. Please, help me. Can you? I so hope that you will. How can anyone with the correct number of chromosomes possibly think that beings which (wrong word purposely used) consider themselves 'bright' and have thereby made the choice to ignore their instinctive desire; and remain within their 'reasons;' who always first satisfy their short term needs are anything other than absurd when they articulate belief in their ability to find an equitable, long term solution for all the beings on the planet? Of course to say this or ask this is the guaranty of one of five things; 1) being considered off balance; 2) being considered anti-social; 3) being required to clarify and re-state the observation ad infinitum; 4) being tittered at by bored twits; or 5) being ignored and not invited to any toddy times. The afore-mentioned pentahedron, Pentateuch or Pentagon; prior personal preferences post paranormal pediatric pretenses; seem initially daunting and personally depressing, but if one can get over 5) for a month or so, one learns that this is a welcomed manifestation of Sartre's most benign of neglects.

All that is on one level, most articulated by the Times competence, yet further down the line disparaged in Arkansas as Franzenian, and thereby discouraging a brilliant sojourn for some southerners. The unfortunate course of life seems to include a familiarity with a number of approaches; as has mine; my moments with you my pinnacle; in testimony to the validity of the 'outdated' and simultaneously timelessness of Shakespearian tragedies.

That you were born a British bird leads nowhere but the nearby sea, as you have asked and asked, to no avail. There was one wonderful morning when we didn't have to pay the tolls on the turnpike; originally said to eventually become free after it had recouped its cost. That happened in 1954, but finally because of the August 8, 1968 power outage, that became true for one day. One whole day! In an attempt at an inadequate comfort, the loss of your small change is the greater loss of the jackasses who have not yet had their cataracts removed. That may well be only me, in a place crooked and unsure, but likely together and thereby unspeakably happy in what I think would have been Eden for both of us. We know the snake was named Machiavelli and was easily dismissible with the side of a shovel. His best trick was to try to establish limitations through the imitation of God's voice saying; 'Do not eat the fruit of the apple tree.' I mean come on. If God didn't want us to eat the fuckin' apples why did he plant the tree there? ...... We all know that table scraps are bad for a dog's health and we tell them not to eat them. But, we don't put a bunch of yummy strips of venison, dripping with warm gravy, right next to them and then leave the room. Christ!"

The real failure of the fictional Adam and Eve was that they were condemned to have been sickened with other's definitions of sociability when they took a bit of a vacation. Of course the story has been re-written, re-written, and re-written under the guidance and funding of large government dictates, as well as private interest persuasions. Mix that with a little stupidity and you get the veracity of a Murdoch owned newspaper.

Sometimes an egg cream I didn't understand but refrained from asking about was in my dreams; different in each portrayal; yet not in the "life" I once thought to be both logically and easily attainable. In a possible display of someone's mercy, I had long ago striven to forget the ceiling cracks above the walled crib I was compelled to stare up at. Their patterns were initially of interest, but in time, proved to be doctrinaire. So, unable to sleep and in search of adventure I sometimes fantasized an ability to walk upside down on the ceiling; and this was before I had ever seen Spiderman. I'd often trip over the hurdles presented by the plastered area above each opened, room separating door. In some rooms the ceiling plaster was covered by punched tin done in a floral pattern, and painted white, which made strange noises at every step; crackles, whoomps, whuumps, and whimpers.

When I tired, I lay back down, and as is inescapable from one cribbed against a dark green wall, my only other interesting view was into the adjoining kitchen, where my mom and dad sat opposed at the table, each leaning back on their chair, with hands folded in their lap. I regard these lost views as my personalized spin-illusion, which has now either been covertly colored in synthetics, or has simply disappeared. It is abundantly clear that times have changed again; not for the better. The smiling happiness of the old candy store soda shop is gone forever. Carrying her books home has been ended with the convenience of e-books and tablets; no more weights on your arms or shoulders; no more books falling to the ground in need of pick-up; and no more annoying, un-productive feelings.

They wish. Despite the invasive thoughts Jack was getting, the simple truth was that he just wanted to kill the fuck who messed up his life. He just lusted with a deep seated hatred for this jackass kid. If he could make him protractedly suffer before killing him, he would have found that much more preferable. The thought was only dismissed because Jack knew this would increase his level of risk. Mickey Rourke had taught him well. As opposed to popular opinion; "It ain't easy to commit a 'crime.' First, you gotta get in. Then you gotta get out. And you gotta try not to get famous while you're in there."

Now with an added agenda of the few other financially un-fortunate in their camp, with whom or which, they surreptitiously identify; only trying to make a necessary buck; it is conveniently seen as "organized crime," rather than the politically incorrect use of the word "Mafia." Respect. Effin' respect. What the fuck is wrong with that? I guess it's that every once in a while someone has to pay the price for you to keep it. Stupid people object, bit it's Biblical. Fuckin' A, man. Ask Abraham.

Jack broke from his second lasting reverie and watched the road and proceeded as expeditiously as possible. He knew that if he deigned to communicate his thoughts to anyone he would be called incomprehensible, or worse, unhinged. He also knew that if any reference to hinges was made, it would emanate from the venue of the stamp collector, or would correctly be termed "double hinged." So au contraire. He recalled one of the few pieces of advice he got from his mother. In what seemed like all seriousness, she said; "If you ever get stuck talking to a psychiatrist, don't tell them the truth," sounding a bit like Salinger.

"All this stupidity caused by a little shit named 'Spidey D.' Must be someone's weird idea of a fucking joke. I'm going to kill that bastard." He had well learned that the speed bumps could easily be taken in excess of 15 MPH, if one piloted something other than a low rider. That was the silly point; a very useful one for the strivers. He made a last minute slight refinement of plans. That's always the chief executive's prerogative.

Ones who grandly characterize themselves as being devotees, as opposed to lovers of Nabokovian minutiae might note the starting letter of the key word. It is the paltriest of imagined fifths. If that one may then condescend to extend their border to the sequentially fifth; then guess at the switched sixth; and cut off the rest; we all might get somewhere. That seems pretty easy. Get it? I know that you will SAY you do in the most impressive fashion. Kind of synonymous with imagine eight and guess what letter again pops up. Coincidence? Probably, but no one will ever know for sure. Un-detected alpha-omega? Not likely; and at the very least it seems to be first, logically required to define the latter hyphenated term insofar as mortals have not to date. Prior to engaging in conversation bordering on the legal or philosophic, it's kind of useful to define terms or "issues."

There are just too many "issues," debates, un-knowns; which all share one common trait; diversionary inconsequence. A common, much more plebian approach, is necessarily stated as some sort of joke articulated a half century prior by the Dylan man, for people capable of understanding metaphor, lyricism and symbolism. One might feel "cool" or impressive in dumbed down America of 2016, to say; "What? Can you say that simply in two words? KISS." The answer is a simple "No" and a brief statement saying; "Plant that KISS on my ass. ............ On second thought, don't."

The only deferential aspect seems to directly correspond to Bob's sudden, hoary, perhaps oxymoronic discovery of the genius of Frank Sinatra. Personally, I hope I die before I get old. Yeah, I know that he has at least seven kids to support, yadda, yadda on the commercial shit, but goddam Bob. I know that you've changed your posture many times as you grew or as your perception of the world's supposed change did, mentally affecting your shifting view of your place in it, coupled with the scary shit you saw and heard when you faked the motorcycle accident, coupled with the pragmatism of having to stay on the road to take care of your kids; sometimes necessitating bullshit. The damn thing to me Bob, is that in my fandom, that you are the man by any sort of standard and its later mirrored deviation which I can imagine. The girls play as if they are momentarily pissed, but most easily "negotiate" their way back; no offense intended to the more burdened ones you and I both love; the best of them saying; "Don't ever use that "L" word. Just fuck me." They're so great, aren't they? ......... Kind of, I guess. In that mindset, it seems to be consequently implied that there seems to be needed some logical requisite, not yet quite ready to fly overhead. In their supposed kind and warm presence I would try so hard and softly to do my best. ........ Most of the time. No, not that; all of the time; insofar as I can understand time. But, goddam man; Frank's been buried sufficient time to disqualify him from a cheap shit, zombie, TV show. ................. Jeez. Can you imagine him popping out now singing "My Way." I shouldn't say that. Some "cool" indie writer will do a whole series on it, and your kids will read it, before anticipating the HBO series.

If we just could truly see the motivations behind the actions of the Jungian other; and they our pretensions to their beautiful spirit and they ours, and then try to understand their condemned-to-be-poetic, sad words, maybe we could all make another step. Shit, man. You wrote; "Where are you Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)," not me. Now Sinatra?

You well know that this could go on until the time we choose to stop it. The time you have spent in your deference to the highlights serve as an endorsement of the Freudian interpretation. The time you have spent in your deference to the low lights serve as an endorsement of the Jungian-induced-value-judgments; those being what are currently taken as an advancement. Id, super-id, ego, super-ego, Freudian desire at the zenith, Jungian poorly defined "collective consciousness" supposedly somewhere beyond; undoubtedly neither viewpoint capable of attaining the establishment consensus of what is taken for granted as being instinctively known and to date un-scientifically-provable. Thereby, though it is known to the few, it is as yet considered answered by the total mass retain, especially concerning every imaginable aspect of "primacy." Or did you again lie, thinking it makes no difference, Jokerman? ............ Sigh. You're probably right.

For whatever stupidity these drunken words may be unlikely seen, I think I know of another time, a time of the song and simple belief in the words of "Wooden Ships;" By Crosby, Stills and Kantner. "We are leaving. You don't need us. Silver people on the shoreline, let us be. We are leaving. You don't need us." You well recall, though you don't want to, that you have previously heard this sweet encouragement long ago. So long ago. It is prudent. It is beautiful. It is oh so prudent to forget those early dreams. Oh, to be allowed to have a time machine which brings you back to the archaic days when you offered to try to carry her books home from school. No one could know how "brave" an effort that was, performed by a pimply, physically deficient nerd, embarrassed to make contact, devoid of success, now replaced with zombies and vampires, and to lesser extent werewolves, in an attempted depiction of a profitable western inaccuracy. It was beautiful and it is gone forever.

Chapter 23

"Oh, shit," Jack said out loud, communicating only to his dashboard and maybe the prying conspiracy theorists in rapture with their sighting of yet another invisible "Big Brother." He saw the most flagrant of signs which said; "Entrance to Nob Hill," and he was shaken as he had thought that he was already in it. He thought; "Fuck, man. These muthas keep putting in more and more limiting boundary lines." ........... He pulled a haphazard, half assed left at what seemed like more of a crossroads than an intersection, hearing the fading horn blare of the annoyed driver of the late model, cream colored SUV, going the other way. Jack's left middle finger went out the window and performed its instinctive salutation; this time offered to the Friar-Tuck-headed driver and his ambiguous passenger who sported a common coiffure for old women who had just gotten their "consciousness" raised in the 2016 "Land of "Enchantment," US southwestern provincial style spike redundant. Of course the SUV kept going down the grid, the occupants clucking their tongues as they spouted some well-worn trivialities about "improper road decorum," politically correct behavior, and how the monkey-assed driver of the clunker rudely cut them off because he was not only insensitive, but anti-LGB&T interests. The "incident" had the potential of keeping both them and their beleaguered friends occupied for weeks.

He was now on Hill Street, or so he thought, or so he might think that he is now, or so he was already without knowing, or so he would continue to be until someone put up new signs and changed the name, or until he decided to turn from it; the latter seeming to be the best option available. There are more possibilities, but further meta considerations are tedious at best. Every bump on Hill Street reminded him of the obstacles he had known; but now, played out in minor, trunk rattling, perhaps of some interest to the rusted crowbar.

Dreamy allusions in their proper place, Jack took Hill Street in a speed-bump-limited, stop sign dictated manner; easily converting the latter edict to the practicality of a more interesting, through no competition, "watchful coast." Now getting near his target, he was glad that he had chosen this day as the one in which he would extract his "justified" revenge. .......... In the instant in which he made the mistake of allowing pushy reflection to put one of its gangrened feet in the door, he saw the "J" word as the differentiating split between Marley and Tosh, and the "R" word as a waste of time. But, some distractions, which in words, sound so righteous are merely just so compelling ......... and useless. He again fought to get out of his head; utilizing his willful focus on the road. His eyes were wide, ogling what the most current of screen renditions afforded. His $22 seat was unfortunately next to two of the most pom-pomiest of girls. He liked his remembrances of their short skirts, even realizing that this was only done in their preferred costume. Cool either way. But, it was time for a new paragraph. No?

If no, he could just skip to the end, disdain this thing and faint-heartedly grant it just one of the vaunted stars in multiplicity. "It's not me," Jack thought. "It's a GFR requirement."

The silence was only exceeded by the incessant hum of the wheels. Thank you, Zeke.

Damn. Once that first foot is in place, the second one always follows. The door is now wide open. Perhaps it has even been freed from its hinges. However, another, if you will once more; blind consideration surfaced; and that is possibly an attempt at a clarification rather than the incomplete destiny of another revision; lesser of evils and therefore a hearty "Yay" accompaniment. Some can't tell when the race is over. In a possible deference, hopefully un-detected, to that which allows and then doesn't, it seems so like a cruel personal tease so much inflicted through the un-wanted dreams of the other. No, not "the" other. The one special "other." The insistent window won't stay closed.

Another paragraph. Dammit. Jack needs to put occasional pedal to the gas to keep this thing going. He wants these foot jokes to stop almost as much as anyone does. ........ Poor joke; maybe one merciful. Jack would like it if you would just have a bit of a laugh. He's willing to pretend that he liked it even if you kindly faked it. .......... Despite, desperate Crystal's crystalline rock and her sign of life; whose name escapes him right now; more relevant than his excellent blurb; Jack is certain that he can tell the difference. Billy has all the sensitivity of his goat namesake. The gentleness shown makes everything all right; .......... most of the time; upon damning reflection; all of the time.

Jack, in the playing of Bergman's old hand of losing solitaire or chess, informs you that he expects to lose, as is indicated by the pervasive logic. Conversely, others, in some sense of their brave incarnation; are all too soon in the throes of a need for the vengeful insouciance of the horrors seen in the King-depicted "Carries" and ersatz "Shinings;" in each case incarnate "Death," the inevitable last one standing; despite, despite. .... That might work, but it seems simpler to learn to love losing. There's a hole in the argument.

Maybe it seems much too contemporary; or does it reflect another version of antiquity? Thinking, of any sort or degree kind of screws the whole thing up. Doesn't it? ......,. It's American; the land of the free and all that. ....... NOOOO. It's Western European; varying only by longitudinal, latitudinal degrees and culture; with no allowable adjustments for baseboard systems. If you don't believe this, just ask Adelaide and Van.

The conspiracy theorists have made significant trend setting inroads in their attempts to make a living from dumb shit. Jack thought it was only fair for him to be allowed to think about stupid coincidences free of charge. "Not for me," he thought as it seemed that any "conspiracy" spoken of in the fouled 2016 air, would require the competence, co-operation and quietness of at least five operatives. Jack's law enforcement experience suggested that this was impossible on both counts.

If someone had the interest and ability to adequately inquire, he suspected that they would efficiently say that the questioned "it" was only an occurrence forged by the charade of the other, done for other reasons; thereby just chance calculated circumstances until someone can prove otherwise. He had once desired so much more, and yet time logically screamed in both his ears that his metaphysical meanderings were another short whim he had thought about for a short time; like Dylan's "Visions of Johanna." He really hoped that he might have been something that was once of meaning; and even later, that maybe he could re-live what it was no longer possible to re-live on an infinite number of levels. ......... That Salinger innocence; first banned, then required reading, and then considered "old hat" died before he did. ....... It's been a long time; a lifetime for some. There are many who are much braver or they have claimed the distinction of having "earned" a PhD in Placating Anesthetics.

Still on a hilly road requiring a modicum of attention, in his head only, Jack heard a replay of Roy Orbison. He thought; "When you have allowed me to see the beauty in your expressive eyes; I know; I just know that no-one of good heart, can see that anything other than that sweet dream is destined for all. It is. It is. It cannot be other than that which obviously is; being together; us, kids, pets, a forever home for all of us; and more; so much more; all the dreams we have not yet been able to have yet been competent to have had imagined; like our teen-aged dreams. ......... If we are still deficient in our abilities to cope with the denial of what once seemed so easily possible; just look. It's in front of our faces every day; a mind's vision; but not a real thing for the benefit of us." The voice broke away from the sappy succubus imitation and went into the stuff about the gift one can give to their heirs through a pre-paid cremation and urn available from the Neptune Society national chain; drive in service available at select locations. ..................... Jack laughed out loud, and thought; "Ah, shit on it. It doesn't matter anymore. I've got a creep that needs killing. Fuck my heirs. Let them pay."

Ugh. And "Oh well." The thing gives every indication that it wants nothing more than to dwell and simultaneously seek to hide in its results of the poorly displayed cross-currents of some Narcissistic deviation done with "fun house" mirrors. Maybe it can get another mirror lined urn. Jack laughed and checked his gun. His ability to amuse himself made him briefly consider the pursuit of a TV career under the stage name of Rupert Pupkin. His sten was one of many folk art displays of "maximized-state-of-the-art" demonstrations, though it was not yet the bomb. It seemed too obvious to state, that both he and it inadequately saw, but refrained from ever mentioning, that their views were inevitably biased peripherally perceived possibilities. Their view lacked a central point; thereby demolishing their straight-ahead intentions. Anyone who ever paid attention in school learned that all information is biased; not only on a mental recognition level; but also on a physically cognitive basis. Anyone not understanding this was a waste of time to talk seriously to. ............... Of course it was possible that the recognition of that bias may also be a bias of its own, but no few can make any sense of that. That takes two whole steps of multiplication with a square at the beginning, middle or end. Think of a suburbia on the outskirts of a dump. That was the point at which all practical people, like Jack resorted to; "I want to kill the fuck and I will enjoy doing so."

Jack coasted through, rather than coming to the full stop suggested by the octagonal red, metal monstrosity occupying the corner. What was the twisted tin going to do about it anyway? Give him a ticket? Besides, some artist had spray-painted "DON'T" at the pinnacle, in running black. This could be used as an excuse. Sure, it's a pretty lame one; but there have been many much worse. This petty rebellion was a personal source of continuing amusement and resulted in his last required right turn. He was now on his targeted road; Camino de Victor. He knew all the numbers, so didn't have to pay any attention to the three and four digit, discount store purchased, peeling, plastic pronouncements protruding from the mail box supporting poles in front of every house.

He saw a parking space at the end of the road. It was neither on the left, nor on the right. It was a little cul de sac which bordered the elm forest with the tiny path. It afforded an angle at which Jack could park and not have anything other than the back of his red bandana adorned head visible to any of the shuttered window peepers, whether they happened to be on the right side of the road or the left. It was cool. The morning sun had not yet risen above or to the side of the protecting elms, and Jack sat in the shade. It was somewhat droll for him as it seemed that he was the only one who had made up his mind about anything. He again checked his sten friend. Twelve shots loaded and ready. One for the chest, one for the head and ten in reserve. Silencer in place. Just needs the scumbag target to make its dreams come true. Jack placed his pal back in his pocket and waited for snot ass-Denton-Spidey D to begin his final walk.

Jack was soon rewarded with the slam of 914's front door. The dyed blonde came bopping out in his own red bandana, strutting to the tune of Eminem's "Cold Wind Blows," at boom box distortion level. Spidey D did his usual thing and moved toward the woods at the dead end. As he didn't want the altercation to start early in the open area, Jack slouched down in the front seat to avoid being seen. After Spidey D passed into the woods, Jack got out of the car and quickly followed.

The sound of "Michael J. Fox comin' to a standstill," made Spidey D amused and unable to hear the footsteps gaining on him. Jack drew his gun and held it in his right hand. He used his right foot to kick Spidey D's feet out from under him and his left hand to add some shoulder leverage. The boom box slammed into a tree and after a short discordant, terminal sounding wind-down whirr, there was silence. Jack rolled Spidey D over and put his knees on his mark's chest.

In an agitated, but not loud voice, Spidey D looked up at his attacker and said; "Fuck's wrong witchew, man?"

"............"

"You know who you're fuckin' with, man?" Spidey D squirmed in a half assed attempt to throw Jack off.

For the first time Spidey D saw the gun as Jack put it to his head and calmly whispered; "Yeah, mutha fucka. I'm the man with the gun whose car you stole. Caused me a lotta shit. Say hello to Tupac for me."

The kid started crying like a beat up puppy. The tears streamed while he quickly babbled out; "I did it just to avoid being picked on. You gotta be part of a gang in my school. I heard that Carlos Leader wanted a car for a job, so I figured whoever got him one would be tight with him. In his good graces, you know, and he'd get the others to stop bullying me. ........... Aw, shit. I'm sorry, man."

"You're a fuckin' bitch." In saying that, Jack realized that he had already hesitated. His plan of getting in and getting out quickly was impeded by his need to tell this kid why he was dying and now the whole morality crap was back in his head. The brightest thing he could think of doing or saying was a paltry; "Did it work?"

"Some. A couple of them still give me some bullshit."

"You know what happened to me?"

"Filed an insurance claim and drove around in a Rent-A-Wreck for a while?"

"I wish. During the investigation they found out that I had some felonies when I was young and I got fired."

"No shit!! What did you do?"

"Ah, stupid shit; breaking and entering, armed robbery, a couple of car thefts, small reefer sales." Jack snorted a hint of a laugh.

"Cool, bro; but I meant after they fired you."

"Landscaping shit for ten bucks an hour." Jack got up, allowing Spidey D to do the same.

Spidey D said; "Hey man, maybe we could hang out some times. I got some fuckin' state of the art video games."

"Just get out of here before I change my mind, all right."

Spidey D stood there and wiped his face with his bandana.

Jack said; "I'm fuckin' serious, dude."

Spidey D headed back toward his house and Jack wondered what, if anything, to do next. Leaving the vicinity struck him as an idea with no discernable downside. He trod back to his car and hit the choking ignition. Still hot, the usual metal on metal whine was replaced by an accommodating purr. He backed out of his space, made a four point turn, and was on his way before the sorry ass kid got to his front door. Spidey D waved a pathetic "good-bye," which Jack ignored.

Jack drove quickly, maybe slowly; his current focus not on speed relativities. Nor was his attention focussed on the Nob Hill scenery. His velocity was no doubt relevant to some of the blind-bending watchers, but of no further consequence to him. The well-watered "native," desert plantings, which had now become addicted to their daily shots, were no longer of concern or interest to him. Whenever he chose he could go home to Calle de la Congelacion, pet his pal Justice, and be protected from any rude, incursive threats by the mature, towering leaves of the prolific elm trees. .................... Maybe not. He recalled that all this shit started there; just because a bullied nerd had taken the opportunity presented by a briefly un-attended, warming car which was idling in its home, to try to become a "big shot." Something was wrong. There was no longer any escape. It was truly little different from the religion based prowling posses seen at the door as well as in the daily news, who seek to make everyone see things their way at any cost, anywhere. Well, as far as he was concerned, Jack had already paid the price and there was nothing left for him to lose. What? The right to slowly be bankrupted by a ten dollar an hour job. What? The right to be further marginalized and delayed by procrastinating dilettantes. What? The right to appear proper at "New Age," meetings led by fortyish men, with neatly trimmed beards which exceeded the length of the hair left on their fat "Friar Tuck" beaners, eyes concocted to appear limpid seeking the embrace of another male attendee, cuddling a newly purchased Teddy Bear at their chest, in search of their inner infant. ................. It seemed cruel to laugh. It seemed appropriate to quietly leave.

It was abundantly clear to Jack that corrective action was necessary, though it was just as un-clear to him who or what was that required correction. Who? How? Methodology? Long term benefit? Why bother, just chill out? Whole bunch of other yadda yadda shit ostensibly of significance to some fucks Jack had no use for? A clandestine internal need to show that one can? Ultimately a deference to the opinions of those, up until now, disrespected soundlessly? An inflated ego? Just more bull piss? Now that he had let Spidey D off the hook, the most elemental of possible choices was gone. His initial mindset was; "Fuck the bull piss; who cares? Not me. What's in it for me? Not a fucking thing." ................... That sat well, until mental disturbance shoved its unwanted ass in the situation with two sets of three words; "Easy way out. It's pig piss."

He had long ago dismissed his mandatory youthfully taught, "Christian" ideals, as just another dream of someone else which had proven to have had no functional basis in reality. It was painfully clear that any half-way competent opposition could use any debatable "moral" precept as a justification for destruction; and that any personal acquiescence to the taught dogma was just a fool's agreement to unilaterally disarm.

Sometimes he had been advised that he had "issues." The notion was proffered by those who boldly advertised "issues" of their own, in the likely hope that someone else would get stuck in their shit. He had what he thought were ideas, called mere issues by those he didn't care much about. As a result he was politely avoided. This turned out to be a blessing as he found that he was quite content to make a home on the outskirts known as Calle de le Congelacion. It was all right; gentle sun on the late day portal. It was better than "all right." At times it was a Paradise. In all Jack could understand, using his inadequate, on-the-one-hand-on-the-other, academic limitation, he knew that he meant well. That seemed important to him, though he recognized that, in the same stance, he would be popularly viewed as easily dismissible; and even worse. He knew that he was subject to the same biases. Who isn't? There is no escape. For someone to expect that everyone else will like and accept them is a prescription for unhappiness or an excuse for a cantankerous and unnecessarily desired argument initiated by an unaware loser. To be Avoided, misunderstood, or disdained by the proper, was merely others' perceptions, and totally irrelevant to the primary subject. Those who are able invariably escape to an island or the anonymity of bustling New York City. The retinue of judges may not be aware that the barbarians are at the gate. ................... That's too safe a statement. The barbarians are already through the un-protected gate; without any doubt. Those who find solace in their safely entombed, court enabled bastion, are innocently blind; their possible games another manifestation of their presumption of a privilege which they do not have; but like to think and ineffectively display that they do. Unavoidably appearing as uncaring as an ancient god, the generalities make it hard to draw any sort of line for a plethora of reasons. Yet to deal in specificities requires volumes, and volumes to explain the volumes, and volumes to explain the ............. It was a distillation just like all the garbage which was currently invading Jack's head, devoid of the reductive properties of metaphor, allegory, analogy, symbolism and the fantasy of pure art, itself.

Unaided, it's hard to draw a straight line. "Yes," undoubtedly. Yes is true and is yet simultaneously affirmed in the blur of contradicted contradictions most proficiently proposed in DFW's ruminations concerning "Porous Borders," effective if one has the least degree of the absurd notion of absurd seriousness. Two negatives multiplied result in a positive; perhaps as relevant as differing signs placed on differing paths. If that is not, at the bottom line, we are all dead. Trite. That cannot be argued. The only interesting question seems to be one which asks at what point the clandestine crossover occurs.

Perhaps through some sort of acquired immunity; remarkably similar in concept to the supposed intent of the "inoculations" against the debilitating diseases as mandated by the authorities, allegedly in an attempt to present the death in a graduated process which ancient Egyptian books conveniently ignored, the ignorant dead proliferate like water bugs left in the shade while the educated strain is burnt to annihilation by a relentless sun. For some strange reason those in the latter category have not yet communicated their findings through the utilization of librettos.

At the same time; Jack; having the short, consequently beleaguered, identical, Narcissistic purview of his increasingly long and grim view; married to his propensity to; like Byron; love despair, does his faulty best not to inflict those not yet damned. In his sadly, defensively oriented posture, Jack hates himself in the recognition of the myriad of his inabilities to transcend something better. ............ He wishes to make some sort of distinction between defensive and offensive as they have always been defined, but does not know the right replacement word or words. But, by Tuesday he confidently says; "Just fuck it."

As a result of that lifelong affliction, Jack again took the speed bumps a bit too fast. Though he had been warned of their abilities to dislocate his caboose, Jack remained with personal tradition and heard the music of the dis-sorting rumble; a discordant jangle of Parker's be bop shit; which puts the nervous and overstated warnings in their proper place; Neverland. Last I heard it was up for sale.

Much too inarticulate. No words. .................. Or not, depending on ....... a laugh? Fuck, yeah. Yeah or no dependent. The end; the boom box lies broken in the tiny elm forest. For the singularity referred to as Jack, he was compelled to again inadequately guess; each time in hope that the suggested response was the one he wanted to hear; despite that never having been one he had previously known, nor one he could imagine. That desperate response was as true as it was false. Jack thought; "Cut me some slack. Forgive me some; just a little; OK. I was truly with and subjected to doctoral theses; and subsequently came to realize that the prevalent view, had taken their valiant search for truth and beauty into a 'Bizarro' defense of ugliness and hate. Those who do their best to study in hope of understanding, calculate and thereby use the intentions of those humble and inadequately displayed ........... difficult to attempt to say, safeties not necessarily a double bind, even in the assumption of an abusive world; most likely stated by those seeking some scam. Pity me.

The streets remained the boring, inconsequential and retarded. The national chains had made excellent inroads into making all cities look the same. It was a good bet that; given some more time with no "corrective" interference those inroads would become misnomered "freeways with tolls," "payways" for those left south of the border after the Noriega-US Intelligence (The latter oxymoronic, I think we all know, but just in case.) dance. The Mexicans know that they can either safely pay or try the backroads where there are badass mofo's with guns; some CIA; some independent. The pretentiously identical parodies advertised on the regurgitating TV were petty attempts at a rebellion laughable; in search of the numbing "justification" of more mainstream advertisers with a working checkbook.

In the current year, brilliantly cognizant of the bumper stickers which said; "I heart zombies," with a minimum of disrespect for the infinite supply of sensitive souls who call themselves reviewers, the season was led off with a "promising" abnegation. The quarter assed productions were seen as visually competent to those desirous of a glare induced migraine and the consequent day off of work; while the content had to be viewed as an unfortunate, Ludlum "Theatre of the Ridiculous" production done in a seriousness, which might be sarcastically humorous to a fifteen year old light years removed from the advanced class, at best. At the most kind, with some degree of honesty offered to the snarling, EMT or nightshift employed "reviewers" in love with the "cool" zombies; it may well be that they are still unaware of the greater horror they may fashionably embrace in unison, if there is not something any more dichotomous with that thought, to soon come. One more hard-assed might just say: "You're fucked, asshole. It's here now. Dig it."

Jack realized that this diversionary mental expedition had no more meaning than a 2016 trip to a bogus early nineteenth century Nootka Sound location in relation to his current mission; that being to "fuck up" the life of whoever was stupid enough to fuck up his. He decided to go right for the head; the tiny home boy named Carlos Leader, who was able to convince everyone that he was in charge. He headed toward notorious South Valley seeking his notion of justice.

The entrance into the vaguely defined War-zone-to-avoid was a visual assault; reminding old timers of whipping horse's eyes or some such thing. Unlike the boundaries established in "Nob Hill," there were no signs present or required as they were either viewed as redundant or had been sold to the discreet metal scrap dealer. Each house was surrounded by a chain link fence which could no longer hold out the onslaught, being the bent and broken, un-repaired victims of errant drivers or those creative vandals "with a purpose;" the self-deluded man who once thought he had something pertinent to say. Possible Kubrick-popularized-type statements, by way of pussy-ass, copycat Palahniuk, were rendered inconsequential in the face of the greater likelihood that the damage seen was just obviously more attributable to the simple fact that the residents, old and new, did not pay their crack man on time. The crack man doesn't care for excuses. He kind of blanks out when he hears the entrée into one. The crack man has heard the sad stories accompanied by the tears. The crack man took his modus operandi from the collection bitch at the bank; the most difficult task of diminishing consequence; that of sounding human; not a high priority on the annual performance review. The crack man knows his shit. The only shit he has to know. Some people know a lot of little things. The crack man knows one big one and that's all he needs. He don't want no pipe; just shit to sell. The crack man has learned that to handle the shit is to become numb and take every possible advantage. Fuck man; it wasn't his fault these sorry ass mother fuckers needed an "escape." "Either become Mick Jagger and buy an island, or deal with it. You ain't no big mother fucking star. When the damage to your chain link doesn't result in cash, things can get very ugly; blowtorch and chain saw antiquated. Sheee-it. You know the game; and I'll fuck myself in Macy's window before I let you get over on me."

Jack's prior "literary" pretensions succumbed to the realities he had right in front of his face; the same "realities" which once enabled him to be a decorated cop. These were the people he and Manny ran in regularly; easy fare; keeps the boss off your ass. All that is required is to brutalize the sick. He was almost as guilty as the crack man. Jack hoped that he might be judged as innocent as the crack man judges himself. No more. The competent judges ain't talkin' and the incompetent ones won't shut the fuck up.

Each street had at least one person on the sidewalk, yelling at someone or no one in particular; as the intended recipient of the thunderous elucidation was not always anywhere in sight. The houses on each street were once the same as the houses on Nob Hill. Here, their ostensible preference for heart over mind had proven to relegate them to houses which displayed un-finished particle board or un-finished, gray, window patches on the earthen adobe, without the aesthetically pleasing and conforming final decorative stucco applique. Their decorative displays focussed on the practicality motif not yet available at IKEA; screwed in, black, iron, window bars in the tedious process of acquiring a patina and settling for rust.

One merely had to have one good eye to see each street had suffered increasingly with each generation; tenants changing; each resident initially hoping in their youth for something better. Each generation also had the "benefit" of knowing the past history and the likelihoods derived thereby. They didn't need the hallowed halls of higher education to figure that one out. History was right in their faces every day. Hell; nobody had swept the fucking streets in years. There were Afro picks laying there right next to the smashed MP3 players. ........... Fuck it; the people living here had brooms. The only one who might steal one of them was a permanent resident of a 1939, now colorized, and now unwatched movie because of its joyous open singing. Things come in packages. If they'd rather be cool and get high they should know that there is a flipside. ......... Easy to say. Much harder to live. Not the cop's problem. Jack knew two big things from experience; 1) Once they get you they never let go, and; 2) Down here you get put in County for shit no one in Nob Hill has ever been arrested for; like public intoxication; like possession of weed; like; like; like ............. whatever the excuse to build more prisons. Hey, some people make good money off that shit. Didn't ya know?

Jack tried to mentally appease himself. For a few seconds he thought that he needed to. But, the limitations dictated by his inability to be on one side or the other presented another cloud. Not the cloud one would likely first or secondly think of; but the cloud that comes attached; that inescapable historical accessory, which takes its "happiness" only from the green which comes from tears. It has been shown that the water is not sufficiently pure to do Pilate any good. Dionysus needs no permit to hang his sword. Failed economics? A "new" theory in the works? No doubt. Snort. To necessarily make Occam's, overly simplistic, discount-store-purchased razor appear as more viable than the other items purchased through AmawayOnSteroids"; A/K/A "Amway on Steroids;" it is currently required to at least pretend allegiance to those at the helm. Jack laughed when he thought; "People down here don't give two fucks about Occam and have a real problem with pledging allegiance."

The block just ahead hosted the "early" tan dudes. Some used backhands to wipe away the "sleep" from their eyes and were sitting on a big car. Jack didn't know what it was, but he could tell it was fucking big; probably a chop shop custom job. Jack peered at them out of the corner of his eye and didn't see Carlos. The six guys on or near the car all sported red bandanas, blank, armless T-shirts and wrinkled, baggy jeans. It was a uniform of sorts, but not one given out to employees of Whataburger. It continued to be unseasonably hot; and these guys didn't need the services of a weatherman or the fries manager to figure that out. A few were either tweaking the bandana tie which hung down their backs or scratching the backs of their necks. All were posturing, one way or another, attempting to impress the three chicks who just happened to be walking by, pretending not to notice them. One's cut offs were cut off so high that it was impossible to tell where her ass ended and one's tank top covered so little, it may have well have been somewhere in the Middle East. The third had to have been the group intellectual as she was pretty well covered and wore glasses.

"Mira, mira. Su data ..................."

Giggle, giggle and jiggle.

"Do the ladies need a ride?"

"Uh, maybe ................"

As Jack drove by the guys momentarily turned their attention to him. Six silent birds were accompanied by an out of sync chorus which sounded something like "Motley Cohen," a currently "emerging," punk, Broadway lyricist.

Jack was surprised. He thought his red bandana made him look like a brother or a "pops." Instinctively, he returned the solo symbol "ciao." As he drove by, his rear view mirror indicated that he had provided some amusement. The women were openly sunny and the guys were nodding something the horse had not yet learned.

Jack passed through two more blocks, unhindered by stop signs. Then he saw his target. Carlos was slowly ambling down the road by himself. His hands were in his pockets and his eyes were on the ground.

Jack stopped his car; double parking it; but left the key in the ignition. Carlos didn't bother to look up; and just trod on.

Jack got out, strode toward Carlos while drawing his sten gun and loudly said; "Stop right there."

Without making any eye contact, Carlos raised his hands to ear level and said; "I'm not carryin' nuthin'."

Jack frisked him and found only a set of keys. He said; "All right. Get in the car. We're taking a ride."

Carlos said; "Hey, cop. You're making me look bad in front of my friends."

"I ain't a cop. Get in the fucking car, asshole."

As Carlos stepped toward the illegally parked car, he said; "Everybody knows that you're workin' undercover. Think anybody bought that shit-ass story?"

"Just get in the fucking car or I'll let you have it right here. ........................ Front seat, scumbag. The gun's on you all the way."

Carlos smirked at something Jack didn't comprehend. He said; "You're fucking me up, man. Everybody's gonna think I'm talking to some bullshit cop. I pay people three levels higher than you to avoid this kind of shit. You don't understand how much trouble you will be in."

"There ain't anybody three levels above me. ........ Get in fuckhead or I'll let you have it right here."

Carlos got in very slowly. He had a preference for the front passenger's seat; which was right where Jack wanted him to be.

"Gimme your hands."

Carlos raised his eyebrows and blankly stared at Jack.

"I said gimme your fuckin' hands."

Carlos extended them, turning his head to face the windshield. Jack cuffed his hands in front of him and attached the chain to one of the metal bars which supported the headrest. Carlos looked as if he was ready for some gym exercises.

After Jack took the driver's seat, Carlos snickered while he said; "Nice car, big shot. You fucked up already chief. You didn't read me my rights."

Jack held the sten in his left hand and pointed at Carlos's belly. He didn't give a shit about Carlos's assessment of values, but did want him to be more scared. He said; "Whether you believe it or not, I ain't runnin' you in and I ain't a cop no more. Your paltry ass is going to be buried out on the Mesa in less than an hour." Jack drove past the six guys and three girls on the second block; this time greeted by curious stares, like; "What the fuck?"

Carlos found a more serious appearing countenance and said; "What's your shit with me, man?"

"Glad you asked shit piece. 'Cause of all that investigating when my car was stolen, I'm now fucked for life. It's your fault and you're gonna pay."

Carlos grimaced and squirmed in disgust. He said; "Jesus fucking Christ! You been a cop around here a long time. Ain't you figured out nothin' yet?"

Jack stared at the road in silence.

Carlos said; "If you didn't know it, I ain't the bad guy around here. .................. You don't want to meet the crazy ass mutha fuckas I gotta deal with. They don't give a flyin' fuck about nuthin', not even their mama's ass. I'm the guy who keeps things ............ copacetic down here. And I didn't steal your fuckin' car. So what's up with that, bro?"

Jack flared and said; "It's because of you that kid stole my car. The punk was just trying to impress you."

Carlos hesitated, while he did some quick thinking. It became obvious that the kid had talked to Jack. "Yeah, and if it wasn't me, it'd be somebody else; somebody worse. Look. I never even talked to that kid. Still don't want to. Got no respect for a gringo, punk-ass, mutha fucka, from a good family tryin' to play bad-ass in the hood."

"It's cause you're here that this shit happens."

"Don't you pay no fuckin' attention, man? I never told that kid to do shit. He musta heard that I wanted a car from somewhere, and did his thing. I ain't responsible for every lame ass stupidity that happens."

"............................"

"Well?"

Jack waved his gun and calmly said; "Well, I'm gonna kill your pathetic ass anyway. You're always talkin' shit. Even a dumb spic like you can get good at it with a lifetime of practice." He made a left onto Calle de los Hermanos, the main thoroughfare through the badlands near the mesa's edge. The junk in his trunk rattled over the potholes and deep cracks as a seemingly absurd reminder of the sounds of life; now attempted in iron(ic) gone to seed. The views or metallic visions, to either side were full screen warehouse. Here on the outskirts, an inhabitant of the real mesa was totally dependent upon the trucking in of water; the table too far down for economic drilling to be feasible. The water was stored in an orange tank which was propped up on fifty foot metal stilts, emblazoned front and back with black letters visible from all directions, which proclaimed; "Negado Mesa." Towering well above the tallest of nearby under-nourished native plants, the tank was the highest vantage point in the area. At ground level was a surrounding, angled, barbed wire over chain link fence which provided openings courtesy of some artist who evidently preferred an illegal chain cutter to a brush. As a result of the continual artistic expressions, on every stilt, at ground level, was a sign warning of the possible civil and criminal penalties risked by anyone with a taste for exploration and climbing.

Near entry, the road was lined door to door with buildings constructed of whatever material was cheapest at the time of inception; usually of a monotonously corrugated design in the color of a jaundiced, weathered and often peeling yellow, hues not yet in the sun's summer palette. These buildings were supremely and efficiently functional; utilized only for the storage of things no longer needed; like rotary phones, physical books, and dispensable human carcasses. Initially a hiding place for the antiques rendered "useless" by the likes of IKEA; and subsequently deemed, rent check deficient and paper bounced, they were largely forgotten in the much more contemporary lusts for electronic blips. Some thought that there was still some good shit in there, but the "g" word was just much too much of a value judgement for the "social" majority to entertain, in their publicly postured seeking of harmony; apparently still unaware of how wearisome the culmination of that process will likely be. Like a Wenders depiction of serenity-boredom juxtaposed with the watching of and wish for a chaotic excitement, kindness is inclined to presume that the protagonists on either side of the coin are well meaning; very possible, very lovable, and very naïve; the most common; of its possible meanings irrelevant here in the world of colloquial and dictated perceptions. ......... Cognition 101. Next step; 40 decades prior, Wertmuller.

With derision, Carlos said; "You fuckin' pasty faced white boys think you know all the angles, while you only think about yourself. You don't know shit. You've been sitting in a car with Manny for more than a decade now and what do you know about him? You only know that he's got a wife and two kids and a cop gig? Shit."

"Wrong again Ace. I know he's got a sister who digs the white meat. Nowhumsayin,"

"Fuck you bitch. I knew Manny long before you. We started out together. We were young and didn't yet know all the bullshit. Some two time loser turned on him and he got caught holdin' ten pounds. Weed! Weed! Fuckin' shit's damn near legal now. He got two years in County. When he got out he said that there was no way he'd ever go back there, and he became a cop under some old liberal program for rehabilitation. He's probably the only mutha fucka to ever get rehabilitated. He don't want anybody to know that and you were too stupid to figure it out or even ask about it. So, think about this asshole. If you're tellin' the truth about being kicked off the force, your lame white ass is payin' for something that my Latino brother got away with. ..... Chump."

" ..................................." Jack was truly shocked, but for some pridefully un-explainable reason did not want to show his hand. He had sometimes wondered how Manny knew so much about the catacombs of County. But, he also considered the possibility of a Carlos lie; but could not guess the reason for it. Maybe it was just random desperate shit. He knew that the advertisement of feeling well was a good game. He also thought that he knew Manny.

Back to the business currently at hand; sort of; depending ............... as they approached the end of the road, Carlos blurted out; "Go ahead, kill me you white ass mutha fucka. You're doing me a fuckin' favor. ................. Sheeit." His tone lowered and sounded as calm as that of a party-line-trained US President, after the press had gotten the goods on him. "You know, I wasn't even in school yet. I was five years old and mom had taught me numbers and reading; always telling me that I was an American; not some spic. We used to hold hands and skip down the tree lined street leading to the library, and I'd borrow as many books as I could carry. I was a happy kid; happier then than any time since. .......... Then I watched my dad strung up on the living room ceiling fan, and for two fucking hours blowtorched to death; just because he couldn't pay the man what he owed for whatever. 'No mercy. No soft story. Just the money,' the white enforcers kept saying; while dad's screams were stifled by the rag tied over his mouth. I've thought about this a lot. I dream about this when I don't want to. Even if my dad was hiding money somewhere, he was not even given any chance to say where. The gringos just wanted to laugh while they tortured him to death. ....................... Fuck; it was them who wanted it to be that way. If they really only wanted the coin, they'd have given him the chance to tell them where it is; or a couple of days to get it. I have to think no; they didn't want that. Their biggest kick was in watching some Chicano suffer. After dad no longer jerked from the blowtorches, they took turns on my mom. Her cries seemed to be what they wanted most. When they left, mom came to me in disarray. She had draped the kitchen tablecloth around her. It was embroidered at the edges; some punched out pattern, something like a leaf; over a background of faded pink and soft blue. I started crying. She held me to her for a few seconds, then let go. She sternly looked into my eyes and said; 'Don't cry, Carlos. Don't ever cry. Hear this. I made a mistake. We are not Americans. Never will be. The books are great, but they're just dreams. Think for yourself and the rest of the prisoners. You'll know what I mean all too soon.' She held me so tightly, I thought my bones were breaking. Then she went to a nicho in the wall, pried it away and removed something from a baggie. She swallowed them all and lay down on the floor. I lay next to her and I think that I fell asleep. When I woke or didn't; whatever; it was because I was cold, as her body had dropped to room temperature. I got up. I saw that her eyes were closed. Her lips seemed to be smiling. Her body seemed motionless. I prodded her belly with scared fingers. The only detectable movement in the room was announced by the feeble creak dad made as the ceiling fan made a slight movement in respect of the unseen curve. I ran into the hall screaming some misery or other. Someone must have dialed 911, as the cops showed up. Cops like you. Gringo time servers; annoyed and disinterested in anything which doesn't serve their immediate interest. I tried to tell them what happened. I could describe the murderer-rapists pretty well; but they had no use for a five year old's testimony. ................... No one was ever charged. No 'official' crime was ever found. I wound up in the foster system. And now, you bother me over some bullshit I might not have anything to do with? Fuck you. Just plain fuck you to eternity. .................. Simple enough for you to understand? Fuck you again. Right up your faggot ass. You expect me to be 'gringo normal'? I got some news, shithead. I fuckin' am and you made me that way. Now, you got a complaint? Fuck you." Carlos spit on the rug and ended with a rather calm sounding; "When you ain't got nuthin, you got nuthin to lose."

Jack grimaced, clucked his lips, held the sten firmly and disaffectedly said; "Absolutely heart rending. Doesn't the standard presentation come with cellos or violins? I think I remember these pathetic words from a three year old repeat of 'The Wire;' a Hollywood writer's version of a con job?"

"Expected response. No education? So sorry. You may have missed something along the way. Something like feeling, maybe? It's not your fault. You're a gringo Jinn. ......... Ha ha."

"I got the gun, shithead."

"And I don't give a fuck, shithead. Whether you realize it or not, your acquaintances have made this whole thing into an ugly farce. I dare you. Yeah, I fucking dare you to kill me. No; I want you to kill me. ....... Fuck you. Fuck your daddy. And fuck your pig whore mama too. Can I be any more insulting?"

"The feelings you've taken forever to articulate, perhaps due to a reticence born of something so cruel are almost heart breaking; almost. Isn't it more likely that you are incapable of experiencing; and more significantly; that you are also capable of going through the necessary motions, without any demonstrable appearance of being real? Isn't it most likely that you are just desperately full of shit and picked up the concept from a 1930's Cagney gangsta movie. Just so touching; in either case. Pardon the eye wipe. I'm reminded of a possible misfortune. Don't worry; it no longer matters. Long ago, I got over it." Un-accompanied chuckle. "Tough shit, ain't it?" In a posture deemed innocuous in the moment, coupled with an air of expected derision, Jack heavily sighed, risking being seen as all too obviously over-acting. ................ Up until now, he had played the part adequately; or maybe even at Pitt level. Cops hear lots of good con stories. ............ But, he kept seeing Beth's agonized face when she too, said; "Just make it stop." Though he couldn't live with it, he instinctively trusted her bi-polar sincerity. He also knew that there was no other way for it to work. ................He decided that he had changed his mind about the whole thing, though he didn't want to give the appearance of being idiotically squishy. Besides, killing Carlos wouldn't restore what he had lost.

With disgust written all over his face, Carlos said; "What the fuck you know about it, man? Kill me you dumb cop! Inglais? I don't give a fuck! Do me the favor. I want to die. My troubles will be over. Yours will have just begun."

Jack made a quick U-turn and pocketed his sten. He said; "No, I ain't doin' you any favors. If you got the balls to do it you can kill yourself. ....................... I know you won't. You'll just go on telling that sad ass story. Nobody gives a flying fuck, you know. Its local late night entertainment for two shows. That's all. You fucked me up and I'm still alive. I'm just going to fuck you up and see if you can handle it as well." He hoped that Carlos was more of a Hamlet than a Camus, but proved to be right in having had his doubts.

The only sound discernable on the return trip was that of the clunker's engine doing an imitation of a muffled choo-choo train.

When they neared Carlos's neighborhood, Jack broke the ice. He deadpanned; "I'm gonna drop you off right next to your homies. They'll think that the cop wants to make you look bad. It'll fuck up their little heads. They'll first think that you're a cop informant. Then they'll think that can't be the case, as it was done too openly. Then, they'll think that the cop set you up to be killed. Then they'll think maybe I ain't a cop and want someone to do my dirty work gratis. Then some up-and-comer will think that it's a good excuse to take Carlos out and take over, et-cetera, et-fucking-cetera."

Jack stopped next to the six homies and said; "See ya around whiney boy. Try some anti-depressants. They give 'em to anybody nowadays."

He removed Carlos's cuffs and they both got out of the car. Jack said; "Hey, guys. Guess fucking what. You got a leader who sings like a choir of pigeons. We know what you did. Expect a visit from the uniforms." Jack exaggerated an open laugh for them to see as he got back in his car.

Carlos walked toward his homies particularly slowly. He crossed in front of Jack's car, making him wait while he smacked his fist on the hood twice. He gently nodded to his mates, who stared at him silently. He watched Jack's car clear out of sight, and then said; "I want that Spidey D maricon fucked up. He talks to cops."

"What happened?"

"Lot of bullshit. It's cool."

"You want him in the morgue?"

"No, no, man. They get serious when you whack a gringo. Just scare the fuck out of him and give him some lumps and lacerations."

"..........................."

"Let the cop rat know why and tell him that if he comes around here again it will be worse."

"....................."

"All right. What the fuck you waitin' for?"

Hector sounded like Li'l Wayne when he nasally crooned; "For him to show up?"

Carlos grabbed the back of Hector's neck and shook it, saying; "Fucking homies, man. Always got the smart ass shit. Love you, guys. This is our barrio." Forced initial laughter gave way to lots of bones and "fuckin' A man's" and a lot of inquiring silent stares when eyes were out of the line of other's vision.

Jack slowly drove home, half satisfied and half not, thinking; "IT's not Carlos. IT's not Spidey D. Who the fuck knows about Beth? 'What IT is' is the thing and the thug. IT's not personal. ........ Well, with Beth ......" He was half certain. He hoped the math education he had gotten was somewhat correct; at least insofar as its rule of the rounding up a .5. There seemed to be an annoying, well taken case for rounding IT down. Way down.

Raphael, Hector, Angelo and the crew were only too happy to have been ordered to fuck up Denton wannabee. It's great to have an excuse to do what you wanted to do anyway. The girls had moved on when they saw that there was some "important guy shit" in the air; and now there wasn't fuck else to do today. The guys had paid Denton zero respect since he began showing up in the area a year prior, trying to act "down," his performance as good as any other learned from listening to top forty hip-hop music. Yet, up until now, they had not done anything more overt than goof on him, which he stupidly interpreted as being a sign of his being a brother. He was nothing more than an easily avoidable nuisance. The crew had little feeling about the matter, other than a desire to do something other than sit on the fucking car all day; as by early afternoon the metal would be sufficiently hot to scorch idle asses.

Occasional thoughts of "undercover cop" crossed some minds. "Spidey D" had been amply ludicrous in his attempts to be seen as super cool to only succeed in the conveyance of the exact opposite, unless the cops had stepped up their game to counter-counter intelligence; which wasn't very likely. But, they weren't too thrilled with what they had just seen and were now thinking about Carlos, but none wanted to be the first to say anything that anyone could stick with the green dis-respect pins. Besides, without Carlos's help they'd have a hard time trying to maintain the lifestyle to which they had become accustomed. And what that cop or non-cop prick said didn't fit into any patterns they had previously known. In fact, it didn't make any sense at all. They all came to the same conclusion; "Fuck it. If the "uniforms" are about to descend, I'll know in the next few days. County ain't no big thing. Been there before. Most likely just another 'full of shit' gringo. .......... But, can this fucked up appearance be used for personal advantage?"

Raphael said; "How's this for a plan? ............"

Still trembling, Spidey D gently opened his front door and tiptoed to his room. Just in case anyone else was home he didn't want to be noticed in his dirty, disheveled appearance, as it would result in a thousand questions he didn't want to hear or answer. He went into his bathroom, locked the door behind him, and tried to assess his damage in the small cabinet mirror over the sink. "Not too bad, just a little dirt," he thought as he gyrated in every direction possible in order to get a cranium view from every angle. He used his hand mirror in conjunction with the one fronting the cabinet to check out the back of his head. Anything more thorough would have required the use of an MRI. Feeling somewhat relieved, he took off his red bandana and eyed his dyed blond, lawnmower do. It was showing some black at the root and he momentarily thought of spending the already fucked up morning doing a touch up bleach job, but decided that he liked it better the way it was. He thought; "Perfect hair is for someone who wants to get elected mayor. This gives off the I-don't-give-a-shit look I prefer. Maybe I'll let it grow out some more and get a two toned thing going." He used his hand to brush off his pants, wanting to retain some of the dirt in an effort to look relevant. He opened the door, flopped onto his unmade bed, and stared at his most recent poster boy; Del the Funky Homosapien. He really didn't like much of Del's music as it was kind of anti-gangsta, but he knew that the image of Del appearing somewhat Arabic in attire and very bad-ass in his dour facial expression would upset his parents. Besides, there was some shit-ass story circulating about some conspiracy thing that was keeping Del off the charts. "A real outsider" was Spidey D's ideal.

Spidey D was still somewhat shaken by what had happened and didn't want anyone to see that his hands were doing a mini-imitation of California plates. He got up and tuned his radio to a mellow, hip-hop station and Rihanna immediately calmed him down somewhat. Still fidgeting, he changed into clean clothes and washed up. In twenty minutes he was feeling pretty good about things. If the cop really wanted to kill or arrest him, he would have done so. He was safer now than he was at daybreak. In fact he considered reporting this incident to his attorney, who might be able to use it as some kind of police-harassment-bargaining position in his auto theft case. He decided against that bright idea as he recalled having almost admitted to the crime during the altercation. Still, now that the shakes were gone, he was as proud of himself as any young thug after having had survived prison for the first time; or so he thought.

Near fully relaxed, Spidey D's mind took a different tact and focussed only on the few things currently significant to him. He re-assessed and ultimately didn't, thinking; "That AM altercation with the cop could have been a good thing for me. I might get cut some DA slack if my attorney can bargain off of some police misconduct allegations. Maybe I'll tell him. I'll think about it. Homies may not like the cop shit. Yeah, they'll find out. In every situation, at least one of the crew has bought ears. Probably got a fuckin' tape. Fuck that shit for now. ............... Good news is the cops probably took their best shot. Don't have much in court; outside of first offense, good family and a college application or three. Despite my fear and surprise, I kept the presence of mind never to fully admit to the cop that I stole his fucking car. Just said enough to make him think that I did. It's a gangsta blessing from Allah himself, that cops are made or become stupid. Hehe. Hey, man. I'm one of the gang now! I know how to handle my shit."

When Kanye West filled the air with one of his top of the charts things followed by an ad for clothing decorated with Kanye's fat head, Spidey D laughed out loud. He got up, kicked the radio's plug out of its socket, and felt adequately contemptuous and satirical to again face the world. He had regained his edge and was fully on point.

His dream was just around the corner. He went to the mirror, retied his red bandana, put on some wraparound shades and bopped back to the woods on his way downtown.

The unimpeded sun was at 11AM and making a quick sprint for the center. It was not a day for bare feet, even at the pool. When he made a left onto Griegos Drive he saw the crew. They appeared to be agitated or worried over something, as they spoke in short Spanish bursts and nodded their heads in rapid fire; sometimes indicating "yes" and sometimes "no."

Spidey D walked straight to them and said; "Whassup? Somethin' wrong?"

Raphael continued to shake his head sideways. As he looked at the concrete beneath him he said; "Oh, yeah, man. We don't know what the fuck to do. Some Crips from across town are over here taggin' over our signs and shit; and fuckin' with the ladies."

Spidey D said; "Break their fuckin' asses, man. What else?"

With an air of derision Hector nasally and slowly said; "Easy to say, bro. Thing is Chapo, Torres, Armando and Fat Joe are all current residents at maricon, fuckin' County. We kind of shorthanded."

"Sorry to sound so smart. I just fucked up some off duty cop and I'm feelin' pretty good. Crips probably know that and that's why they showed up today."

Hector said; "No shit. You're not only a bad dude, you're a mufuggin genius."

Spidey D knew he said something stupid and was embarrassed. But, he was undeterred, as he saw this as an opportunity to become a real part of the gang. He said; "Hey, you know I'm down with you guys. Consider me with you to the death. I can help out some."

Raphael put his arm around Spidey D's shoulder and said; "All right, man." He looked to his friends and said; "I think this'll do it. The man can fight and that evens things out some. Fuck else we gonna do; get Granny Rodriguez with her fuckin' cane?"

Spidey D heard a general grunt of agreement emanating from the five and was absolutely thrilled.

Hector said; "Okay. They're in the alley behind Montano." He looked at Spidey D and asked; "You carryin' anything?"

Spidey D thought quickly and replied; "No. No. I got my shit hid until this car theft thing blows over."

Hector said; "Good. We don't want no heavy duty shit yet. We just wanna fuck 'em up a little and teach 'em how to read a map. Let me do the talkin'."

This was the best day Spidey D had had since the time he punked out little Alan Baumstein at a birthday party, and slapped him in the back of the head for good measure. He sometimes wondered why the kids stopped having birthday parties, but not today. As the group silently walked toward the alley, Spidey D's biggest problem was that although he knew he was supposed to look mean and pissed, he was so glad to have finally become a gang member his natural inclination was to make a beaming smile. It was his second battle of the hot, speeding day, and would prove to be the least injurious one.

Spidey D fully understood that he might get hurt or arrested today; and maybe get involved in a gun battle sometime in the future. But, many people were in the same boat. For US citizens like him it was largely a matter of a decision of whether or not to join the military or take your chances with some bombed and hooded freak, but elsewhere all sorts of things happened. Point is, they all handle what they have to without crying about it. This brief thought passed in a flash as Spidey D couldn't feel his feet hit the ground; Raphael to his left and Hector to his right. It was as if he was walking on a cloud; a cloud which he had wanted and wanted and wanted. It was too good to be true. His dream had finally come true.

The six turned into the alley and Spidey D was both surprised and relieved as the only thing there was some garbage on the ground sufficiently aged to no longer give any hint as to what it once was and open tin cans which one would think might have been once there to hold it. Spidey D said; "They're mot here."

Hector said; "I knew that you were a mufuggin genius," and sucker punched Spidey D in the stomach. Spidey D doubled over, but didn't understand what was going on. He saw the continuation of the punches. When he hit the dirt he saw the kicks, but didn't feel them. It was as if the reality was nowhere near as dreadful as its legend had made it sound. Maybe he had gone into shock, that maybe a half-assed blessing of numbness, disbelief, and the feeling that the whole thing was a nightmare, and that he would shortly awaken in a comfortable bed, warm and cozy, with a velveteen rabbit well in hand.

Spidey D's surprise induced an internal dialogue, which initially suggested that this day had to be a dream and, primarily because he felt nothing, that he was a somnambulist within it. Confusion reared its insistent head when it instructed its best man, Fawlty Towers, to intervene in the non-dialogue. Fawlty used his left middle finger to poke the somnambulist's chest, saying; "Wake up, like me. This can hurt." The somnambulist was amused as he thought that anyone with the audacity to claim to be fully awake had to be an idiot; and further, that if being awake results in hurt it would be preferable to remain asleep. He telepathed the Fawlty man; "Fuck off." Fawlty gave up easily as he really didn't want to be bothered to begin with. He walked toward his Confusion boss, arms outstretched and shrugging his shoulders as if to say; "I tried," the minimum requirement of an employee, in the hope that Confusion would take his shot as an indication of "best efforts." Confusion showed no emotion. He knew that Fawlty was completely full of shit, but that there was nothing he could do about it, outside of putting out a want ad in a very tight labor market and bearing the possible expense of a wrongful dismissal lawsuit. He thought; "Fucking liberals." He acknowledged Fawlty with a perfunctory grin and pragmatically said; "Good job." However, after a bit more observation his spirit lifted, as he thought that Fawlty may have accomplished his task without really trying.

Spidey D was thinking; "First, for no particular reason, I had gotten cut loose by a cop with a vengeance. Second, I had gotten accepted by the gang which had been ignoring or belittling me. Third, I now was being beaten by that same gang which moments prior had accepted me for the first time, which had now turned on me because the reason they had accepted him was no longer in the alley. What the flyin' fuck happened?"

He actually showed the hint of a smile until Hector covered his mouth with gray duct tape. He was held down by the weight of various knees as the tape was then used to bind his hands and feet. He was rudely lifted and thrown into the trunk of an older model, maroon car which Raphael had just brought around; tailpipe intermittently spitting a malodorous, ashen exhaust. The trunk lid slammed and clicked shut, putting Spidey D in complete darkness. It was when the car started to move that Spidey D first was certain that he was wrong. This was no dream; no nightmare. This was as real as the cold, greasy jack, which was now in his face. He realized that he was completely out of control and that these people could do whatever they wanted with him. He was now more scared than when he was arrested and thrown into County that dark night for alleged Grand Theft Auto I.

After thirty seconds, the ride seemed interminable. The further he imagined being from home the more his mind conjured up frightening versions of rather banal, guaranteed-happily-ending, George Martin fabrications of old stories. He soon had more to fear than his imagination, as the burning sun had heated up his metal roofed enclosure. The sweat poured off him like the discharge from a lawn sprayer. He thought; "Dehydration. Heat prostration. Dogs die in the passenger compartment of cars." Every time the car stopped he prayed that it had reached its destination, only to discover that the source was a red light, a stop sign, a 7-11, or just some other kind of random delay not yet imagined. For the first time, he recognized the exquisite fragility of his existence, when he realized that a car breakdown could prove fatal.

He probably passed out for a while, as the next thing Spidey D saw was the sun backlighting five heads which gave the presumed facial features of those heads minimal detailing. He felt the cooling accomplished by the steaming, over-heated summer air and knew that he had survived.

"Hey, you still alive?" said one of the heads, apparently providing topnotch comical entertainment for the other four.

Another voice said; "That's too bad for him. Now we're going to have to bury him alive." The audience displayed almost as much mirth over this ironic observation as they did over the first. Perhaps this had something to do with the timing or delivery.

One of the heads used its tentacles to grab Spidey D under his arms and another set of appendages grabbed his feet. They pulled him from the trunk and set him on those same feet. They didn't hold. Raphael and Hector held him up, somewhat reminiscent of a time that now seemed to Spidey D to have happened decades prior.

He now recognized all of them as they were no longer between him and the sun. He felt as foolish as he felt scared to see the Loco crew he had just been convinced was finally accepting him, now causing and amused with, his demise. The terrain was entirely new to him. It was rather desolate and decorated with the tell-tale signs of human partying with discarded cigarette butts, scrunched beer cans, and bicycle tracks. He scanned the skies for the mountains. When previously lost in unknown territory, he had used the highest peak as a guide to the direction he had to go. But, he saw no mountains from here, indicating that he was either on low lying land in south Mesa Grande or that he had passed out sufficient time to have reached another state. Spidey D also saw a hole in the earth. Like a real big one. Like body sized. It was shaded by the few elms in full bloom. He screamed into the duct tape stuck to his mouth and managed to be as erudite as a firmly muzzled mongrel A/K/A an "outrageous, transgressive indie writer." He trembled as he knew what was coming next.

In continuation of the improvised humor, Hector said; "We gonna do you a favor and cool you off, bitch."

Spidey D thought he felt clamps attached to his head and feet, as he was lifted up and then placed gently into the hole. He was on his back with his weight uncomfortably sitting on the hands bound behind his back. He squiggled around to relieve the pressure and came to a stop on his side, facing one section of his four sided, earthen wall. That accomplished he wondered why they had not just thrown him in. He was placed much as one would set an expensive, fragile, frosted glass, Lalique car mascot. He thought this to be very strange behavior as if they truly intended to kill him why would they be so concerned about a few possible broken bones in the process? He dismissed the thought as a dying man's desperate effort to grab at coincidental, hope inducing straws.

Out of the corner of one eye he saw the figures above him. Their details were again obscured as they were again between him and the sun. Further visionary details were un-necessary at the moment as Spidey D focused on the main points. They were in total control. They were ominous. They intended him no good. He was stuck.

Dirt smashed against his face. Then more. Then more. He couldn't open his eyes and had difficulty breathing. He heard one of the dirt mongers say; "Faggots who talk to cops get buried alive." To Spidey D, it seemed somewhat unclearly redundant in activity, but simultaneously enlightening in stated motivation. His ears still unimpeded, he heard the obligatory, canned laughter endemic to struggling sit-coms and petit bourgeois toddy times. The unseen voice continued; "If your fingernails can get you out of this shit, don't come around our territory anymore, or it will be worse. Ever see someone torched after being doused?" The canned devotees of canine cuisine again obliged.

Spidey D surprised himself, as he was no longer afraid. Instead, he had again become numb; this time accompanied by an attendant revulsion. It was a nauseating disgust, not caused by the heaps of dirt thrown on his face, but one born of a total disrespect for the "cool" morons he once worshipped, and aspired to be. Now, they seemed slightly less "cool" than a resurrected invisible man, obviously cloaked in worn out, 1930's Cagney imitation duds, and talking a stupid, incompetent version of the decades old rap shit pioneered by "inner city" blacks who have now moved on; the Locos a "funny" and exasperating segment of "South Park" at best. Spidey D undetectably laughed when he realized that the duct tape covering his mouth had its advantages. If not there he might have been inclined to tell the "big deals" what he thought of them.

He was also disgusted with himself for having been so stupid. It was now so simple. They didn't want him and he returned the favor with interest at the risk free rate. Since his dream was over, he concluded that it was time to go to sleep and have another one.

More piles of dirt were dumped on him. The giggling dumpers got better with practice as they hit their victim's eyes every time. Spidey D closed them. After a few more eye shots, things got still and quiet. He thought that he might be dead as he could no longer see, hear or feel anything. Then he heard a big, loud, old car start up and pull away.

His first thought was; "What the fuck?" His second thought was; "What the fuck?" His third ................ He then thought; "This has to be some kind of psychological torture. They're trying to make me think that I've been spared; and then they'll come back and finish the job." ....................

Time went by. In the absence of a handy sundial he didn't know how much. Out of some ingrained habit, he again thought; "What the fuck?" The reality which he had done his best to obliterate became obstinate and boorishly intervened without invitation and suggested that a much less prideful approach toward being buried alive was the order of the day.

As a result, Spidey D was both confused and scared, though he was well into the process of building up an immunity to the confused aspect. If left here bound, he could die a horrible death of starvation; one small painful degree after another small painful degree. He could well appreciate Gogol doing his thing; but felt no obligation to follow suit.

He feared that he could be eaten by coyotes, or much worse ants; those black, red and mixed, relentless armies armed with eight billion sharp teeth, a well fed indifference and creatures of opportunity. Bear. Cougars were sighted by one person likely lying in an attempt to obtain the least semblance of privacy, now a consideration to those devoid of options. Thousands of thoughts raced through his mind. Each concluded with a politely furtive variation of; "fuck you" or "fuck me," making way for the next to line up for the same ending.

Spidey D heard tires disturbing the stalwart pebbles in the dirt. In somewhat of a sense of release, he thought; "They're back to properly finish the job." As he breathed a heavy sigh of relief, the dirt which had morphed into mud inside his nose, found an alternative resting place; his chin.

He looked up and saw a face. Though it was as unclear as the other sun-backlit faces now departed, Spidey D was sure that this one was different. It seemed to be tiny and blonde haired. Then there was another; and another; and ................

In a child-like manner of annunciation, the first face said; "Are you okay, mister?"

Spidey D's voice sounded like that of Frankenstein's monster, as through the constraints of the duct tape covering his mouth, he attempted to say; "Does it look like I'm fucking okay," which was heard as; "Grrrmnnfft." He followed that with a lagging thought; "Are they serious or are they here to playfully torment me?"

Two of the kids carefully lowered themselves into the hole. They appeared to be about eight years of age. The one who seemed the braver of the two had actually done a bit of thinking, which concluded with; "This person probably needs help. There's little risk in undoing his mouth gag as long as his hands and feet remain bound. This would be a very poor ruse for a pedophile, but we'll go slow." With the epidemic proportion of child abuse in 2016, it was necessary for kids to spend time learning such lessons, at the expense of dalliances with Winnie the Pooh.

He pulled off the mouth tape slowly in an attempt to be gentle, succeeding in making it hurt Spidey D more and protractedly. When he first was able to speak, Spidey D said; "No, I'm not all right. Some people are trying to kill me and they might be back any second. What're you doin' down here? It's a dangerous place."

One of them asked; "You mean down in this hole that you're in?"

"No. No. I mean in this whole area."

"If you want to know the truth, we're being bad. Don't tell anybody. We've ridden our bikes all over the place a million times. We just wanted to see something different today."

The little boy and girl were undoing Spidey D's foot and hand shackles as Spidey D verbally chastised them with; "This is desolation here. Dangerous desolation. You shouldn't be here."

The little girl said; "If we didn't come here, you'd be coyote meat. That better?"

If he had tried to articulate his thoughts, Spidey D knew that they would likely come out confusing due to his flaws; too complicated for children, too point of view dependent, or just plain wrong. Instead, he shakily stood as the last of the grabby grey manacles were removed from his feet, and said; "No. Thank you. I owe you my life. ............ But, please be careful."

Other little hands were extended from above to assist the three from the pit. The two kids took them and went up. Spidey D feared that his size would just pull the offering kids down with him, maybe causing an injury in the process. He placed his hands on the level ground and kind of jumped while his hands pulled.

He scrambled to his feet. He remembered the little girl's "coyote meat" commentary which was suggestive of his ingratitude. The first thing he did was to get on one knee in front of the little boy and girl so that they were alternatively face to face, messed up his silken hair a bit, and said; "Thanks, little man. If you were triple the size, I'd have gladly taken the offer." He then took the girl's hand, and said; "Thanks little girl. Sometimes things get so confusing, it's best to just shut up. Thank you." He kissed her hand.

Spidey D stood and couldn't fathom why the little boy and girl had found this so hysterically funny. He looked around and saw six kids and six closely parked bicycles; pastel pinks and pastel blues interspersed with an off white. Some still had training wheels.

One of the boys retrieved a smart phone from his pocket and said; "I'll call the cops." Spidey D insisted a loud; "No," and pulled the phone away from the kid before he could hit the third number. All the kids looked startled and took a few steps back; away from the filth encrusted man. Spidey D understood their response. He returned the kid's smart phone and said; "This probably doesn't make any sense to you and I can't explain it. Maybe someday it will. But if you made that call it would cause me more trouble than I am already in. So, please don't."

One of the boys deadpanned; "You committed a crime."

"No. ............ Well, yes. But, the cops won't arrest me for it. ..................... Well, they already have. But, it has nothing to do with this. ............ Well, in a way .......... It gets pretty complicated. For me but not you. It's like 'Don't ever tell anybody about anything. If you do, you lose everybody.' No, it's not exactly that. ..... That probably makes no sense at all."

A little girl said; "We had to read that book for school last year. And you didn't get the quote exactly right." Everyone laughed, including Spidey D.

Spidey D was surprised when the kids mounted their bikes and seemed to be preparing to leave. He didn't really know why he was surprised. He supposed that it was because he expected them to ask for something in return for the favor. Whatever the reason, he didn't want to see them leave. He said; "Wait, wait. I can't thank you enough, but I need another favor. I'm kind of lost. How do you get out of this place?"

One of the boys replied; "There are lots of ways." He used his left thumb to point behind him; "You can go this way. It's a little tricky as the road winds around some. But, eventually it will bring you out to Mesa Grande Road." He used his right forefinger to point ahead and said; "We're going this way. It's a straight shot out to Camino del Sol." They drove past him on their way and said; "Good bye."

Spidey D mumbled; "B-bye. .... and thanks." He eyed the ground around him. He saw many more tire tracks behind him than in front. He thought that would help him follow his path more easily. He headed back toward Mesa Grande Road.

Chapter 24

Placidly content to make a passable, attempted imitation of an untreated and festering knife gash, the Propician atmospheric pattern continued to be the same for the next few days; sunny, seasonally sizzling and no precipitation. Gardeners clucked as they ran their sprinkler systems three fold. The week's forecast was for more of the same. When the sun was in the east; the clouds were in the west. To make those discomforted by the obstructed Brisas induced point of view, in what could not be analyzed as anything other than some sort of willful, counter contrarian mindset; when the sun gravitated to the west; the clouds demonstrated a strong preference for the east. It seemed to require only a slight deference to logic that there had to have been a few moments of an obligatory criss-cross. This possibility was never seen by the vast majority, perhaps due to the Propicio and Mesa Grande residents' penchant for self-absorption. The short lived "eclipsing" phenomenon was only noticed by the few artists, idlers and dreamers, who had already pragmatically learned to keep their visions to themselves, under the previously discovered threats of further derision, dismissal, discipline and worst of all, faux genteel, deadening condescension.

Of even more significance than the mindsets of the current celestial occupants and their lower garden excluding manifestations, whose primary understanding was at the root a function of their assumed "pride" in being at the top of the food chain, the earth itself was scorched. While the "human" residents went about their busy days with an alacrity more grand than hogs wallowing in the defecatory materials provided by their masters, the new greenery registered its own silent opinion. The early tree buds imitated a third world public utility by performing a noticeable brown out. The bushes hardened their branch ends, establishing a non-porous border, more secure than the boundaries provided by Homeland Security at a cost of trillions of trillions. The aggressive, initial shoots of grass withered and died. The Propicio, one acre, land "tycoons" welcomed the absence of incursions into their gravel driveways; seemingly unaware, or pretending to be, of what damage was concurrently being done to their gardens.

It was finally the contemporary, post-industrial, post-modern, un-defined day; the eighth; the one the politically motivated or mentally deficient, perhaps oxymoronic; and compilers of the holy books had chosen to ignore. It was the new "surprise" revealed in antiquity by the prophets who did not make Constantine's final cut. It was the nightmare. It was the dream. It was the monotheistic needed reverence for the inevitable polytheistic progression and righteous takeover. It was a choice of nature or a denial of the obviously beautiful. It was something feared. It was something hoped. It was the unknown. It was of the sky ............ and at the same time, of the earth. It was the thing avoided at light, cheery toddy time. It was the thing not suitable for "polite" conversation. It was the thing publicly shunned. It was the thing sought in reverent prayer and in the epithets of damnation. It was the over-heated steam pot equipped with a silencer. It was Abraham's doing. It was Abel being framed by Cain. IT was the THING which had perfected the art of slouching. It was a DFW joke. It was a Dante fantasy. And it was as hot as the grumbling ground. The bottom line point ignored is that "IT" was and "IT" is and that "IT" is now irreversible.

In what we have guessed at being some sort of reality, it was un-deniably the result of the lust for the fruits of a lucrative, renewable garbage contract mistakenly coupled with a disdain for the few remaining, prolific trees. In the recognition of all the advanced learning in all of its proffered thirty-three degrees, is it the least bit possible that someone made a mistake? In the on-line educated and informed world of 2016, no one admits to a mistake. Everything had its good reasons with Wiki backup if challenged. The mere suggestion of the possibility of a mistake made by the well credentialed specialists in their area of expertise is anathema in its possible "witty" pubic dismissal or worse, serves as an opening for a considerably boring, lengthy speech covering all conceivable sides known by the one who performs the pedantic pontification. To them the important things are only known in late, late hindsight. Much too late late. If corralled, through experience of the diatribes already endured, it is most logical and self-serving to avoid the discussion and say something trite which the orator can accept as an acceptance of their need to appear brilliant. To attempt anything other puts one in the mud with the pigs; oh so socially and politically correct; another oxymoron. Such is one source of the still silence. It is not an emotion of any sort. It's just two fans, two giggles, and two shrugs. ..................... Then it's gone.

"Cut it," the observers observed, ostensibly oblivious of their punning perspicacity. "We didn't start the fire. Our fathers did. Surely we would have killed him were he not already dead. This is not truly our times." No vocal response is deemed necessary; just another giggle.

Bravely, Oedipally, or half assed Freudian simplistic; the motivation is immaterial in an existential sense, as the material result is an Alpha-Omega re-defined, not by the immense, fleeting popularity of another pop star; Madonna. This has no name and no fame name; just another business-as-usual day at the secretive base of Mount Zion. For those in need of definition or point of convenient reference; wrongly call it Swayday in honor of the young Stones. How the fuck could anyone be sure? Maybe we, in our self-importance, have forgotten the primal, wondrous simplicity of the sun and its interplay with the white, cumulous clouds. Or, have the artificial chemtrails, obvious and simultaneously denied or ignored, been able to make a contribution un-requested and un-tithed? .......... A resounding, desperate and current "yes," is yin and yanged with a quiet, un-caring and pre-destined "no."

It was evident that the hot, preceding stillness provided the perfect setting for languid reflection; too sticky to move, but no impediment to the lounging luxury of deliberation.

Ty and Cindy stared at the river they had finally succeeded in being near together. They wondered where the line of demarcation might be hiding in the ripples caused by the hidden, worn, rocky bed. They knew that their question was superfluous and a function of the abundance of dead time. Just as shown by the most fickle of winds, it was assuredly down there somewhere. The irrefutable effects which they could always clearly see in the tiny waves mimicked the loose leaves blowing madly in the gusting squalls and were more than enough substantiation for them.

They were silent as they instinctively knew that the other was thinking of the exact same thing. Their minds rotated between their memories of Renoir's, black and white, "Grand Illusion" line of demarcation, absurdly invisible somewhere in an unspoiled field of snow; Wallace's mental suggestion of the existence of porous borders; Joyce and Nabokov's concepts of "art for art's sake;" and Patti Smith's songs of the dreams of the combining libido within dreams of themselves, which were themselves within paintings of sleeping and guarded world rulers, painted in Italy that day in 1492 when the artist died, which reflected one dreaming of sailing ships, which were real and also past, while the ship inhabitants dreamed of the inevitability of putting their feet on the virgin American soil; while the virgin American soil .............. . In heavier moments they wondered what degree of socialization was required to avoid the slings and arrows, and if that degree would allow satisfactory access to their most desired, private moments.

Rick-Richard-Richard III thought about the future. He sought a plan in which, after becoming mayor, he could secretly keep the lion's share of the garbage contract kickback, thereby screwing his opportunistic and informationally plugged in "benefactor." He strongly suspected that the funds would be sufficient to repurchase his family farm and restore it to its former glory. After the details of that endeavor were worked out, he could then return to being the "nice" guy he truly was.

Josh had his customarily many indiscernible irons in the fire. Regarding Rick-Richard-Richard III's iron, from day one he had anticipated the double cross; just as he would have with any of the other weaker candidates he might have supported. He had no better plan than to conduct constant surveillance in the hope of his film crew's recording of something Rick-Richard-Richard III found sufficiently embarrassing as to become an easy blackmail target. The follow up, if necessary, was the standard reversal of roles. Josh would pay the part of the offended party, and seek retribution in the dollars attached to the other small stuff, previously left vague. It wasn't a good option, but if Richard stiffed him completely, he knew an honest torch who owed him a favor and he knew where Richie lived.

In very broad concept, something akin to the Ty and Cindy telepathic phenomenon, on an operational basis at any rate, Propicio Mayor Vincenzo and his wife did not communicate while on the same wavelength. If the concept is unclear perhaps this humble offering might clarify. If not, fuck it. It is a sad testimony to the observer's limited participation in the reading of a magazine which is, sarcastic, loving, dis-interested, erroneous, and with a dearth of creativity is entitled "Life." Vinny and his family needed a big cash fix; and no legal options presented themselves. His wife knew that without having to have been plagued with the monotonous, dreary details.

Penny fretted over her garden. She made a regimen of flooding it three times daily, but in the extreme heat and lack of natural precipitation, her ersatz native plants struggled in their tended beds, while their neighboring elms thrived. The aggressive young "weeds" exhibited six inches of top growth, while they were continually nourished by roots which extended three feet down into the water table. Penny and her husband had previously been pulling them out to no avail, as no matter what they did part of the root remained and defiantly re-surfaced, growing new leaves on an increased number of branches. Penny needed another plan. It seemed that the only way she could possibly get rid of the baby elms was to dig up the entire garden, thereby destroying the plants she wanted to cultivate. And even if she took that drastic measure, the gigantic elm forest, just one hundred feet away, would again extend its eminent domain. Her thoughts were back tracking, changeable, and confused; but she was clear on two things. Richard Lawson had to become the next mayor and that her husband had developed more of an interest in hip-hop music than he had in having a proper garden. Her most petit bourgeois of instincts suggested that she pretend not to have been aware of her tragedy and, while stuck with proper company, to put the best positive face possible on the whole wilting affair; while being careful not to cast any aspersions on the best face demonstrations of those who put the best positive face possible .......... Yadda. And in no case should she make reference to her husband's new red Corvette or the seventeen year old dark Mexican divorcee in it and the unusually large withdrawals from his and hers joint checking account.

Manny was Manny. After some explanations of the facts of life, he and his new young partner continued the award winning legacy he had established with Jack; and Mesa Grande remained minimally harassed by the recidivist drug addicts. Because of that and increased competition from other cops desirous of awards and capable of copying, the number of County Jail residents continued to show a steadily increasing trend. Because of that and typical government-business politics, private contractors had been engaged, both to expand the facility and to provide more security staff. Manny was also Manny in his periodic, hand-wrenching, moral crises, regarding what he and his colleague were doing. But, this time his agonies were vented at a young Latino firebrand partner, who always retorted with something like; "What the fuck you talkin' about man? You're the one taught me to do this shit." Manny also continued to try to find a boyfriend for his sister, but the younger man was good with math and figured out that she would have to be at least old enough to be his mama; and something about that didn't sit well with him.

Spidey D was as fucked up as ever, this time for different reasons. While he was home recovering from his injuries he had to keep explaining to his parents what had happened to him and why he didn't want police involvement. He got increasingly pissed by the hour. He decided that when he could again go outside without being a magnet for sideways glances and commentaries he would "set things right."

The downtown Locos kind of missed Spidey D. It was fun to pick on a white nerd, but orders is orders. In the meantime they kept their eyes and ears open for any "surprises" that might be consistent with Carlos having cut a deal. Outside of him being a bit more friendly than usual, comforting personal monotony reigned; while at the original Nine Mile, this one in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica the people heard Bob Marley and the Wailers wail "Concrete Jungle."

Beth continued to stay at the Dietrich place and walked her dogs on Calle de La Congelacion twice daily. If she saw Jack coming, she'd double time it back to her accommodations. With her back turned it was not likely that she saw that Jack was following the same modus operandi.

Jack was on an even keel now that he had played out and lost his obsession with vengeance. With minimal interest in his electronic marvels and no wishes to impress anybody, he figured he'd make a few bucks by taking some landscaping jobs, sometimes being allowed to take Justice with him. Rather than further wearing out his already worn out clunker, he often walked to his place of work.

Justice was tired from all the walking. He now enjoyed his cushy couch spot more than he did his sliced beef feast in gravy. He thought; "The next time I consider gracing someone's house with my presence I'm going to first check to see if they have a late model SUV."

The Sand Duners were enjoying the quiet until it reminded them of something which wore masks. They were glad that the town had a mayoral candidate as that did away with the need for the marches on City Hall with a scary agenda. They were not particularly comfortable with that candidate being a "good old boy," southern farmer from a long line of "good old boy" southern farmers. They considered putting up their own candidate, but ran into a number of problems. The most significant of those was that none of them felt very comfortable downtown; and therefore the prize for winning was the necessity of going there alone at least once every week.

Given, the myriad of well-wishing and self-serving, "New Age" consistent set of thoughts and plans with backups A, B, C, and D, the finale appeared to be overly obvious on both a "high art" level as well as its lower gaffe; a charge of pre-destination inevitable, but false; perhaps some masochist's subject of another tedious immersion into the reductive pit of popular ennui.

On a day when Justice put all four paws down in an absolute refusal to take the long walk to Jack's job, he made some indecipherable mumbles into the seat of the couch and made a point of settling in. Jack was disappointed as he liked walking with and talking to his generally agreeable companion. But he said; "All right. All right. Have it your way. I know that this heat is tougher for you with a coat on. You know how to get out when you need to. You also know that once you're out you're stuck in the heat until I get back and open the door. Right?" Justice again mumbled into the couch seat, and re-positioned himself even more securely, seeming to be annoyed at the condescending question. If humans could understand dogspeak, Jack would have heard; "Think I'm stupid or something? I know better than you dickhead. I live in the same place as you and I don't have to lift a paw to do that. He he he."

Jack slowly walked the mile to Mr. Ron Rayburn's house over on Roadrunner Lane. Seems Mr. Ron had been in a rattle over the state of his apple trees. About seventeen of them had been left on the acre lot which came with his now two year old Mediterranean styled house. It was once part of the forty acre apple tree farm sold off by "Crazy Horse" Abeque. When 'Crazy Horse' owned it there was one straight dirt road going through the middle of the property and irrigation ditches throughout. The road didn't have any street sign and not many people knew that anyone was there, except the mailman. Crazy Horse liked it precisely that way. But then he got surrounded by "friendly" suburban newcomers and sold out.

Rattling Ron liked the pavement which kept the entrails of his late model gray on gray SUV "clean" on precipitative days. The recent hot and dry weather worked well for "the gentleman farmer's" auto, but he didn't quite fathom that this was a detriment to the last remaining farm objects, which he thought served as justification for his "down-home-farm-boy" fantasy farce. Jack had previously chain sawed some dead branches on a day when Rattling Ron couldn't locate his checkbook. Since the more professional landscapers knew well of Ron's convenient disabilities and consequently avoided him in a harsh display of indifference, it was easy for Jack to get a second gig, and he figured he might be able to get the cheap, phony asshole to give him some cash up front.

Already drenched Jack walked the Roadrunner line. His eyes were drawn to the browned out grass attempts situated on the otherwise barren front lawns. He tried to conceal it, but couldn't help openly laughing at the sprinkler systems which were furiously running, the heads spinning in modern gimmicks which must have been aesthetically impressive to someone, while the water evaporated when it hit its destination at the tops of the dying grass. He realized that his laughter might be construed by some New Agey types as being insensitive to the demise of the nice, struggling shoots of green. He said; "Hey little guys. Don't say anything to the New Age bullshit artists and the politically correct, okay? I'm not here to obtain their blessings, and would be certain that I had made some fundamental error if I ever had to refuse their plastic awards. I really sympathize with you guys, but am not able to give any help. So, I'll be as kind as I possibly can by not boring you with some goody-goody platitudes. Hey, at my most evil, I didn't cause the problem; so it ain't my job to fix it. You're just going to have to find a way to tell those self-absorbed, poor excuses for 'caretakers' inside the air-conditioned, ticky-tacky mansion that if they had any desire to be useful, it would be much better to run the sprinkler system in the dark. Try not to follow that with; 'Duh!!!!' Their escaped kids might have told them what that means. And try not to say 'asshole' too loudly. It gives the criminals a surreptitious way of avoiding the real issue. ................... I'm not saying it's right; I'm just saying I know these fucks and that's what they're like. Good luck, little ones."

Jack slowly moved further down the road. Ron was in his one act, reductive rattle, pacing and chain smoking in the proximity of the rusted gate he had recently purchased as it were. It's nationally franchised retailer specialized in the fabrication of age, in the realization that this was considered as useful to those who sought an appearance of authenticity; ostensibly in some sort of attempt to fool someone else into thinking that his contrived appearance was real. The absurd obviousness was never pointed out, and may have well been a foreign concept in the Propicio-fashionable meaning of the term "real." In its closest approach to having stood the test of time; the charade was not much different from an inadequate paint job on a new barn.

After Jack stood in front of it for a few seconds, the gate creaked inwardly open and Ron Rattle greeted Jack with a slurred and disinterested version of; "mornin'", the "favor" returned in kind. Jack added; "You got some special problem to show me?"

Ron sounded as challenging as a cop one step from making the arrest when he replied; "The apples out back. There are more dead branches. Must be bugs. Why didn't you spray them last time?"

Jack scratched the back of his sweating neck and looked at the ground saying; "Yaayuh. Reminds me. Pesticide costs money and you didn't give me any last time."

"Don't worry about it. You'll get covered today. Now get on those apples."

"I'd like to do that Ron. I really would. You see, problem is my daddy told me somethin' many years ago, and I'm sure you'll appreciate how you can't get stuff like that out of your head. See, he told me; 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' So, I'm gonna need some upfront money." Jack thought that he could sense Ron's rattle.

Ron said; "All right. All right. I got my checkbook right here. How much for last time?"

"A hundred twenty, Ronny; but hold on a second. It'll be another hundred twenty today; so I'll be needin' two forty."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. People get paid AFTER they do the work."

"Ronny, Ronny, Ronny. We both know that just ain't true all the time. See, the way I figure it, if you pay me for only last time, and then don't pay me for today, I'll be back where I started. Know what I mean?"

Ronny Rayburn was getting a little frustrated and was thinking about his apple trees suffering in the heat, but there was still a bit left in him which objected to what he saw as a loss of control. He decided to give Jack a check for two forty, then drive to the bank and stop payment on it; thereby getting two days' work free. He started to write.

Jack said; "No, Ronny. I'm gonna need cash. Tax man and all that. See, if I hadda give the government a cut, I'd hafta charge you more. I'm savin' you money. Sides, I'm sure a rich man like you got more than that layin' around."

"Come on, Jack. You're getting' ridiculous."

"I'd like to he'p ya out Ron. I really would. You see, problem is my daddy told me somethin' many years ago, and I'm sure you'll appreciate how you can't get stuff like that out of your head. When I was just four years old, daddy took me on his knee and ......................."

Imitating an automatic weapon with a stuck trigger, Ron said; "Allrightallrightallright. Spare me what your daddy said." He reached into his pocket, retrieved his wallet, peeled off two forty in twenties, and handed them to Jack. "Now, will you please attend to those apples?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Rayburn;" Jack said as he pocketed the Jacksons. But, you know it's kinda rude to cut off my daddy like that. Oh gee, excuse me. Cell just went off." It actually didn't, but Ron had no way of knowing that. Jack retrieved it, glanced at it and said; "Sorry, gotta take this one." He put it to his ear and said; "Hi, ma. I'm at work right now, standing here with the boss man, and it's a little rude. No emergency, I hope."

" .......................................... "

"Aha."

" ................................... "

"Yeah, I'm listening."

" ......................................... "

"No, it didn't."

" ....................................... "

"He said that? How can he be so sure?"

" ............................. "

"Yeah. I guess so."

" ..................................... "

"All right. All right. I promise. I'll be right there."

Jack put the phone back in his pocket, and slowly shook his head side to side, while eyeing the ground. He said; "Sorry, Ron. Gotta go. Mom's got an emergency."

Jack was somewhat surprised that Ron had the audacity to utilize a commanding tone when he asked; "What kind of emergency?"

"Plumbing." As he started to walk away he said; "I'll try to get here tomorrow."

"Try? What about my apples?"

"Tell you what, Ronny. Get out your shovel and dig a five inch deep well around each of them. Flood it with water twice a day. That'll probably take care of most of the problem."

"How about my money?"

"We'll settle up when I get here next. Trust me."

Jack had no intention of ever coming back. He was pleased with himself. As he walked down Roadrunner Road, he thought; "This is fun," and waved goodbye to the tiny, green, brown strugglers.

Jack walked back down and further down the direct and easy Propicio Road route. He was feeling pretty good with his left pocket full of the cash he had extracted from Rattling Ron, in repayment for the stiff he had gotten at the last visit. Justice was only sometimes a dog. Sometimes Justice was an un-preached lesson. Jack was so satisfied with himself and his two-week-wad of plenty. He was going home. Like a baby-kissing politician, he started to wave to the disinterested cars which sped by. Perhaps personally insulted by the non-return he flipped the laughing bird.

When he remembered that this derisively intended display was somewhat flattering to those he wanted to counter punch, in that it was a flagrant indication that someone still recognized their disdained and useless existence, he turned his eyes from the road, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at the Manzanos. As gazillions of distant parallel past performances predicted, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that as soon as he turned from them, their eyes turned toward him, blaring their horns as if their presumed and often mis-remembered one time acquaintance was now some sort of long lost friend; obligating a wave. If not for the ear splitting cacophony it would have been as amusing as the requisite polite grin at a very old unfunny joke. He also knew their "advanced" step two; that this was only a surface attempt to appear friendly, which really said a commanding; "You better look at me." ....... Which quickly fell to a neutral; "Look at me." ....... which always culminated in the pathetic, unanswered prayer-plea of; "Please look at me." Step three was to tell the teacher. Step four was who cares, shifting point of view. At this stage Jack's mental and physical attributes were on neutral; neither interested nor dis-interested; a distinct improvement over the tedious mindsets dependent on a laundry list of specifics he no longer wanted to clog up his head; posing as entertainment or social proprieties. He had succeeded in becoming a Franzen short story; or two of them; or a whole book; or, or, or .............. He was all right. Finally all right. He was tired; and looking forward to getting home and napping with Justice. The cars plodded by.

About a half mile from home he saw the red sky down in the valley ahead of him. He stared, first thinking it a manifestation of the early evening pink horizon, common to the southwest. Then he saw the dissipation of the gray, pink obscuring, smoke and realized that he was either locked into a long, bad dream or that he was looking at flames; as real as piss. Worse, from his reasonably close vantage point, he could tell with a 95% degree of accuracy that what was burning were not the properties or the proprieties of the recent pest infestation. He thought; "Hell. Should have known that. There was nothing there capable of burning this high." The blaze was likely centered on Calle de la Congelacion. He worried about Justice and picked up speed. He worried about the other residents, even the ones he had not yet met and broke into a trot. He worried about Beth, or didn't, or did, or didn't, or did .............. and started running.

His worst fears became increasingly visualized with each stride. Jack got to the Propicio Road entrance to Calle de la Congelacion and was turned back by the waves of heat and burning embers. He frantically thought; "The whole place is gone. There's no way in. .................... Wouldn't matter anymore if there was." Unwanted thoughts of Justice's long hair and its susceptibility to flame entered his mind. Wanted images of Beth's long hair and her susceptibility to flame flip flopped with that of Jack's current canine companion. He couldn't stand the first, but had illogical feelings about the second, centered around his unaccepted definition of libido; the overly simple blending of body and soul. These useless thoughts mercifully ended when his mind became preoccupied with the burning embers desperate to escape the conflagration, trying to appear dangerous for one last second of imagined flight, as they fell falsely threatening on and around him and on his clothes and all too obviously in an innocuous fashion on the hard, black, asphalt road. His bare hands appeared to display a propensity for caution as they took the trouble to brush the dying embers off his hair, shirt and trousers. In fact they did not fear any burn, but merely had a disdain for the aesthetics of gray ash, and didn't give a damn about any watcher's thoughts. He walked back toward Camino de las Brisas in search of an indirect entry into his old home.

Jack entered Brisas, but was initially distracted away from the contrast displayed by the raging fire on the left side of the road and the seeming serenity on the right by the roar of auto engines. He thought that he must have walked into some sort of parade.

The most likely suspect was second in the entourage; alone in his car following the one driven by his front running wife. Each was on the exact wavelength of their mate. Based on previous conversations Vinny thought that his wife had started the blaze for his benefit. His wife thought that Vinny had started it for hers. They both thought that it was done for mutual benefit and they both thought it best to get the other out of there before some cop showed up.

Trailing them were the autos of Patricia Primstation and her husband. He thought that she got pissed and started the thing, and she thought that he did as a conciliatory gift for her. While stated first, these thoughts were secondary to their intention to load up all the small valuables and get the cars to a safe place before the fire jumped the road.

After they hurried away Spidey D soon drove his vehicle in. Jack grinned as he thought; "Fuckin' little punk always has to be contrary." He figured the kid wanted "to hang out with him" and diverted his attention to the fire. It was his worst imagined scenario. The fire lined this side of the road just as thoroughly as it lined the other; the color a bit different as the smoke was more orange where it consumed the newer wood. Jack hoped that Justice and the other residents of Calle de la Congelacion had made it to safety in any way possible, maybe even through the open gate and path on the Dietrich property. He was happy when he saw that beyond the end of the road that Justice was in the river, soaked and swimming with the current. He called out; "Justice," and the Shepard must have heard him over the shallow, rock climbing flow of the Rio Grande and the felis leo-like roar of the flames, as the pooch sided to the persistent current; only insignificantly impeded in his straight path toward shore.

Jack's visual occupation was interrupted when he heard Spidey D's voice as if it was "enhanced" by the screech of a broken antique Rudy Vallee megaphone. Jack turned to the sound while thinking; "Multi-tasking is sometimes a bitch." He saw Spidey D and said; "What the fuck you want punk? I got other shit to do."

Spidey D laughed out loud in a reasonably affected imitation of Igor, looked at the gun he caressed with his left hand and said; "I'm going to put you out of your misery once and for all, mutha fucka."

If he had sufficient time to plan Jack might have lunged at the punk, but in the moment was overwhelmed by his surprise and just said an almost imploring; "I let you go, man."

Still sporting a grin, the kid tersely said; "Sucker," and pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged in Jack's chest and the red geyser first bubbled then exploded onto the punk's face. Spidey D paid it no mind, as all he could see was Jack making an unwanted appearance on the asphalt; and all he could think of was that he knew that he would now legitimately be able to qualify for the highest status bad mofo tattoo; the one with the blue and red shoulder to shoulder wings which meant; "I shot a cop," in a poetry well known on the street. It was something that none of the Locos could wear in truth.

At the far end of the road Ty and Cindy were on their front lawn, circling just as well as a couple of monarch butterflies.

Cindy finally said; "Come on, Ty. Let's get out of here like everybody else except that dumb dog."

"No, babe. We were working for this much too long for me to give up this easy."

"THIS EASY? The goddam blaze is gigantic and it's going to head this way. We've got insurance."

"Yeah, I know, and the nice insurance adjuster will find all sorts of contractual 'reasons' to give us half of what it's worth."

"At least we'll be alive."

"Look. I figure it this way. Fires need fuel and there's nothing much to burn on this side of the road except the house. ............... Don't laugh. Adobe doesn't burn. If I can just keep the embers off the roof, we'll be all right."

"I don't know, Ty."

"Look. If you want to leave okay. No bad feelings. I understand. Be safe." He held her a second and then let go. He said; "I've got to get this garden hose running full strength. Just meet me back here after the fireworks are over." He started toward one of the external house spigots.

Cindy said; "NO. NO. NO. I'm not leaving you here alone. I belong here with you. I can do some watering too."

Ty gave her a quick hug, saying; "Great, great, great. Luv 'ya, girl. Do what you can?"

Ty picked up the hose and continued toward the spigot. Cindy's eyes surveyed the surroundings in search of an idea. Finding none, she went inside. Her first stop was the kitchen. She opened the pantry door and was elated to see the pink spray can she had bought, with the intention of using it in her garden. It had gone forgotten; what with all the social obligations induced by the Camino de las Brisas Gardening Society and their meetings. She had found it more efficient to use the hose on the plantings near the house. She filled it with kitchen sink water and rushed back outside.

Ty was already on the ladder, spraying the still un-threatened roof in a preparatory operation. Cindy called out; "We're in business, baby. I got the ground covered and you got the cover grounded."

"What?"

"Never mind. Maybe we'll discuss it at a more leisurely time." She drenched the flowers first.

Dressed in a strapped, white painter's outfit and sporting a white cap turned to the side, ala Flavor Fav. The former member of Public Enemy shook up a few things when he continually sported that big clock. Beth exited the woods; as if in the shadow of a sarcastic King radiance. Her outfit was so freshly pressed and clean it was obvious she had never painted anything. Her bucket housed a blowtorch and an accelerant. She did a double take when she saw Spidey D standing over Jack, gun in hand. Spidey D called out; "What are you doing here, Rosie?"

Rosie shrugged and pointed to the flames with her thumb. "Et tu, Spy-Day?"

"Offed this pig rat. Now I can get one of those high status 'I shot a cop' tattoos." He took an exaggerated cowboy posture; bent at the hip, left hand much lower than the right, and drawled; "Only sonofabitch can rightly wear one in these here parts."

Rosie laughed as she removed her blond wig, revealing her closely cropped black hair. She briskly brushed it with her free left hand and said; "Sure he's dead? Don't want to leave any witnesses. This fart cop has been bothering me for weeks."

"First time. I'm really not sure."

"Gets easier each time. I just love seeing these rich fucks get it. They think it'll never happen to them."

Jack couldn't move his arms or legs, but the audio and video was still on. He tried to speak and no words came out.

Rosie said; "It's still almost alive. I see you got him in the chest. You always have to put another one in the head to make sure. Gimme."

She took the nine from Spidey D's hand, pointed it at Jack's head, saying; "Here's some love from Beth," and pulled the trigger.

Jack shut his eyes. When he didn't feel anything he opened them again.

Spidey D said; "Piece of shit doesn't always work right. Bought it off of one of Carlos' assholes. Give it another try."

Rosie curled her lips disdainfully and said; "Got to stop hangin' around with the low lifes. Ain't worth the effort." She pulled the trigger again and it left a small hole in Jack's forehead.

Spidey D reached for the pistol and Rosie put it behind her back. He was a bit uncomfortable, but wanted to appear totally cool. He said; "Not much blood."

"Most of it comes out the back. Give it a second."

A chunky red tide spread out in all directions, forming a flowing corona around Jack's head.

"Ooh," she said; "Now I can get one of those tattoos too."

Spidey D was satisfied and glad for the company. He said; "Let's get the fuck out of here. We can take this car I re-appropriated."

Rosie kept looking back as she trailed Spidey D to the dark green Volvo. She said; "God, that's the bad thing about this job. You have to make your getaway so soon; and I so much like to watch the flames."

Spidey D got into the driver's seat and had the ignition turned on while Rosie shied away from the passenger's seat.

Sensing her last second complying reticence, he said; "Why don't you get yourself a video camera or some shit?"

Rosie seemed a trifle amused with the nine well in hand, and said: "My little boy. Haven't you yet learned that some things are better experienced in person? Since this is your first time you're probably still nervous. Let me drive."

They exchanged positions. Spidey D did that easily and willingly. He never considered things from Rosie's viewpoint. And it was so simple. Rosie didn't like witnesses. There were three people who knew the truth. One was already dead. Soon another would be. And Rosie had no plans to be stopping by the confessional.

On his back and unable to move, Jack saw the red sky, enormous, to his left and above. He mentally chuckled as he knew that he had successfully fooled them once again. Sure, part of his brain was blown out, but he never used 90% of it anyway. He was still alive and expected that soon some people paid to do so would show up in a convoy of blaring panel trucks.

In one sense, it was devastating to him; like an unanswered riddle from Vladimir which wasn't really there, filtered through the careful inarticulation of the assuming straw men with papers, and their copy contrivance connoisseur counterparts, rendering any possible response presumptuous and subject to an immediate charge of gauche behavior, disguised as an untrained and untalented, condescending duplication with a heartless ho ho ho. In another it was funny. That sense was David's. In another it was banal and quite boring, ala Henry, overlapping the D man's porous border. In another it was as easily predictable as a contemporary, literary best seller by Jonathan. In another it was as poorly carried out as an indie illiterate, posturing that the ineptitude was done purposely and is just so, so cool. In another it was the "radical" posture affected by the likes of Willy the Skeletal. In another it was the trilogy fantasists sucking up to the other juvenile minds in lucrative confusion. In another ............ In another ......... In another ......... In another it was those not worth mentioning; like ........ Another was the past. There would be no others for Jack.

But, he wasn't worrying about that. To Jack, the duplication of antecedents conveyed that previously it had never been anything more than a blue-black-indigo manifestation characteristic of Gogol's colorful suicide or some 1950's, black and white, highly derivative B-movie, so horizon dependent, and worshipped for its unintentional campsite.

Though his immobile head sought his metaphysically western view toward his old friends; Charlotte, Jane, Tom, Charlie, Honore, and LOL Tom B, instinctively, his eyes reversed to the east, where the promise of the heavens' natural blue still prevailed. On the ground, under it, at the end of Camino De Las Brisas, he saw the last humans he ever would; Ty with his tiny spouting hose and Cindy with her watering pot; she scampering around like a rabbit in danger; the flames overwhelming and closing in.

He saw Justice exit the shallow, muddy river, sideways to the tide. Jack was overwhelmed with warm feelings as he watched his German shepherd shake off and run full tilt down the road right at him. He attempted a smile and tried to hold out his paralyzed upper limbs. Justice was confounded as Jack wasn't moving or talking anymore.

Someone must have pushed the stop button and maybe coupled that with a pull of the plug. The blinding and ending jump cuts caused Jack's screen to quickly go from colorful to blue to a yet to be adequately defined, restful and desired blankness.

Jack was now blind to the dustpan full of snow ineffectually dropped from the oppressive, blistering sky. It really didn't matter; as the descent of the pure, white, inimitable ones was hastily wasted over the flames. With ease, confidence and a sense of sanctuary, two red tailed hawks effortlessly circled above the flames; their extended, rounded wings keeping them aloft through the support of the presently warm, inspiring and unseen draft.

Languid Peace, the Second Death or Just Another Redundancy?

