The Communicator - July 2005
33
Texas ran away a few
weeks ago and we really
miss him! Keep a look
out in the Clintonville
area.
"The dog was created especially
for children. He is the God of
frolic."
~ Henry Ward Beecher
Poem: "An Ill Wind" by Louis Jenkins, from Sea Smoke © Holy
Cow! Press, 2004.
An Ill Wind
Today there's a cold northeast wind blowing, piling up ice all
along the water's edge. The Point is deserted, no one for five
miles down the beach. Just the way I like it. The sand is frozen
mostly, so the walking is easy as I pick my way through the
wrack and drift. Today I don't even leave footprints. Wind,
sand, sun and water. A simplicity that defies comprehension.
The barest essentials for the imagination's work. This shore has
been pretty much the same for ten thousand years. Countless
others have been here before me, musing and pondering, as
they walked down the beach and disappeared forever. So here's
what I'm thinking: wouldn't it be great if one of them dropped
a big roll of hundred dollar bills and I found it?
Overheard...
"I'm mixing and matching. I'm trying to bring balance to the
force via M&Ms."
-- a coworker commenting on his method of eating Jedi
and Sith colored M&Ms (Emeryville, CA)
"I don't really need this. But I'm just gonna go get some
jelly beans. I just want some jelly beans."
-- a woman muttering to herself as she walked by my
friend's desk at the University of Miami, Dept. of Epidemiol-
ogy and Public Health (Miami, FL)
"I'll take a chunk of chocolate over rabid weasels any day."
-- a woman talking on her cell phone (Pleasanton, CA)
"It is illogical to stop because of a sign."
-- my Italian instructor explaining why he wouldn't stop at
intersections (Poppi, Italy)
"Well, it's a better worst-case scenario than yesterday."
-- written on a cubicle outside my office (Emeryville, CA)
"You could shoot out Peace Ivy! Ptchew-ptchew-ptchew!"
"Peace Ivy?"
"You know...those branches...they mean peace and stuff.
With the birds?"
"You mean olive branches?"
"Yes! Olive branches!"
"Peace Ivy sounds more threatening though."
-- three coworkers and myself at lunch discussing what
should be done with our remains when we die
"Let's think of the taco as a compositional force."
-- an art instructor speaking to her class (Emeryville, CA)
"It's like telekinesis with training wheels -- I'm practicing
telekinesis. I still use my hands to move things around, but
it requires almost no effort. Soon I won't need them at all."
-- one of my friends after a CircoZero show in the Mission
(San Francisco, CA)