VampireS Sumo

[Episode Five]

Arizona Blue—Gunfighter

The Wolves Nest—in the North

[Episode Five]

Northern Minnesota Area–

Winter of 1877

Chapter One of Seven: The North

The area was known as Pigs Eye [St. Paul, Minnesota]; Northfield was a little more notorious since Jessie James robbed the 1st National Bank, in September of last year, and more to the West. But that was neither here nor there for Arizona-Blue. He didn’t like this part of the country for no other reason than it was cold, unpredictable weather, and he didn’t seem to offer enough freedom, it wasn’t bad thirty years ago, but it had become too tame, Even Mark Twain thought so. His conclusion of why he was here was: ‘Sometimes you just keep on riding and riding and end up where you don’t care to be.’

As his rode through the thick of the snow, he had come to a cabin, up in an area where the deer was running as wild—to and fro—as the mavericks were down in Arizona, Texas and Wyoming. He smelt the smoke from a nearby chimney. He was a hundred and fifty plus miles North of St. Paul, but it seemed like he was in the Artic.

As Arizona came to a cabin, a man came out of the front door onto his porch. Two wolves stood by his side, a rifle in his hands. He noticed in the back of his house about thirty-more wolves tied to the fence ‘…strange…’ thought Blue.

“Can I help yaw stranger?” asked the man on the porch.

Blue knew most everyone in this area did not know his name, and that was one unconscious reason he chose the Midwest I suppose, a time for a rest of wondering whom was going to shoot you in the back, or who you had to tangle with next. His reputation out West was preceding him wherever he’d go, but here, up here in the Midwest who could know his name? No one he speculated. Northfield was to hot for anyone like him, after the James Gang shoot out, and St. Paul looked like St. Louis, a conservative little city on the banks of the Mississippi, not enough get up and go for him, plus they sold little books on him: “The Fast Gun of the West: Arizona-Blue.” They did on all the gunfighters such as: Billy the Kid, Jessie James, Wild Bill, and so forth.

“I need a place to lodge for a day or two. I’m half frozen.”

The man laughed and motioned for Blue to tie his horse up out side and come in.

As Blue descended his horse, a young boy came out and took his horse saying,

“I’ll bed him down a spell, feed him for you sir.”

Blue heard the Midwest was quite hospital to strangers, they had to be, because sooner or later you ‘all ended-up needing the others help. ‘This kind of gives yaw a nice feeling,’ he told himself.

As Blue entered the house, he noticed a slim middle aged woman, boiling some stew (about thirty-six years old he’d guess).

“Some hot cider Mister?” she asked.

Blue was not sure what that was, but he knew it wasn’t whiskey.

“Sounds warming, I guess that’ll be just fine Miss…,” unsure how to address her.

She smiled, and commented:

“You’re not from around here I gather, you got a Southwestern accent?”

“I’m called Arizona I guess because that is where I am from.”

“Arizona what? She asked.

“That’s it Miss, just Arizona, that’s what my pop called me, no more no less.”

She smiled again, the man came back in from the backdoor of the house, stomping the snow off his feet.

“Hi yaw, my names Harry,” he extended his hand to shake Arizona’s, “and this is my wife Feba, she’s Spanish, and a little cute wife at that.”

“Harry! stop making me blush.”

“Well,” said Arizona, “it looks like you got enough wolves around here.”

“I raise them. They can come in handy.” That was all that was said about the nest of wolves. Arizona got the drift of things, it was private, and he wasn’t about to step in on a man’s privacy.

“Mr. Arizona, please give your jacket to my boy, Tony.” He was standing in the back of Arizona. He hadn’t heard him come in. As Arizona took off his jacket, Harry, Tony and Feba noticed the guns. Arizona had one tight against his thigh, and one tucked into his belt.

“You won’t need them here sir,” said Harry with a little concern.

Arizona smiled. He was not a wanted man in Minnesota, or for that matter anyplace, just a notorious man, and seldom heard of way up in the North Country; and this was new country for him if this was Wyoming, or Texas, or for that matter Tombstone, or Deadwood, the guns would stay. But he started to unbuckle them then handed them to Harry to put away for safe keeping.

“How are the Indian problems up here?” Blue asked.

“Sometimes it ok, other times you just don’t know. We had several cabins up here a year ago, and the Chippewa’s burned three of them down. Rapped the women, after getting drunk, and took off. The Indians are all over the place. You just never know. I hunt bear and fox and sell the furs down at Fort Smelling. And yaw, some of the Wolves you see, end up being furs. Yaw got to eat. I hate killing them though.”

Harry noticed Arizona watch where he hung the guns up; right on the coat rack that lead to the front door.

“If you need them mister, they’re right there for the grabbing.”

“I got the picture, Harry.”

“Now for the dinner, it’s about 11-below zero out there, not too bad for the dead of winter. You’d think it was 10:00 PM, but it gets dark quick up here, its only 6:00 PM. Not much daylight in the heart of winter. Tonight it will get down to 20 below. It’s like the cold knocks the sun out early I swear. It’s going to be a cold, cold winter, stranger, I mean Arizona.”

As they all four sat down to eat, Harry said grace, thanking God for his wife, son, and that the stranger did not get frozen like an ice cycle before he found his cabin.

“Let’s eat,” says Harry, and plunged into the hot stew.

The stew was great, though Arizona, as he took his third helping.

“My name is Alex, Mr. Arizona. Are you a gunfighter? You know, like Jessie James, and Billy the Kid?”

“Hush,” said Feba, “Mr. Arizona is a gentleman, not a killer.”

Said Harry, a bit uncomfortable with the guns hanging where the coats and hats hung:

“Mater-of-fact, if you don’t mind, what is your line of work?”

“Well, that’s a good question. I’ve been a soldier, fought at the Battle of Chickamauga, and I was sheriff for a while, and a deputy. And I guess you could say a cowboy of sorts. Not sure what a gunslinger is, but maybe that to.”

“Jack of many trades I see,” commented Harry.

Feba looked at Blues eyes; she was almost frozen by them. But her husband was the jealous type, and said nothing, just smiled and continued to eat her stew.

Dennis Siluk is finishing up his most recent book, “Peruvian Poems” it shold been done shortly, and published in the following months [29-poems in English and Spanish] look for it. You can see his other works at bn.com bn.com or amazon.com amazon.com

After having played music with many different musicians on many different skill levels I have noticed something interesting among most of them. Each one will usually play his or her instrument according to his or her respective personality.

When this concept comes to drumming it is really noticeable.

I’ve noticed that drummers who are a relaxed type often play relaxed. A drummer who is a more bold person usually plays the same way… bold. A drummer who lives his or her life a little sloppy and reckless will often play the same way. Likewise, a drummer who is a very organized individual will fairly play rather consistently. All this is okay to an extent. But, we just can′t let our drumming be subject to our personality, feelings, or mood at any given moment.

Our instrument, the drums, are our expression in the band. It’s our voice. And, many times, we must drum in a manner that does not line up with our personality, feelings, or mood.

Being an outstanding drummer requires becoming a bit of an actor. What I mean by that is, sometimes we have to play drums a certain way despite our true personality, or how we may feel at any given moment. That’s what a good actor does, he temporarily forgets who he is and becomes someone else for a time so that he can pull off what he needs to pull off in order to get the job done.

As you know, sometimes we have to drum a little harder than we may feel like drumming. And then at other times we may have to drum a bit softer when what we really want to do is rock out.

In order to be an outstanding drummer we have to be able to put out what is required of us at any given moment. For example, sometimes a certain song needs to convey a certain message, feeling, or mood. But, your particular mood at the time does not jive with it at all.

If we want the song do what it’s supposed to do, we can’t expect the song to submit to how we feel right then. We have to submit to the song and forget about ourselves by becoming a part of the song.

The bottom line is this… don′t play your drums according to your personality. Play your drums according to each individual song’s personality. Only then will your songs truly come to life.

Copyright 2006 Daniel N Brown

Daniel N. Brown has been drumming since 1976! Get his FREE Special Report,
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Violins are fragile instruments that must be treated with care. There are situations where violins may need to be repaired no matter how careful the owner is. When a violin needs to be fixed, it is important to go to a trained professional. There are some simple maintenance tips for violin owners that can prolong the life of the instrument.

It is important that people change the strings on their violins, as old strings tend to sound bad after a while. Most experts recommend changing the strings at least once a year, even if they do not seem to be a problem. It is also important not to put the strings on to tightly. Aside from making the violin out of tune, tight strings can warp the neck over time and cause great damage to the violin. People should also apply gentle wood polish to the violin’s body in order to keep it looking good.

Violin repair is a delicate art. It is important that whoever repairs a violin is skilled and knowledgeable. The violin can be permanently damaged if the person doing the repair makes any mistakes. Someone skilled in violin repair can take the instrument completely apart to fix any internal problems or make any necessary neck adjustments and reassemble it, leaving it as good as new. People should be sure not to use any type of chemicals on the violin as they can have adverse affects on the wood. It is a good idea to use similar materials to make and repair the violin. For example, fixing a hole in the violin’s body with oak instead of the spruce that it is made of could affect the violin’s tone.

Violin repair is a difficult and delicate job. Only people with a steady hand and a thorough understanding of violin construction should attempt any repairs.

i-violins.com Violins Info provides detailed information about antique and electric violins, violin music, sheet music, strings, and shops; violin makers and repair; and explanations of how to play the violin and a short history of the violin. Violins Info is affiliated with growthink.com Business Plans by Growthink.

Most novices and beginner photographers, when purchasing their first digital camera, do not have the slightest idea what a pixel is. Their curiosity is justified because cameras makers today categorize digital cameras on the basis of megapixels. To understand megapixels it is first important to understand what is a pixel. Technically, it is the single point in a graphic image. It can be reproduced at any size without the appearance of visible dots or squares. The word pixel stands for “(PI)cture (El)ement, with the common abbreviation PIX for PICTURE”. Having a numerical value between 0 and 255, each pixel is made of three-color channels.

A digital image that has more pixels is considered to be of a higher quality when compared to a picture of the same size but with less number of pixels. The quality of the picture becomes even better when there are more pixels compressed over every square inch of space. However, a higher megapixel count may not always translate into better images. In cheaper digital cameras with a high megapixel count, the sensor may not be large, or the size of the pixels may be smaller. This can reduce the quality of the pictures.

The computer screen is a good example of what a megapixel is like. A standard computer screen size today is 1024 by 768 pixels. This means the number of pixels in this area is 786,432 pixels (1024 pixels multiplied by 768 pixels). This is quite close to a million pixels. If you notice, the resolution of this screen is better than a computer screen, which can be an 800 by 600 pixel.

The term megapixel refers to a million pixels. This means that a 1 megapixel camera, also sold as 1MP camera, can shoot a picture with one million pixels. In today’s photography world such a camera is meant for beginners. The professionals use high-end cameras whose megapixel count ranges from 14 MP to 22 MP. The megapixel count is also used to decide the size of a print. A 3MP camera can provide excellent 4×6 inch prints, while a 4 or 5MP digital camera can deliver high quality 8×10 inch prints. This is because the resolution of a print is directly proportional to the number of pixels. Another interesting metric is the pixel ratio. You will find the camera makers talk of a 1:3 ratio. This means that for every 1 one pixel down, there are 1.3 pixels across. This ratio is to give an idea of the dimensions of the photograph.

Apart from the megapixel count, you may want to compare the picture quality, optics, menu system, storage capacity, and responsiveness of different models before deciding a digital camera’s efficacy. Just looking at a pixel count does not answer all the questions that need to be answered about the new camera.

Check out digicamland.org/ digicamland.org/ for more articles on digicamland.org/digital_camera_memory.html digital camera memory and digicamland.org/buying_digital_camera.html buying digital camera.

Everyone can compose sheet music! You have to start where you are and anyone can do that. You can create your own compositions for piano! Let’s see why you should!

Where can you start?

Maybe you find it difficult to notate sheet music. Well, you don’t have to notate your music. You can record the things you do with a digital recording equipment, maybe your computer or a tape recorder.

But if you want to use sheet music? What can you do?

Let me suggest that you start by writing for piano beginners. Sheet music for piano beginners have to be very simple. Few notes and very easy rhythms. This is the place where you fit in!

If you start to write piano sheet music for beginners in progressive order you will also learn to write sheet music in progressive order. Smart idea, isn′t it!

But…, what benefits are there in writing and composing piano sheet music for your own piano playing?

Here are some of my own thoughts:

1. You own endeavors to create piano compositions will make you more aware of other composers music. Questions will arise in your mind on how to notate the things in your mind and how to arrange and so on. These questions will be in your mind and make you more aware of how other composers have written and notated their music.

You will probably look at other composers musical notation with fresh eyes trying to learn how professional composers write.

2. As you compose you will become more and more sensitive to intrinsic musical subtleties in your own music as well as in other composers music.

3. Gradually you will start to think and feel more like a composer. This will help you become a better performer as well. You will respect other composers music more, trying to convey their hearts intent to your public.

4. As you train your creative muscles by composing they will also help you as you perform piano music. Both performing and composing are creative processes requiring your heart.

5. You will become a better sight reader by composing piano sheet music. Many years ago I had an assignment to write sheet music to a musical. I encountered not a few notational problems. Problems I had not as yet solved for myself.

Afterwards I started to play piano sheet music again. To my astonishment I realized I had developed as a sight reader.

My own conclusion was that my concentrated efforts to notate my piano compositions also was a course in sight reading.

I realized I had experienced a reversed sight reading exercise by composing music with my fingers on the piano keyboard and then trying to notate the music on manuscript paper.

Do you have to buy manuscript paper?

Well, no! To notate sheet music does not need to be expensive. You can use an ordinary pencil and ordinary white paper. Sometimes I use this equipment when I have nothing else at hand. I write five lines, one bar at a time, as I compose. It works!

The musical ideas I jot down this way I can easily work more with in my notational software program on my computer later on.

To compose and write piano sheet music can be a part of your daily piano practice. Spending half an hour with piano composing, making your own piano exercices and more can increase your awareness of music and help you become a better pianist and musician.

Peter Edvinsson invites you to download your capotastomusic.com free piano sheet music, guitar tabs, ebooks, music lessons and read his capotastomusic.blogspot.com sheet music blog at Capotasto Music.

Advance/or Afterward “Winter is Coming”:

We all seem to have been born in an era of ‘Once upon a time,’ and feel and hope fairy tales can reach out to us at any time. Nowadays, age becomes less of a factor, less than mood, and we venture back onto the stage to the play, the facts behind us are really nothing when we become old, no one can raise the dead, so mental processes start, we want to grab the spirit of romance, perhaps once, just once more. Sometimes we leap, for cupid or Psyche, for the gothic mind, old people dream, just like young people, but old people are at the end of the road, not the beginning. The harps are playing, the invisible harps—when they will stop, a daily guess. Too often the old die feeling unwelcome on earth, choosing to die, I fear without a filled heart. They realize there are softer winds in heaven, and so they let go of the useless pain they endure here on earth trying to please. Sweet ones, dear ones, they go, thus seeking harmony in another world.

In this story, “Winter is Coming” I try to bring a short delay, so a few people could refine their last days, true and obedient to their hearts. For they all know, from the first paragraph to the last, someone will have to carry them to the tomb, soon. I do believe Roberta in the story realizes her smiles can turn into weeping, but perhaps there might be some joy in grief, but I suppose she still wants to see the face of her husband, in her death. Sammy has found his true heart I do believe, and it pleases him, and he wants to leave that thought grow, leave it there; he doesn’t want anyone to take it away, perhaps he feels he will not have time to find it again, wittingly he loves, desires, trays to conquer. Ezra, is perhaps thinking he adores beauty, laughter, he endures Sammy, even though Sammy is shy, but he doesn’t try much, he’s perhaps tired of it all, if it happens, it happens, and stale in comparisons to him is Sammy, yet Sammy takes the intuitive step to have a last romance. But should he leave? He’s comfortable. And at the end, God’s plan takes care of it all. Simplicity for the inadequate, you could say, numbered we are among the earthly many.

See Dennis’ web site: dennissiluk.tripod.com dennissiluk.tripod.com

If you’re a craps player you probably enjoy playing the craps game with a minimum of risk. A craps system is a method of obtaining this. If you follow this system you will have a long and more enjoyable play whether you’re playing craps at an Indian casino or from the best casino gambling online website.

A good system for the craps game should include

a Craps game plan
odds, such as knowledge
executing enough discipline to follow the craps game plan

The Craps game plan

Have you ever seen The Lakers or any other top football team going into the Super Bowl without a game plan? I haven’t. And this is also true for the Craps game. You don’t enter a serious Craps game without some sort of a game plan. With a good Craps game plan to follow, it’s less likely that you’ll get caught up with all the “bad bets” at the table when things go wrong Vital questions your game plan must answer, for example is when to bet, what to bet on and how much to bet, etc.

Know Thy Odds

You should know the odds for any number that is rolled in the Craps game. As Craps players we know that the house has a definite advantage as the seven has the highest chance of rolling than any number. So a general rule of thumb should be that the further away from a seven the number is, the lower the chance it has of being rolled. Let’s say a two has a one in 36 chance while an eight has five in 36 chance of rolling. So by applying a little common sense, you’ll see that you should chose to place bets on numbers that have higher chances of rolling.

Craps discipline

To carry out your craps game plan, you need to drum up discipline. This means doing like the professional gamblers do; don’t let greed and fear tempt you away from common sense. If you keep focused and execute a little discipline, you can play only the strongest bets on the table and eventually walk away with minor losses instead of ruin.

If the fortunate event of having a nice stack of the casino’s chips in front of you occurs, executing discipline will also help you to go home.

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet publisher. He runs the website 1000-online-casino.com 1000-online-casino.com
Terje gives advice and helps people with gambling issues and casino games like 1000-online-casino.com/craps.htm Craps and 1000-online-casino.com/black_jack.htm Black jack.

It was quiet and still, and again it was as though her mind was speaking to her, a house inside her mind, that housed her mother—the house she built in the vaults of Hell, in the tomb she laid in, died in, with, the one she sweat in and with that same body created her daughter, produced something before she died—Jokaneen, the warrior. She hadn’t forgotten the vaults of hell, where the Manticore and his demonic assistant wrapped her up in a cocoon like state, put into their complimentary vault like shell and forgotten or the most part.

She had to live and die a stranger in this underground earthy world. She had named her child Siren; she might had called her any name, anything, but Siren was the spoken name that emerged from what was left of her decayed body There was an instant though, when child and mother stood face to face, the instant before she died, before her advancing decompose flesh rushed past her like a ghost in the wind. And then, then she touched Siren, and stopped—dead!…dead!

That is how it was, how she remembered it, not all of it, she didn’t remember all of it, I mean, how she got into Siren’s head: perhaps her body didn’t fully stop, since her voice, her echo in her voice, the residue from this release—blindly against her solid skull slipped into Siren, an imponderable weight, like an instrument, thus was created sound, the voice.

Siren knew the voice, it was her mother’s voice, it was not mere amusement out of the rage for what the demonic beings had done to in her, in Hells vaults that created the voice, it was a timorous voice searching for a window, and found it, because her character, her psyche, her essence couldn’t rest. She had already been in the unforgettable valley of torment, and she was unbending. All she had left was the voice: nothing more to give to her daughter. Thus, the mind of the embryo called Siren, gave permission to the voice to enter, and it did, found a corner in the mind, and it did: now tied to an umbilical voice.

Day of Resurrection

Siren upon birth just stood there, motionless in the posture of wanting to run—not sure where, but run was in her mind the two of them: daughter, and mother in that furious immobility, a ghost in her mind—who fell to darkness, in a room all alone in her mind, and now made her fist whisper to a daughter frozen in birth.

“Kenaj, Kenaj [Archbishop of Bruges] is dead, in the north land, the arctic of Moiromma. Ah, my daughter had but one night with him. She cried, she cried, I have never cried. She’s calling me asking me to ‘Wake up mother, please wake up, help me to know what to do,’ I hear her plea. Child in fear, and only I can hear, and the God of Gods (she whispers: all will be ok).”

See Dennis’ books, abe.com abe.com

“The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.”
-Oscar Wilde

Sitting down to write this article I have a couple things working against me. The first is that I am on an unfamiliar computer, and the second is that I am not quite sure how to write out my thoughts on this subject without sounding very similar to a cheap motivational speaker that you might hire to expound about life at your child’s elementary school. In addition, I’m not quite sure how to explain the connection between the quote above and the following article, except to say that it has something to do with honesty and something to do with charm.

I’d like you to forget for a moment that the Hungarian lady with the accent as thick as her calves is trying out for the sassy barmaid living in 19th century London. Maybe it will work, and if it does you want to be sure that you’re prepared to catch it and not just usher her through the door as soon as her cursory cold reading has come to a close. Perhaps she bombs, and does not have anything resembling what you’re looking for in your character. Tell her so, give her some specific directions from your magical, directing bag of tricks, and tell her to try again. Maybe she just can’t act, in which case you politely thank her for her time and move on: there was no harm done, and you have had the immeasurable pleasure of listening to a Hungarian accent for a few minutes.

Perhaps, though, there is something that catches your eye or your ear. Perhaps your gut would be a better way to put it– something in her reading catches your keen directing/casting gut. This is where the title of this essay comes in: I encourage you all to cast for intelligence over anything else (gender, perhaps, aside… although I have reservations even on that front). I have worked with trained actors and computer programmers who have never set foot on a stage, and although the trained actors are much better at avoiding the furniture, the thing that determines a good performance in either is intelligence. I don′t, by the way, mean IQ, the ability to take apart and reassemble a combustion engine, or a penchant for reading Nietzsche. I mean some kind of emotional, acting intelligence… some people just have the ability to understand a role. They treat it with sincerity, and they somehow know just how to swing their arms, and when they set down their purse before they cross so that they have something to come back for in ten minutes when their husband is kissing his mistress it just feels right.

This is an immediately obvious quality, nor is it something that can be gleaned from a resume, nor is it even something that is a constant– different directors get stunning results from different actors. So how do you tell? ‘How,’ I can hear the multitude of voices inquiring, ‘do we cast these magical specimens, assuming that we buy into your whole intelligence concept, which keep in mind… we might not?’ Listen and communicate.

I know that this pushes me from the already shaky ground of motivational speaker to the dangerous realm of corny marriage counselor, but it’s the truth. Listen for things they can improve on, tell them why you love the character, and be open if they make choices that you had not anticipated. I have rarely encountered a problem of not having someone right for a role, and when I have, it has almost always turned out that I was underestimating one of my choices. Of course, this doesn′t give you cut and dry guidelines, but that wasn′t really my goal. One of Kurt Vonnegut’s characters, questioned on how to tell a good piece of art from a bad piece of art, says that one has only to look at 10,000 paintings and they will never again have any problem with that distinction.

This article is not meant to tell you a recipe for casting, but to give you permission to have fun with the process and relax about your preconceptions. Tell people why you like their character, or even the play as a whole. Open up to them, and they will open up in ways you couldn’t expect. Cast for honesty, and a person’s natural ability to engage you. Cast for intelligence.

—————–
Graham Talley is currently attending graduate school for directing. He runs his own business called whimhunts.com Whim: Custom Adventures in which he bridges the gap between theater and the real world, creating theatrical scenarios for people’s daily lives using everything from meetings in dark alleys to zombie attacks to codebreaking. He likes wide open spaces and very hot showers.

Drop him a friendly e-mail him at graham dot talley at whimhunts dot com (haikus illicit a 70% greater response rate)
Read more of his thoughts on life, theater, and the future at actsofwhimsy.blogspot.com actsofwhimsy.blogspot.com

The Bathroom

Olivier [not understanding]. Is she always such a wittily sort of lady?

Lee [coolly]. She’s a piranha ready to bite twenty-four hours a day.

Nurse Rosario. Yes-SS [with her eyebrows up in the air], —–you can use the bathroom, –it’s just to the right outside the room here, it’s private; but I’ll have to be in there with you, would you—would you mind at all?

Incidentally your mother’s –Elsie, right? [Lee nods his head yes]—she was here when you were sleeping last night, you seemed a bit fogy last night. She looked as if her world was coming apart; you know she had every church in town praying for you. It was sweet when she held your hand, as if she got you back…which she did, I’m not sure what course in her life would have taken place had you not had the miracle you did have. She had white pearls on, a white blouse and a black tie. I remember everything. [Lee just gawking at the nurse as if in a daze, visualizing the moment, then smiled, saying: ‘Yes I remember that,’ he commented, ‘but so many other times I don’t remember,’ he added.]

A long pause as they both took a moment to adjust to the current situation.

Lee. Oh yaw! [Surprised.] I’ve always been a shy kind of fellow when it comes to something similar to that, sort of—sort of shy that is.

Rosario. Oh, I see…Oh, I see you have to have me by your side like it or not.

Lee [aghast]. Hm…Mm! Ok, it will be your way, or no way at all, so it looks like— it looks like!

[Lee adds to his dialogue concerning the doctor] The big man gave in, I’m shocked, and I’m allowed to use the bathroom, not this damn pan. [His heart is starting to bother him; he notices something wrong as he is getting out of bed; his balance is not steady, his head is light. Rosario quickly takes his pulse and attaches some wiring to him. His pulse has jumped to 150…….. Now to 180.]

Nurse Rosario. I got to see the doctor, just sit here [Lee remains on the bed hoping to use the toilet in the private bathroom. He hasn’t had a bowel movement in six days.]

As Nurse Rosario leaves the room, she is observed trying to call the doctor over

their paging him: –Oliver looks at Lee and nods his head as if to say, ‘what can you do,’ and lays back in his bed.

Oliver [to break the tension]. Boy oh boy, –Lee! Is it ever green, I mean really green outside. May is a good month for grass—yaw…everything grows, and grows.

Lee. Yaw, I never thought I’d appreciate grass—green-grass that is, or even notice the different shades of greens within the grass; funny how we appreciate life when it is on the edge ready to disappear. But it is beautiful, from what I’ve seen of it—the grass that is. I did get to look at it a few days ago, when I was allowed to sit in a chair by my bed. Yes, you appreciate life in a different way it is no more an item for consumption, that is, a commodity. As for mother, someday I may be standing over her, as she has done here for me praying, and she will not remember all the times I will go to see her, as I do not remember her visiting me most of the times, but I’ve been told she was here everyday, I think I’ve been here about three weeks. Things have a way of changing in time Oliver.

In comes the doctor. He notices Lee on the side of the bed, and is getting

briefed by Rosario. He seems to be unsure of the situation. In spite of this, he acts as if he’s got it under control, and tries to put on a smile, then quickly takes his pulse, looking at Nurse Rosario.

Dr. Bash [throatily]. Well, Mr. Walters, your heart is flying, and we’ll have to do something quick about that.

Lee. Yaw, as long as you don’t make me a ‘Fruit Cake,’ and let me go use that bathroom.

Dr. Bash [staring in thought, looking toward Rosario.] Yes, I did say you could, didn’t I. Ok, [a pause—while in thought]…if you agree to have us do some electric-shock treatment on you, slow that heart beat to normal.

Lee. That sounds interesting I think, just translate that for me a little better, ‘electric-shocKK!’

Dr. Bash. It’s called electric-shock, as I was saying, and it will—hopefully—trigger you heart back to a more normal rhythm, or put another way, pace, if you will. As you know, right now it is racing at close to 190-beats a minute. I want to get your heart back into regularity. For some reason it jumped out of timekeeping, I guess that’s the best way of saying it.

Lee. You always have the most choice words for serious issues Doc, do what you need to but I want to take a healthy [he looks at Rosario the nurse—a slight pause in the moment]…I need to go to the bathroom doc.

Dr. Bash [a little annoyed with Lee’s insistence, and thinking or wondering if he made the right decision to have electric shock, he moves his jaw a few times]. Rosario, take him in the bathroom and help him, I’ll get the equipment we need for the …you know [he didn’t want to scare Lee anymore than what he had already, he knew he was now nervous about the shock-treatment, and did not want him to refuse it].

Lee [darting a look at Rosario]. I’m ready; don’t need a wheel chair, just your arm please [looking at the nurse, Rosario from the corner of his eye]; adding, ‘I’m similar to my mother, she hates the cane, never utilized it, the one I brought back from the Black Hills; yes, and I hate the wheelchair’.

The doctor now is out of sight, eminently looking for the machine himself. And Rosario has brought Lee into the bathroom, and leaves the door open a bit, as Lee sits down, pulling his garment away from him, she stands by the door watching.

Lee. Rosario, Pa-Please—shut the door… please, and turn around. I can’t go if you look—looking my way, or at me.

Rosario [hesitantly]. Ok, but don’t try too hard—you know, don’t force yourself to go, it is really against policy for me to leave, I mean to turn around, it is like leaving, or taking my eyes off you, but if you’re going to insist ok, I don’t want your stitches in your chest to become undone [‘the zipper you mean,’ commented Lee].

Lee. Thanks, I’d tell you…that you’re—are, really lovely, but this is not the time or place [Rosario chuckles lightly, walks away from the door, and stands facing the wall to the side of Lee].

Lee is putting a lot of effort into having a bowel movement and Rosario hears…and is getting nervous…

she is starting to turn around, but stops. Then a second groan comes from Lee, finally the bowel movement follows [with a long sigh of relief], which is quite a lot, need I say more. Lee stops, catches his breath, and Rosario quickly, turns around.

Rosario. Are you all right? if I had my hands on you, I could tell your heart rate, by the sounds you are making, the effort that is, was way too much; I would be in trouble for allowing the stress on your heart to …to you know… it was too much, way too much. Incidentally, I said a prayer I just hope everything is ok; I mean, first the heart than the stroke now the pulse, what’s next [?]

Lee. Listen, I feel really good, not stuffed or anything. My breathing is a little heavy, as if my lungs are too heavy for me, but the doc say’s they’re all right. Let’s go back.

Rosario takes Lee back to his bed and helps him in. Then attaches some wires to his heart to monitor his heart rate, and along side him is a graph showing his heart beats [pulse rate] per minute. Rosario walks out of the room, and Lee keeps staring at the equipment. He is thinking: is there something wrong [?]; –and then stares even closer. He is almost mortified. Then Rosario comes in almost in a gallop.

Rosario [shocked, in disbelief]. Look, look, look…my prayer—it worked, it really worked, your heart rate is going down, it’s 94, no, no, it’s 86, no 71 [she hugs Lee, and Lee gives her a kiss on the side of her cheek [it’s down to 59]. Lee and the Nurse’s are thinking, it was the prayer, and the healthy dump [possibly] he had in the bathroom. God works in strange ways that’s all I can say [adds Rosario looking at Lee in astonishment].

Rosario now leaves the room, and the Doctor comes in with the machinery to give Lee his electric shock. He tests the two odd looking devices he is holding in each hand, and turns a few knobs.

Lee. What you up to doc?

Dr. Bash. Just got to test this before I use it on you; how was the bathroom scene?

Lee. Doctor!

Dr. Bash. Yes!

Lee. Look at me [the doctor stops for a moment and looks at Lee]. Now look at the device here showing my heart rate, it is normal L-L-L-L-! [He adds the L’s in there so the doctor is sure to look].

Dr. Bash. What happened, you are back to normal—: my gosh. No need for this [and he walks out of the room as if nothing happened and out of sight as if he’s use to miracles on a daily bases; or embarrassed he was going to give electric shock to a man who didn’t need it any longer].

Lee now is thinking about Rosario and her Latin completion. She is build just right for him. Then he mumbles: ‘Mom will not be worried anymore,’ with a sigh of relief.

Oliver [smiling]. They almost got that contraption on you. Haw, how about that nurse, that Rosario is a fox isn’t she— she’d be a good catch.

Lee. She’s not a fish, but, do you really think so?

Oliver [a foxy look on his face]. Yup, that’s the kind of gal you need.

[Both Oliver and Lee look out of the bay-window onto the nurses area, and Rosario is monitoring something, most likely Lee, and catches both their eyes, and both guys turn their heads quickly.]

Oliver [carelessly, with a smirk on his face]. Damn women, can’t even spy on them without activating their cat-senses!

Lee [soothingly, with a smile]. Hm…mm…mmm! [He doesn’t say anything beyond that.]

The Curtain Falls

See Dennis’ web site: dennissiluk.tripod.com dennissiluk.tripod.com