blueviolet

"I took off cruising again.

I knew I needed a new pad, a new scene, a new pencil. I had my art

supplies, my bongos, Gif & Jpeg and the sun at my back when I left the

city. It was time for something different. I left the dirt of the city in

the dust and breathed the air of the highway, which by comparison was

thinner if not cleaner.

I drove everyday like a job. I worked on relaxing. I worked on driving. I

worked on remembering to forget. A few days into my new mode just as the

light was changing its mind I saw ahead of me a graceful gaggle of teepees

just off the highway. I wigged out. I was out of the city too long. I

needed a head check, a running tab at the Couch Hotel, a Freud Fix, a mean

drink from a kind mixmaster. I turned into the driveway.

I turned off the engine and waited. Gif & Jpeg became anxious, which is

unusual for them since anxiety presupposes the capacity to think ahead.

Dust settled. Crickets continued. Wind stirred. I didn't move but

everything in my body strained to hear a human sound, to hear any sound. It

was paralyzingly quiet. I let my head tilt back onto the headrest, sweat

slowly sliding down my neck and between my

"You look like you could use one of these!"

Tinkling ice always focuses my attention . I opened my eyes. A portly sport

with a mustache, a martini shaker and a tray of glasses was standing in

front of my car. I had reached the headquarters of Parkerosa. I decided

that anyone who would attempt to mix martinis in this place, especially

more than one would be worth talking to."