Arctic wind swept across the welfare city this weekend freezing trash to the ground, forcing the wandering insane to seek shelter, glittering frost over broken windows and old blood stains. Salt trucks drift. Icicles hang. Crystal crackles in a thousand pipes. We discovered a mysterious pack of coyotes still roams our neighborhood, animal control caught another one last week.
What are coyotes doing out in the cold anyway, don't they hibernate? Aren't they native to the desert? A popular theory is they are being bred by someone for secret underground coyote fights. Or perhaps a mad scientist will screw laser beams on top of their heads to use in a deathtrap. I think they live in an abandoned building and when things thaw in the spring they will be found frozen in a graffiti-covered block of ice by the railroad tracks, surrounded by the skeletons of the local homeless. A newslady who looks like snow white wandered our block asking questions about them, an overweight cameraman trailing and inhaling her frost breath with sad snicker longing. Film at eleven. And now...dancing ferrets!
I went to see the local band Gabbie's Pale Kids at their farewell show at a downtown bar on Friday. They did a lot of Pixies and PJ Harvey covers. Their new drummer had some sort of family emergency and an old college friend of mine stepped in on drums for most of their set.
Two beautiful women in the audience gave me the eye through the show. I am usually oblivious to these sort of signals, but have been making an effort to connect with humanity more and to live less in my head. I was not looking to hook up and know it is shallow but it does make me feel good to know that I still have something. Many people I did not recognize greeted me by name. That happens every time I go out and I do not know why. In the end fun was had by all and Gabbies band went out in spectacular fashion.
I tire-skated home in the early morning hours. Chemical clouds cover the stars but lights from a million buildings line the ground, so it looked like the earth has been turned upside down. Some turn on blacklights and shine like venus. Some burn out early and rise with the sun. Bass thump thunder. Cricket smiles. Red cars buzz the streets like shooting stars. Make a wish. |
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