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Radio Signal
Compiled by Julie Casanova
BIO: Julie Casanova lives in Tijuana, México. She is a collector of cultural artifacts, writer, karaoke star and dancer. She also holds the record for speed texting.
Hey, Mike, check that fucking guest mic two, would you?
Do that on the air and I’ll serve your ass with a suit that’ll put you back in the soup line.
Bring in my fucking flak jacket.
Ms. Redman. Mr. Epsteen. Ms. Redman.
Professor Samuel Taylor is on his way in.
Here he is, the neutral party. Save me professor. They’re already trying to hurt me.
Mr. Reader?
W.R. please. Mr. Epsteen. Ms. Redman. Professor Taylor.
Doctor.
Professor, sit there, if you would. Head phones all. We’re on in just a minute or two and we’d like to get voice levels. So, for the record, your name, rank and serial number.
Senequa Redman, spokesperson, Seattle Branch of the NAACP.
Larry Epstein, attorney representing Richard Waterman.
Doctor Samuel Taylor, professor of linguistics at the
Okay, thirty seconds.
Here we go, folks. (We have GOT TO change that intro, Mike.) Good afternoon
“Senequa Redman, spokesperson, Seattle Branch of the NAACP.
“Larry Epstein, attorney representing Richard Waterman.
“Doctor Samuel Taylor, professor of linguistics at the
City Hall has shown us what they thought of this case. Waterman has been fired and no one will talk about it, claiming they can’t because of legal maneuvers by one of our guests. Apparently, the FBI is involved somewhere in this case, but they will not even confirm whether they are or not conducting an investigation. In fact, one agent said he wouldn’t confirm that the world was round, though he wouldn’t confirm that it wasn’t either. Waterman’s firing and its bizarre circumstances came out in one of the local weekly papers last week, quickly followed by the dailies and the breathless television reporters. So, we’re here to have a Discussion in the Afternoon about Waterson … man and racism in the Mayor’s office.
“Pack it up, pack it in
Let me begin
I came to win
Battle me that's a sin
I won't tear the sack up
Punk you'd better back up
Try and play the role and the whole crew will act up”
Now, I’m getting a very nasty look from Waterman’s attorney so let’s start there. What the hell was your client up to on his city computer in the middle of the afternoon, on a Tuesday?
Well, Mr. Reader, the mayor asked my client to look up a song that would appeal to a young crowd but wouldn’t cause any controversy. He wanted to open a news conference with it. So Mr. Waterman and he talked it over and Mr. Waterman remembered a song in the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” …
With Robin Williams.
That’s right. He couldn’t remember the name of the song or the rapper’s name. So he got on the Internet and searched a phrase he thought was in the song.
Waterman is a white man in his forties.
Mr. Waterman is Caucasian and 42 years old. He has had a very distinguished career serving the neighborhoods of
What did he search for? This is the punch line. What was the phrase he searched for?
I’ll tell you what it was.
Ms. Redman.
“Nigga down.”
Nigga down?
That’s right.
Mr. Epsteen.
The phrase he was looking for was “I came to get down.” He thought the phrase was, and pardon my usage, but he thought the phrase was “I can’t nigga down.” His first few searches on Google hit several racist Web sites talking about killing African Americans. One happened to be called, pardon me, Nigga Down.
Okay, let’s not use that word anymore. We get it. The reason I’m here on behalf of the NAACP isn’t to take part in the discussion specifically about Mr. Waterman. I’m here to challenge all of you in the media to take some responsibility for blowing this whole episode out of control because of your apparent joy in being able to say that word and expose the host of racist Web sites dedicated to the abuse and destruction of African people. Traffic on those sites, they are happy to announce to the world, has gone up astronomically, which they say proves
You don’t believe he was looking up Nigga Down to find that Web site?
No and if you use the word again I will have to leave the program.
Professor.
Yes?
Is it possible for a person to make that kind of mistake or is it some kind of ruse to get out from under this mountain?
Well, of course it is. But the question here is why he heard that phrase instead of say, “Can’t get around” or “say a sound” or “can’t beat you down”
He heard that other phrase because it’s a rap song by a white band and it makes sense when you realize that he thought the white rappers were saying they “can’t nigga down” because they are not black.
He knew they were white when …
We have a real problem in this country when racism, which is very real to millions of people, is treated like a minor detail in a political scandal. You have, how I don’t know, but apparently many young people of color listen to this show and you need to ...
Exactly what I was saying. He had a paradigm of racial behavior of racial stereotypes in his mind when he heard that phrase and so his mind heard that word instead of a host of other words that could have rhythmically and phonetically fit just as well. That’s the essence of cultural, institutional racism.
Now, that’s a subject worthy of conversation. That’s something we can all talk about responsibly and with the potential of advancing this country’s racial relations.
My client is not a racist. My client has work hard his entire life to advance the causes of justice and success within the very toughest neighborhoods in
Why was that do you think? Why did the city kick him out, if, as you say, it was all just a misunderstanding?
Because the mayor thought he couldn’t discuss the issue. I don’t believe the mayor believes Mr. Waterman is a racist or had any intention of consorting with racists. The mayor fired him even though he knew this and he did so simply for political reasons. Imagine the mayor trying to explain at a press conference that someone on his staff had searched on a public computer the word we’re avoiding now. We can’t even use the word in a context that is specific to the word and its use. He’d wade in and never get out with his job intact.
Okay, enough college. Let’s go to some real people. Jerome from
Racist! A man who represents more clearly than any other that racism is embedded, like them journalists who went with us to
Institutional racism, Professor Taylor?
It’s worse than that. Racism is cultural and it is infused into each mind of that culture. It sets up the meaning in that culture’s dominant language. An American has mental impulses that are culturally biased and cannot be undone. Most are not even aware of it. Those who are and who believe that a world without racism is important are in constant conflict with themselves.
Like when I say Ms. Redman’s name I think of the irony that an African American is named what whites used to call American Indians?
Are you a racist, Mr. Reader?
The professor just said I was. Apparently there’s nothing I can do about it.
I didn’t say there was nothing you could do …
I think racism is a conscious decision made by people who want to keep other people down who are different from them. It’s a power move by those who want to keep power amongst themselves. And, by the way, I have some American Indian in me. What does that do to your racists profiles?
Smack down!
“So if you come to battle bring a shotgun
But if you do you're a fool, cause I duel to the death
Try and step to me you'll take your last breath
I gots the skill, come get your fill
Cause when I shoot ta give, I shoot to kill”
I’m going to have to hire Mr. Epsteen.
It’s Epstein, speaking of racism. When Hitler came to power and started making luggage out of my relatives, he found a culture primed and ready to take up the cause. All throughout Europe and
Bankers, lawyers, heads of the media empire.
They’re everywhere! Help! The Jews are ruining the world and sucking us pour Christians dry.
But you don’t see that kind of bias anymore, right? I’m not a Christian and I don’t consider myself a victim of a Jewish conspiracy. So it can change over time, right professor?
It does change over time. But it’s difficult and uncontrollable. What would it take for paranoia to seep back in among African Americans, Caucasians, Laotians, Latinos? We still see a great deal of anti-Jewish thinking in our culture. Not to mention the entire
So even a great war didn’t stamp it out.
Hardly.
Man, this is bleak. Let’s see what Christina from
I think you are all missing the bigger picture here. I’m a mixed-race person, my friends are mostly all mixed-race people and the real issue that we see here is that racism is a cover for economic oppression. It doesn’t matter if you are white, black, Mexican, Jewish or any combination. What matters in
Scott in
Blacks are more racist than whites. Every time a black person looks at a white person, he thinks – racist. And that’s just fine. But if a white person thinks about a black person a particular way because he’s black, I’m a racist. Black people need to take some responsibility for their own racism.
Ms. Redman?
I hear what the callers are saying, but again, and here I don’t speak for the NAACP I’m speaking for myself, I think the problem isn’t just that white and black people are racist or that black people are poor or even that some white people only see black people as dangerous. The problem is that we are not looking for ways to build a just and equitable society. We are stuck here throwing around words and fighting as if we were all still carrying clubs and dragging our knuckles.
That’s not going to change anytime soon, if ever. Culture isn’t something that can be made. It is subconscious and it forms the world and words in powerful and indelible ways. It is impossible to think and speak outside of culture and its warring factions. The best we can do is continue inner breeding. The mixed-race young woman and her friends are the future. We have to encourage that. We enlightened few have to hold back the wars that will separate race from race and creed from creed and encourage instead free love.
Jesus Christ.
Now we’re talking. Olivia in
Well, I’ve been married for 22 years and my husband would probably wink at that, but frankly I’m speechless. I called to say that there are far more well-meaning people than not. A well-meaning person can have those innate racist assumptions Professor Love Shack talked about and still bring about a better world for all. I can’t stop being a racist, apparently, but I have stronger feelings of concern and compassion than those of racism.
Amen, sister.
What would you do with
Give him the week off and then tell him to get back to work and not to be so dumb next time.
She’s going to make my closing arguments for me.
Whites for whites. Blacks for Blacks. Give up your race, pollute your heritage and you’ll have chaos and mental deficiencies. It’s been proven that black people are less sophisticated that white people and all the world will suffer if white brains are mixed up with black brains.
Well, there we have the racist point of view.
I have a headache.
“White man, white woman, white baby
Black man, black woman, black baby
Black man, white woman, black baby
White man, black woman, black baby”
Good ol’ Public Enemy, right there.
Fire Mr. Waterman? Professor?
Yes.
Ms. Redman?
Wrong question.
Mr. Epsteen?
Going to cost the city.
Well that’s it. Mike the producer says we got one more caller.
Mmmmmm ohh ohhh ohhhh yes yes
And there you have it. It all comes down to sex. Have more. Tune in tomorrow when we’ll be talking about, that’s right, sex. Sex in public places and the lawyer who lost his job for getting a quickie in the bathroom at Safeco Field last month. Would you? HAVE you? Tomorrow at 9 a.m. Adios.
“Love shack, baby, love shack ….”
Radio Signal
Compiled by Julie Casanova
BIO: Julie Casanova lives in Tijuana, México. She is a collector of cultural artifacts, writer, karaoke star and dancer. She also holds the record for speed texting.
ABOUT THIS STORY: “Radio Signal” was constructed with sentences taken from talk radio programs during the year 2006. The names have been changed and made to appear consistent in each transmission. However, the main body of text was copied raw from the airwaves, something that would be obvious if you were hearing the story instead of reading it.
Hey, Mike, check that fucking guest mic two, would you?
It’s registering low. I’ll boost it.
Okay, Mike, that’s better.
W.R.?
Yeah?
I’ve got your show packet up front.
I’ll be right there. What’ve we got now Mike, half an hour?
Right. Same time same place every day.
Long night. (She had my show packet up late last night … ha ha)
I didn’t hear that.
Right. When do our guests arrive? I’d like to talk with that NAACP chick for a few minutes before the show. I want to know more about where she’s coming from on this. Hey, either someone punctured my left eardrum last night or my headphones are FUCKED. God almighty people. Fucking tell ME same place same time and you can’t give me a fucking set of headphones that WORK? Jesus. Let’s get some advertising out there and pimp this fucking show. I want some callers screened and lined up so we don’t get sandbagged by a pack of racists.
W.R., Ms. Redman is here. She’s coming in through the back door in a bit. She said there’s too many people out front and she’s not going to do any impromptu press to push our show.
Yeah, because she’s soooo fucking important. Anyway, she’s smart. I’ll give her that. Can she come into the booth early or is that too much to ask?
She coming.
(She has got to stop talking dirty to me. It’s just not professional. And why is a black woman working for the NAACP named RED MAN?)
Hey, we’re all professionals here.
Right you are, Mike. Right you are. There she is. Alright. Hey. Hey. Ms. Redman, great you agreed to come on the show. Thanks for coming in early. Go ahead and sit in that one. Hey, I don’t have to tell you this is a very controversial topic right now and I’m going to come right out with it. Are you just going to yell RACIST over and over again? Because I respect your opinion and hope for a discussion here, but yelling racists over and over won’t cut it.
Is this on? Mr. Reader …
W.R., please. This is radio.
Mr. Reader, is this mic on?
This is Mike, the producer. The mic is on but we’re not recording for the record. We’re not on the air. We’re just running the system through and getting voice levels right.
I’m not going to discuss the issue in advance.
We’re not going to sandbag you. I run a show here and I like to feel out my guests a little before the show starts.
Well, consider me felt out.
Right. Coffee, pop, water?
Restroom.
Mike, Ms. Redman has to go to the can.
Jesus, W.R. give it rest. Right this way Ms. Redman. (He’s a prick, but you know that. Why you would come on this show is beyond me.)
Mike, no discouraging the guests. I’m just gearing up. We get that FBI flak on the phone yet.
I don’t think they’re going to do it. They won’t say more than they are concerned by any racism in all public offices.
But they can talk general investigative techniques, give us some idea of what they might do to someone like Waterman?
Nope.
Waterman’s lawyer coming soon? Maybe he’ll talk to me about this. This is a TALK radio show afterall.
Yes, W.R. He’s coming.
Stop that. What about the professor?
Dr. Samuel Taylor.
Is he a medical doctor?
No, W.R.
Then it’s Professor Samuel Taylor.
His agent …
Can get fucked.
His agent …
Fucking professor has an agent.
Jesus, W.R., listen to her for a second.
Yes, Mom.
So, his agent said he wants to be called Dr. Taylor.
And I want to be called Princess Di. Don’t tell him though. We’ll see if he can figure it out. Who’s that?
The lawyer.
Get him in here. Hello, Larry. Is it Epsteen or Epstine?
Epstein.
Right. I need to confirm a couple of things here ahead of time if we can?
Go ahead.
Richard Waterman is a racists?
What?
Kidding.
Do that on the air and I’ll serve your ass with a suit that’ll put you back in the soup line.
Hold on, here. Just relax.
A man has been crucified because of this flippant bullshit perpetrated by you so-called journalists and I came here to set the record straight, but I’m not going to put up with any shit. So, better watch what the fuck you say because my client is innocent and a lot of people are going to be paying him a lot of money because of that small little fact.
Mike?
W.R.?
Bring in my fucking flak jacket.
Use your seat cushion.
Ms. Redman. Mr. Epsteen. Ms. Redman.
Professor Samuel Taylor is on his way in.
Here he is, the neutral party. Save me professor. They’re already trying to hurt me.
Mr. Reader?
W.R. please. Mr. Epsteen. Ms. Redman. Professor Taylor.
Doctor.
Professor, sit there, if you would. Head phones all. We’re on in just a minute or two and we’d like to get voice levels. So, for the record, your name, rank and serial number.
Senequa Redman, spokesperson, Seattle Branch of the NAACP.
Larry Epstein, attorney representing Richard Waterman.
Doctor Samuel Taylor, professor of linguistics at the
Okay, thirty seconds.
Here we go, folks. (We have GOT TO change that intro, Mike.) Good afternoon
“Senequa Redman, spokesperson, Seattle Branch of the NAACP.
“Larry Epstein, attorney representing Richard Waterman.
“Doctor Samuel Taylor, professor of linguistics at the
City Hall has shown us what they thought of this case. Waterman has been fired and no one will talk about it, claiming they can’t because of legal maneuvers by one of our guests. Apparently, the FBI is involved somewhere in this case, but they will not even confirm whether they are or not conducting an investigation. In fact, one agent said he wouldn’t confirm that the world was round, though he wouldn’t confirm that it wasn’t either. Waterman’s firing and its bizarre circumstances came out in one of the local weekly papers last week, quickly followed by the dailies and the breathless television reporters. So, we’re here to have a Discussion in the Afternoon about Waterson … man and racism in the Mayor’s office.
“Pack it up, pack it in
Let me begin
I came to win
Battle me that's a sin
I won't tear the sack up
Punk you'd better back up
Try and play the role and the whole crew will act up”
Now, I’m getting a very nasty look from Waterman’s attorney so let’s start there. What the hell was your client up to on his city computer in the middle of the afternoon, on a Tuesday?
Well, Mr. Reader, the mayor asked my client to look up a song that would appeal to a young crowd but wouldn’t cause any controversy. He wanted to open a news conference with it. So Mr. Waterman and he talked it over and Mr. Waterman remembered a song in the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” …
With Robin Williams.
That’s right. He couldn’t remember the name of the song or the rapper’s name. So he got on the Internet and searched a phrase he thought was in the song.
Waterman is a white man in his forties.
Mr. Waterman is Caucasian and 42 years old. He has had a very distinguished career serving the neighborhoods of
What did he search for? This is the punch line. What was the phrase he searched for?
I’ll tell you what it was.
Ms. Redman.
“Nigga down.”
Nigga down?
That’s right.
Mr. Epsteen.
The phrase he was looking for was “I came to get down.” He thought the phrase was, and pardon my usage, but he thought the phrase was “I can’t nigga down.” His first few searches on Google hit several racist Web sites talking about killing African Americans. One happened to be called, pardon me, Nigga Down.
Okay, let’s not use that word anymore. We get it. The reason I’m here on behalf of the NAACP isn’t to take part in the discussion specifically about Mr. Waterman. I’m here to challenge all of you in the media to take some responsibility for blowing this whole episode out of control because of your apparent joy in being able to say that word and expose the host of racist Web sites dedicated to the abuse and destruction of African people. Traffic on those sites, they are happy to announce to the world, has gone up astronomically, which they say proves
You don’t believe he was looking up Nigga Down to find that Web site?
No and if you use the word again I will have to leave the program.
Professor.
Yes?
Is it possible for a person to make that kind of mistake or is it some kind of ruse to get out from under this mountain?
Well, of course it is. But the question here is why he heard that phrase instead of say, “Can’t get around” or “say a sound” or “can’t beat you down”
He heard that other phrase because it’s a rap song by a white band and it makes sense when you realize that he thought the white rappers were saying they “can’t nigga down” because they are not black.
He knew they were white when …
We have a real problem in this country when racism, which is very real to millions of people, is treated like a minor detail in a political scandal. You have, how I don’t know, but apparently many young people of color listen to this show and you need to ...
Exactly what I was saying. He had a paradigm of racial behavior of racial stereotypes in his mind when he heard that phrase and so his mind heard that word instead of a host of other words that could have rhythmically and phonetically fit just as well. That’s the essence of cultural, institutional racism.
Now, that’s a subject worthy of conversation. That’s something we can all talk about responsibly and with the potential of advancing this country’s racial relations.
My client is not a racist. My client has work hard his entire life to advance the causes of justice and success within the very toughest neighborhoods in
Why was that do you think? Why did the city kick him out, if, as you say, it was all just a misunderstanding?
Because the mayor thought he couldn’t discuss the issue. I don’t believe the mayor believes Mr. Waterman is a racist or had any intention of consorting with racists. The mayor fired him even though he knew this and he did so simply for political reasons. Imagine the mayor trying to explain at a press conference that someone on his staff had searched on a public computer the word we’re avoiding now. We can’t even use the word in a context that is specific to the word and its use. He’d wade in and never get out with his job intact.
Okay, enough college. Let’s go to some real people. Jerome from
Racist! A man who represents more clearly than any other that racism is embedded, like them journalists who went with us to
Institutional racism, Professor Taylor?
It’s worse than that. Racism is cultural and it is infused into each mind of that culture. It sets up the meaning in that culture’s dominant language. An American has mental impulses that are culturally biased and cannot be undone. Most are not even aware of it. Those who are and who believe that a world without racism is important are in constant conflict with themselves.
Like when I say Ms. Redman’s name I think of the irony that an African American is named what whites used to call American Indians?
Are you a racist, Mr. Reader?
The professor just said I was. Apparently there’s nothing I can do about it.
I didn’t say there was nothing you could do …
I think racism is a conscious decision made by people who want to keep other people down who are different from them. It’s a power move by those who want to keep power amongst themselves. And, by the way, I have some American Indian in me. What does that do to your racists profiles?
Smack down!
“So if you come to battle bring a shotgun
But if you do you're a fool, cause I duel to the death
Try and step to me you'll take your last breath
I gots the skill, come get your fill
Cause when I shoot ta give, I shoot to kill”
I’m going to have to hire Mr. Epsteen.
It’s Epstein, speaking of racism. When Hitler came to power and started making luggage out of my relatives, he found a culture primed and ready to take up the cause. All throughout Europe and
Bankers, lawyers, heads of the media empire.
They’re everywhere! Help! The Jews are ruining the world and sucking us pour Christians dry.
But you don’t see that kind of bias anymore, right? I’m not a Christian and I don’t consider myself a victim of a Jewish conspiracy. So it can change over time, right professor?
It does change over time. But it’s difficult and uncontrollable. What would it take for paranoia to seep back in among African Americans, Caucasians, Laotians, Latinos? We still see a great deal of anti-Jewish thinking in our culture. Not to mention the entire
So even a great war didn’t stamp it out.
Hardly.
Man, this is bleak. Let’s see what Christina from
I think you are all missing the bigger picture here. I’m a mixed-race person, my friends are mostly all mixed-race people and the real issue that we see here is that racism is a cover for economic oppression. It doesn’t matter if you are white, black, Mexican, Jewish or any combination. What matters in
Scott in
Blacks are more racist than whites. Every time a black person looks at a white person, he thinks – racist. And that’s just fine. But if a white person thinks about a black person a particular way because he’s black, I’m a racist. Black people need to take some responsibility for their own racism.
Ms. Redman?
I hear what the callers are saying, but again, and here I don’t speak for the NAACP I’m speaking for myself, I think the problem isn’t just that white and black people are racist or that black people are poor or even that some white people only see black people as dangerous. The problem is that we are not looking for ways to build a just and equitable society. We are stuck here throwing around words and fighting as if we were all still carrying clubs and dragging our knuckles.
That’s not going to change anytime soon, if ever. Culture isn’t something that can be made. It is subconscious and it forms the world and words in powerful and indelible ways. It is impossible to think and speak outside of culture and its warring factions. The best we can do is continue inner breeding. The mixed-race young woman and her friends are the future. We have to encourage that. We enlightened few have to hold back the wars that will separate race from race and creed from creed and encourage instead free love.
Jesus Christ.
Now we’re talking. Olivia in
Well, I’ve been married for 22 years and my husband would probably wink at that, but frankly I’m speechless. I called to say that there are far more well-meaning people than not. A well-meaning person can have those innate racist assumptions Professor Love Shack talked about and still bring about a better world for all. I can’t stop being a racist, apparently, but I have stronger feelings of concern and compassion than those of racism.
Amen, sister.
What would you do with
Give him the week off and then tell him to get back to work and not to be so dumb next time.
She’s going to make my closing arguments for me.
Whites for whites. Blacks for Blacks. Give up your race, pollute your heritage and you’ll have chaos and mental deficiencies. It’s been proven that black people are less sophisticated that white people and all the world will suffer if white brains are mixed up with black brains.
Well, there we have the racist point of view.
I have a headache.
“White man, white woman, white baby
Black man, black woman, black baby
Black man, white woman, black baby
White man, black woman, black baby”
Good ol’ Public Enemy, right there.
Fire Mr. Waterman? Professor?
Yes.
Ms. Redman?
Wrong question.
Mr. Epsteen?
Going to cost the city.
Well that’s it. Mike the producer says we got one more caller.
Mmmmmm ohh ohhh ohhhh yes yes
And there you have it. It all comes down to sex. Have more. Tune in tomorrow when we’ll be talking about, that’s right, sex. Sex in public places and the lawyer who lost his job for getting a quickie in the bathroom at Safeco Field last month. Would you? HAVE you? Tomorrow at 9 a.m. Adios.
“Love shack, baby, love shack ….”
REAL NEWS CREED: A true journalist for Real News must
stand the test of time and yet be timeless, ageless in what
measures the strength and endurance of his or her soul. There
is no ticking certainty, no certified finality, no beginning, no
end to the forces that can be freed in the every-day acts of
otherwise semi-conscious writing to live, thinking to breathe.
A true journalist should strive to be part of the giving,
receiving in return what he alone can handle, with or without
respect and retreat, always for a greater good, trying forever to
improve all that he touches, illuminate all that he sees no
matter the consequences. These are the thoughts that
haphazardly overcome the Real News editorial board through
the mounting days of drudgery and discovery into the hope for
a new era of re-examination and creative energy. To search for
truth like Don Quixote in all the wrong places sometimes
serves to uncover the secrets others keep from each other to
get through their daily lives without confrontation, or the half-
truths that are better left unsaid. Maybe the biggest yet is that
there is a beginning or an end to the unsettling process of
communication, or a limit to the illumination and
transformation it can produce – biologically, scatologicaly,
spiritually, genetically, certainly psychologically, socially and
politically – even with such a limited-media service such as
the one Real News is loosely affiliated with. Words can truly
alter the course of human existence and its range of emotion –
and that’s what we (inclusive or not) at Real News do for a
living, whether we like the words and what they stand for, or
even if we cannot fully comprehend what they mean or how
they might be interpreted over time. Write until you can write
no more. Stories are everywhere.
––––––more––––––––
EDITOR’S NOTE: A word of truth should be as easy to
distinguish as a guitar note played in tune. It must have that
lasting ring of a crystal wine glass or a hand bell in a church
choir, the resonating satisfaction of perfect pitch and key, even
if it starts out flat or sharp or sometimes cracks in unsteady
hands. Write long enough, true enough, full of heart and spirit,
and the story will become clear and conscious, as in life. Write
it and it shall be. Words just waiting to be freed. Following this
thread back through history there are connections and
intersections that lead to so many lives and places they can
barely be kept straight and accountable by solely referencing
them in my mind. Piles of philosophies, fragments of religion,
theology, history, fiction, music, greed, lust, wins, losses and
fantasies realized or vanquished, continuing to stack up in file
cabinets and leave a fading mark on a forest of thin notebooks
– all but illegible to any other mind’s eye but the one that
guides the hand of the creator. In the beginning was the Word,
indeed, and forever, always. Words endure.
WRITE REAL, THINK REAL “Whatever Cathy may have been, she set off the glory in Adam. His spirit rose flying and released him from fear and bitterness and rancid memories. The glory lights up the world and changes it the way a star shell changes a battleground. Perhaps Adam did not see Cathy at all, so lighted was she by his eyes. Burned in his mind was an image of beauty and tenderness, a sweet holy girl, precious beyond thinking, clean and loving, and that image was Cathy to her husband, and nothing Cathy did or said could warp Adam’s Cathy.”
– John Steinbeck, “East of Eden”
SONG OF JOHANNA
He tried to shine such soulful glory on everything they did together, from simple tasks like cooking and gardening, to making love and making a home, from traveling far and wide with her at his side, smiling, always smiling. She beamed so bright in that glory, the media parties they would attend over the years, countless concerts basking in the waves of music, the dancing they would do to together, sometimes even just home alone, they were the couple that reflected life and energy, producing sparks of human electricity every waking moment of existence – or so it seemed.
Certainly, the shadows of darkness were always lurking about, but he thought he could beat them back and cut a swath of light through the past like the summer-long effort to chop down all the blackberry bushes that had descended upon the house when he first moved in after his initial hesitation and concern for his heart and his future with her. She was persuasive in her beauty, and he wanted to make things even more beautiful for her. But there were always those gnawing signs out of the depths of another existence that still would haunt him from time to time. The scattered photos left lying about showing her with other lovers he couldn’t even fathom; the letters she had written him complaining of her estranged husband’s behavior, which seemed like normal male rejection rage under the circumstances of her dumping him for life with the now-dumped-again hero of our tale; her vague references to why she had left her other ex-husbands and ex-lovers over the years of what she liked to refer to as her “emancipation.” She seemed to be always talking about emancipation from this or that, so it evolved into an ever-revolving mental state of mind for her that could excuse any sort of behavior or character flaw that would occur in her adult life. Hell, he had a past, too, and as long as she didn’t complain about his vices – his dalliance with dancers and other youthful divas in his day, his habit of puffing on the pipe for inspiration, his never-ending squabbles with his ex-wife or his drama-filled family life – He simply felt the shadows would eventually fade away in the light of their newfound love.
It did make him a better man. It now left him a bitter man.
In the early days, it was a life of poetry and sensual awareness, the likes of which neither of them had ever experienced before – at least not to his way of of thinking. He had to take her at her word and at face value, and he never really was too concerned about the other lovers who had been there before. She made him feel his universal power and spirit. He felt like a God in her eyes and in her writing to him:
“I climb inside to meet you in the interior landscape that is mine
“And effortless images flood my eyes.
“Spilling images in single words and broken phrases,
“I am the mediator, the translator,
“Spirit speaker to you of night songs
“While the blue moon blazes.
“I whisper, “Summer.”
“In the heat, the harvest ripens full blue.
“Vast plains roll riches and rise upward.
“You expand outside my vision, rippled beyond the catch
“Of my words, or the seasons.
“Patterns form and fall free,
“Mountains and clouds, dewy and green, encircle me.
“Let me be the conduit to dreams,
“The face of such sorcery,
“The hand of reality the breathes life to these hallucinations
“Of light and imagination.
“You chant to me your litany of love
“Spent on a resting place, mortar and chink,
“Solid as Hadrian’s Wall.
Little did he realize, the wall would crumble with her ancient history. The words were her siren call and just the start to a song that would never end.
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REAL NEWS ABOUT REAL WRITERS: We are pleased and honored to announce that Real News Network writer and new media producer Jake Ellison is now a semi-finalist in an Amazon.comfiction contest with "Sons of Wayne," a novel first published here at Real News Network. Please, check out Jake's work at Amazon, and give him a vote or a review or two.
Direct link to Sons of Wayne
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