Street Vendors
It’s illegal to sell goods on the streets of Beijing, but people do it anyways. Usually just little trinkets that are supposed to be Tibetan but are almost certainly made in a factory near Shanghai. Near where I live they also sell cups, little plastic lamps, hand creams and socks.
Today a man was selling strawberries out of the back of his car. He was selling the first affordable strawberries of the season, smiling as he did it. It was as though he had stole them from some hidden bushes guarded by a sleeping ogre.
Devil Brought the Rain
He woke up in a negro church, surrounded by people singing about the second coming of the Jesus. His head was throbbing. He sat up and scratched his two day old beard. No one paid attention to him. It was like a white man was invisible in the eyes of the lord.
- that will be the start to the detective novel I will probably never write.
Segment of a letter from Sadie to the main character
Anyways, I took a friend to that all-night diner next to the Figueroa hotel. You know, the one that’s been open non-stop since 1924. It reminded me of you, and it was nice getting Martini’s at the hotel, and then having the worst food that’s served anywhere in Los Angeles. The hotel has been there since the 20s. Do you think people went to get Martini’s and then horrible food back in 1928? They probably looked just like us. With bobs of course.
God will forgive most anything you do
John Lee Hooker, I’m Gonna Kill that Woman
The paradise of the birds
Over the spring there was a tree of extraordinary girth and no less height covered with white birds. They covered it so much that one could scarcely see its leaves or branches. When the man of God saw this, he began to think and bonder within himself what it meant or what was the reason that such a great multitude of birds could be all collected together. He was so tormented about this that the tears poured out and flowed down upon his cheeks, and he implored God, saying:
’ God, who knows the unknown and reveals all that is secret, you know the distress of my heart. I implore your majesty to have pity and reveal to me, a sinner, through your great mercy your secret that I now look upon with my eyes. I rely not on what I deserve or my worth, but rather on your boundless pity.’
When he said this within himself and had taken his seat again, one of the birds flew from the tree, making a noise with her wings like a hand-bell, and took up position on the side of the boat where the man of God was sitting. She sat on the edge of the prow and stretched her wings, as it were as a sign of joy, and looked with a peaceful mien at the holy father. The man of God immediately concluded that God had listened to his plea, and spoke to the bird:
‘If you are God’s messenger, tell me where these birds come from or for what reason they are congregated here.’
She replied immediately:
‘We survive from the great destruction of the ancient enemy, but we were not associated with them through any sin of ours. When we were created Lucifer’s fall and that of his followers brought about our destruction also. But our God is just and true. in his great judgment he sent us here. We endure no sufferings. Here we can see God’s presence. But God has separated us from sharing the lot of others who were faithful. We wander through various regions of the air and the firmament and the earth, just like the other spirits that travel on their missions. But on holy days and Sundays we are given bodies such as you now see so that we may stay here and praise our creator. You and your brothers have now spent one year on your journey. Six still remain. Where you celebrated Easter today, there you will celebrate it every year. Afterwards you will find what you cherish in your heart, that is, the Promised Land of the Saints.’
From the Voyage of St. Brendan
Sadie: Character sketch
“Sadie was wearing a polka dotted green skirt under a long dark red sweater. The sweater covered most of her hands while she drove. She looked at me every once in a while, giving me a glimpse of her soft French skin usually hidden by her dirty blonde hair. We talked as though we had talked every day for the past three years, though in reality I was somewhat suprised by the sound of her voice. Like the first time you hear a silent movie actress speak….”
Our main character hasn’t seen Sadie in several years, when he does there is some expectation that the relationship is going to rekindle, based on correspondance they had. It ends up she’s a bit under two months pregnant, and preparing to have an abortion. She maintains an upbeat attitude through the entire scene.
Alcohol induced instant poetry
The things I lived for…
::mumbles::
It’s inconceivable… no no no.
She told me it was a ghost. I heard a siren in the distance, it seemed reasonable enough.
Jesus Christ…
no no no… it doesn’t matter.
no no no… it doesn’t matter.
