Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.
Category: Uncategorized
-
Adaptive Advantage
Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.
-
#DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn
Legacy – Dreaming of having kids? Childbirth? Parenthood? Do you fantasize nostalgically about your own childhood? Do you dream of establishing a foundation, benefiting the community? Do you dream of death, funerals, will-making? You are considering the legacy you will leave behind – a way to live on forever when you’re no longer here.
You Are the Future – Contributing to forming and shaping young lives is a key way we “replicate”. Hearing your own ideas advanced and improved upon is a unique thrill. Generativity is the necessary completion of the formation of Self. Erik Erickson posits “Generativity versus Stagnation” as the stark choice facing us as we grow older.
Challenge – We’re usually full of criticisms of our own upbringing – behaviors we do NOT want to replicate. What would you change? What difference do you want to leave in the world? Time to think about your own legacy. In our capitalist world we always think “money” but money is a thorny gift. Think how easily it is lost, misused, wasted. A better legacy is wisdom: a codebook, “cheat sheet”, a treasure map, the ability to recognize and ENJOY treasure once it is located.
Danger – We know about the monomaniacs who want to rebuild the universe in their image. Their view of possibility is restricted to what THEY want, what THEY can do. Open your Dream Journal to consider whether our Legacy hope is just an ego trip. Did we consult anybody else? Will this contribute to a universe others want, need and can enjoy?
Opportunity – Once again we are offered a magical chance to increase our range, magnify our grasp and celebrate and share our unique joys and gifts. Leaving Granny’s plates or a recipe book to a relative in a will is so unrewarding compared to giving a party. Is there any way we can turn the struggles of ordinary existence into a joy for anyone else? Find out what others need. Think about your own luck and good fortune. Usually we can see a way the path can be smoothed for others. Then we can spend our golden years getting feedback (and usually thanks!) and fine-tuning. What a pleasure!
Models & Mentors – “Every child is born a genius” – Buckminster Fuller
“History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children” – Nelson Mandela
“Children make your life important” – Erma Bombeck
“All kids need is a little help, a little hope and someone who believes in them” – Magic Johnson
Meditation –
Mantra –“ I multiply”
#Haiku: Legacy
Your essence is what’s
Left behind
Gift of
Presence;
Magic:
Codified -
#DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn
Inspiration – Intuition – Do you wake up from dreams filled with exciting ideas you long to writedown? Do you feel a sense of philosophical, profound revelations in dream which you cannot recapture in your waking state?
Your Subconscious is calling out to You – You are experiencing a split between your Rational self andyour Prophetic Self which is dangerous and completely unnecessary. Probably your education has demeaned this interactive channel to the Collective Unconscious, the Past and the Future and warned you to ignore it. Education is a good thing, so long as it teaches you to recognize, master and increase resources but it is certainly a bad thing if it countermands, neglects or destroys the yearning inside of you for connection to all of humanity.
Challenge – We can re-open this channel, but we will have to think about its resource in a more positiveway. The great physicist said that all profound truths contain their opposite (i.e. are not dichotomous) and so require a new style of thinking about the Real and the Unreal. These ideas are not mutuallyexclusive. We must learn to flow with them, rather than resist their uncomfortable bubbling.
Danger – “Either/Or” thinking is destructive because it requires we abandon vast fields andmethodologies of knowledge. “Reductionism” reduces the world to “things” on the presumption thatpeople are transient and “things” re more permanent. But if the magic of the universe encodes inrelationships rather than objects this reductionism kills thought.
Opportunity – Open your Dream Journal and explore your inspirations. Accept them, and learn toseparate them from fears and wishes. Cultivate your intuition, that precious gut instinct that warns uswho and what to trust and who – and what – to back away from. Accept that – like all good things, thisis a process – thus endless (to be enjoyed for eternity.) Accept that it is a skill to be honed – thereby enjoyed For All Eternity.
Models & Mentors – “Intuition is the whisper of the soul” – Krishnamurti
“A good artist lets intuition lead him wherever it wants” – Lao Tzu
“Follow your instincts – it’s where true wisdom manifests itself” – Oprah Winfrey
“Intuition and observation are the sources for our knowledge” – Rudolf Steiner
Meditation –
#Haiku: Inspiration
Without composing we
Decompose;
Broken fountain –
Ruined garden
-
The Dalingridge Horror – a play by Alysse Aallyn
(LEONARD backs away. Enter DR HYSLOP)
DR HYSLOP
Here you go, Virginia. This will make you more comfortable.VIRGINIA
I don’t want a hypo! Your drugs are making me ill. Help! Help! Get away from me! Life has destroyed me, I am silenced. I have no stings left.DR HYSLOP
Virginia, you must rest. You’ve had a tiring journey but everything’s fine now. After a good sleep and a fine dinner, you’ll be right as rain.VIRGINIA
When I close my eyes I’m attacked and assaulted!(She tries to thrash but he injects her. He pulls up a chair as she begins to subside. LEONARD sits uneasily)
DR HYSLOP
Your wife’s constitution’s very strong. It’s all that exercise, I’m afraid. Young women of the present day indulge in gymnastic exercises that sadly retard their mammary development. It only makes it worse for her. Now what’s the cause of this current fuss? I could hear her screaming all the way upstairs. The staff was alarmed, I assure you. It’s very bad for them. Loosening the bonds of self-control always results in sexual license among the lower orders.LEONARD
Hostile fantasies about Sir George.DR HYSLOP
Don’t encourage her by listening. You can never argue a madman out of his madness, and you will succumb to madness if you try. This degradation is so common among artists, I assure you, especially the moderns. “Imagist” authors use disjointed gibberish the way madmen rave and think themselves quite clever.LEONARD
Virginia’s mind is free and remarkably fearless. I treasure that. She thinks the chloral is causing her hallucinations.DR HYSLOP
Sadly, it’s the lack of good blood, I fear, responsible for these behaviors.LEONARD
Sir, do you refer to my Jewish ancestry?DR HYSLOP
Not at all, though I think you will admit mixed marriages constitute a special danger. It is the sad mental history of the Stephens family to which I refer – uncle and sister institutionalized with cerebral exaltation and morbid excitement, agnosticism, heresy and even self-murder. Now you find yourself married to a young girl who is comfortable speaking obscenities! It’s all dung and semen among the avant garde. Britain has become a dumping ground of late for the terminally unfit. You were wise to come to me. Did you visit Colby Court as I suggested?LEONARD
It’s … awful. I can’t imagine Virginia there.DR HYSLOP
Do you know, once they have settled down they are happy in their own way. Virginia is testing you. I assure you Colby Court is the finest of its kind. It can be uncomfortable to view our loved ones in extremis, and once mental disease takes hold many family members cease to pay calls. It is better thus. I understand Virginia’s sister, for example, is never visited by any family member.LEONARD
What a tragedy! I couldn’t bear it. You should have seen the beautiful Miss Stephen who agreed to marry me, scintillating with charm and wit.DR HYSLOP
(comforting him)Fruit of the poisonous tree.
LEONARD
But isn’t Sir George, her brother, then also poisoned fruit?DR HYSLOP
Half-brother, my good sir. Not at all. The Duckworths are quite a different line. Obviously, no effort was made to acquaint you with the family lineage before your marriage. It is my belief that the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act and the failure to reform the marriage laws has caused much needless harm. I’m relieved you came to me for advice about propagation. In my view it would be most unwise.LEONARD
Dr. Savage says childbirth would be the best thing for her.DR HYSLOP
He was her attending physician and look at the state she’s in. Dr. Savage’s methods are sadly outdated, I regret to say.LEONARD
I don’t want children but Virginia think she does.DR HYSLOP
She’ll get over it. The question really is whether she should be certified. You do realize that your wife’s attempt at suicide mandates her certification for the protection of landlords, staff – anyone she encounters is at peril.LEONARD
We can’t do that. Once she is certified divorce is impossible. Roger Fry is chained to his mad wife forever.DR HYSLOP
You needn’t divorce, you have grounds for a nullity. Do you contemplate divorce?LEONARD
Not yet at any rate. But the honeymoon – it was ghastly.DR HYSLOP
Coitus was completed, I assume? Or not?LEONARD
Hard to say. On our wedding night Virginia became so excited, dashing about the room I admit I became quite angry shouting at her to lie down. I’m afraid she wet the bed. We’ve tried a few times since but under the circumstances my manhood is severely impaired.DR HYSLOP
I assume you had all the usual experiences of a man of the world?LEONARD
Oh, yes. In Ceylon it was all concubines and courtesans. I was very lucky not to contract the syph.DR HYSLOP
Yes, these hazards are much more common abroad. Your general health is quite good? Apart from the tremor, I mean.LEONARD
Jews are a hardy race. We can survive anything.DR HYSLOP
It might be that this young woman is simply too effete for coitus and must remain a natural spinster.LEONARD
I threw over my career for this marriage. It was a big step.DR HYSLOP
Civil service, I believe?LEONARD
I was administrator of Hambantota.DR HYSLOP
Bully for you! Britain’s colonizing, civilizing impulse is the glory of the world.LEONARD
Well, I found it a difficult, dangerous and dirty job.DR HYSLOP
So is caring for the terminally insane. My advice is that once Virginia is calmer you attempt to explain to her that if Dalingridge Hall were not open to her there is nowhere she can go without certification. Convince her that absolute fidelity to our dictates is her only hope of healing her poor brain. Keep your chin up, young fellow. Best not to think about yourself so much. Spend as much time as you can manage in the open air.LEONARD
I need a job. I must establish a writing career.DR HYSLOP
Return to the Civil Service, is my advice.LEONARD
The climate in Ceylon would kill Virginia.DR HYSLOP
You should discuss certification, annulment and divorce with a specialist solicitor. I can recommend a few names. All this brooding gets one into a funk, don’t you see? Cultivate a sense of proportion.LEONARD
I’ll try. -
Secrets of the Self – how I became a warrior by Alysse Aallyn
The MOON – Influence –
In the life of a warrior, Models and Mentors are key. Whose coping mechanisms and vision of reality do you use to sustain you through tough times. When I was young, TV viewing was an event – not an influence. Reading was the most powerful influence, ever since I tackled My Father’s Dragon with its beautiful Henri Rousseau-like illustrations. What could they mean? I was determined to learn to read.
I entered books through illustrations, which I puzzled over long and hard. Egyptian tomb paintings. Imaginative depictions of the city of Troy. Nineteenth century pirates battled with Narnians for control of my dreams. I worked my way through world fairy tales and a bowdlerized Thousand and One Nights.
On summer vacation we read a book aloud; the Travels of Jamie McPheeters is the one I specially remember – I was horrified by its depiction of Indians eating puppies.
Summers we were allowed to buy books to take with us on the boat, and we read each other’s books. That’s how I discovered my sister’s favorite, Nancy Drew, and I was immediately galvanized. Here was literature as aspiration – more intimate than a hero’s tale or an imaginary quest; specifically designed to appeal to the yearnings of an artistically underserved group, it depicted and ennobled a female snoop and an empowered teenager – someone you identify with and actually imagine becoming. Nancy Drew was certainly someone I very much wanted to emulate and in my own small way, I believe I have.
I once shocked at group of literati debating what protagonist of literature one would choose to be by saying in was Nancy Drew, hands down. No contest. She’s constantly solving puzzles, having adventures and joyriding with her friends. Although she’s been physically threatened, her bodily autonomy and integrity is never in doubt. Over the years, I haven’t managed as much joyriding as I’d like but I’ve solved a LOT of puzzles, adventured much, and been very lucky.
Boss Detective
Nobody listens
To the teenage girl
Or notices her either
Pawing through receipts
Inspecting medicine cabinets
Snooping in the garage –
Is that weedkiller
Paint thinner or
Vanishing cream –
Keys to the attic, cellar or
Deepest basement of
The self? -
The Pinch of Death – a mystery by Alysse Aallyn
Chapter 22. Open House
At last she was standing in Iridium. This was the house where the difficult – probably impossible — Beatrix Rainbeaux had been born, lived out her days and died, that self-same house whose family myth she spent her existence tending, the house where Jacquetta would have lunched, discussing Evil Part Two: had a murderer not intervened.
Jacquetta was grateful for the crowd. And there was a crowd; looky-lous mostly; Avalon had hired a security guard to stand in each room as a threatening presence. She acknowledged Jacquetta’s presence but there was no possibility for conversation, Jacquetta was grateful to see, given the crush. She could snoop to her heart’s content.
The rooms were wide, beige, pillared and in need of a paint job. The place had been “sanitized” – swept clean of the “personal” — the usual detritus of everyday life, unto and including family pictures. Jacquetta thought she could guess where they had gone, seeing an impressively sized dumpster standing out back. Dare she come back at night and try to explore further? She could imagine herself wrestling with a seagull at the dump. Ugh! This would not be the kind of “detecting” that Honey – or any sane person – would choose to do.
While wondering she wandered, pretending to look at objects. Many, many objects; lamps, bowls, knick-knacks, chairs, beds, vases, bibelots, tchotchkes of every description. All, Jacquetta was forced to admit, unblushingly hideous. Poor Avalon. None of it was her style at all. The stained glass, on the other hand, was lovely, but big. Jacquetta didn’t see a single piece anyone would estimate at six thousand dollars or under.
And then, in the upstairs hall, she saw Mrs. Dettler. She went hot, then cold, and immediately turned her back. Mrs. Dettler was bending over a glass case of particularly hideous damascened and enameled knives and boxes: typical tourist litter. Jacquetta hadn’t been at all sure she would recognize her again, but she was unmistakable.She had a long horse-face, a wide jaw and an untidy brown ponytail, but she was nicely enough dressed in a navy-blue suit, white blouse and pumps, as if for a job interview. So the agoraphobia was manageable to at least this extent or the vaunted medications were working.
Was it possible that the Ingebrand realtor would have ever gushed over this woman, described her as “pretty”? Jacquetta didn’t think so – it seemed surprising the fussy Neil Dettler had even married her – but Mrs. Dettler might once have looked very different. A long advertising career had shown Jacquetta more than one make-up miracle.
Mrs. Dettler was trying to lift the lid on a locked glass case that wasn’t going to cooperate. Trying to steal a stiletto?
God, I’m a horrible detective, thought Jacquetta for the thousandth time. I need to speak to her and all I want to do is run away.
She cleared her throat and Mrs. Dettler jumped – out of her fantasy world – wherever it had been – and back into reality.
“Morocco,” she said distinctly.
“What’s that?” Jacquetta asked with equal nervousness.
“These come from Morocco,” said Mrs. Dettler. “My father was in the foreign service.”
Her pale blue-gray eyes swept over Jacquetta unseeingly. Jacquetta offered a hand. “We met the other day,” she offered, when I gave your husband a ride to the funeral.”
“We didn’t meet,” argued Mrs. Dettler, weirdly wiping her hands on her thighs before touching Jacquetta’s skin. “And you are?”
“Jacquetta Strike. I was a friend of Miss Rainbeaux’s.”
“Oh, the Johnnie-come-lately. That’s what Neil called you. Meet Beatrix one day and show up in the will the next. I’m Penny Dettler.”
She was looking a bit more bright-eyed now. She looked like a bad bet for the pretty secretary of a famous exotic dancer, but a good bet for a murderer. If I – or anyone – knew what a murderer looked like, thought Jacquetta.
“Oh, you knew Miss Rainbeaux?”
“I saw her a few times.” Penny Dettler seemed uninterested. She looked around and sniffed. “This is my first time here, though. What do you make of it?”
“It’s depressing,” said Jacquetta honestly. “So big and full of junk.”
Penny warmed up. “That’s what I thought! Poor Avalon!”
Jacquetta echoed, “Poor Avalon!” and they smiled at each other.
They were standing on a balcony with a view of the downstairs foyer; out of the corner of her eye Jacquetta distinctly saw mail – quite a lot of mail! – come through the mail slot and hit the floor. Mail!
“Well, I have to be going,” she gabbled with entirely false heartiness. “Nice to see you looking so well!”
Penny Dettler’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Divorce is very energizing,” she said.
Jacquetta thought over this comment as she walked downstairs. Were the Dettlers divorcing? It certainly sounded like it. She could see a motive for investigating Avalon, impersonating Avalon – even killing her or Mr. Dettler – but why Miss Rainbeaux? Because she had stumbled over said murderer’s dastardly plans?
If only Jacquetta could recall exactly what the old lady had said. Something about exposure; a false self. What if Penny Dettler were not who she pretended to be? The only person who seemingly would care was Neil Dettler but Penny seemed thrilled to be divorcing him. Jacquetta couldn’t wait to throw this inchoate problem into Honey’s capable lap.
The front door had opened a few more times and the mail was getting kicked across the floor. It seemed natural enough for Jacquetta to pick it up, open the front door again, stand behind it, and toss the circulars into a ready jardinière. The security guard could not care less. Bill, bill, bill, “Miss Beatrix Rainbeaux.” A returned letter! It had been sent to “Mr. Carter Benson” but was marked, “Deceased.”
This must be the very Benson Jacquetta was looking for; and it turned out – providentially, perhaps? That he, too was dead. -
The Missing Bride: a cellphone novel by Alysse Aallyn
Chapter 15 – Why Women Escape Lord Verne
God knows I wanted to;
As he inveighed against Krutupian
The whole way back
And I kept silent,
Longing to be elsewhere.
I no longer wanted to play nice
With this impossible man.
I felt myself becoming mature but not
In the way my parents hoped –
That I would co-operate with authority –
But in my own way
Where I see “outside” power –
Even when it’s attractive..
At the Fifth Avenue apartments
Someone claiming to be Derek Lowther
Was pacing back and forth,
Eyed by a suspicious doorman.
He was over six feet tall, skinny with
Shoulder length brown hair,
Big soulful green eyes and perfect skin.
“You’re not Derek,” I announced, exiting the car,
“Derek Lowther is a ratty, pimply little brat
Who spits when he talks.”
“And you were a squirt with braces
And a squint,” he sassed back,
All I needed for confirmation.
Nobody knows about that squint!
“It’s called amblyopia
And I’m all cured now,” I told him
As we race-scrolled through our family pics
Growing up for each other
Years of ski slopes, school parties,
Beaches and Merry, Merry
Christmas. “Verne, this is Derek Lowther.”
Verne barely registered the presence of
Another human being.
“Step into the café,” he ordered.
Hadn’t we just breakfasted? But if
You’re six feet tall it’s different
Derek: Breakfast burrito and café Americano,
Verne: espresso and blueberry blintzes
Richenda: Milky coffee, everything bagel.
Only ordered where I can
Shed bagel dust at will.
“You know Mirabel?”
Demanded Verne, scouting
Bona fides.
“I know the Mirabel Legend,”
Derek offered. Honest guy.
“Kids hear gossip.”
“What kind of gossip?”
Verne was too sharp, I thought.
Soon Derek too would want escape –
Playing into my hands exactly.
“Text and sub text.
“Text” was my parents saying Mirabel ran away
And “sub-text” eavesdropped a
Girl who lived wild and free to public acclaim.”
I could work with this guy.
We spoke the same language –
Very unlike me & Verne.
“We were going to get married,” huffed Verne.
“She gave up her job –“
“With her nasty boss –“ I added. Helping.
“She called Richenda to plan the wedding.”
See? THAT wasn’t true.
“Ghosted us for dinner.
Didn’t come home at all last night.”
Derek looked at me as if
Checking on this story.
I liked him more and more.
“Wow,” Derek commented evenly.
“Rough.” Turned to me. “You saw her?”
“I did,” I offered, not willing to say
In front of Verne what exactly I had seen.
“She’s sort of red-haired now.”
Verne was impressed enough to launch
Into a long vituperation
Of evil Krutupian,
Then insisting Ravi posed as
Mirabel’s groom. I could tell
My silence registered with Derek –
He knew there was
Another story, must know I wanted
To get out of there.
“Runaway Bride,” said Derek,
“I get you can’t involve police or media.”
“Any ideas?” asked Verne.
“Consult traffic cameras for Mirabel,”
Derek offered, “See exactly
Where she went. With who.”
Verne’s eyes jumped with excitement.
“You can do that?”
He thought he could manage Derek.
It only made me despise him
More. “Traffic cameras are easy, private cams
Are more complex.”
“I’ve got the exact times she was in
Brooklyn and at the spa,” I offered.
“I just need to go get my laptop,” said Derek,
I added hastily,
“I’ll go get my bag.”
Little did Verne know
I was getting my BIG bag – exiting
The hell out of there.
They let me go – needing
More time to eat vast meals.
When I returned they discussed
Hiring a P.I., Derek’s dad’s
Old art theft guy.
“And there’s Mirabel’s phone -“
“She took her phone –“
“I mean her online account.
“It’s just a password hack,” said Derek.
“Depends how well you know the person.”
“I can help with that,” I said
Possibly unwisely – as I saw Verne’s face
Freeze in jealous competition.
I threw him a bone –
Hopefully for the final time.
“She’d pick something you
Couldn’t guess,” I hazarded. “She didn’t
Protecting her phone from ME.
Verne paid the bill,
Discomfited by abandonment.Wanting to block us but not knowing how.
“I have people I could call,” he sniffed.
It sounded almost threatening.
What kind of folks?
Verne made a note of Derek’s number.
I trailed after Derek
Walking decisively.
“So where are we going?” I hissed
Conspiratorially.
“Subway. No car service on my allowance.”
Down the steps into the hot and stinky
Underworld. -
Woman Into Wolf: the play
Scene 11 – the last scene
(The deep, deep forest. The trees seem extra magical and alive, leaves blinking with a million glittering eyes.)
PERSEY
Have the woods always been this magical?
Or is it only now that my eyes are opened?
BISH’s voice
Persey…Persey.
(He sounds different…unearthly. DIGGER manifests craven fear)
PERSEY
Oh, Bish! Where are you?
(BISH appears, his white clothing glowing – arms held out)
BISH
Don’t touch me. I’m still on fire.
PERSEY
(Staggers back, DIGGER hiding behind her)
What is it. Bish? Why can’t I hug you?
Are you radioactive?
BISH
In a way. I am dead.
PERSEY
(Crying)
Oh, Bish, please don’t tease me,
I’ve been through hell.
(She charges him, he eludes her easily)
BISH
So have we all.
(PERSEY falls to her knees)
PERSEY
Oh, Bish! What’s going on?
What has happened?
(Slowly the WOLF SPIRITS, DEADGIRLS, BOYGIRLS come out of the trees, glowing with beauty. They crown BISH with a wolf’s head and bow to him. Solemn dance around the pair; DIGGER, transported, joins in.)
BISH
I didn’t understand.
I offered love, but he needed death.
That’s not a game I ever played.
When he told me to kill myself I thought
He was joking. But then –
PERSEY
They revel in sacrifice.
They always planned
To pin blame on you.
It’s a death cult, Bish.
Their murder is everywhere.
BISH
That’s all behind me.
I’m a Wolf Spirit now.
(He howls, then raises PERSEY to her feet)
BISH
And so are you, I can see.
(She looks down amazed at her own transformation)
PERSEY
But I’m still alive, Bish. And you feel so cold.
BISH
It’s your choice, Persey.
You can come or you can stay.
If we touch, we can dance!
(He starts to dance – he is elegant – she is awkward.)
PERSEY
Oh, Bish, don’t ever let go!
BISH
But I must, Persey.
I’m past sorrow but you’re still unfinished.
Stay. Stay and be wolved.
PERSEY
I don’t know what to do. All I know is
I’ll never let the monsters win.
(BISH dances with the WOLF SPIRITS. ROY’s and JAROD’s voices offstage calling,)
ROY & JAROD
PERSEY! PERSEY!
WHERE ARE YOU?
(The WOLF SPIRITS & BISH melt into the trees, the trees go dead. Enter ROY carrying a shotgun. DIGGER cowers behind PERSEY)
ROY
Sweetmeat! Finally!
(Shouts behind him)
I found her!
(ROY makes a move to embrace her – she eludes him as BISH eluded her.)
ROY
Sweetmeat, what’s wrong?
You should never leave home.
The world’s not a safe place.
(PERSEY holds up her arms to block him. He appreciates her difference.)
What’s wrong with you?
Don’t say you’ve gone native.
PERSEY
Don’t you remember?
ROY
Sweetmeat, everyone gets drunk.
Jarod and I are so close
We’re practically brothers.
You know we share everything.
Closer than any man can be
To a woman. But
There’s a part for you to play, a whole
Future ahead. Don’t you get it?
PERSEY
I do get it.
Your mom told me everything – that
You’ve always been Bruce.
ROY
That bitch!
PERSEY
Did you murder Stormee?
Is that what you “shared”?
(JAROD appears behind ROY, also carrying a shotgun.)
JAROD
We’re hunters, darlin’.
That’s what we do. Rid the world of its
Vermin. Bitches know their places.
Bros before hos.
ROY
(Upset over PERSEY’s disclosure)
Babe’s a liar, that woman!
You can’t believe her! I oughta –
(WOLVES appear, howl wildly and advance menacingly. DIGGER joins in. JAROD & ROY jump.)
PERSEY
It’s over, Roy. Don’t you see?
The universe is against you.
Truth is the one thing
You’ll never destroy.
Truth goes underground.
Where the roots of the forest
Nourish the faithful and
Keep growing stronger.
ROY
Nobody’s faithful.
I see females and she-males
Who can’t keep their mouths shut.
JAROD
Open mouths only say yes.
PERSEY
You’re lost, boys
This time you’ve ventured
Too deep in the woods.
This is OUR turf now!
Cookie Louise, Monica and Jean,
Jo Lee, Mina, “DaToy”, Jane and John Doe
I summon you!
ROY
What’s that? Who’s that
Ya callin’?
PERSEY
Did you think you destroyed them?
You only transformed them.
(The TREES awaken. WOLFSPIRITS, DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS appear and advance menacingly.)
DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS
The chrysalis is broken! We will
Always remember.
TREE SPIRITS & WOLF SPIRITS
Who shattered the chrysalis?
ROY
(To PERSEY)
I’ll deal with you later.
Let’s slaughter this pack!
JAROD
Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!
(A Murder Ballet, in which TREE SPIRITS, DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS, WOLF SPIRITS, BISH, PERSEY, JAROD, ROY and DIGGER rush teasingly in and out, nipping, spinning. Ineffectual shots from the frustrated hunters.)
DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS
When you murdered us, you killed your own selves.
TREE SPIRITS & WOLF SPIRITS
We all are one! We remember!
(ROY & JAROD form a circular firing squad and shoot each other – registering shock & dismay at the bloodied moment of collapse. PERSEY sits vigil over the bodies while the WOLF SPIRITS, TREE SPIRITS, DEADGIRLS & BOYGIRLS take a gentle, longing, loving leave.)
PERSEY
So much waste.
So much lost.
Goodbye, Roy. Goodbye Bruce.
BISH
I wish you’d come with us.
Where glorious sunset meets
Unending dawn,
We run forever.
When the chrysalis shatters
The earth remembers and
New creatures are born.
PERSEY
I love life, Bish.
I’m not ready.
There’s so much unfinished and
I’ve got things to do. But
Grant me one wish.
BISH
(Disappearing into the trees)
I know what you’re asking
If you saw what I see
You’d live every second
Without fear.
PERSEY
(His echo fades. She holds out her arms to his dissolving spirit)
Wolve me! Wolve me!
I want to live!
(DIGGER whines, very unwilling to let the WOLVES go.)
PERSEY
You can join them, Digger.
You have been wolved.
You’ll always be free.
(DIGGER rushes back to her. She pets him.)
And I love you too.
(Flashing police lights. NED appears at the edge of the stage in his police uniform, speaking into a hand-held radio.)
NED
Two males, unresponsive
Shotgun wounds fatal
Face and chest discharge –
Maximum injury, all
Self-inflicted;
Backup, backup
GPS coordinates –
(His voice overwhelmed by static. Lights out.)
END -
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
2. Bad Boyfriend
Even more satisfying than telling my mother I would no longer be hanging around as her overgrown loser baby, even more thrilling than handing in my notice at Fluffernutter, was breaking up with Bex. Actually I can’t technically “break up” with Bex because he always insists we’re not boyfriend and girlfriend. True, neither of us dates anyone else, but on the other hand, there’s really nobody around to date, and neither of us hard working grunts ever had the time. Plus Bex has sort of a temper, which is why I’ve learned not to cross him. But it is annoying that I don’t ever get to win an argument just because I’m not willing to yell as loud.
Bex and I actually met at my high school graduation. If he wasn’t really the brother of a cousin of a friend’s friend’s sister, (I checked) I’d have suspected he cruises high school graduations looking for pathetic graduettes whose futures just derailed. On the surface he seems really attractive because he has a job and a motorcycle and he’s quite handsome, but after our “dates” degenerated into TV with his squalid, brain-dead roommates or videogames at his sordid biker bar (Dutch treat – naturally) I was definitely looking to get out. But since we weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend it was somehow never possible. You see my problem. What guy can you date anyway when you’re always working weekends? Weekends are prime mall crawling and princess paraphernalia-buying hours.
Bex treated any change I attempted to negotiate in our relationship as a personal insult, or an attempt to shackle. Sick of listening to lectures about what a free bird he is and how no girl is ever going to game him out of his independence I took the exhausted road of least resistance. Whenever I shared my dreams with him or I tried to tell him how determined I was to go to college someday he acted as if he was as high as I could possibly rise. College is a ripoff. Not for such as us.
When I invited him out for coffee at the mall – I figured it would go easier in public – his answer was, “You’re buying.”
I agreed that I was.
I didn’t beat around the bush. As soon as we sat down with our self- service mugs, I told him, “I got into college!”
His face refused to catch fire from my delight. It’s a dark, swarthy face, and if anything, he looked darker.
“Oh really,” he said, eyes narrowing as if I this was some elaborate con. “Where?”
“Cadensis. It’s a really small school but it has a great reputation. I got a two year scholarship.”
I deliberately brought no packet materials. Not so much as a brochure for him to desecrate. I realized uneasily just how certain I had been that he’d “act up”. Wreck something, break something, spatter something. Make a scene. I sure didn’t want him to find out about the “out of body” research I’d signed up for – I’d never hear the end of that. But I was totally unprepared for what he actually did. He slammed his cup down on the table so hard coffee flew everywhere. I had to grab that little metal napkin holder and start shoveling out the miniscule slips that they call napkins.
“That’s bogus!” he said, so loudly everyone in the place turned to stare.
I was embarrassed, but I was also congratulating myself for having the foresight to tell him this in public. He’s never gotten physical – he’s already got a police record – but he really doesn’t like hearing things he doesn’t like to hear.
“It’s real,” I said uncomfortably but faking it. “I’m leaving next week.” I had worked up to the final moment and there hadn’t seemed any reason to tell him before I quit my job.
He looked at me like I was a liar/betrayer/snake-woman from one of his video games.
“How long have you been planning this?”
“Not long,” I said. Outright lie! Wish I was better at it. But I do have this blushing problem…thank God for hard-shell geisha makeup. “I was on the waiting list. I just found out.” The trouble with these scary dudes is they make you lie to them. Anything is easier than arguing with him.
“Do you know what you’re letting yourself in for?” He pulled at the sprouting whiskers on his grimy chin. “Don’t sign anything. They’ll make sure you’re broke for life. They come after you. You can’t get out of college loans through bankruptcy, you know.”
“It’s a full scholarship,” I tried explaining. “Housing, books, food. I even get a small stipend.” I emphasized the “small” so he wouldn’t think I was too lucky. I knew he wouldn’t understand the word “stipend” but sometimes you can’t avoid using words people don’t understand just
because they think you’re stigmatizing. So look it up! Get smart! Vocabularies don’t get smaller because you won’t learn them. People who refuse to learn new words deserve having fun made of them.
What could I say to help him to get the message – start trolling for somebody else? His contorted face did relax a bit at the mention of money. Gold is gold in Bex’s world.
“You get an apartment?”
OMG! Saw it in a flash. Out of sheer self defense I’ve learned to read his mind. He’s thinking of coming with!
“I’m in the freshman dorm,” I disabused him. “With a roommate. But what a great opportunity, huh? I get two whole years before I even have to declare a major so I can experiment…take classes in all departments…” My voice died away. Like he was interested! “Find out what I really want to do.”
He seemed somewhat appeased. “They have a nursing school?”
I tried so hard not to roll my eyes. Bex hates when I do that. Bex is very dismissive of any possibility of future employment in the arts, even fashion. Whereas – I’ve heard this interminably, nursing is an expanding field. Bex’s mom is a practical nurse.
According to the both of them, it’s a government plot that we’re all getting sicker and sicker. You know, poisoned water, poisoned air, poisoned food, yada, yada, yada.
“They do NOT have a nursing school,” I emphasized.“That’s too bad,” said Bex. “Because nursing is an expanding field.
So what are you gonna do?”
He just wanted me to say anything so he could find fault with it. I wasn’t falling into that trap. I only wished I had the nerve to stand up and tell him we had never had anything in common and he’d be happier without me, but if I injected any negatives into this conversation he would just take it as a license to escalate like crazy. I said, “It’s my best shot and I’m going to take it. If it doesn’t work –“ I shrugged my shoulders.
He fired up like I’d insulted him! “You think I’ll be waiting here for you?” he asked angrily.
“No, no, no,” I hastened to clarify. Trying to keep my poker face. How desperate could I have been to waste a year on this guy? “I understand we’re not like a couple. You’re always saying – so –“
“Oh, so now it’s my fault,” he said, pouring some of my coffee in his mug. Not for its missile properties, I had to hope.
“I’m going by what you said,” I insisted. “We both agreed. We left each other completely free.”
“And you’re really looking forward to all those college boys, those jocks, right? “ he sneered. “Is that it? Well, thanks for nothing!” And he went right ahead and slammed his newly filled mug on the table spilling all that coffee. And he got up and stormed out.
“Well, that went well,” I said to all the startled faces watching me mop up. Actually I was kind of relieved. I had been afraid the next fight would be over not seeing him for the week I was trying to get ready to depart. Moral of this story is, never celebrate too soon. Jazz, the jinx.
He was outside waiting for me. Heart plummeted as I expected the worst.
“Ride home?” He asked mildly. Tall guy. He always liked looking down on me. Even when I wore my highest heels I could never reach his height.
“I’ve got Mom’s car,” I said stiffly.
“Sorry I got upset in there.” He kept pace with me to the car. “You know I hate surprises.”
“Some things happen fast,” I said. “I’m sorry you’re angry.”
“Let’s just get things squared away so we know where we stand,” he said. “Let me take you out one more time. Dinner. At like the Olive Garden.”
“What if it’s like coffee was today? You don’t like rules and I don’t like yelling. Let’s just part as friends, OK?”
“I don’t get why you keep trying to make this my fault –“ stormed Bex, but when I got into the car he slammed his hand so hard on the hood I was afraid he made a dent. As I drove away he was yelling, “Talk to me, dammit!”
He called and emailed me so many times that week. He even sent flowers which was an absolute first. I did try talking to him but there was nothing to accomplish. I considered us broken up, and he treated me like a dog who had gotten loose. For some weird reason, he seemed to interpret my departure as some kind of personal challenge. He just wouldn’t agree to disagree.
But I had so much to do. I had a life to plan.
Alysse Aallyn 