Paula's story
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In the center of the grandstand, an obese man in a too-tight suit and a red made-in-China hat watched the spectacle, made to order in his honor, as he scarfed down a hamburger, then a hot dog, and, then, incongruously, a seaweed-wrapped rice & bean burrito. How preposterous, as he was fighting with everything he had to deny Asians and Mexicans, among others, access to the United States. And still, he was hungry. Hungry for power. Hungry for world domination. Hungry for love, which he couldn’t articulate. After all, his father had never loved him, had belittled him at every turn, had only demanded complete fealty. And so, this man-made belittling monster demanded the same fealty of his women, his wives, his children, his subordinates.
Yet on this day, on his 79th birthday, during this grand parade — it also convienently coincided with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army— he reveled in the moment. He was a god! Just like his great, big, beautiful Russian pal Putin! A parade in his honor, with all the soldiers and all the tanks and all the big, bright, beautiful things! He was so excited. As he applauded the spectacle, with his bright yellow hair, his weird orange skin, and his garish red hat, he looked like the hot portion of the color wheel.
As the parade progressed, with the tanks, and the soldiers, and the bands, and all the military might he could afford to muster, he digested that immigrant-made burrito. Uh-oh. Suddenly, he leaned a bit to the right, and let loose a blast of deadly flatulence. The Yugoslavian woman next to him, an immigrant clothed immpecibly in a beige suit, flinched a bit, incandescent with embarrassment, yet continued to smile her tight, stiff little smile and wave her tight, stiff little wave. She had become used to such things. She had made peace with being the wife of a tyrant, a multimillionaire, a cheater, and an animal with no manners, no class. After all, she was the same, wasn’t she? She wanted only to deliver an heir. And where was that saintly heir? Oh, yes, there’s Barron, seated behind his father. Feeling the aftershocks of that epic immigrant-fueled fart, he had fainted dead away.
It was easy to see this epic off-gassing as some kind of disgusting joke, laughable, worthy of mocking. And it was, all of those things. But like the entirety of this horrible little man’s twisted regime, it was also deadly serious. He did stupid, inane things, and people got hurt. And he continued not to care.
The world could feel Barron’s disgust. We experience the stench every day. We reel. We are all Barron now.
Jackie's story
The drums beat slowly and regularly pounding deep sorrow into the hearts of those surrounding the coffin . Yellow roses cast an incandescent glow as they were gently placed to send the corpse into its final home. The air was tainted by a natural flatulence, a deadly stench from the seaweed that lined the dunes. The beach covered in white foam, angel shapes ready to catch the soul of the deceased and send it into another sphere.
I had arrived late – missing a turning, getting lost as usual with google maps taking a confusing back road but finally arriving at the chapel on the hill – the crowd spilled out into the driveway I was surprised to see so many people, the chapel was full – slipping in a side door I was overwhelmed by the packed seats and looking around at the mourning crowd dressed in suits and dark clothes surprised I didn’t recognize anyone She must have had a lot of friends.
I was there for my young neighbor Julie. A tragic accident due to a propostperous deadly overdose – she who had loved the surf and sun out morning till night in the wild, so often I would see her running into the water and throwing herself to the wind her long blonde hair tangled and salt kissed, She had always turned to wave with a big smile- on her face and returning wet and salty for a morning coffee at my kitchen table.
The Minister spoke, relating a life story – of banking and success and large families and grand children and great grandchildren – finishing off with “we’ll all miss Mrs Smith”. I realized with a jolt that I was at the wrong funeral –
I waited until the end and slipped out to the adjoining island giving onto the beach – there was a white awning with flowers strewn and friends who I recognized in brightly coloured clothes singing my neighbours favorite songs I was finally able to say goodbye -
What a wonderful service I commented and everyone agreed heartily.
Patrice's story
The summer I graduated from high school, a terrible year for me, a group of my friends decided to go to a cabin that belonged to someone’s family - I don’t remember which friend’s family it belonged to, for an after-graduation party. In a pitch at sophistication, lobsters were bought, wine smuggled, promises made to be careful, and off we went. None of us had cars then - maybe not even driving licenses - so we made our way to upstate NY via train with backpacks and coolers, doing our best to mask our youthful excitement with clever banter - we were a clever bunch - and feigned nonchalance at this grown-up like outing.
We trooped like scouts to the cabin. It was on a hill that sloped down into a grand lake. Pine trees, Sugar Maple, and my mother’s favorite, Birch, peppered the lot. The preposterously named cabin was huge - three bedrooms and a living room with an enormous fireplace, a kitchen attached to a screened porch, and a pantry. The girls claimed the room with an attached bathroom citing flatulent boys with their smells and fart jokes and the boys took the bedroom across the hall at the top of the stairs saying they would protect us should the need arise. The third bedroom, painted a deadly shade of yellow and smelling of mothballs, was left to its own devices, the door firmly closed.
I was lonely among this group of friends. The same age, the shared passion for theatre and performance, the longing to find a way in the world bound us but history, both personal and world history, made us different.
I had never eaten lobster and was unaware that they were thrown into a pot of boiling water to cook. I thought Ricky and Dennis were teasing me until the others chimed in and said they were telling the truth. But before they could be cooked, they would race. I was horrified. A canning kettle boiled on the stove, steam rising, waiting like a giant lobster hell. The bands were removed from the claws, and a starting line was decided upon. Lobsters were set down, shouting began, and the prehistoric creatures scrabbled across the green vinyl, unaware of their fate. I was appalled. These friends who protested war, fought for human rights, went on strike to protest the unfair treatment of animals, were perfectly willing to first play, then boil, then devour the lobsters.
I peeled potatoes and shucked corn on the front porch. As far away as I could get from the rest without actually leaving. I sweated my future and tried to soothe myself with the evening sounds of crickets, night birds, and the whisper of the upper branches of the pines. I refused to watch the lobsters being slid into the pot, but set the table and sat down with everyone else. The horror was not just the boiling of the lobsters. It was in the eating, too. The cracking of the shells, the sucking, the butter coated fingers, the boundless enjoyment struck me as excessive off putting.
The center of the table was piled high with lobster shells, the smell beginning to nauseate me. We sat telling terrible jokes, exchanging horror stories of encounters with teachers, auditions that went sideways, lost leotards, and scary subway encounters.
Someone said we should wash off in the lake. We could swim in our underwear, bathing suits if we had them or naked - with a lift and wiggle of adolescent eyebrows. My relief at getting away from the crustaceous pile got me up and out of the kitchen and down the stairs to the lake faster than anyone. I peeled off my dress and walked into the lake, cementing my reputation as fearless. The others followed with whoops and yelps. It was lovely in the water, the night sky studded with stars nearly invisible in the city. We began to quiet, to talk softly. I was floating on my back when Ricky said, “Move your arms back and forth”. When I did, a lovely sparkle dotted my skin then faded. As I looked over the lake, I could see the others dressed in the luminous algae creating incandescent sculptures against the backdrop of the night sky.
We floated until we were shivering from the cold. Finally making our way back to the cabin to wrap ourselves in towels and blankets, sipping mugs of tea and cocoa, to talk of the future.
Geraldine's story
September had arrived. George and Jennifer had chosen a small island on the North West coast of Japan for their honeymoon.
After a 10 hour trip on the plane, they finally landed in Sapporo and spent the night in the local Hilton Hôtel where they didn’t even appreciate the comfort, as they fell asleep within minutes and stayed in Morpheus’ arms for another solid 10 hours.
A luxurious continental breakfast was brought to their room with a choice of coffee or as many local teas they could even think of, served in the most cute china bowls you could imagine.
While George was under the shower, Jennifer seized the opportunity to release some winds due to the food they had been given on the plane, causing severe flatulence. It was OK : she could hear the water dashing from the shower, so she was relieved as she knew George wouldn’t perceive the loud preposterous drum concert that was going on in her bowells and filling the room with some kind of disorganized sounds… maybe Japanese variations ? After all, it was their honeymoon : and there’s an appropriate way to behave in these ciscumstances.
When George came back to the room in his handsome yellow silk dressing gown, Jennifer was holding her soothed and now supple tummy in her hands, giving it a little massage.
- Are you all right, asked George ? Do you have a stomach ache ?
- Oh no, I’m fine thank you. This is just my morning routine getting everything back into place after a long night.
- Oh ! Good ! As we have a long bus journey yet to get to the ferry.
The bus to Wakanai was due at 10 o’clock. Jennifer had plenty of time to take her shower, get dressed and put on the right shoes for walking and traveling.
They were lucky to get in the front seats and where amazed at the fact that the people getting on it after them would bow in a very polite manner. Japan was certainly not England : people were polite and well behaved ! The landscape was very green, rugged, with extinct volcanos scattered here and there. The sky was deep blue, not a cloud to be seen. The perfect weather for a honeymoon.
There wasn’t far to walk from the bus to the ferry, which they managed quite well. Sitting on the deck of the ferry, they could see the Rishiri Island and it’s big extinct volcano sitting in the middle of it. How lucky to live on an island with only 5.000 inhabitants and wonderfull scenery all around. The sea was turquoise, and looking down to it, they could observe the incandescent seewead at a small depth. Waouh ! never seen anything so astounding, accompanied by this very quiet and calm population : the travelers weren’t talking, or very sotto voce.
The ferry reached the haven, everybody stepped off and got on buses or their bicycles and George and Jennifer looked at each other, smiling, happy and Jennifer let out :
« We’ve done it George, I wasn’t quite sure we would make it : afterall we are both over 90 years old now. And deadly. Love you ! »
Annemarie's story
Out of Sorts. (Dedicated to Patrice, who was 'out of sorts' one day and wants a pet.)
My friend said she was sad and out of sorts today;
She'd stay at home and patch a broken toupée.
I asked her where she'd lost them and she replied:
"Since full moon my 'sorts' have gone on holiday."
I searched a dozen shops for every sort of 'sorts'
But no one knew, no one cared and no new imports.
Think of something new to get her back on side.
I wracked my brains and scratched my head
To cheer her up and rouse her from her bed.
A pet...a cat, a dog, why not a...hippopotamus!
Now you may think that's quite preposterous
But circus-trained, this happy hippo was not deadly
A placid, plodding nature made her very friendly.
With yellow-painted nails and tiny swishing tail
She'd paddle in the pond, polka-dot bikinied.
A daily diet of luscious grass was everything she needed...
...and every other week - fresh delicious seaweed...
...and cakes and ale, cabbages and errant crumbs.
Then came the rumbling sounds like very distant drums,
Which troubled her with never-ending flatulence.
For my friend, I spent my time and my inheritance -
To rouse her sorts, to raise her spirits, her equilibrium.
And was she gushing thanks from her Elysium?
No! ...Incandescent with rage she loudly roared
That I had landed her with such a smelly, farting ward.
Her grass and garden gone, the sofa broken,
Of her 'sorts' she wished she'd never spoken.