tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62514139145143800092023-11-15T07:38:43.865-08:00Medford Village CurrentsChristopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00293084438513598251noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251413914514380009.post-28438062130974310642013-03-23T05:00:00.002-07:002013-03-23T05:00:48.408-07:00<br />
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Medford Village Currents (The New England Slack)</div>
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By Christopher J. Bradley</div>
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4/21/2003 7:19:08 PM (On the Eve Of The Completion Of The Boston</div>
<br /><br />
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Marathon)</div>
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©2003</div>
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1 scene</div>
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[a supermarket parking lot]</div>
<br /><br />
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In a black Ford LTD</div>
<br /><br />
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It is windy and hot</div>
<br /><br />
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A summer afternoon in July</div>
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It breezes in pulses.</div>
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2 scene</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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[someday café]</div>
<br /><br />
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The goat dances on caffeine fumes</div>
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We speak to a cellist</div>
<br /><br />
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She has long delicate arms</div>
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An MIT student with short blond hair</div>
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And a laptop also talks with us.</div>
<br /><br />
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I would like to go home with either.</div>
<br /><br />
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Scott finds the apartment folder.</div>
<br /><br />
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He reads that a flute player is subletting.</div>
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3 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[the steps of the pink house]</div>
<br /><br />
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We meet the Jerry Garcia knockoff,</div>
<br /><br />
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He is heavy, but willing to join us,</div>
<br /><br />
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For a discussion of rental arrangements,</div>
<br /><br />
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Over beer.</div>
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<hr />
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4 scene</div>
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[the kendall square stop on the T]</div>
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It is six thirty,</div>
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Well after the rush,</div>
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The subway is clean,</div>
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It pulls away,</div>
<br /><br />
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Leaving us to climb the stairs.</div>
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<hr />
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5 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[the brewery with the overhead pipes]</div>
<br /><br />
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Vested shorted ivy leaguers,</div>
<br /><br />
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Are pulling from Yards,</div>
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We are in full swing,</div>
<br /><br />
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With our humble pints,</div>
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Jefferson Airplane wails,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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And the bar stool spins a little,</div>
<br /><br />
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Keeping us able to walk,</div>
<br /><br />
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Back into the night.</div>
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<hr />
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6 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[davis square]</div>
<br /><br />
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Ten Thirty P.M.</div>
<br /><br />
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She is singing folk with an acoustic guitar box,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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Open on the cement floor,</div>
<br /><br />
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She has a little amplifier,</div>
<br /><br />
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And a folding chair,</div>
<br /><br />
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We ride the escalators,</div>
<br /><br />
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And I make a note to tip her,</div>
<br /><br />
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If I see her again.</div>
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Her voice echoes off the tiled wall.</div>
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<hr />
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7 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[we move into the pink house]</div>
<br /><br />
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It takes several trips from,</div>
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The LTD to the doorsteps,</div>
<br /><br />
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Where we notice ants have invaded,</div>
<br /><br />
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We have more homemade beer,</div>
<br /><br />
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Around a dimly lit table,</div>
<br /><br />
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The scrabble board is our centerpiece,</div>
<br /><br />
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Late into the night.</div>
<br /><br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
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<hr />
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8 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[baybank]</div>
<br /><br />
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We are getting cash advances,</div>
<br /><br />
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And haggling with the tellers,</div>
<br /><br />
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The sun is bright,</div>
<br /><br />
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The wind is still whooshing,</div>
<br /><br />
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There is a woman with a wind-burned face,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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Power strolling up the street.</div>
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<hr />
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9 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[the bakery]</div>
<br /><br />
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We are taking out pizza,</div>
<br /><br />
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In paper bags,</div>
<br /><br />
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This is Scott’s discovery,</div>
<br /><br />
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And what a discovery! Eureka!</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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The oil, basil, and garlic,</div>
<br /><br />
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Ferment among my taste-buds,</div>
<br /><br />
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Sending wild sensations through my nostrils,</div>
<br /><br />
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Of times dating back to the early eighties,</div>
<br /><br />
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With grandmother at the malls.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
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<hr />
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10 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[dunkin donuts]</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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We are here to buy the Globe,</div>
<br /><br />
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It was a short drive from the pink house,</div>
<br /><br />
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And I know tomorrow I will walk.</div>
<br /><br />
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We take the paper this afternoon,</div>
<br /><br />
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And walk a block not sure how we know its’ North,</div>
<br /><br />
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To look in on a baseball diamond,</div>
<br /><br />
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Where an all-star game is playing out,</div>
<br /><br />
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Senior League kids game,</div>
<br /><br />
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They are all wearing their own teams’ jerseys,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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The coffee is just right,</div>
<br /><br />
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Iced cappuccino melting against the bricks.</div>
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<hr />
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11 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[purity market]</div>
<br /><br />
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We are looking for groceries,</div>
<br /><br />
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And now it is night,</div>
<br /><br />
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The beautiful women are clubbing it in their clubs,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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Or serving their coffee’s,</div>
<br /><br />
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Tea Time has long since passed,</div>
<br /><br />
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And the Tea is still blowing past us.</div>
<br /><br />
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We buy Spaghetti Sauce, Pasta, and Vegetables,</div>
<br /><br />
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Meat and Bread, A Half Gallon of Milk.</div>
<br /><br />
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There is a half Hispanic girl at the check out,</div>
<br /><br />
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We think, Purity, and wittingly try to impress her.</div>
<br /><br />
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She is not impressed.</div>
<br /><br />
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She would be even less impressed,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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If we told her, that all we had between us,</div>
<br /><br />
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Was a single mattress and two small rooms,</div>
<br /><br />
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And a VCR, that played the only tape jammed into it,</div>
<br /><br />
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A tape about getting jammed.</div>
<br /><br />
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It is a long walk out to the parking lot,</div>
<br /><br />
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Reflecting on her long dark hair,</div>
<br /><br />
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Remembering a girl that looked like her when I was 15,</div>
<br /><br />
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Who was a fantastic poetess,</div>
<br /><br />
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In the glare of a television playing a vampire movie,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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“Death by Stereo!” was the most important phrase for us,</div>
<br /><br />
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And rather than have her show me the world,</div>
<br /><br />
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I swept up glass,</div>
<br /><br />
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And lost her in the pieces.</div>
<br /><br />
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Until the engine started again,</div>
<br /><br />
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And we were making our way back,</div>
<br /><br />
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To the pink house.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /><br />
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12 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[music and cigarettes]</div>
<br /><br />
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The smoke traveled heavily,</div>
<br /><br />
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In thick wafers of air candy,</div>
<br /><br />
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Over the scrabble board,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
While Dark Side of The Moon,</div>
<br /><br />
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Played out over Wayne’s stereo,</div>
<br /><br />
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And we learned that he was a technical writer,</div>
<br /><br />
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And checked answers against his lexiconal dictionary.</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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13 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[massachusetts ave]</div>
<br /><br />
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We took the long walk,</div>
<br /><br />
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Through Sommerville and Cambridge,</div>
<br /><br />
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To visit Harvard Square,</div>
<br /><br />
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After stopping for coffee at a Starbucks,</div>
<br /><br />
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The first I’d ever spent time in.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
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14 scene</div>
<br /><br />
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[the au bon pain]</div>
<br /><br />
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I walked into the store with the yellow awning,</div>
<br /><br />
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And bought two Iced Cappuccino’s,</div>
<br /><br />
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They came with far too much whipped cream,</div>
<br /><br />
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And cost nearly four dollars each,</div>
<br /><br />
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Expensive for 1995,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I came out to the Square,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To find Scott playing chess with David.</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
David was a Harvard student from over seas,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
His clothing marked him an almost Boston Native,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But there was something more trim about his silk.</div>
<br /><br />
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I spoke to him about how often he visited the square,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
As Scott took a new partner,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Likely a park resident,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
An older character in a wool coat,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And watched in awe as they battled,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Like Titans in the most famed,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Gladitorial arena of the chess sphere.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To this day I cannot recall the victor,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But the struggle, piece by piece,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Move by Move,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
On the surface of granite,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Took on Epic consequence,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And I knew I would one day return.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /><br />
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14 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the snap café’]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
David had told us of a Bohemian café,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Something more local than the Au Bon Pain,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
A place with flavor, and style.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
When we got there it was garage noir,</div>
<br /><br />
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Black tables,</div>
<br /><br />
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Thin, light metal chairs,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It was uncomfortable,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
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And non-smoking,</div>
<br /><br />
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And we spent too much for single cups,</div>
<br /><br />
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Further,</div>
<br /><br />
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They required the purchase of a coffee every fifteen minutes.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It was like something I would have expected in Manhattan,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Snap,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Something you don’t want to have to agree with,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
People were wearing berets,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And they probably didn’t know the first thing about Kerouac,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Not that I did at the time either,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But I wasn’t pretentious enough to believe they would have paid a dime</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
more,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
For coffee in Styrofoam.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
15 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the harvard book store]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
We went in and took a look around,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It was crowded,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
People pushed and shoved their way to the register,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Trying desperately to take home a piece of the Boston,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That they couldn’t have.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I remember looking at the Sweat-Shirts in the window,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And burning with envy at the emblazoned logo,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That I couldn’t afford to wear,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It was cool that night,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And we were making our way to the pub we’d seen earlier.</div>
<br /><br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
16 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the arrow pub]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Coming in made me feel like taking a coat off,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Funny that I wasn’t wearing one,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Scott was wearing a jacket and shoes,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Almost about right,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
We were humans in a boiler room of pool and darts,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
A place where talking to each other made more sense,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I could tell the women there were older and somehow immune to my</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
thinking.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It was still corrupted from the memories of the Purity girl and</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
remembrances of Tammy,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And my fantasy video women.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
So we sat and talked and watched the small television screens,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
There was a Red Sox game playing out,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
At that point having been blanked about baseball,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
My skill in attention to it had died,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But there was always another pint,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Something to drown the missing parts of me,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That are only now merging into one.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The gates are closed,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But the Arrow Pub is open.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_237"><b>Page 237</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
17 scene</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the international house of pancakes]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
We waited in line for almost an hour for a seat,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the meter ran out on the car,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The food was ok,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Coffee, and pancakes,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But it wasn’t worth the twenty dollar fine,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That I had to mail in,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That fateful evening,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The lessons about taking a car downtown,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Can be endless,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And aren’t easily taken with a grain of salt.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_238"><b>Page 238</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
18 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[haymarket square]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The shops lining the inside of the square,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Serve food of all types,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I have been told by others,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That there is excellent Souvlaki there,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And I know for a fact,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That they have excellent sausage.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
We walked through and it was like a mini-mall.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
There were Equadorian pipe players in the cool wind,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Of a summer night in front of the Square,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That I watched,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
As I finished my dinner,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And tipped change into a felt hat.</div>
<br /><br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_239"><b>Page 239</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
19 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[abbott staffing]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The girl from Buffalo,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Helped me set up and take a typing test,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
On a small personal computer in the back,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
She determined I wasn’t a quick typist,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But found me a mailroom job for 8.35 an hour anyway,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And I started work the next Monday.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_240"><b>Page 240</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
20 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[advent International]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I took the elevator to the 18th floor on Federal St.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And found the front desk secretary.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
She had the keys to the mail room ready for me,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And handed me a voucher for a cab that had already been called,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It was my job to pick up the mail at the dock.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I took the elevator back down to the cab,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And glided through the streets,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Like a fish being driven,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the mail was in a crate,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Ready to deliver.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The driver was patient with me,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And I gave him a five dollar tip.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I took the elevator and the envelopes up,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And entered the mailroom,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Where I was taught the sorting technique,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
By the front desk second in command,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
They instructed me on how to weigh postage,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And stamp on the mail machine,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And how to file the faxes in the log book,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And after a few days,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I thought I might have figured it out,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To the point where I was washing dishes,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And taking the payments for one of the Vice President’s cars,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To the garage across the park,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And stopping on the way,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
For Au Bon Pain’</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_241"><b>Page 241</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
21 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[central station]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
In the big central rotunda,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Ticket counters line the edges,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Interspersed with McDonalds,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Burger King,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And other Quick Food establishments,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The people flow like rodents,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Quick and furious,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Through the tunnels,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I made a deal,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And I’m there to buy a ticket,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Buffalo Bound,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
One Way Greyhound.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_242"><b>Page 242</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
scene 22</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[sitting on the bus]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I watch through the windows,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Motion begins,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
With the driver’s announcement,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That we should remain seated,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
While the vehicle is in motion,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
New England’s trees become a blur,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And my thoughts dream,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Back to the Purity waitress,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And my Grandmother’s Pizza,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the sweatshirts in the bookstore window,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I begin to realize all that I will bring back to Medford.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I will bring back the computer,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the shadow,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the Juno keyboard,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And most of my compact disc library,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Then there are all the trees again.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And then I think of the people I will have to bring back,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
My Mother,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
My Father,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
My Brothers,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
My Sister,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And I try to listen to the radio,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But it is useless,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I have to pay attention to the stops,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Here and there along the way.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the trees are powerful and strong,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Against the vivid light of day,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And then we are suddenly in the midst of Oak Street.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the motion Vibrates in my temples,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the transport comes to a temporary end.</div>
<br /><br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_243"><b>Page 243</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
23 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[loading the car]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Rarely do I see,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Actual tears in my Mother’s eyes,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
She stood on the porch,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
As I loaded the computer, keyboard, and discs,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And a wide assortment of clothing,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Into the Shadow.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I made sure to check on the camera,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I had bought at the CVS in Boston,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
In my backpack,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I kissed her,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And rolled from the gravel,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Wordlessly.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_244"><b>Page 244</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
24 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[black maple cruise]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The road wrangled up beneath me,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And as I traveled,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I spoke in silent thought,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To my life Icon,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The maple I climbed in my yard,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
God in all his splendor,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Assured its rest there,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
For my hands as a child,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
For my legs as a teen,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
For my shade as an adult,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To be my companion during desperate moments of hope.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the rubber was firm against the blacktop,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the Black Cherry Shadow angled forward,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Into the rising sun,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That blistered the eyes like a burning fire,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The day wore on and the birds and the pheasantry,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Scattered into the woodlands,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
At the edge of the Interstate.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the car was like the inside of a cranked up toaster oven,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And in the moments that I stopped for soda,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I reflected on the stiffness in my aching legs.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
When the toll cards were finally paid,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I knew I was back,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
In the place I belonged,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The Pink House in Medford.</div>
<br /><br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_245"><b>Page 245</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
25 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the beer mart]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I walked into the dark store,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And smelled the odor of old dry Beer,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Like the smell of,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The back room bottling department at Tops at home.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It suddenly came to mind,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That a good German beer,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Might be preferred,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
By my housemates.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
With the help of the shop keeper,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I settled on a nice twelve pack,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Of Grolsh bottles,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It cost roughly fifteen dollars,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And was a menace to carry,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
So I loaded them into the front seat,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The green bottles rattled as I drove.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="right" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="0.1_246"><b>Page 246</b></a></span></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
26 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[scrabble in the evening]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
When I arrived they were playing,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Duelists locked in fiery Battle,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The smoke wafting in the rafters,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The clean face facing the beard.</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
He was the Bunzee man,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Furiously laying letters,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
In a desperate attempt,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To forego the inevitable gloom of defeat.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I offered them Grolsh,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But they concentrated on the home brew,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
So I cracked one open,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And watched the fates collide.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
27 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[computer city saugus]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The bus dropped off,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
On the side of the four lane highway,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Opposite the mall,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And I had to walk,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Across a long gated catwalk,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To finally achieve the retailer,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Where I went in and requested,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
A full-time sales application.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I was dressed well,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But I was sweating in the summer afternoon,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The store was virtually empty.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The customer service clerk,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Took the completed application,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And told me to call back in a day or so.</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I missed the last bus leaving the mall,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
As it closed at four P.M.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
So I ended up taking a Taxi,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Sharing it with a Puerto Rican woman,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And her baby,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
For ten dollars flat.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
28 scene</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[circuit city mystic avenue]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I filled out an application,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
One sunny afternoon,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Thinking I had a shoe in,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Because of my tech background.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The manager interviewed me on the spot,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But at the end of the interview,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
He asked the tough question,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
“Have you ever had problems with drugs or alcohol.”</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I told him the sorrowful truth,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And I was not hired,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To sell Televisions or Camcorders.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
29 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the gillete agency]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I drove for miles and miles from Medford,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To a temp agency in Waltham,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Where I met a very upscale agent,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
To discuss a potential opportunity for work with Gilette,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
As a technical services representative.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It was an in-house operation,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
On their internal computer network,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I was shown several diagrams,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And engineering schematics.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But I could not understand them,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Their illiteral detail,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Was not something I had ever seen before,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And so the trip,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Was an expense of fuel,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And yet another dashed hope.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
30 scene</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the last days of the green tomato]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Scott cooked the vegetables up right,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
He made a stir fry without the pasta,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
While I surfed the Y’s and Z’s of the dictionary,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And that’s when I discovered Yohimbe.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I did a song and dance,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It was the African mint root I had chewed,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
In the midst of the Chemistry mayhem,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Of December 1993,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
A courtesy gift from Mark Oliver,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The DJ that I gave a couple of extra Smart Drinks,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
For his Twenty Dollars Canadian.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I was riding the back of the Zebra,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Through the breathing walls of acid and dry ice fume,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And it was seven letters.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
So we made the rule,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
That if anyone ever scored with Yohimbe,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Or even got it in their rack,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
They became an automatic Scrabble victor.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Those vegetables tasted amazing,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
On the earth-ware dishes in the pink house,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the tomatoes,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Even the green ones,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Were ripe, and full of garlic salted juice.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
31 scat</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the mac world nomad spoilers arrive]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
August had come,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Rent was due again,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And the Mac World Nomads knocked,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
They startled the hell out of us.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
He hadn’t told us they were coming,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Regardless of his reasons,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
They were not welcome in my living space,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And they made themselves at home,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Unrolling their sleeping bags on the living room floor.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I had one beer with them,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Then I went to try to sleep,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
But I deceived them.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I read all night,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
At 5 A.M. I woke Scott in his room,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
We packed the LTD and the Shadow,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
And at daybreak,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Before their ratcheting eyes opened,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
We were on the road,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Home.</div>
<br /><br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Epilogue</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
[the tennis match]</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Early on Sunday morning, one week after we arrived, I dressed as best I</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
could, and walked to the Methodist church between Davis Square and the</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Pink House. I patiently signed my name into the guest book and sat down</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
to listen to the sermon. The minister was an African American woman,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
and</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
the service held was for both Unitarian and Methodist parishioners. I</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
listened carefully as she talked about Agape and the unification of</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
spiritual and philosophical forces bringing peoples lives together. At</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
the time I don’t think I really saw the impact of how this would impact</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
me, but in retrospect, I can see that it was important. It is not just</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
important to me, but to anyone who has a friend or relative, and that</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
covers just about everyone in the world. Or at least you would hope it</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
does. I meditated and prayed on it for a moment, and asked God to help</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
me find the reason why I was here. I thought mostly about finding a way</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
to support myself and become part of a community other than the one I</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
had dealt with back home,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Not realizing, that no matter where you go, you can never really leave</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
home. Either home comes with you, or it finds you, or it Spirits you</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
away. Because today, home is the Earth, Earth is where you come from,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
and Earth is where you will stay. Even the cosmonauts that lost their</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
lives in space return to the earth as ash. Yet visions like theirs are</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
eternal because they are made eternal through the motions of the papers</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
that sift through the air of the seaside, on you guessed it, Earth.</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I asked around at church to see if I could enlist in any help finding</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
work in Boston, and I was nudged aside by most people, except for one</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
kind old woman who began asking others on my behalf. Many of them</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
suggested reading the help wanted ads, or looking to temporary</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
agencies,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
or the unemployment office. It appears that most good God fearing</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
people</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
are not the ones that have the power to instantly employ just anyone.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
They work for people too and have careers to uphold and must keep to a</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
smart degree guarded from strangers or drifters who might upset their</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
ability to care for their own. This is understandable. So I took their</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
suggestions and worked at it a while but that all came later. The</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
important lesson is that drifting is something that you have to be</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
careful about, because even your own affiliations may not recognize you</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
when you journey to distant lands.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I will take you to the beginning of the tennis match. I spent a long</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
time walking back up the hill thinking about the sermon and the old</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
woman’s charitable speaking, and the coffee and cookies at church, and</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
was not particularly in wonderful spirits for sharing my thoughts of</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
the people I had encountered because I did believe that they genuinely</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
could have helped me if they had wanted to. And perhaps in a way they</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
did.</div>
<br /></span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />
<div style="left: 0px; position: absolute;">
<hr />
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
When I channeled my energy and wisdom into relaying a message of</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
hopefulness in the last quarter mile, I found Scott waiting for me at</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
the door, with two rackets in hand. He told me to go and put on some</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
other clothes and come and play tennis. At first I wanted to decline</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
because I saw this as an energy sapping activity. After all, I had just</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
walked four blocks up hill and had a mission to talk to him about</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
motivation and overcoming obstacles. I thought he was just as depressed</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
as I made him out to be, and I thought that he had been reading things</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
that were necessarily prescriptions for depression. He was always</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
walking around with a book written by Jean Paul Sarte’ or Albert Camus.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
It isn’t until now that I realize that philosophy, reason, and</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
metaphysics are all connected. In a spiritual sense, he must have been</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
working toward his own awakening of being. Just quietly, and in</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
considerately. And so I changed, thinking that it wasn’t going to do me</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
much good. After all, how can you give a sermon, if you are choking</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
your way after a green ball?</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
I played as well as I could, but I knew that I would never defeat him,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
at a game he had grown up playing. So I struck the ball when I could,</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
and the energy flipped out of my hands and over the net into his court.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Every once in a while I would score a point, but it wasn’t often that I</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
would achieve love on my side of the score sheet. So I conceded that if</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
victory had to be his on this count, it would define it that he was</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
champion. But he was never overly smug about his game play. He simply</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
wanted me to remember that we played the game and had an opportunity to</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
enjoy an almost resort like living. Our house wasn’t even a block from</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
the court, and there was no charge to play. And the baseball games were</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
gratis, being a community sport, if we wanted to watch. So there was</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
something going on. But I couldn’t exactly see it at the time. Now I</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
think that I can say it without fear and without enmity from anyone.</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
The truth is, that agape and spirituality apply to everyone, and that</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
these mergences of common experience are not coincidence, but a part of</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
the nature of God working through nature. There can be love of a</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
spiritual kind among men, without the necessity of abomination or</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
contact. And so I say clearly, that in the tennis match of life, I</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
found Love for Scott, as a brother, and fellow human, and look toward</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
him as a good man to obtain knowledge from, or share knowledge with, or</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
even possibly find wisdom through.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Some might call this comradeship, I cannot attest specifically to this,</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
because I believe that communism is steeped in hatreds too old to be</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
viewed as plausible for a leading existence in modern social action. I</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
will call it only what it is. Love. Comradeship implies leadership in a</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
cause. And there is no cause, greater than that of the Son of God who</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
died for our sins, also named aptly, Love. I find brotherhood through</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
his suffering, and know that I too suffer, and that everyone who has</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
lived a day since Rome began to burn has suffered. And today, we are</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
still in the fires of that fallen Empire. We are also however in the</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
light of God, and through Love, as I would share with my Father, or My</div>
<br /><br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Brothers, or my Sister, or my Mother, or any of my Aunts, Uncles, or</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
Cousins, we may all be healed again.</div>
<br /><br />
<div style="position: absolute;">
May we all have awakenings similar to games as great as these.</div>
</span><br /></span><br />Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00293084438513598251noreply@blogger.com0