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June 29, 2005

The piggyback - dead engine

(which way to the beach, please?)

Simple, simpler, our moves are getting simpler.

AN ORANGE DUFFLE-BAG
Tall, thin in blue, a stewardess hat on, the girl with the orange duffle-bag cuts terminal beach once a day on a silent duty ride. If you’re in for a coffee she’ll stand by the corner behind a pair of Ralph Lauren. Girl and duffle-bag proceed onto the pedal-boat and onto another island.

THE SHINING
The girl cuts the shoreline walking as she proceeds on her timeline thru the still waters. At every step she shines. The wavy hairs follow her quietly. She spends the day combing them as she leans on one side, then on the other.

QUICK-CHECK
A short man in blue cuffed oversized shorts walks two kids in, a boy and a girl. The kids leave a stick trail on the sand. The man does a quick temperature check. They leave in a burst of noise, the boy draws the longest shadow.

TERMINAL BEACH
Playing whats-your-name, hitting the waves every quarter, the strong cool breeze cuts terminal beach. In the late afternoon more people come and they bring floaters, helplessly crying girls pulling the mother’s arm and popsicle sand-chair. The sunset lasts forever with one german family in towels winding up carelessly on the benches. We are back from sleep, recharging, planning fish haunting at the store and going thru a nice selection of meds. She gets up in a cloud of noise from the interconnected trees and walks with her hairs in a twist, like a sparrow at take-off. Voices define locations thru the maze of trees, tents, stands and the shabby buildings. Waiting for a sound to crumble and swim south.

PASSING CAR
A blue Land Rover cuts the scene slowly from right to left. The driver’s polling the growth rate and passing on. The pale old lady on the passenger’s seat waves a bony hand out.

THE TEENS MEETING
The teen in black digs left of center field, maneuvering, hanging the heeled shoe, getting busy on a cigarette and cornering the discussion. Tomboy is relaxed, calm, large forehead under a perfect gasket of blond, rules the tongue pitching and jacks up another beer. The Jesus’ seat is empty. A third girl hits the group several times, filling thru the evening like a satellite. The boy in the green polo closes the rig, chewing on a crepe and calling for more.

A WHITE STRAW
Over the open-ended scale of fun and retreats neighbors are curious to draw and classify as they can. It is funny to skip, dance around a while, cook a scene, exchange glasses, spew around. A girl busy with her juice while he discusses with owner and waitresses of options, trends, future plans. In time and days the crowd changes. Age, hairs and colors change, music fades into music as the disco at the other end preps for another round. The girl alone chewing a white straw.

PASSING BIKE
A Ducati, boy and girl on red helmets and minimal conversation, cuts the scene from right to left and fades.

CONNECTED
One out of the three of them cutting the beach at the seawall is connected to friends via Bluetooth. They monitor 2 groups of young students that just invaded the harbors. Jump into the water with no hesitation, form a large circle splashing and spell the masthead rituals aloud. Resting is castle-building or playing with a plastic gun trying to grab the trigger. The 9 year old boy with a baseball cap counts the waves and does not bathe. He fears to be within.

THE PARAFOIL ENTERTAINMENT
We are discussing the menu, wines, blurbs, pop hearts, cherries and of clouds and kids tunneling the palm trees thru the sunset. Everybody line up at the parafoil entertainment, blinded, the boat gears up and springs him higher. A low-flying helicopter makes the shoreline sending waves to the slow-moving army, inching forward. Crawling on a rocking chair, climbing onto another edition and touching the sand I fall asleep. Everything turns into nothing.

AWAKENING ON A BIKE
Awakening on a bike, getting the towels together and heading for breakfast. Birds are rolling off a tree and onto another sketching circles. We are comfortably drunk already. For the rest of the day I won’t ask what comes next.

BIRTHDAY
As you grow, every year, candles multiply on your birthday’s cake. As you grow some more, candles start dividing. Keeping the count makes you drooling. As you fast-forward candles resolve into one. Keep counting.

PASSING BOYFRIENDS
The boyfriend of Monday and the boyfriend of Tuesday cut the scene from left to right and cheers. The boyfriend of Friday is having tomato and chips and churns at the corner. The boyfriend of Sunday eyes the kindergarten space and holds a lollypop in his right hand. The hand says “hate”. The boyfriend of Wednesday is on a phone conversation with H. H is a girl who writes notes. She hides notes behind, beside boxes.

QUARTET
The two bulky kids, dog’s heads and matching swimsuits marching from the showers to the table. A small girl on orange joins them halfway. They are scanning their breakfast. A Grenadine dash, croissants, skimmed milk, a blend of coffee and yogurt. I am at the table and the chair is screeching. The girl and the boys are starring at me and I don’t know them. They offer a pinch of black olives and a slab of bread and start a discussion of films. When they are done they jump on their bikes quietly and run to the gate. The three stop there and turn their heads back to me, waiting.

PASSING BEES
Local bees are 2 inches long, some white, and cut the scene over the turfs disappearing in the haze ahead of the buzzing scare.

SHORE-WALKING
I like to walk up and down, slow, patiently checking for incoming boats and looking for parking, the boys waving at each other under a permanent shadow. If you want to avoid burns don’t stop, laugh frequently, watch over your back. Flying thru the body of passing friends, no mute relationships can take you grounded. Make reservations for tomorrow, learn to debunk your fish efficiently, don’t let the flashlight distract you.

THE PIGGYBACK
He is a tall man, swimming into a big pair of steel toe hiking boots, a bleached tank-top. He gives the little boy a piggyback ride. From an end to the other on the same yard, crossing the playground, the young boy is coughing. The young boy is teething, his head whoops and boobs in a smile. At one end of the piggyback ride the man and the boy are resting.

© Fortunato Caragliano

Posted by lck at June 29, 2005 05:15 PM