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THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
Last year, The Editor of BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Magazine Announced a New Experimental Fiction Novel all about Los Angeles. Mr Triliegi wrote a chapter a day for several few weeks, working without notes or any preconceived structure and posted the results daily at various BUREAU Sites that regularly showcase Art, Theater, Music, Photography Cultural & Community events. Part One of The Series lasted all of 22 Chapters and was a resoundingly successful, accepted Literary Art Work. Mister Joshua Triliegi will again repeat that process for Part Two beginning In August 2014.
The New Chapters will be published daily M - F at our different community sites and can be translated into a multitude of languages for easy reading. THE MOST RECENT CHAPTER APPEARS AT THE TOP AND THE PREVIOUS EPISODES APPEAR IN ORDER BELOW THE DAILY. YOU MAY ALSO DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE PART ONE FOR FREE AT LINK COLUMN ON LEFT OR TO READ THE FIRST FIVE CHAPTERS SIMPLY SCROLL DOWN AND ENJOY THE READ.
" I thought it would be a good writing exercise to simply write about what I see and hear everyday on the streets of the city. To simply create a chapter a day based on the people and things going on in Los Angeles. Since we all come from so many variable back grounds, styles, cultures and languages, I decided to structure the multi character novel to represent all of Los Angeles. I simply write a chapter a day by allowing the characters to unfold and the story, as well as the structure to reveal itself ."
" Its a challenge to simply introduce a character and follow the creative line as it flows into something structured and complete. I usually know the beginning and the end of each Chapter and simply let the middle fill itself out. I like the daily discipline as well as the audience being in on the process. In this particular case, I do not take any written notes. I just start with an idea and let it flow. This is not a normal novel by any means, but it is a new and interesting challenge for both the writer and the readers. It's been a lot of fun. I hope the people of Los Angeles and the world will follow it out as it reveals itself. As the writer, in this particular case, I am just as curious as the reader as to what will happen and how things will go. The cool thing about this project is how quickly the characters began to take on a life of their own. I am curious to see what they do next"
- Joshua Triliegi
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
New Fiction By BUREAU Editor Joshua TRILIEGI
Each Chapter is Written Consecutively in a 24 Hour Period without Notes & Published
SEASON TWO / EPISODE 8 / CHAPTER 30
HEAL
Fred had a community that was very tight. When the word got out that his store was the first to go up in flames the first night of the riots, a panic occurred. Fred's lawyer who happened to be the best in the community set up an emergency meeting. No one knew better than this group of first generation immigrants that the right to bear arms in protection of one's property was the right of the people. Sometimes the immigrants knew more about the constitution and the bill of rights than everyday Americans. When Fred's calls for help were not responded to quick enough to save his property, everybody rallied to save their own property and the community lawyer suggested that they bear arms and stand up for themselves. They had every right to do so and that he was willing to represent their cases after all was said and done. No one on the other side of the law had ever expected this community which was quiet, reserved and even conservative, to come back with as much fire power as they did. In a riot situation such as this one, it starts with protesting, but it develops into something very different, very quickly and when the big dogs came rolling through this district, they came to get what they wanted, which meant whatever was there: Televisions, Radios, Furniture, all the way down to the last item of stock that had any value. This particular riot was a poverty riot. Poor people filtered out of their homes, their apartments, their bungalows and basements hoping to return with something new. The consumerism of the 1980s had left its mark on society. The promoting and selling of video cassette recorders and home movie cameras and big screen televisions was in full swing, everyone had been bombarded with commercials that had said, 'Get your new TV Now, Come on down to Circuit City Today !', and like people will do, having been told something twenty-five times a day, in rotation, non stop, they did just that. Once the big electronic chain stores were emptied out, those who got a taste of that free item, had an unquenchable thirst for the victory of receiving another and they wanted more. If it was that easy to take a large store, it should be even easier, to take a Mom and Pop store. But what many of the professional looters found out, was that this Mom and Pop community was a lot damn tougher than anyone expected. Fred's community figured, If they go 'gangster' on us, we'll go 'gangster' on them. On the second day of the riots, wild west shootouts occurred that made cop shows on television look like a joke and old style movie westerns seem tame. It became a challenge to 'take a store' and conversely just as much a challenge to protect it. Whole teams of professional looters took turns against storeowners, testing their veracity and sometimes even their will to survive. A good many of Fred's friends had passed the test, many did not. Protestors on television made statements like, 'We don't need a liquor store on every corner.' Fred had never even thought that he and Sam were doing anything but being good new American business men. Now, he had to actually rethink his responsibility on a whole other level. When the women in his community found out what happened, they brought food to his home and tried to support him with small everyday gestures and slowly he recovered. For weeks, he sat in his home listening to his daughters albums and reviewing old films and family snapshots of his life. Fred had always been a survivor. He believed that transformation was always possible. He knew that if he didn't reinvent himself quickly, it might never happen at all and he would be branded as a broken man. But that was never Fred's style. He plotted a return.
Fred had never paid much attention to Josie's music collection until recently. He sat around the house playing The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, James Taylor and compilation albums with dozens of different artists.The albums said, 'K-Tel presents Top Star Festival Dynamic Hits' including: Donovan, Bread, The Bee Gees, Aretha Franklin, The Guess Who, Elton John, The Osmonds, Rod Stewart, Three Dog Night and More!" Although he had never seemed to notice, as soon as the music hit his ears, his memories all came back to him. Fred had found a way to connect with his wife and daughter through the music and a sort of healing occurred. When one of his friends wife came by, he opened up his wife's closet and said, "Please take these things, what you don't want, give to your friends." Many of the fashions from back then had returned and so the woman obliged. He did the same with many of Josie's things. But with that, Fred called Ryan's little brother and asked that he and his girl come by his house sometime soon and they eventually did. Fred invited them in and thanked them for their recent concert. He then said that he wanted to show them something and he walked them down the hall and opened Josie's room, it had been preserved as it was the day she passed away. "I would like you to have some of her things," he added, "I understand that these fashions have come back in style." Ryan's girlfriend looked around the room and said, "No. I think you should keep these things, sir." Fred looked at the girl and said, "I just can't do that anymore." He grabbed Josie's guitar and said, "I am giving you this and you cannot refuse it." Ryan's little brother said that he understood and he took the guitar case in his hands. Fred added, "A silent guitar, a formless gown means nothing to me in this world." He led them back down the hall and into the kitchen and in much the same way that Ryan's little brother had done during their first meeting, Fred opened two cans of beer and a soda and offered his guests a drink. They sat in the living room quiet. Ryan's little brother looked in the corner and there, leaning against the wall, was the burnt out picture of Fred and Sam. He grabbed the guitar case, opened it, gave it a quick tuning and began to play an old classic tune he had learned long ago. He played a simple riff and then sang, "Love love love, Love love love, Love love love," His girl then joined in, "Theres nothing you can do that can't be done, Theres nothing you can sing that cant be sung, theres nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game, Its easy." Then they both sang the chorus, "All you need is love, All you need is love, All you need is Love, love, love is all you need." They repeated it again and on the final chorus Fred joined in, The three of them sat there singing, "Love is all you need, Love is all you need, Love is all you need, Love is all you need, Love is all you need, Love is all you need, Love is all you need, Love is all you need, Love is all you need, Love is all you need..." It became a mantra that helped Fred to heal.
Sam's family had rallied behind Fred ever since his lawyer began to support their son, who had made a dire mistake by attempting to collect on the insurance deed on Fred and Sam's store: by creating a fire. This little event complicated and slowed down the eventual process of Fred being able to collect on his insurance due to the damage caused during the actual riots. Because Fred's store had been entered into first, this allowed for him to collect a full insurance payment for theft and damages. After all had been said and done, it was strange for both Fred and his dead partner's family that, 'a fire and insurance', would somehow end up settling their differences. It took months of waiting and processing, but eventually, Fred received a check and split the value accordingly with Sam's family. Surprisingly, he and the boy had become friends. Ever since his father Sam has passed away, the boy had drifted into loneliness and despair, which led him to do the kind of things he did to the store. They had named the boy Alex. Fred and Alex spent a few afternoons together, boarding up the front of the store directly after the riots, his mother demanded it. But after a while, the two became close. Fred began to tell Alex stories about his father that made the boy laugh. Things that Sam had done to deflect abuse that happened to just about every immigrant class to enter America. He explained how they had worked in the factories and warehouses and canneries, the back breaking work, the dismal pay, the names they were called and when they were actually offered money by the government to start their own jobs and businesses, they had jumped at the chance.
Back then to own a liquor store was a tried and true respectable business, it was a corner market, a convenience store, as they were once called. Now, Fred explained people were saying there were too many liquor stores in that part of town. Fred looked around and eventually had to agree with them. He and the boy went fishing and eventually decided that they would go into business together. Fred had his sights on the next big wave of services to provide. Everybody was talking about yogurt being the next big thing, second to that, water infiltration. Both were good for people and both could be sold to folks from low and middle income families. Fred knew that on his own, he could only afford to open one store, but if he and the boy as well as Sam's wife went in together, they could have a few very small stores throughout the city. Fred said that he was getting too old to run the places himself and that if Alex and his siblings stepped up, they could have their own places to run and eventually have their own stores altogether. Alex asked the man point blank, "Why would you want to go into business with me ?" Fred stared long and hard at the young man, but said nothing. Then he simply stated, "Anyone willing to do what you did to get what you wanted has the guts and the tenacity to deal with the challenges that will come our way with this business. People are sometimes hard to deal with. The stores are sometimes vandalized. All kinds of things can happen. Just the fact that you and I have become friends is a sign that we can transform this into something better. Besides that I owe it to Sam, too." Then Alex said, "I think I would make a good American business man, if you show me how." Fred put his hand out and the two men shook on it. When everyone in the family found out that Fred and Alex were going into business, it sent a ripple of hope through their community.
They were back in business within eighteen months and now had three stores, two for water and one for fresh yogurt that was served with berries and other fresh fruits, Fred called it Josie's, they played a constant track of hip retro music and designed the place with her favorite colors. Fred enjoyed being around Sam's family, the young adults and their kids became his second family in a way and if anyone had a problem, needed someone to talk to, they went straight to Fred. By now, the second trial prosecuting the police officers who had originally been found innocent had been completed and two of the officers had been found guilty, they did time and lost their jobs on the force. The entire fiasco transformed law enforcement in the city of Los Angeles forever. For the opening of 'Josies', Fred called Ryan's little brother to play live music. Since that original meeting, the band had been signed by a record label and had actually gotten lucky with a hit single that played on alternative pop stations. So their appearance at Josies became an event. The band's label had demanded that Fred hire extra security for the opening night concert which was to happen in the parking lot of his new business. He couldn't really understand why, but when he drove up to the store at nine a.m., a group of about a hundred kids had already lined up. By the time, the band showed up, the entire street was flooded with young music fans. Apparently, Ryan's little brother and his girlfriend had become a total out and out hit. They now had a full band that was part reggae, part punk and a touch of soul. "Hey everybody, welcome to the grand opening of Josie's. This city has been through a lot of tough times, but no matter what, we are a city and we need each other. We don't play cover tunes anymore, as you all probably know by now, we play originals. But for the sake of remembering a beautiful person who couldn't be here with us today, we would like to sing one of her favorite songs, her name is Josie, the song goes like this …"
Sam's family had rallied behind Fred ever since his lawyer began to support their son, who had made a dire mistake by attempting to collect on the insurance deed on Fred and Sam's store: by creating a fire. This little event complicated and slowed down the eventual process of Fred being able to collect on his insurance due to the damage caused during the actual riots. Because Fred's store had been entered into first, this allowed for him to collect a full insurance payment for theft and damages. After all had been said and done, it was strange for both Fred and his dead partner's family that, 'a fire and insurance', would somehow end up settling their differences. It took months of waiting and processing, but eventually, Fred received a check and split the value accordingly with Sam's family. Surprisingly, he and the boy had become friends. Ever since his father Sam has passed away, the boy had drifted into loneliness and despair, which led him to do the kind of things he did to the store. They had named the boy Alex. Fred and Alex spent a few afternoons together, boarding up the front of the store directly after the riots, his mother demanded it. But after a while, the two became close. Fred began to tell Alex stories about his father that made the boy laugh. Things that Sam had done to deflect abuse that happened to just about every immigrant class to enter America. He explained how they had worked in the factories and warehouses and canneries, the back breaking work, the dismal pay, the names they were called and when they were actually offered money by the government to start their own jobs and businesses, they had jumped at the chance.
Back then to own a liquor store was a tried and true respectable business, it was a corner market, a convenience store, as they were once called. Now, Fred explained people were saying there were too many liquor stores in that part of town. Fred looked around and eventually had to agree with them. He and the boy went fishing and eventually decided that they would go into business together. Fred had his sights on the next big wave of services to provide. Everybody was talking about yogurt being the next big thing, second to that, water infiltration. Both were good for people and both could be sold to folks from low and middle income families. Fred knew that on his own, he could only afford to open one store, but if he and the boy as well as Sam's wife went in together, they could have a few very small stores throughout the city. Fred said that he was getting too old to run the places himself and that if Alex and his siblings stepped up, they could have their own places to run and eventually have their own stores altogether. Alex asked the man point blank, "Why would you want to go into business with me ?" Fred stared long and hard at the young man, but said nothing. Then he simply stated, "Anyone willing to do what you did to get what you wanted has the guts and the tenacity to deal with the challenges that will come our way with this business. People are sometimes hard to deal with. The stores are sometimes vandalized. All kinds of things can happen. Just the fact that you and I have become friends is a sign that we can transform this into something better. Besides that I owe it to Sam, too." Then Alex said, "I think I would make a good American business man, if you show me how." Fred put his hand out and the two men shook on it. When everyone in the family found out that Fred and Alex were going into business, it sent a ripple of hope through their community.
They were back in business within eighteen months and now had three stores, two for water and one for fresh yogurt that was served with berries and other fresh fruits, Fred called it Josie's, they played a constant track of hip retro music and designed the place with her favorite colors. Fred enjoyed being around Sam's family, the young adults and their kids became his second family in a way and if anyone had a problem, needed someone to talk to, they went straight to Fred. By now, the second trial prosecuting the police officers who had originally been found innocent had been completed and two of the officers had been found guilty, they did time and lost their jobs on the force. The entire fiasco transformed law enforcement in the city of Los Angeles forever. For the opening of 'Josies', Fred called Ryan's little brother to play live music. Since that original meeting, the band had been signed by a record label and had actually gotten lucky with a hit single that played on alternative pop stations. So their appearance at Josies became an event. The band's label had demanded that Fred hire extra security for the opening night concert which was to happen in the parking lot of his new business. He couldn't really understand why, but when he drove up to the store at nine a.m., a group of about a hundred kids had already lined up. By the time, the band showed up, the entire street was flooded with young music fans. Apparently, Ryan's little brother and his girlfriend had become a total out and out hit. They now had a full band that was part reggae, part punk and a touch of soul. "Hey everybody, welcome to the grand opening of Josie's. This city has been through a lot of tough times, but no matter what, we are a city and we need each other. We don't play cover tunes anymore, as you all probably know by now, we play originals. But for the sake of remembering a beautiful person who couldn't be here with us today, we would like to sing one of her favorite songs, her name is Josie, the song goes like this …"
Below are The New Chapters at the very Beginning of Part Two of the Fiction Project. The entire Part One is available on our Site BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE . Com as well as here on our Community Sites in L.A. / N.Y.C / S.F. / Santa Barbara / San Diego and the New International Literary Site with links to Publishers, Book Stores and Literary Events. This particular Excerpted Version is accompanied by the Fine Art Paintings of Contributing Artist David FeBLAND represented by George BILLIS Gallery in LA and NYC. The Paintings existed and were created without knowledge of the Novel Project, though we felt their presence here allowed for a visual narrative that compliments the Series.
Published at BUREAU of Arts and Culture Sites in: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Santa Barbara and The Bureau International Literary Site in August 2014 Written by The Bureau Editor Joshua Triliegi Tune in Here Every day Monday to Friday for More ...Fine Art Paintings by New York Painter David FeBLAND with a featured Interview SUMMER
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
Each Chapter is Written in a Twenty - Four Hour Period without Notes Published Consecutively
SEASON TWO / EPISODE ONE / CHAPTER 23
LIGHT
Louis was beginning to see the light in a whole new way. All day, things appeared different. Every object in the cafe seemed more colorful, he was seeing details and distance like never before. He stared at the chrome napkin holders, ketchup bottles, mustard containers, forks, knives, spoons and napkins as if they were sacred objects: studied their details, using his new found eye sight to take in the landscape. Why had he waited so long to get the operation ? If Junior hadn't returned, Louis may have never seen the light. He would have just slowly faded into the darkness with old age, maybe eventually seeing nothing but a clouded world of tunnel vision or worse: total blindness. It was Juniors idea to have the cataracts removed, he paid for the operation, Louis thought about all the years the boy had been ignored, all the years and months and days that nobody in the family, neither he, nor Celia or their extended family wrote a letter or visited. When Celia married Chuck, he had became the son, totally replaced Junior. Now that Junior returned, everything seemed to be changing. Louis was grateful to his son in a way that he could not describe. He seemed to care for the man in a way that was different than Celia or Chuck, he cared for the man in a direct way, not as some sort of responsibility, but because he loved him. Louis hadn't been loved since his wife died, really truly loved and cared for, he'd actually forgotten what that was like: to be loved.
The Cafe was busy, the strike in the harbor was over, trucks were moving in and out, waitresses were working double shifts, when they asked if Louis could stay on a few more hours, he agreed. He had always agreed when his employers had asked for this, asked for that: How had he become so damn compliant through the years ? As a young man, he had fire in his gut, even a sort of bravado, a keen sense of rebellion. But that was long ago and when they asked, he did as he had done for the past twenty- five - something years, he answered, "Yes". Besides all the usual conversations like, "Louis, they need water on table seven." and his reply, "I Got It" or "Clear off the corner booth honey, I got a family of five waiting' out front" and his reply, "You got it." There wasn't a whole lot of talk in his daily routine. So, whenever somebody actually took the time to stop and converse with Louis, it was often a memorable experience that he would think about after the fact, at the end of the day or some time later. As things settled down that late afternoon, Louis was clearing a table along the windowed booths. Ma Fritters was a mid century establishment with big red booths along the front window and a counter to the rear with tables strewn all across the center and sporadically along the walls. A television was mounted above the counter, though it usually was turned off, on this day, due to the recent controversial decision in a high profile legal case and the controversy surrounding the decision by an all white jury, the TV was on, the volume was turned down. The Cafe was located just between the Harbor City Hall and adjacent to the truck stop port authority, so all types of people frequented the place. Gum shoe private detectives, lawyers, bailiffs, cops, an occasional snitch, or the recently paroled, or those who were proven innocent and plenty who were proven guilty and done their time accordingly.
A familiar face sitting in a booth next to the table Louis was clearing sat and watched the silent television, a now, iconic image of a man being beaten by a circle of cops played on the screen, followed by images of four men in suits walking down a long row of steps, followed by angry groups of people screaming at the camera, then shots of helicopters and angry protestors who seemed to be standing in the middle of the streets, running wild. It's a shame whats going on down there, ain't it Louis ? He was referring to the television. Louis looked up at the TV expecting to see a football, basketball or baseball game of some sort. As he glanced at the screen, the shot of a man fleeing a pawn shop with a musical instrument, a red electric bass guitar flashed across the screen, followed by a group of people, smashing the windows of a liquor store, prying open the accordion metal gates and ransacking the place. Louis never payed attention to current events and hadn't been following the case very closely, so he was surprised to see the footage of what looked to be the beginning of a full on riot. He figured it was happening in another country or city, "Wheres that ? " he asked the customer, "Thats Downtown." Louis looked again. They watched a news reporter on the street, stores were going up in smoke. The sun was setting now and the color orange permeated the harbor. "Well, thats what happens when you got an abuse of power, at least thats what happens, some times." The man gestured for Louis to sit down, Louis looked around, the place was empty, so he put down his white rag and bucket and sat with the man. "I heard Junior finally got out, hows he doing ?" "Very well, he's doing good" he replied The man continued, " Its a god damn shame what happened to that boy, god damn shame." Louis noticed that the man was a little stoned, maybe drunk."That boy had everything going for him, he was handsome, smart, had a great little girlfriend, I remember that boy very well, very, very well." Louis looked at that man, really looked at him, stared at his face, his eyes, listened to the voice and something began to click, something in the man's voice was suddenly quite familiar. " It was too bad that nobody had found out about that other kids car. You remember that other boy that night ? He was a good kid too, but the law is the law, and Junior would have never done time if only someone had reported the facts." Louis couldn't entirely understand just what the man was trying to say. "Ya see, the regulation on those cars are very specific, that boy was hot rod crazy, he had all kinds of unregulated gear on that vehicle. Now, it is not illegal to have say, dual manifolds or even dual carburators, but if a car flips over due to the height of a vehicles unregulated distance from surface to passenger weight capacity and entry position than it is a fact of science and it can't be refuted. Did you know that in Juniors case the other boys car was three and a half inches higher than the regulated stock car height ? Furthermore …",
The man stopped for a minute and chewed his sandwich, Louis now realized that this guy was a lawyer of some sort, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint why he seemed familiar. "Furthermore, it was noted on the legal evidence and recognized by all the officers and District Attorney's office that the boy who died drove a vehicle that was not street legal and may have had everything to do with the cause of those kids death. Why was that not brought up in the case ? Why ? You wanna know why?" Louis looked at the man and nodded, "Cause I am, well, I was once, one of the best damn prosecuting lawyers in this port and I made damn sure that that little fact was not brought to the juries attention. But that was my job, thats what I was payed to do. Juniors lawyer should have done better, Juniors lawyer took a dive, they rail roaded that kid and all they had to do was mention the deregulated vehicle inspection forms and case closed, over, done with, end of the story. Every single cop on the scene knew that kid's car was not street legal, all of 'em. If people had known, they'd be doing exactly what there doing now, out there on the streets, they'd have been rioting for your kid." Louis just looked at the man. The waitress brought over the check and refilled the man's coffee cup, Louis looked up at her but did not move from his seat, he turned back to the man. Now he realized who this man was, this was the rat bastard son of a bitch that prosecuted his only son. Threw him away, tossed him in the trashcan of life, the sewer for fifteen years. 'Cabron', he thought to himself. He stared at the man one last time, looked at his face, his cheap polyester suit, his wrinkled tie, his unshaven face, he smelled the cheap cologne, the years of unwashed bull shit that had surrounded the man's very aura and simply stood up, grabbed his rag and bucket from the table next to him, placed the plastic tray along side the edge of the man's table and cleared it entirely, except the coffee cup, in one complete gesture. The man blinked. Louis didn't say a word. He was not an important man in town, he wasn't worldly, he didn't speak the best english, he was one of millions of little men who worked hard every day of his life so that his kids and grandkids could have a better life: all of that was true. But this little man knew what trash looked like, this little man knew when the meal was over and this little man cleaned that table, wiped it down and walked away from that man's table like a professional and never once looked back.
Junior had been told to get out of town and take a breather, no one expected him to leave the country. He hadn't been to The Ranch in decades & needed to see his home land. It had been his grand fathers farm back when Juniors father Louis was born there and his fathers before that and so on and so forth and on down the line. Louis had been renting it in a partnership deal that hadn't paid off in the past decade, he himself had not been to the ranch in over ten years, simply stopped visiting ever since his wife had passed away. It hurt too much to see that land. Originally, he had rented the plot to a man and his family who were simple farmers, the lease came with a dozen cows, an orchard of about 100 mango trees, a handful of goats, chickens, sheep, pigs and a couple old dogs. When Junior was a boy, every Summer from the time he was five to the time he was fifteen, he would learn things from locals. He had learned to bullfight, he had learned to dismantle a cow, he had learned to irrigate, plant and even skin a pig. Junior loved the traditions of his heritage: simply had farming in his blood and related to it deeply. At the end of each Summer, the boy would sit high atop a mountain just to the North of the property, they called it The Mesa, because it was shaped like a table top and he would cry. He did not ever want to return to America. McDonalds and Bugs Bunny and Coca Cola held no sway with his spirit. He was an Indiano Puro! He would tell his parents, "I want to stay here with grandpa, he needs my help, let me stay please, please, the boy pleaded with his parents. But returned he did, every year. It was always a painful transition. He would dress his room in blankets, ropes, artifacts he had found on the ranch or nearby. Once he had been given a sacred bowl by a local Indian that had bears carved all along the sides. He would bring mangoes, a chicken, some corn to the Indian every day and eventually, the Indian repaid him with the sacred bowl. Recently, while digging through the garage, he found a box of things that belonged to him from the Summer of 1976, the year he had been sent away. Nestled in the center of the box was the Bear medicine bowl. Also in the box was an eight track cassette player with a bunch of the family music they had once listened to: Greatest Hits of 1976, Freddie Fender, Pedro Infante, Santana, Ritmo Latino, Novenas De Amore, Recuerdos Romantico, someone in the family had even taped the skits and early films of Cantinflas. They would load up the car and drive to The Ranch every Summer until the Summer of 1976, when everything had drastically splintered their lives into nothing at all. Junior installed the eight track player into his car. Loaded up the car with pillows to sleep along the way. He hadn't said a word to anyone about the trip and suddenly realized that he didn't want to go alone. Junior packed up a few of his fathers regular items from back then, his old wooden guitar, a foldable wooden lawn chair, a hammock, his fishing poles and a big straw hat as well as the Indian Bear Bowl.
Junior drove into The harbor towards his dads place of work and noticed Chucks Patrol car pulling out of the parking lot as he was pulling in. Junior simply waved his hand and parked the car right up front. Louis was staring out the window thinking about what the lawyer had said as Chuck drove off. And suddenly, Junior pulled into the driveway "Dad, I've come to take you home". "OK", Louis replied, "Are you hungry ?" "Lets get sandwiches to go." While Louis gathered his things in the back room, Junior walked up to the work schedule that was posted in the hallway and looked for Louis' name, he took out a pencil, and erased Louis' scheduled work days and scheduled in the other two busboys names Franky & Paulo sporadically during the week. When Louis finished gathering the sandwiches Junior was already in the car and the motor was running. When Louis got in, Junior said he had to go use the restroom, he reentered the Cafe, and shouted to the waitress, "Hey sweetheart, make sure someone calls Franky to remind him of the schedule changes." She looked at him kinda funny. He took out a ten dollar bill and thanked her, "Your Dad don't have to pay for those". "I know, it's for you babe.", he smiled and headed for the door, "Call Franky and Paulo, good nite." As he turned to the door she put the bill in her apron and headed towards the hallway where the schedule was posted. By the time they pulled out of the lot and up to the stop sign, he could see her pick up the phone. The eight track cassette began to play an old familiar ranchero they had often listened to while driving down South back in the old days. The song started with one of those fast mariachi style riffs with a big oomp-pa-pa base and drum line, a fast fiddle with a quick stop and suddenly the singer would howl like a Rooster at sunrise, "Aaahhhhh - Haaaaaaa - Haaaaaa - Haaaaaaaaaa" and suddenly the song would do double time into a frenzied pace. "Where the hell did you find that ?" Louis asked his son. Junior just smiled and turned the music up, he put the petal to the metal and they roared down the coastline. When they hopped on the freeway instead of the normal route home, Louis, turned down the music and asked, "Where are we going ? ", "We are going HOME dad, home, our real home, were going to The Ranch. Junior looked at the kid and laughed. "Are you f*%+ing crazy?" He shook his head in disbelief, looked back at this kid of his, this beautiful boy who had endured fifteen years of captivity and simply laughed until the laughter stopped. Then he wiped a tear from his eye, turned the music back up and said, "All right then, Vamalos."
Louis was thinking hard about what that lawyer had said, he kept stealing glances at Junior and could feel nothing but regrets. He suddenly thought about work, "But what about my job, I am on the schedule all week.", Junior assured him, "I spoke to the waitress back there, she's calling those other busboys right now with a new schedule. I knew if I told you ahead of time, you would never have come with me." Louis looked at Junior and just shook his head, "Your just like your mother, you know that ?", "Yeah, I know." Junior reached into the back seat, pulled off the Indian blanket, revealing Louis' things: His hat, fishing poles, chair, clothes, sandals and together they laughed all the way to the border. One of their traditions was to stop and fill up the gas tank as well as several other tanks with the gas on this side of the border and buy water and any other items needed while traveling. Junior decided that he should make a call and let his circuit know where he was going, he used a phone booth and said he was leaving town as directed. When he told them where, he was put on alert, given directions & an assignment while he was visiting. That was exactly what he didn't want to do, just wanted to visit the ranch, see the old property. What Junior didn't know was that every thing had changed and some surprises were up ahead, if he played his cards right on this one, there would be some serious rewards, if he did not, the results could be devastating or worse. They told him that when he got to the ranch, not to be surprised by any of the changes and wear a long sleeve shirt, buttoned from top to bottom. They had been trying to put the squeeze on the people who had been partners with the family that rented the ranch, they would toss Junior and his dad a serious bone if everything went well He was also directed to be at the border exiting and reentering at a particular time and place, it was very important that he be there on that exact date and at that exact time, no matter what. They asked him if he understood and he did. Then they said he was to stop in at a particular spot with a very specific address and have his upholstery redone. When he told them that he already had leather seats in perfect condition, they told him that it was strictly business and he would be rewarded later. Junior agreed and understood what he needed to do, he listened intently as they explained in detail what was happening and what he needed to do to make sure that nobody was hurt and that they ended up with the profitable side of the exchange. By the time they hung up the phone Junior was completely sobered by the conversation. He also called his sister Celia explaining that he and dad were going fishing for a few days. When he got back into the car, Louis noticed his composure, "Is every thing all right ?", "Yeah, everything is cool. I just forgot to call Celia and let them know that we would be out of town for a few days and I wanted to make sure everything was o.k.", "Well, is it?" Louis asked again. "Yes, every thing is going to work out fine." As they drove up over the border, they both noticed how different everything was. What was once a gateway with tiny wood kiosks strewn across an invisible line in the sand was now a chrome plated machine that looked like a giant row of appliances, the border had changed and so had they. They looked at one another and drove on in. Entering in the old days meant simply driving across, now they were asking questions and asking for identification sporadically, Junior grabbed a long sleeve shirt covering his ink from top to bottom. When they got to the borderline, Louis did all the talking, he was always good with people, especially his people. Louis answered several questions and then they struck up a conversation about a particular district they both knew of with an old fishing spot. Louis waved to the man in the kiosk and suddenly they were on their way. Junior understood spanish to a certain degree, but he couldn't follow everything. "What did he say?" Louis slapped his son on the back hard, "Welcome!"
The journey to the ranch is a twelve hour drive, Louis slid the seat back and slept through the last six hours. When they got into town, they went directly to the property, but passed it twice because it was so unrecognizable. There was now a giant security gate, with an intercom and an eight foot barbed wire fence around the entire front section all along the highway. Originally the property itself was about ten acres split into thirds,: one part for cattle, one part for mangoes and the other for corn, livestock and living quarters. The original house sat to the North with an adobe to the West & another to the East, just after the hilly entryway. When they rang the buzzer, a voice answered that was unfamiliar to Louis. " Is Rafael there ?", he asked in spanish. "No, are you making a delivery?" "No, I am the property owner from America, my son and I are here to visit the ranch." The gate buzzed and it slowly opened inward, they drove the car up to a check point and immediately Louis was flabbergasted by the modernity of the place. Six visible silos, water tanks on every hillside, lush rolls of mangoes, machinery that he had never seen before, a large tractor the size of his guest house back home. Louis turned to Junior, wider eyed, "Take it easy, this is your place, your the American, your part owner, don't give away your power so easily dad. Were going to take a tour, then were going to talk business, I have some friends back home who told me all about these guys, don't worry about anything at all." Louis said nothing, he just couldn't believe his eyes. "When it comes to business, you let me do the talking: yes ?" and Louis replied, "Yes, son, absolutely, yes." They drove up through the cattle section past a pack of beautiful cows, where there was once a dozen cows , there were now easily a thousand. On the hillside, grazing, were dozens of goats, in corrals, a half a dozen horses, in pens, dozens of pigs and an entire barn that had been modernized for chickens, easily a thousand. The original house was still intact and had been kept up, it looked as if the roof had been recently replaced. Louis was amazed at the entire set up, he was a very wealthy man and yet minutes ago had absolutely no idea how wealthy he actually was. By the time they got up to the main house and out of the car, several employees had come out to greet them. Rafael was no where in sight. "Welcome, a man with a cowboy hat and boots exclaimed. We've been waiting to hear from you for quite some time. How long will you be staying ?", Junior stepped in, extending his hand, he had been told to keep his shirt sleeves rolled down until the proper time. " I am Louis Junior, my father and I just came down to do some fishing and we have been so busy with our businesses in America that we have not had much time in the past few years." "What kind of business are you in there ?" the man in the cowboy hat asked, Louis replied, "Comida". "Yes, my father has his own restaurant in the harbor and my partners and I are diversifying stocks." he continued, "The economy in America is going through some interesting changes and we think that Mexico is going to be in for a big surprise with some new trade deals on the table. But, lets not talk business so early in the morning. We just got here.", "Thats exactly right, lets have breakfast and we will take you and your Padre on a tour. Later, we will call up Rafael and we can discuss many things that will be of a concern to you and your fathers property." They sat and ate one of the best breakfasts they had both had in several years. Everything they ate was made fresh on the ranch: juice, eggs, meat, tortillas, everything. Louis was simply amazed. Junior kept calm and played it cool, just the way he was directed. After all, It was this same kitchen that Junior sat with his grandfather every year.
Louis and Junior took a grand tour of the property by jeep and when they returned Rafael was waiting at the main house. "Don Louis, Oh my god, it has been so long, what a wonderful surprise." The men entered the house and sat in the library, drinks were served. Rafael, the man with the hat, Louis and several other men sat in large leather chairs, several smoked cigars. Everybody imbibed except Junior. "I like your son's style, he's all business and has a great head on his shoulders.", he said in spanish. "Yes, he has learned of the worldly ways in America." Rafael started in, "So, you must be wondering about the transformation of the ranch ?" "Yes, of course.", Louis replied. "Do you remember the old indian who lived on the other side of the Mesa ?" Rafael asked. "Yes, my son was very close with him. As child, Louis Junior felt a very strong natural affinity with the locals here." He continued, "Well, one day, about ten years ago, he showed up at our door with a machete and said that he and his people needed food and that the owners of this property had always been helpful to the man and his family. He promised that if we supplied his family with food for the season, he would share many ancient secrets with us that would double and triple our fruit trees, our cattle stock and our vegetation. I had never been a real believer of such tall tales, but I felt sorry for the man and so, I gave him what he needed, when he needed it. He, in return did many things that somehow did seem to deliver his original promise and within five years we began to transform the property into what you see today. My own son went to University in Mexico City studying science, biochemistry and modern horticulture, with his help and the help of a few of his classmates family investments, we have what you see here today.", "Amazing", Louis replied." Junior chimed in, "Tell me more about the old Indian, what exactly did he do ?" "Well, this is going to sound crazy, but he and his family dug three natural water pits at the top of each hillside where the water towers now stand and then he simply danced for one week straight, I promise you, in the middle of a drought, it rained on this property for seven days straight, he then dug an irrigation canal and splintered the mango tree branches from single flowering stems to triple flowering stems, he trimmed the trees so they produced more fruit, he kept the cows away from the bulls until certain moon phases, he planted and picked on days that were specific and then just like that, he was gone, they all left, just like that." When my son Rafi came home from university, we added many of the machines with the profits from what the old indian had provided the place. We now have some very wealthy investors and contracts with three major exporters." Now, it was Juniors turn. He pulled the Bear Bowl from the inside of his bag and sat it in the middle of the table. "This was given to me by the old Indian. My friends and partners in America come from both the stock market and the streets and there is soon going to be a total transformation of the American export business in the next five years. Right now a plan is in force to bring American goods to Mexico that is going to make things very difficult for the local farmers. Junior slowly reached down, unbuttoned his left sleeve cuff and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a world of imagery that when read by the men in the room, seemed to give him the floor. He went on, "My father and I highly respect science, machinery and everything you have done with this ranch. But we have seen no profits in ten years, we know you have investment costs … ", he rolled up the right sleeve, which was equally as daunting as the left. These were not roadside tattoos, nor army or souvenir images, this was straight out, hard core prison symbology. "So, we want to make it easy for you to continue everything your doing. But we are going to need to see some serious money as well as a renewed partnership as of now. We also want you to know that, although we have no intention to do so, at any time, we can take this property with the improvements you have made and end this contract within a ninety day period as per my fathers original agreement. Junior looked out the window towards Mesa Mountain. "Funny how that old Indian just disappeared, aint it? His people had been living on that property for generations." One of the men took his cigar and ashed it into the bear bowl. Junior looked at the man from top to bottom. First he eyed the boots, they were un-scuffed, had never seen a horse or a dirt road in their lives. Then he looked at the man's hands, soft, no scars on the knuckles, he noticed that the man's shirts were pressed professionally. He knew what he wanted to do the man and instead, he lifted the bear bowl, walked into the kitchen, washed it out, walked back into the room, grabbed the handkerchief from the man's suit coat pocket, wiped the entire bowl clean, handed him back the soiled fabric and sat the bowl down in the center of the table. "Someone could make it very difficult to get trucks in and out of here if someone had decided to ever do such a thing." Junior then rolled his sleeves back down and began to describe a plan that was acceptable to both himself, his father and his partners in America. The man did not ash the cigar a second time and by eight o'clock that evening, a crisp contract was hand delivered by a hot shot lawyer arriving for Don Louis to sign then and there. In a single day the busboy had died and Don Louis had been reborn. For Junior this was only step one, he still had work to do. He hopped on a horse and rode to the top of The Mesa Mountain, there were no teardrops this time. He looked over the horizon wondering again about the Indian.
Fine Art Paintings by new York Painter David FeBLAND with a featured Art Interview The Summer Edition
Published at BUREAU of Arts and Culture Sites in: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Santa Barbara and The Bureau International Literary Site Friday August 1, 2014 Written by The Bureau Editor Joshua Triliegi Tune in Here Every day Monday to Friday for More ...
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
Each Chapter is Written in a Twenty - Four Hour Period without Notes and Published Consecutively by Joshua Triliegi
SEASON TWO / EPISODE TWO / CHAPTER 24
R I D E
Charles had gained some serious peace of mind in the past decade out on the road, along the highways, in the parking lots and alleys and subways and parks and open spaces where homeless people are known to dwell. His health had faltered a bit, he wasn't as young as he once was, but neither was anybody else. He had missed out on a lot, some of it was well worth missing and some of it was a lost treasure: watching Cally grow up into a woman for instance. No amount of effort would make a difference there, except to be present now that he had returned, and that he did. The long lost tradition of Charles making breakfast for anyone and everyone in the house had returned. In the old days, Charles the Roady was also Charles the Chef. He had been minding his own business one early morning up in Northern California during one of those big monster festival tours with ten different bands : The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Cream, The Band and a bunch of early blues bands from The South, John Lee Hooker and all of that. Charles got up to make breakfast for himself and suddenly, Dylan walked into the kitchen for a glass of milk, he asked Charles what he was making and said that sounded good, could he have some, then Robbie from The Band heard Dylan playing with his harmonica and he became hungry too, all of the sudden, Charles is making omelets for Jerry Garcia, poached eggs for John Lee Hooker, hashed browns for Cream's drummer, how could he turn them down ?, he was the roadie who had quickly become much more than that. When they discovered his drawings on little pieces of scrap paper, he designed album covers, tattoos, and began his art career. The big breakthrough album being his cover for Janis Live. Since then, Charles had become the family chef and his breakfasts were epic. He learned how to cook for an entire band, their crew, the girlfriends, groupies and sometimes even the teamsters, depending on where and when the tour was happening. So, when life off the road became a normal activity, Charles cooked breakfast. Upon his return home, that role was quickly expected and he fulfilled it. For Moon it was buck-wheat pancakes with blueberries and Cinnamon. For Cally and her new girl friend, who went by the initials 'J.D.' and had just moved into Grandma's room with Cally, so they could save money for their new salon, it was yogurt topped with berries on wrapped crepes with cream cheese and maple syrup, for Maggie, his estranged wife, it was a no nonsense cafe throwback: two eggs over easy, toast with jam. But this toast was made from fresh bread and the jam crushed from fresh organic berries. Even the most basic stuff was made special in Charles' kitchen. Mickey was not a morning person and often missed out on all the illustrious A.M. activity. Charles was often back to bed after serving everyone, he tended to be a nite owl, so his morning cooking sessions were usually after staying up all night, in the old days with the band and now simply reflecting on life, or a long walk or maybe reading an old paperback all night. He was happy to be home, back in Venice, where he was loved, respected and admired by most.
If anyone had asked him where he had been all those years, why he went homeless and what was it like to be back, there is a good chance he would not have an answer readily available. It wasn't really a drug drop out or a financial fallout or even a relationship failure, with Charles' situation it was more about the big f*ck you. It was a simple : I quit. And what a perfect time to do so, especially for a counter culture guy like Charles, he had practically missed the entire nineteen - eighties. The music, the fashion, the values were in complete opposition of every thing he and his generation had stood for, everything they had rebelled against and much of the artifice that his parents had presented resurfaced and was celebrated: materialism and the all mighty dollar. Charles had experienced the 1950's as a boy and besides rock & roll and motorcycles, he hadn't much use for the rest of it. When he first started drifting into homelessness, he had been touring with a band in Amsterdam and the lead singer had become such an asshole that Charles simply walked. One of those Rock & Roll Revival show Tours with seven bands in seven different countries within seven days, it was, by then, a joke, he noticed that the whole scene had become a parody of itself and he couldn't stand to see it slowly die, so he walked. He bummed around Europe for a while. Word got out that Charles had quit and he was eventually approached by some of his old partners who set up a post office box for him in several different locations. He was in good standing, had delivered on many occasions whatever was promised and more. He took an early retirement is how they put it whenever discussing Charles. The fact that he took the fall and saved a multi million dollar tour some years back had put him in a heroic category to much of Rock & Roll's real true royalty: Dylan, Jagger, Bowie, they all knew Charles. When he dropped out no one thought about it more than once, the drop out rate for members of the rock and roll underground was in the majority, thats what makes those still in the game so valuable to begin with. Back at home, he was missed mostly by his son Mickey, though his constant life on the road had helped take out the sting. The thing about Charles was that his presence was strongly felt wherever he was and upon his return from any such tour, a sort of St. Nicholas type of ritual would ensue. He would bring back outrageous objects of all sorts. Often at the end of a tour, someone like Dylan would say, "Hey Charles, lets go to Turkey, I know a place in Instabul that has the best steam bathes in the world, we can scrape this tour off and get back to our lives, how 'bout it ?" or Jagger would invite him to India and so by the time Charles got back home, he would walk in with strange artifacts for everyone at home, exotic dresses and shoes for his wife Maggie, whom he always referred to as Sally. He brought home all sorts of games and foreign pastimes like backgammon and musical instruments from Australia. Once he even brought Cally a Shetland pony after having toured with Dylan and The Rolling Thunder Revue, she was five years old and ecstatic. Charles had always been magic to Cally, a ghostly figure of a man, an earthy, bearded, father time type who seemed to show up at the most opportune times in her life, gone enough to not be authoritarian and present enough to be the kind of father she could talk to about anything. So when he returned, they immediately discussed her latest plans to create the hair salon for 'girls who like girls' and he agreed to help her establish the place. Cally was a gorgeous redhead with long legs and a sharp nose, like Charles' mother. Her girl friend was chocolate brown, with big green eyes: both were girly girls. Charles had simply asked, "So, Girls huh ?", "Yep" she replied and that was that, he said no more.
Charles had been born in the Midwest, he was a country boy, hadn't seen much of America before he did a tour in Vietnam. Thats where he got turned on to music and drugs and life on the road. He was the perfect Roadie, due to his experiences overseas. When he came back, music was the very thing that had helped him survive and he wanted to be around it as much as possible. Had he been a writer or a musician himself, because of his situation, there is no doubt that he could have been another Doctor John or ZZ Top or Country Joe, but he was a Roadie and a damn good one at that. Maggie or 'Sally' as Charles like to call her had always been an independent person. They had what people call an open relationship that had gone along with their lifestyle in the early days. Traveling with high profile personalities had a heightened reality that they were both well aware of before they even entered into their lives together, so there was none of that, learn as you go stuff, they knew what could happen on tour and they accepted that whole heartedly. They both had a keen awareness that none of what they were doing was going to last, and they looked at one another as a place to go once it all ended, They had the kids and the house and that was the anchor. When Charles disappeared, went A.W.O.L. Maggie seemed to take it in stride, on the one hand, he had not been pronounced dead, on the other hand, he had not resurfaced with anyone else, he was missing in action, so she filled her time with others and kept up her usual intense work schedule working with bands and raising the kids, caring for her mother and the bookstore. When Charles returned, Maggie was glad he had not died somewhere, but mad as hell that he had not attempted to communicate during those past years. The doctors said that he was healthy, but may have experienced some kind of medical condition they were calling Post Traumatic Stress, from his several years of sleeplessness, his prior drug use, coupled with his traumatic experience decades earlier in Vietnam. "Bullshit, That's a bunch of bullshit.", she was pissed. When Maggie complained about Charles not raising the kids, Mickey and Moon just looked at one another, Mick felt that he had raised himself and they both knew that their time with little sister Cally was practically like an Uncle and Aunt. But after a while, the complaining stopped and seeing the kids in the kitchen with their dad was always a good thing. When Charles agreed to help the girls build out the Salon, Maggie completely loosened up and finally felt that he was stepping up. She looked at him sitting at the table, his full set of longish hair slicked back wet, streaks of grey in between the light brown and reddish tone. His long beard and mustache, recently trimmed by their daughter, "Damn that man looks good", she thought to herself. Ten years on the streets and he came back trimmer and more peaceful than he had been before. She couldn't understand how he could do that ? The guys she had been seeing had been gaining weight, losing their sense of self, they were more like boys than men. Charles was a solid gentlemen type, old school mid west country boy with a barrel chest and a solid, healthy laugh that shook the beams. She knew then that no matter what, she had chosen the right man to love, even if he had been gone all that time, he was a real man, he was sensitive and brash at the same time, had all those rebellious qualities wrapped inside a warmth and gentleness that she had always loved and admired in men. He had pissed off all the right people through the years, people Maggie knew were phonies, fakes, fools. She had never let any man cook her breakfast except Charles and as she got to the bottom of the steps she ordered her usual, "Two Eggs, Toast and Jam. Sir."
Cally and J.D. had been dating for almost a year before they decided to move in together. Having tested the waters on their own, they were now living with the family to save money for the salon. When Charles asked Cally what the initials J.D. stood for, she said, "Jezebel De Simone, but don't call her that. She hates it." "When I was a kid, J.D. meant Juvenile Delinquent." Cally just smirked and rolled her eyes. Sometimes she called him Charles. "Charles, when you were a kid, if you brought home J.D. and claimed she was your new girlfriend, what would have happened ?" He just looked at her and smiled. "Well, my parents would have flipped their lids, but all my buddies would have been jealous. Don't forget that the year you were born, your mother and I were on Tour with Mick Jagger and Ike and Tina Turner, your mother and I didn't have to march on Washington, we were on the front lines presenting mixed race musical groups all along and that made a difference too. We took some heat for that on the streets and at the record companies, everybody freaked when that happened and then suddenly, it was normal.", he sat quiet for a minute, "The day that Frank Sinatra claimed that the only genius in out Industry was Ray Charles was a day I will never forget. I don't know why but, that just meant something to us in rock & roll." Cally just looked at him and smiled quietly. They talked about the salon and Cally explained that because it was a hair and nail Salon geared towards girls who dig girls that they had decided on a discreet location that was not on the main thorough fair, sort of like a private club or a speakeasy, it was once a garage for cars, but had all the right codes and was just around the corner from a popular bar where a lot of the girls frequented. Instead of a big front window, they decided on skylights and privacy for clientele, "Not every girl who digs girls is 'Out' if you know what I mean ?", Charles countered, "Hey your pretty hip for the daughter of a bunch of white, jive - ass - hippies." "I'm serious, we have a great location and I want you and Mickey to help us put in a bunch of little sinks and we want to buy some vintage barber chairs from the 1930's and have them redone. This is gonna be cool, it'll be a family business that you will see a return on." Just then, J.D. walked in like a cat at dinner. "So whats going on here ? " Cally replied, "My Dad was just saying that he thought you were a delinquent and that Jezebel is beautiful name and you should go by 'Jezz', he said its got a nice ring to it. Did you know that Charles here and Tina Turner had a thing going back in the day ?" Charles just sat quiet enjoying his daughters repartee. J.D. looked at the two and saw the resemblance in the eyes, nose and lips, she walked up to Charles and said, "I love this daughter of yours and I want to thank you for creating her as beautiful as you did." She kissed him on the cheek and then she took Cally's hand and led her upstairs. Charles cracked a knowing smile and laughed to himself.
Charles looked at The Bike in Mickeys shop out back and realized that he hadn't ridden a motorcycle in several years, he sat on the bike, turned the key, started the ignition, kicked the lever twice, on the third time it turned over, that unmistakably all American, one of a kind rumble created only by a Harley. The smell of gasoline and the vibrato, got to him, he pushed forward the stand and the bike was now on its wheels, he revved the motor, it was a beautiful and familiar sound, he put the machine into gear and turned his wrist a quarter of an inch and the bike began to move forward. Charles took a ride. In the old days, Charles and his Biker pals had routes they frequented with stops along the way. Biker bars, biker friendly cafes, he had about a dozen spots that he had known through the years in Southern California that were part of the ride, but most of them were Sunday biker type of places and today was a week day. He hopped on the freeway and ripped East going way above the speed limit, this bike was fast, he was proud of Mickey for learning so well. When he got downtown he exited and headed east on Third, went over the bridge and parked it in front of a place that was once called Cisco's. It was an old bar and cafe with a dance floor in the back. An old factory lunch place back in the forties and through the years had different owners, but had often kept the same workers who were locals. Charles pulled up and the place was empty, he let the motor cool, ordered a beer and sat listening to the old time jukebox. The Television was on and a newscaster was reporting from a helicopter high above the city, people were protesting and it had the look of a situation in development as opposed to one that was ending. Charles had been to Vietnam, he could surmise pretty well what a building tension looked like from a helicopter, he could see when one group was outnumbering another, he could pinpoint a soldier in distress and he didn't like what he was seeing at all. If this was a live telecast, than Charles knew that L.A. was in for some real war. He got back on the bike and instinctively drove into the shit, as they use to call it. He took the back way South and then headed West along the streets and noticed that, here and there, little skirmishes were popping up, a trashcan on fire here or a car on fire there, isolated events, it was evening now and as he entered the hot spot, he could see a small lady in front of her shop, swinging what looked like a harpoon at a crowd of people in a circular motion, as he drove up closer it appeared that the crowd had already ransacked the shoe store down the way and had decided to take her place next. It was an ugly scene. Charles had seen this kind of thing before, a group of people harassing a single individual, not only in Vietnam, but also at concerts, he had been at Altamont when a group of people that he knew turned on a few individuals and things went bad, people died. When it was all over the band got in a helicopter and everyone else was stuck on the ground. He saw that happen more than once overseas and now he was seeing at home. Something in Charles went from curiosity to combat in a matter of seconds. He drove the bike into up into crowd, who were really just everyday people simply pushed to the limit with poverty and injustice and had decided somebody had to pay. The brave little woman with the harpoon, was startled, then she realized what Charles was actually doing and suddenly, she stood erect, defiant even. Charles took the chain from the back of the bike, and swung it three hundred and sixty degrees above his head with his left hand and with his right, he drove the cycle in circles around the woman, an impossibly beautiful act, he went from doing circles to figure eights and then larger circles until the entire lot had been cleared and the crowd cooled out, realizing there was another store up the block that was unprotected. When he made sure the lady was ok, and the storefront secure, he drove off up the street to another situation. If the news helicopter had not caught the entire episode on television and aired it live for all the world to see than Mickey and his friends, Moon and Maggie, Cally and Jezz would never have known. Charles returned home and by the time he drove the bike up into the yard, the word had already gotten out, for the first time in his life the decorated soldier from Venice Beach California received a heroes welcome. And from the look on Maggie's face, it appeared that he was about to ride again.
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
Each Chapter is Written in a Twenty - Four Hour Period without Notes Published Consecutively
SEASON TWO / EPISODE THREE / CHAPTER 25
PAIN
Fred had hired a lawyer, one of the best, to help negotiate a deal for the boy. He felt he owed it to Sam, to look after the family now that their father was dead. Most anyone else, including Fred's many friends and associates in the community would have simply let the boy, who was actually a young man, simply do the time and possibly be prosecuted for a much larger circle of crimes, even though the boy had nothing to do with the others. Fred was beginning to lose faith in the system. Because of the events that were about to happen in their lives, many of his fellow business owners and pals from the old country were about to feel the same. Although not all of Fred's friends had come from the same country as him, most had experienced the same type of history. A civil war, followed by or even precipitated by a larger abuse of power and sometimes several or many years of bloodshed and actual fighting on the ground in a country torn in two by two larger countries, then a reconciliation and finally an offer to immigrate and start anew. It happened that way in Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia. Now it was happening in Fred's own life, with Sam's family and the boy attempting to burn down the place. Thanks to Fred's lawyer, the boy had been released and due to his behavior early on in life and a few incidents at school, Fred's lawyer was able to claim that the boy was not working with a full deck of cards. Several forces in authority would have been glad to throw the boy away for several years, local, state and federal branches had all been looking to find the person or group who had been responsible for the Palm Tree burnings. The fact that Fred's lawyer claimed the boy was slightly insane did not necessarily exempt him from prosecution, it just meant that he might not have to do time in the penitentiary. Sometimes a plea like that could actually work against the defendant and suggest to the jury that the boy had done the crime and might have done others too. Fred had been to Sam's family house on several occasions since the incident and his lawyer had assured them how lucky they were to have a man like Fred on their side. He was now looked at by Sam's family and by many in his community as a very honorable businessman. But the recent events had taken their toll and Fred was feeling wiped out. On his own accord, he had begun to investigate the man responsible for his daughters death, ever since his release from prison. The results were worse than not knowing anything at all. When he called the prosecuting attorney at the time, who had become a broken man, both morally, financially and otherwise, he was given a file that had facts in it that only brought revelations of sorrow. He discovered that his daughters boy friend Ryan, had been smoking marijuana the night the accident happened. He also found out that Ryan's car was not street legal and the fact that the height of the cars rear was not regulation, may have caused or helped facilitate the accident. As he delved further into the case, he received the address of the man who was prosecuted and when he parked out in front of Junior's house, he saw, of all things, Officer Chuck of the local police department drive up to the house and enter with a key. How could that be ? Chuck had never once mentioned that he was actually married to Cecilia, the sister of the man who the courts claimed was responsible for his daughters death. Fred started to get paranoid. What if they were out to get him ? As he looked into the case even further he found out something that he wished he hadn't. Josie was three and a half weeks pregnant when she died. It was right there in the autopsy report. Someone had withheld that fact to protect Fred and his wife from more pain than was already inflicted, but now, for Fred, the pain was only delayed and amplified.
Fred went to visit Ryan's parents, but only Ryan's younger brother was home. It had been fifteen years, but the young man recognized him at first glance. "Your Josie's Dad", He said immediately upon opening the door, "Yes, I'm Fred." The brother welcomed him in. "I'm Ryan's brother.", he said without mentioning his own name. "Come in, please." Without even asking he went to the fridge and open to cans of beer, handed one to Fred, and took a drink. They walked into the back patio and then into the yard. Instead of a grass lawn, there was a traditional asian zen garden with the sculpture of a Buddha near the back and pebbles and rocks placed accordingly. Fred was surprised. "Yeah, my parents were always into stuff like that.", he paused, reflecting on the past, "Sometimes I think thats why Ryan and Josie had gotten along so well. She loved it back here. I really liked her. I don't mean like a brother is supposed to like his future sister in law, I mean I was just plain in love with her. But, I think a lot of people were. She was really very special, not just beautiful, but kind, funny, respectful. Ryan would be in the garage working on his car and Josie would be out here laying in the sun. I adored her to the point where Ryan would have to tell me to go and play. I was just a kid, but there was something magnetic about Josie. She was so laid back and easy to talk to …" Fred began to drop tears underneath his sunglasses and Ryan's little brother said he was sorry for bringing it up. "No, its ok, I actually came here to talk about it. Did you know that Ryan smoked marijuana ?" "Yeah, everybody did, in fact, most of my brothers friends were doing a lot more than that sir." "Josie and Ryan were total squares compared to the rest of their friends, they would sit here in the garden doing their homework, while everyone else what out doing who knows what." Fred continued, "Did you know that Josie was pregnant ?" Ryan's brother just looked at the man and had trouble responding, "Yeah I did, but I thought I was the only one who did know that. In fact my parents don't even know about that. Ryan told me that he was trying to convince Josie to marry him, but that she was afraid to tell you and your wife, so they had quarreled about it for a week or so. Look, if you talk to my parents, don't mention that will you? I don't think that would bring them anything but pain. Ya know Fred, 'knowing' is not everything it's cracked up to be." "Thats a very wise statement young man." Ryan replied, "If you promise not to say anything, I want to show you something", he led Fred into the hallway and opened a door that had been Ryan's room, everything had been kept as it was for all those years, just as Fred had preserved Josie's room, they had preserved Ryan's. Hot rod posters, snap shot pictures of Josie that Fred had never seen before, albums, books and images here and there that Fred identified with his now dead daughter. When he had seen enough, they closed the door and walked back into the living room. The door bell rang, and a girl that looked a lot like Josie walked in, "Hey, I thought you were coming over ?", she said as the door opened. "I was, but… an old family friend came by and we got to talking about the old days." Fred just looked at the girl, he was stunned by the resemblance, frozen in time. "Fred, this is my girlfriend", he didn't mention her name. "We have our own band and we are rehearsing for a gig tonite, Hey, were allowed to have guests, can we put your name at the door?" Fred, just stood there and stared at the girl. "Yeah, I know she's a knockout, huh?" The girl became embarrassed and excused herself. Fred said that he had to go now, he was sweating. "Wait a minute. If you ever need someone to talk to, I want you to call me. Ryan and I were close, very close, not a day goes by where I don't think about him. I know what your going through and you just have got to let it go, not forever, but just right now, let it go." He led Fred into the back yard to sit, then walked back inside and explained to his girlfriend what was going on. After a few minutes, the two entered the patio to join him. The girl sat next to Josie's Father. "It must be terrible to lose someone like that, so… young. Just because they're gone doesn't mean they're not with us. He never stops talking about Ryan and somehow, that means that Ryan is still here. Right?", "Yes", Fred replied, They got up and walked back into the house and toward the front door, as Fred exited, The young man handed him and invitation to their gig, Fred turned and asked the girl, "By the way, What do you do, in the band ?", She replied matter of fact, "I'm the singer, but I also play guitar". Fred just smiled and shook his head in the affirmative, as if to say yes of course. He waved and walked away.
When Fred got all this new information, he was reeling. He got home, called his new lawyer exclaiming that he wanted to know why he had originally not been informed of all of this to begin with? The lawyer was surprised by Fred. "Did you request any this information at the time? The lawyer began to bulletin point for the sake of clarifying the situation. "One: The autopsy would have had gruesome pictures that you and your wife probably had avoided for obvious reasons. So you were never informed about the marijuana or pregnancy. Two: Ryan's car was not regulation and your lawyer did everything he could do to prosecute the other boy because that was his job. Fred, the American legal system is not a perfect system, but, sometimes it works and that depends on a bunch of factors that are difficult to pinpoint. What are you gaining by digging up all this past information ? What has it done for you so far, realistically ?" Fred thought about it, then replied "Its made me dubious of everything. I don't know who to blame anymore." "Well, maybe thats a good thing. What if the kids were actually to blame for what happened that night ?" Fred sat quiet, the lawyer continued, "Now you have information that leads you to believe that a boy who went to prison for fifteen years may have been innocent. And here we are in an attempt to save another young man from doing time for something we know that he actually did do, simply because he was your partners son. So is this about justice or is this about right and wrong or is this about using the law to your advantage ?" Fred sat quietly thinking. The lawyer added, "I have a feeling this whole thing is going to blow over and we won't even end up in court. Its just a feeling in my gut. Some thing much larger and more important could put this whole thing to the wayside." Little did either of the men know that something larger was about an hour away from making the Palm Tree burning look like kids stuff compared to the kind of devastation that was about to bust loose. Fred got off the phone, he had been listening to a traditional language station that featured music, news and sports concerning people from his country here in Southern California. He was about to relax, when news reports began interrupting the usually scheduled programs. Shop owners all along the corridor where Fred's Liquor Store was located were put on alert. Fred jumped into his car and headed up to the store, by now it was evening. He had no idea that anything was happening in regards to the recent high profile court case. Fred had been so immersed in his own personal dramas that he had no time to consider the larger issues involving the
city and it's reaction to another bad legal decision.
By the time he even got close to the store, he knew there was trouble, stores, cars, trashcans were on fire all up and down the block, cars were racing in and out, people were running across the streets without even looking, not just across the streets, but at all angles, with hands full of merchandise of all sorts: radios, televisions, toasters, even toilet paper. Fred had never seen anything like it except when he was a little boy and witnessed a battle on the streets of his little village. All that helplessness he felt back then, he now felt again. As he got closer to the store, he could see a truck pulling out of the parking lot with boxes and boxes full of stock from the store, rival looters tried to grab at the contents of the truck and the man sitting in the passenger seat, got out a pistol and shot towards those in the lot. When Fred pulled into the lot , people were streaming in and out of the place with anything they could get for free, bottles of vodka, chewing gum, toothpaste, potato chips, a six pack, he recognized some of his regular customers taking things that they normally purchased on a daily basis. The little girl that he sold a daily popsicle to for 50 cents walked out with a box of a dozen popsicles. They had pried open the steel gates, busted the front windows and eventually, drove a truck straight through. He called the police, waited a half hour, there was no response. When he walked to the back room, he noticed that his pistol was not in the holster. The men in the truck must have taken it. When there was nothing left to take, someone threw a flaming bottle into the store and a fire burst in its center. Fred reached for the extinguisher, but it was gone. He went to the back room grabbed his business reports, his license, his insurance and original personal papers of ownership and on the way out looked up at the image of him and Sam, it was partially in flames. He jumped up onto a shelf, ripped the frame off the wall and ran out the front door. He watched in dismay as a firetruck pulled into the lot, unravelling water hoses and for the next hour proceeded to put out the fire. Fred sat in the lot holding the picture, just holding it to his chest while the entire business became a pile of molten earth. As the fire died down, a car came by and shot towards the fireman on the ladder, he was hit in the shoulder and without even getting off the ladder, they dropped the hose and pulled out of there in less than a minute. Fred stood in the lot alone. The little girl, who normally bought her daily popsicle walked back up to the front of the store, her dress was now soiled with syrup. She looked at Fred and reached her hand out, when she opened it up, two quarters sat in the center of her tiny hand. He stood there, unable to let go of the picture. Tears were running down his face, he looked at the little girl and bowed. The girl put the two quarters on the ground and ran home just as fast as she could. She knew something bad had happened and that she had been a part of it. Shame was something even a child could understand. Fred waited another hour, but no police responded. He then had no other choice but to get into his car and drive home.
Fred was now in shock. His hands were cut and burned, his face was scratched, he had lost it all. He entered the house, went straight for Josie's room and looked around, there on the dresser was a picture of Josie and Ryan, in the corner, her guitar. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the invitation that the kids had given him, "The concert.", he said out loud, "I have got to get to the concert." He got cleaned up, put on a fresh suit and hat as he had whenever attending Josie's recitals in the past. He looked at the invitation and recognized the address, it was a popular spot that had been around for years. As Fred walked up to the theater, he could here the music playing and a girls voice say, "This is our last song, we want to thank everyone for coming out tonight." Fred walked into the club, it was packed. He walked right up to the front of the stage. The young man added, "We also want to say that we hope that everyone in this city can find a better way to settle our differences, theres some real insanity going on out there right now…", the girl looked down and saw Fred standing in the front row. She looked directly at him and grabbed the microphone, "This song goes out to a very special man who is with us tonight and to two other beautiful people that couldn't be here, but their presence is felt." Then they broke into a slow and soulful rendition of a classic Beatles song that Josie had in her record collection, It was a song called: In My Life. The girl on the stage, who, as far as Fred was concerned, was his daughter Josie, began to sing, "There are places I remember, all my life, though some have changed, some forever not for better, some have gone and some remain, all these places have their moments with lovers and friends I still can recall, some are dead and some are living, in my life I've loved them all… ", Then she played a guitar solo and continued , " …But of all these friends and lovers, there is no one compares with you, and these memories lose their meaning when I think of love as something new, though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before, I know I'll often stop and think about them, in my life I love you more.", The young man who in Fred's mind was Ryan played a piano solo, then the girl continued, "Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before, I know I'll often stop and think about them in myyyyyy life I Love You More." Then the song ended, the audience applauded and the lights in the theater came on. The girl raised her hand to her brow, looking in Fred's direction, but by then, Fred was long gone.
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
New Fiction By BUREAU Editor Joshua TRILIEGI
Each Chapter is Written in a Twenty - Four Hour Period without Notes Published Consecutively
SEASON TWO / EPISODE FOUR / CHAPTER 26
PRIMETIME
Jordan went primetime when he made a split second decision to get his Uncle's family heirloom from the pawn shop during the first few hours of the riot. He was on duty at the time, so the image of a municipal bus driver looting a pawn shop, while on duty made news. Of Course, he was not actually looting at all, it was his guitar and he just didn't want anyone else to get his only sacred historical object: The Red Bass Fender from the early days of Soul and Rhythm and Blues. Many of the images that were broadcast during the first night of the riots were simply local and live, but Jordan's escapade had gone National. When Ted Koppel and The Nightly News ran with the image as the opening of that evenings news telecast, everyone across the nation picked it up. The image of Jordan running across the street with a Red Guitar in his hand and the streets ablaze behind him, eventually ended up on the cover of a popular national news magazine and he was forced to come out and tell his side of the story. His first statement was to a local newscaster: "I just would like to say that I do not condone looting, or this riot. What happened was wrong and the courts have made a bad decision, but my act of retrieving a family heirloom from a store that was being overrun was by no means and unequivocally unrelated to the acts of defiance we are currently seeing throughout the city. He reached into his wallet and pulled out the pawn ticket, I own that guitar and I was simply saving it from being stolen by somebody else, it's as simple as that." But that is not how the Transit Authority saw it, they promptly fired him. When his mother saw the image on television in a bar located in Detroit called, Cozy's Corner Corral, which had been a Motown hang out back in the early days, she recognized him immediately,"Thats my Boy, that is my son right there, you here me, that little f*cker is my Boy!" Nobody in the bar cared or believed her, but when the interview came on and his name was flashed across the bottom of the screen while he spoke, they couldn't deny her observation. "You see ? Just like his daddy, right in the middle of a m*ther f*cking riot, a goddamn revolutionary sonofabitch !" She ran all around town borrowing every scrap of change she could find, packed up her few items in a single little pink suitcase, she told Shep up in that tired old apartment that she was leaving to see her, 'famous son' out in L.A. and got on the first train to Los Angeles. Baby never flew, she was more than 'Old School', she was what they now call, 'an original'. Her real name was Florenze, but because Jordan's dad had always called her 'Baby', it then became her official handle. They were a real ruff and tumble couple back when Jordan was born. Factory people who graduated into power with the street politics of the time times. Everybody in Detroit knew Baby and Little Mac as they were respectively known. As a young child, Jordan never found it very comfortable having well known parents, every where he went, people had some idea of who he was, supposedly because they had heard this or that about his family. Mac had been rolling with some very heavy cats back then, Panthers and such. In and out of prison, community protection, food programs for the poor, big time black liberation people on the front lines of all sorts of activities for the rights of the people. They were very well respected for going to the degree with which they did for other people and for the community at large. Mac and Baby had a selfless attitude that gained them popularity, but it didn't do much for Jordan, whose spent most of his time at Uncles and Aunts houses as a kid, just regular factory folks.
Many of Jordan's people were third generation Muslims and although praying five times a day was often for survival, food, a new job or in hopes that a loved one would come home unscathed, they did practice regularly. When Wanda got pregnant, some of Jordan's stricter friends at the mosque suggested that the girl convert, so the child could be assured a place in heaven with Allah. Wanda loved Jordan and would do most anything for him, but converting seemed a bit much to her. Wanda was a middle class working girl with a flair for fashion. She had an earthy style that was very cultural, but more in a reggae style rather than a strict way of living and eating and dressing. Jordan said it would be good for the family as a unit, but Wanda resisted. Some of his friends at the mosque suggested that he bring Wanda for a visit on a day when many of the ladies would be having a sale of all kinds of fashions for Muslim women, lots of scarves and accessories for the modern muslim woman. Jordan agreed that he would try. Soon enough, he had persuaded her to visit. Wanda met other muslim ladies, they ate, talked, welcomed her. Jordan bought Wanda a few new outfits with scarves and the plan seemed to be working. But then the guys at the mosque said that if Jordan wanted Wanda to be certified officially that she would have to make a statement that Allah was god publicly and then she could be given a piece of paper from the mosque stating that she was Muslim. Jordan knew that this was going to be difficult. Wanda believed in a heaven on earth, in the grand Rastafarian sense, that, like the Jewish people who were chosen, so too were the Rasta and that returning to Africa was equivalent to visiting Mecca for Jordan. "Why can't our baby be part Muslim and part Rasta ?", she wanted to know. Jordan laughed so hard that he fell off the couch, he rolled on the ground roaring. She was so beautiful and funny and sexy and smart and dedicated that he actually didn't really care what she was: this woman was giving him a baby and he was so damn in love that he was giddy. "Half Rasta and half Muslim ? Whats he going to do smoke all day and pray all night ?", Jordan joked. "Thats not funny, the Rastafari pray by their actions of righteousness.", she replied, "Yeah, but neither eat pork and I see you eating baby back ribs whenever possible.", "Jordan you a punk sometimes. You know that ?" He just shook his head, "I love you. I'm in love with you. I will do anything for you anytime, anywhere. Can't you just say that Allah is god and we can get on with our lives. You don't have to wear a scarf every day or change your fashion. It is just a symbol of unity between you, me and the baby." Wanda looked at him, "You just don't give up do you?", "Not on you I don't and never on this baby." They looked at one another for a long time, neither spoke, finally, Wanda said, "Yes", that she would visit the mosque and say the words. But she wanted him to know that the baby was going to have to decide for his or her self what to believe. Jordan agreed and the negotiation had ended. The day that Wanda had made the official statement, she had met more of the families of Jordan's friends. Several of them lived just a few blocks away and they had assured her that they would be there to support Wanda through the pregnancy and that one of the friends sold organic foods and would it be all right if they periodically dropped of fresh fruits and vegetables to the house? "Yes, of course, you are always welcome in our house", Wanda had said, trying to be kind and considerate of their offer. All of these events transpired over a period of time just before the riot. When Jordan went primetime with his Uncles guitar, everyone at the mosque was surprised at his actions and when he lost his job shortly thereafter, things looked even worse. Wanda thought it was embarrassing, but she also realized it was typical of Jordan. There was something slightly funny about it. The fact that he pulled the bus over, ran into the shop and then hopped back on the bus with his, 'family heirloom', as he put it, or as the guys in the band called instruments, 'his Axe', was downright humorous. But when Ted Koppel and other national news shows ran the image, she was hoping he could handle that kind of exposure. After all, Wanda had minored in journalism and when the station called for Jordan's side of the story, it was Wanda who helped him write his official statement. When the station wanted to conduct the interview in front of the burnt out remnants of the pawn shop, Wanda said no. Jordan eventually had made his statement in Leimert Park instead, with a group of Jordan's supporters and a group of people protesting the unjust decision that actually caused all the problems to begin with. It came off like a civic statement, instead of some ghetto style interview that normally was presented and the community rallied behind him.
Wanda was several years older than Jordan, she had been in this neighborhood back when the riots of 1965 happened and it brought back some terrible feelings. She had forgotten that Summer and now some of the memories were creeping back into her consciousness. Terrible images of racism, hatred, destructiveness and that feeling of simply being helpless. She remembered looking up at the adults and realizing that they weren't actually smarter than her, they weren't doing the right thing, they were hurting themselves and everything around them. Now the actual smell of ash and soot and wood and rubber and asphalt and sulphur mixed together began to make her nauseated. She remembered thinking that, back then, it was somehow her fault that the riot had started. Her parents had been quarreling over wether to visit relatives out of town or to stay in town for the summer. If they left town than none of Wanda's friends would be able to come to her birthday party. So, she made a big scene while her dad was out back burning trash. In those days most homes had a place to burn your trash, it served as a bbq on holidays and an incinerator whenever leaves or trash needed burning. After her little burst out, Wanda had ran off down the block to the park in tears, she had been spoiled by her mother and adored by her daddy, so these little outbursts were common. Like most kids she was easily distracted and had a large imagination, so when she got to the park, several hours passed quickly. When it was time to go home, Wanda found road blocks obstructing her usual path home. Police cars and firetrucks were everywhere. The entire block was going up in flames and smoke was everywhere. She stood on the corner while two big policemen began talking, one of them sat in the passenger side of the car with the door open, while the other stood on the sidewalk attending to the road block "So, what's this all about ?" the cop standing asked. "I'm not exactly sure.", the cop in the car answered, "But It looks like some crazy bastard got pissed off and decided to burn his own f*cking neighborhood down." Wanda heard that and ran as fast as she could to her Aunts house, which was a few blocks down. She had heard her Mom call her Daddy a 'crazy bastard' a whole bunch of times, so she knew for sure who them two cops were talking about. Wanda ran into the back door and into the kitchen, "Auntie, Auntie, help, help, my daddy's burning the neighborhood down cause mama don't want to leave to the lakes on account of my birthday. Help, we gotta put out the fire…", She collapsed into her Aunts apron and Uncle Milt walked in, "Whats this all, about ?" Aunt Mae just shook her head and said she didn't know, but that Milt better call over to the house and find out. Milt had been watching the beginning of the uprising on television and he and Wanda's dad talked about it a while, "Terrible Ain't it, gonna set us back a few years this kinda thing…", he handed the phone to Aunt Mae. Then Uncle Milt turned to Wanda, "Your Daddies house ain't on fire, sugar, were in the middle of an uprising girl." He picked her up and they watched the television coverage together. Aunt Mae came in a few minutes later and said that little Wanda was staying the night and that they was gonna be baking a peach pie together, "How does that sound ?" She just shrugged. Aunt Mae's patience only went so far, "You get your little butt upstairs and wash that face for dinner right now young lady." Then she added, "And by the way, your mother wanted me to tell you that you will be having your birthday at home this year. Wanda finally smiled, ran over and gave her Aunt a hug. All these years later, Wanda wished there was someone like that to hug right now, the doorbell rang and her wish came true. One of those, 'Watch - what - you wish - for' moments.
Baby was able to scrape up a one way ticket and enough money to get her hair done, buy a dress and a new pair of heels. When she got to Los Angeles, she already had Jordan's address from the Transit Authority, having lied and said his father was sick in the hospital. She hadn't seen Jordan's father in years, he could have been in prison for all she knew. By now, military soldiers were camped out everywhere, but the damage had already been done. Baby stopped into a local grocer who had somehow survived the uprising and picked up a big gallon jug of red wine, a large bottle of Southern Whiskey, a bunch of collared greens, peas, potatoes, a giant rack of ribs and a chocolate cake. When the cab pulled up to Jordan's, his Mama payed the driver, but asked him to wait until the door opened before he drove off. Just in case her 'famous son' was not home. When Wanda answered the door, Baby waved at the taxi driver and said, "I'm Jordan's Momma, Baby, and you are… ?" "I'm Wanda, Come on in, it's Florenze right ?", "People call me Baby." She walked right into the kitchen and started unpacking the groceries as if she had been living there her whole life. "What a pleasant surprise, Jordan is always talking about you and his daddy." Baby replied, "He may be talking 'About' us, but he ain't been talking 'To' us for quite some time." Wanda just let that barb go and helped to unpack the groceries. "Then, I don't suppose you knew that we are expecting." She held up her shirt and exposed a tiny bump of a tummy. Baby just looked at it and said ,"Girl, you better get to eating if that kids gonna have a fighting chance. I am going to cook up the best damn southern style meal you ever had in your life. But first I need to rinse off a thousand miles of railroad tracks, if you don't mind. Feel like I just went to town with John Henry himself. Wheres the bathroom honey ?" Wanda led 'Baby' into the den and suggested she put her things in there for now. She gave her a quick tour of the place and started a bath. For the next few hours Baby was holding court, playing music from their collection, making her original recipes and telling Wanda all those stories that mothers like to tell about their kids. Though, there weren't too many to tell, since Jordan had mostly been raised by Aunts and Uncles. Baby smoked cigarettes on the patio and continued to tell her stories without missing a beat.Talking through the screen at Wanda, who by now was falling into Baby's routine comfortably. Wanda hadn't consumed any alcohol in a couple months and decided to pour herself a glass. Baby was drinking whiskey on ice pretty regularly and continued to play Jordan's extensive collection of rare jazz, blues and soul records. "The kids got great taste in music, thats for sure." then she added, "I think he got a lovely lady here too." And she gave Wanda that hug she'd been wishing for. The two women were having a time. Wanda got tipsy from the wine, the music and all of the energy coming off of Jordan's Momma, who hadn't stopped talking since she walked in the door. As evening set in, Jordan came walking down the block from having recently visited a lawyer about his being fired, he decided to fight it on principle. As he came down the block with a bouquet of flowers, several of his friends from the mosque stopped to ask him how everything was going and they talked a bit.They had a box of fresh food for him and Wanda and Jordan immediately invited them over. The men, several dressed in traditional garb, hats, scarves, beards all discussed Jordan's recent response on television as they walked down the street toward the house. They were both excited and proud of the way he had handled himself on camera. Some of them were saying that maybe he had the type of leadership skills that could be good for the community. Jordan opened the front door to their place and the men walked in to find the two women dancing to James Brown and singing, "…Stay on the scene, like a sex machine, the way I like it, is the way it is … Get up, Get on up, Get up, get on up …". In her right hand, Wanda held a giant baby back rib, in her left, a glass of wine, she was wearing a bra and an african quilted skirt while dancing about the living room. Jordan's Momma had a cigarette dangling from her lips and was pouring a tall glass of Whiskey on ice. By the time James Brown was, 'Takin' it to the bridge', the two ladies turned to the front door and Baby screamed out, "Oh My God, theres my goddamn little revolutionary", Jordan stood there in the doorway, holding the box of organic vegetables in one hand an a bouquet of flowers in the other, his friends stood behind him: aghast. "Fellas", he said, "This here is my Momma." The men all looked at one another, the music stopped and Jordan's show had just gone primetime.
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
New Fiction By The BUREAU Editor Joshua TRILIEGI
Each Chapter is Written in a Twenty - Four Hour Period without Notes Published Consecutively
SEASON TWO / EPISODE FIVE / CHAPTER 27
STROKE
Stan got a call that surprised him. From what he knew of protocol regarding this type of thing, there were three ways it could go, one: You were told that a call was coming in at such and such a time, two: You were told, who was on the line and then you spoke or three: You simply answered the telephone and someone said, "Hello, Stan, this is the President of the United States, Ya got a minute ?" If it had been one, he could prepare, if it had been two, he at least had an idea, but since it had been three, he simply said, "Yes, Mister President, what can I do for you?" "Well Stan, it's not what you can do for me, It's what you can do for your country. Wait a minute, that sounds like I'm paraphrasing Kennedy." Stan laughed, he figured, if the President of the United States could tell a joke under theses conditions than Stan could laugh at it. "Listen, Stan, this whole decision has blown up in our faces. I've been on the phone with the Governor and we're about to send in the troops and the national guard. Would you do me a favor and just tell me what the hell happened out there ?" Stan paused, he didn't know where to start. "Sir, Mr President, as the presiding judge, I was just as surprised as the public at this decision." The phone was quiet, then the President continued, "Well listen, were going to have to do this all over again and I just want your opinion, just your personal opinion: what are the chances of getting a conviction in a second trial, if the facts are presented with a jury that reflects the populist of the city and state you serve ?" Stan thought a second and responded, "Well, Sir, Mister President, I think several of the officers could be found to have abused their power and I believe convictions could be had." "Fine, now, off the record, I want you to have a casual meeting with a group of guys including the governor next week, just a simple golf game, nothing official. These men are going to be discussing plans and I want you to add any information that you can in a totally unofficial capacity, do you understand ?" Stan answered in the affirmative, "Yes, I do Mister President." "OK. Fine, I know were not on the same side of the aisle, and looking at the Presidential log, it appears that you have not been to The White House since you were a young boy during Kennedy's Presidency, is that correct ?" "Why, yes it is, Mister President.", "Well listen, the next time you are in town, you drop by and see us." Stan was surprised, "Thank You Mister President." Then the president added one last detail, "You are going to have to drive up to Sacramento or thereabouts for this golf course. How is your game ?" Stan replied, "Terrible Sir, to be honest.", then he replied, "Well good, that'll work out fine for those boys perfectly. Stay in touch now." The line clicked just before Stan said, "Thank you Mister President" and then he hung up the phone.
When Dora got home Stan said, "Your never going to believe who called today." When he told her who, she said, "Did you ask him about raising the minimum wage or the imbalanced levels of unemployment among people of color or how could he send people into war without proper protection ?" Stan just looked at Dora and walked out of the room, at times like this, there was no use talking about it. "Wheres Cliff ?", he shouted from the hall. "He's out back.", she shouted back. Then he replied, "Listen, I have to drive up to Sacramento next week to meet the Governor about this second trial," That peeked her interest,"What second trial ?" He walked back toward Dora in the kitchen, "There is going to be, and all of this is unofficial, there is going to be another trial, the President wants this cleared up for the public's sake." "Oh what a load of crap." Dora exclaimed, "The entire inner city is burned to the f*cking ground, race relations have been set back decades and now there's going to be another trial ? Amazing." Stan then asked her matter of fact, "Look, I'm taking Cliff with me next week, is that o.k.? Dora stopped what she was doing and turned to him, "What do you mean, I thought you had to work ?" Stan looked down avoiding Dora's eye sight, "No. It's a casual golf game and they want me to fill in facts." Now she was visibly upset, "You mean to say that you are going to golf with the Governor and his cronies to fill in the facts so that a bunch of wankers can find out how to do a job that was yours to begin with ?" Stan replied, "That's not really fair of you to put it that way, but yes, thats exactly what I will be doing." She slammed the cupboard, "Good, and while you have that bastards attention, you tell him that the farmers in this state need support from his establishment or their not going to survive the year. Also, you tell him that if teachers don't get a raise, education in this state is going to be a joke and public schools will close." Stan had to laugh, "I don't think it's going to be that kind of meeting." She peeked from out of the fridge, "Oh yeah? Well you make it, that kind of meeting.", and she punched him in the chest with her little fist. Stan grabbed her and gave her a hug, "Get away from me.", she half joked and went back to preparing the meal, "You know Stan, when you're not on the bench, you are allowed to speak your mind. You vote, you're an American, tell them how you feel." Stan replied, "I feel like the system we work in is broken, that's how I feel." Then she set the table and said rather sternly, "Than it's our job to fix it. Now sit down and lets have some dinner." Stan sat down and Dora tousled his hair. "Thats what I get for getting involved with a girl like you." They both turned and saw Cliff smiling at them, he had a blissful look on his face. It was seldom that he saw his parents playing and to him, it was a beautiful thing. He walked up to Dora and pantomimed that he wanted his hair tousled too. Dora gladly obliged the boy and the family sat down to Dinner.
After dinner, Stan walked into Cliffs room and studied the big painting on the wall. He couldn't make sense of the fact that Cliff drew things that seemed to occur in life in a way that was exacting. The painting of the city on fire was crudely executed in terms of style or technique, but the exact details were rather amazing. That night, Stan brought it up to Dora, "How do you think he does it ?" he continued, "How does Cliff create images that seem to correlate with a future reality ?" Dora was quiet, then she said smartly, "Oh does he ? How interesting, I guess every parent likes to think that their kid has something special to offer the world." Stan carried on, "Oh come on, you're the one that wanted to send him to some shaman interview." Dora sat straight up, "That's not true, I simply suggested …", Stan interrupted her, "You said that if he had a special talent than maybe we should share it with the world." Dora sat quiet and Stan just looked at her. "So where are you going with this ?", she finally asked and after a minute of silence, he retorted, "I am just wondering why or how something like that occurs ?" Now Dora was frustrated and she raised her voice, "I don't have any idea and half of the people we know or work with would think we were both insane for even pondering the issue. Why don't you ask the President ?" Stan laughed and asked, "What about the other half ?", Dora replied, "What other half ?" He continued, "You said half the people we know would think we were both insane, what about the other half ?" She thought about it, "Well, if presented with the facts including images, dates and correlating events, it is possible that a jury would find that the boy was not only funny, sensitive and gentle, like his father, but he was also cute, attractive, daring and adventurous like his mother. And if pressed further, they may even decide that the boy was not just one of the best fancy dancers in the indian nations, as we recently discovered, but that the boy could actually draw the future." She looked at Stan and gave him a kiss, he kissed her back. After a moment, Dora asked, "So, what exactly do you propose we do about this ?" Stan thought about it, "Well, we could get all the artwork together and put the dates that he created them, with titles that suggested the locations or subjects and show them publicly, let people see for themselves if anything is there, meanwhile, maybe it would be nice for Cliff to share his work with a larger audience." Dora thought about it and asked,"You mean at like an arts center or a school ?" And Stan said, "No, at a professional art gallery. We could find one that deals with the spiritual or other worldly aspects of art. I know it sounds weird, but, what if he ended up working to solve cases someday ? What if he could help someone ?" They looked at one another and a tear ran down Dora's face. Cliff walked into the room, saw his mothers face and tilted his head, his brow furrowed, Dora held her arms open and Cliff flew into them."We love you so much little man." Then Cliff replied in his raspy little tone,"I love you, too".
Stan and Cliff drove up to the private members only Country Club and gave their names at the gate. Forty years earlier and they would have been excluded because of giving that name. They entered into the lot and Cliff pointed up to a small helicopter that was landing on a private pad across the hillside, 'That's the man we are going to be playing against.", Stan said. Cliff's eye's widened a bit. "Ok, So here the deal", Stan explained, "This is a game where you take a bunch of clubs, sort of like big sticks and you hit a small ball with the stick in an attempt to sink the ball into the hole. Everyone gets a turn and then we go onto the next hole, understand ?" Cliff nodded yes. "Good, now this is your first time, so you are going to be my partner on this understand ?" Cliff nodded in the affirmative. You are going to push my sticks in a little basket with wheels on it right behind me. Whenever I need a stick, I am going to hold out a certain number of fingers and you are going to count how many, then grab the stick with that number in the basket. Understand ?" Cliff looked worried, but was able to spit out a "Yes". Then Stan added, "I know your going to do fine, we're going to do fine.", and they walked up into the clubhouse. Stan picked out a basket of clubs and walked into the foyer. Cliff watched him shake hands with a group of men who smelled like a forest in a cartoon and after the men drank their glasses empty, the game began. While walking up to the first hole, Stan took Cliff aside and said, "Think about your drawings, maybe something interesting will come to you.", Cliff peered up at Stan with a puzzled look, the boy was already concerned with having to count fingers and find the right stick and now Stan was asking him to think about his drawings too. Then Stan clarified, "What I mean to say is that, if you get any ideas for drawings about these guys, remind me later.", now Cliff was really confused. On the first hole Stan held out his fingers, Cliff counted them and looked for the stick with that number, Stan pointed to the number and after that Cliff was fine. This went on for quite some time. The men discussed the case, the riots, the cops, the public, the jury, the president and the election coming up in the fall. Stan added a few comments here and there. Cliff was so busy counting fingers and finding the proper stick that the afternoon passed quickly. It was hot and several of the men smoked cigars and drank from shiny little metal containers. On the last hole, Stan swung too far and his ball ended up in a pile of trees to the left of the green. He and Cliff climbed up over a sand trap and down into a flat area that sat between a bunch of trees, Cliff looked at Stan whose face was all red and became worried. Stan found the ball, when he reached down to put the T in the ground, he fell to the floor. Cliff ran out on the green, but the other men were talking and didn't look over, he tried to scream, but nothing came out, he ran back over and turned Stan on his back, he slapped his face lightly, but Stan did not move. The boy was beginning to panic, he got frustrated with himself and didn't know what to do. Just then, a piercing beam of light shot down from between the trees and landed on his dad's left hand, Cliff stared at the hand that now sat in a circle of light. When he followed the beam of light upward, a giant bird sat on a branch and it screeched so loudly that Cliff had to cover his ears. He then reached down, grabbed his fathers left hand and bit the tip of his pinky so hard that the man sat up straight and said, "What happened ?" Cliff had tears running down his face, he couldn't express himself. Stan stood up and brushed off his pants, he saw the boy and assured him that everything was o.k., "Take it easy son, I must have fainted." He placed the T, hit the ball and landed it directly on the green. "See that, I told you everything was going to be all right.". Cliff looked up and the bird was gone.
They walked up to the green and everyone was talking about Stan's save. After the game ended, they thanked Stan and congratulated each other on a great afternoon. The Governor held out his hand to Stan and he suddenly decided to speak his mind. "Governor…", he said, all the other men were now listening, "I came here today because the President asked me to and I hope my presence has been useful. But goddamn it, don't the kids in this state deserve to have teachers that can afford proper housing? And what about the farmers in the central valley, don't they deserve subsidies while the economy flattens as it has ? This case I presided over is not just about justice, it's not just about an abuse of power, it's not just about a bunch of cops who almost beat a man to death. The people reacted to a much larger problem and that problem is poverty, that problem is hunger, that problem is education, that problem is institutionalized racism, that problem is property taxes, that problem is inner city schools, that problem is the cost of living, that problem is public transportation, that problem is unemployment and the minimum wage. Now, I apologize for speaking out of turn here, especially in front of your advisors, but my wife and I have been through hell and high water because of this case and I couldn't sleep at night if I just sat by and said nothing about it. I know we are on the other side of the aisle, but we must get some progress done to create peace in this state and a conviction is only going to be the beginning." The Governor and his men just looked at Stan, everyone was completely quiet, "My god son, we should run you for office.", he joked, and all the men began to laugh out loud. "I think we can use some of that in your speech next week Governor," one of the men said. Stan continued, "You use whatever you like, I am just a simple Judge, but my wife walks among the people and those are her sentiments exactly." The Governor then remarked, "Oh, yes, you married Dora Wendell didn't you ? Quite a spitfire that girl…", he continued "Well, you tell her that the message was delivered and received." Then the Governor added, "That was quite a stroke." Stan heard the word 'stroke' echo in his head, he peered right through the man and realized what had occurred. Stan looked back toward the trees one more time, grabbed his son's hand and walked away. He had just survived a stroke.
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
New Fiction By The BUREAU Editor Joshua TRILIEGI
Each Chapter is Written in a 24 Hour Period without Notes Published Consecutively
SEASON TWO / EPISODE SIX / CHAPTER 28
G I R L S
Every now and then Chuck would have doubts about his occupation. He had always felt that he was a natural detective, but being a cop on the beat was not his 'specialty'. At times like this, in the middle of a full on riot, he would come home and tell Celia that maybe they should start their own business, "We could buy a bar or start a gym," he knew plenty of guys who would frequent either. But Celia would say, "Honey, you're a police officer and your one of the good cops in this town. Just stick it out and follow through with your commitments." Another day would pass and Chuck and his partner were back in the patrol car. Chuck was always scheming to get his transfer as detective, now that the the riots broke out, the palm tree burnings were a blip on the map. Chuck would have to come up with something much bigger than that, if he was ever to graduate and run with the big boys. His research over the past few years had given him a wide variety of leads, but you needed witnesses to get a conviction and once you had a witness, you had to find a way to keep that person safe from harm and make a case that the detective squad would deem valuable and worthy of prosecution. A few weeks back, while Chuck was off duty, he saw a girl in the park, that couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen, she was strung out, dressed in heels, looked like she hadn't slept in a week. She was also a very beautiful child, someone that was his daughters age. When he walked up to see if she was o.k., she propositioned him, said she needed some money. He said that he would give her five dollars, if he could simply walk her home. "It's too late for you to be out here alone. Girls get hurt out here, some of them even get raped or killed." She simply stared at him and said, "Do me a favor." Then she replied, "If I go back there without any money, they will beat my ass silly." "Where do you live ?" Chuck asked, "Not too far from here," she answered. By the way, you're being watched, "Just thought I should tell you, you see that row of house over there, well they got eyes on this park and people back at my place is in touch with them eyes." Chuck sat quiet for a minute, "How many girls do they have ?" "At my place or everywhere ?" she answered. "Everywhere ?", Chuck asked. "Yeah everywhere, they got houses all up and down, probably just under a hundred girls," then she added. "Your a square ain't you ?" Chuck shook his head no, "I'm a father of three girls that are home in bed right now." Then she asked him point blank, "And you mean to say you ain't never jumped in one of those beds ?" Chuck was taken aback by the comment, "Of course not, those are my girls." She just looked at him in disbelief. Then he said, "Listen, why don't I go get my car and enough money so that you can go home for the night ?" "Would fifty dollars do it ?", she just looked at him blankly, "A hundred ?" She then said, "Yeah, that'd do it ?" Chuck walked back to the house, drove his car to the park and picked up the girl. "What do you want ?", she said. "I want you to get a bite to eat and then I am taking you home." He picked up a couple burgers and fries and a malt shake and they sat in the car. Chuck began to slowly grill the girl. "How did you end up at that particular house ?" And the girl began to tell Chuck her life story, which was harrowing and sorted. She'd never had this type of man be so interested and kind and she said so,"At least not without wanting something in return anyway." Then Chuck said, "But I do want something in return. I want you to consider going after these people." She became visibly scared at even the mention of such a thing. "I know some people who have friends that might want to help you, if you ever decided to do something about these people." She looked at him differently now. Then he added, "Look, it's getting late, I better take you home. Chuck withheld the money until they got to the house, and then he gave her the bills. "I'm going to be watching you, I want you to be careful. You're better than this." The girl looked at him and then looked away, she got out of the car and walked up into the house. Chuck remembered the house, street and address and headed back home. Since then, he had staked out the place several times. Eventually eyeing an older man and woman, who got into a beat up old station wagon and drove up into a local market. Chuck followed them into the market, bought a six pack, followed them around the store, then got in line directly behind them. That took a while, because they had filled the shopping cart with enough instant food items to feed a girl scout camp. The couple didn't say a word, but at one point, the lady looked up and glanced at Chuck, who simply feigned a smile. She smiled back, revealing a terrible set of front teeth, that were grey and beige, the kind that Chuck had associated with speed freaks through the years. He wrote down the plates, ran a check on the car and began one of his many detective routines, even though he had to be to work on his usual beat soon enough. Sometimes, his desire to become a detective affected his performance as a regular boy in blue and his partners through the years had always noticed whenever he was putting too much time into something else. "Watcha working on Chuck ?" Became a familiar phrase around the station. He figured there would always be a group of underachievers willing to hassle someone like him, who actually took the job to heart. Chuck took the job home, sometimes even crossing the line, as he had by taping his wife Celia's little brother's phone calls when he had been released from prison and had come to stay with them. That had backfired on him. When Junior found the recording device in Chucks office, he began a series of calls that were fakes and Chuck waisted a lot of time trying to follow false leads. Now that Junior and his Dad were now back on the ranch, Chuck was about to pay a serious price for that misstep. He'd already been reprimanded by the force and was about to catch hell from his wife.
Celia had always been a homemaker from the get go. She had dreamed of finding a good man and having kids most of her life and so, the dream had come true and she was a very contented person. Her daughters were smart, rambunctious, funny, and sometimes downright mischievous, not unlike the way she had been as a child. She kept up the house and the garden, had her hands full with the girls, cooked, did the laundry and through it all seemed to have found the perfect man to share her life. To her, Chuck was hard working, honest and cared about the world. So the day she found the recording device in his office, which she normally did not clean because it was usually locked when Chuck was not home, all hell broke loose. She pressed play and immediately a series of calls between Junior and his girlfriend began to play, "So what are you doing right now ?", "Nothing" "Can you come over ?" "No, I can't, maybe at the end of the week." "I miss you." "I miss you too." Celia fast forwarded to the next and the next and the next, she freaked. When Chuck got home that night, Junior and Lewis were gone on a fishing trip and the girls were already asleep. He walked into the kitchen and she said without hesitation or reservation, "I want to know why you had been recording my bother's f*cking conversations." Chuck just looked at her. "Look, When a guy gets out of prison, theres a chance that he can get involved in stuff that could end him right back in the joint. I did it to simply monitor him, make sure that he's not getting involved with the wrong people. "Oh yeah, well what If I got involved with the wrong people Chuck ?" She looked at him. "What if you got involved with the wrong people ?" He didn't respond. "This is my family, this is my brother, how could you do that ?" he said nothing, Celia continued, "Why, when there is a whole world of evil and ugliness and very bad people would you bring that type of scrutiny into my house ?" Now he got fired up, "Hey, this is our house. We have daughters. You don't know what kind of things even go in prison. I don't even tell you a small percentage of the stuff that I see everyday on the streets because I don't want you to become jaded." She just shook her head and crossed her arms, "We grew up here Chuck, my family has been through a lot. I lost a lot of friends before I even graduated from high school, did you know that ? So don't try to tell me anything about the goddamn streets. My first boy friend was killed by a kid from another gang simply because he answered the question, "Where are you from ?" to the wrong group of kids, "They blasted him in the back, Chuck. Understand ? You didn't marry some little white girl from Pasadena here. Junior is my only brother. I will not condone any type of surveillance of my family whatsoever: Do You understand ?" He looked at her directly but said nothing. "I will take these girls and go away from here so quick if I ever see or hear anything going on between you and my brother. He just did fifteen years for something that happened when he was a kid. He paid his debt to society. Now go out there and protect the public from harm. And I don't want to sleep with you tonight. I'm staying in the girls room." Chuck was devastated. He had never seen Celia so upset. Well, at least not in a couple of years. On top of that, Chuck had been assigned to handle riot crowd control tomorrow and didn't do very well on the job without the support of Celia, who was his rock of personal security. He sat in the kitchen and cried like a baby. Then he slept on the couch, got up early and was out of there before the girls awoke.
He and his partner were assigned to Long Beach at Signal hill, the night before, they had lost an entire row of shops to angry protestors and things were heating up. They were getting so much flack from people on the streets that is was more than discouraging, it was denigrating. Four cops had beat the hell out of a guy and got away with it in a court of law and now every cop in the entire city was being blasted with more hatred, more humiliation and down right aggression that many of he cops were feeling defeated. Chuck was among that group. He knew a few real assholes on the squad and thought: Why should I be talking abuse because someone else can't do the job properly. They spent the afternoon showing their presence to not much effect. People still looted and pillaged, even in front of the show of force. At one point, things got so bad that a group of police were forced to simply stand by and watch things burn to the ground. Chuck told his partner, "I am not going to arrest some kid for stealing a pair of shoes that cost five dollars and ninety-nine cents on principle alone. I won't do it," and his partnered just looked at him. They got back into the squad car and headed into down town. They got a call to visit activity up on Pine Street. On the way over, Chuck, who was sitting in the passenger side, noticed the beat up station wagon three car lengths ahead of them, "Wait a minute, drop back, drop back." His partner asked, "What is it ?" Chuck replied, "This guy in the station wagon, follow him, stay way back, keep a couple cars between us." "What is it Chuck ? Were supposed to get to Signal hill." "Trust me on this one." His partner replied, "I've heard that one before.", "Just follow this guy,will ya ?" They followed him as he drove down a few streets and up another and parked the car in the drive way of a home. The man grabbed what looked like a twenty-five pound bag of rice, put it on his shoulders and carried it through the back entrance. Chuck wrote down the address and cross street. When the man exited, two girls got into the back seat of the station wagon and they drove toward the bridge. Chuck said to follow them. Now his partner was getting upset. "Chuck, you better know what you are doing here." "I do, now just follow this guy." They drove up and over the bridge, the man headed directly to the house where Chuck had dropped off the girl. Then Chuck ran the sirens, cranked the lights, and called it in. "We've got a random traffic stop at …" he gave the address. The two girls panicked and ran into the house. Chuck asked for back up and also requested coverage at the address on the house on the other side of the bridge. He pulled out of his gun, asked the man to raise his hand sand exit the vehicle. He told his partner to watch this guy and kicked in the front door, the girls started screaming. The woman sat in the kitchen watching the riots on an old television on the counter, "Put your hands on your head and stand up with your back against the wall." He saw the back door was wide open and when he looked in the yard, noticed an entire chemistry lab with metal barrels, all sorts of giant vats. He kicked in the door to the back structure and discovered two and a half pallets of meth. By then, his back up had arrived and the house was discovered to have eight different bunk beds crammed into three small rooms and a handful of underaged girls scattered throughout the house. When they included the contents of both houses, it became one of the biggest drug busts to date. The girl that Chuck had met in the park was the first to testify and the arrest of the couple led to the biggest ring of child trafficking cases and it busted the city wide open. Because of the Los Angeles riots, an arrest that would have normally made the front pages was relegated to a brief mention. Chuck didn't care, he wasn't looking to be a hero, he was looking to become a detective. When he got home that night, Celia had made a special dinner and all the girls were dressed in their finest. The living room table was set and the seating arrangement had been formal. He walked in the front door and Celia announced, "Girls, I want you to come in here, your father is home." The girls came running in and kissed and hugged their dad. Chuck looked at Celia, he was still unsure. She grabbed him and said, come here, "I want to see what its like to make love to a detective," and she gave him a kiss that even made the girls react. Chuck had finally made detective.
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
New Fiction By BUREAU Editor Joshua TRILIEGI
Each Chapter is Written Consecutively in a 24 Hour Period without Notes & Published
SEASON TWO / EPISODE 7 / CHAPTER 29
BOOKS
The only person who really gave Charles a hard time was his son Mickey's longtime girlfriend, Moon. She saw her boyfriend go from the king of the castle, to the simple son of a man who had been gone, missing in action, for a decade. Charles knew how Moon felt and he liked her for it that much more. He started to joke with her by saying things like, "Don't hold back now," or "Tell me how you really feel," and she did. Which was all the more frustrating for her because he could take whatever she could dish out. Finally, one afternoon, not long after Charles' escapade in the middle of the LA riots, Moon cut the man some slack and they talked heart to heart. On the days that followed the riots, Moon told Mickey, that she wanted to keep the bookstore open all day and all night and have local people, writers and some of the poets do a full days readings of the works of revolutionary poets, writers and works of social justice. She said it might be a good idea to have Charles and some of his biker pals camped out in front of the store to insure security and Mickey thought it was a good idea. "We need to teach people that a true revolution happens with education over time not in three days with fire." People got up and read Le Miserables, Angela Davis, John Reed, Russell Means, Allen Ginsberg, Sartre, The Bill of Rights, The Constitution, Thomas Paine, Black Elk Speaks, Bob Dylan, Malcolm X, Ken Kesey, Nelson Algren, William Seward Burroughs, Buddha, Amiri Baraka, The Abolishment of Slavery, Poetry of Struggle, Artaud and on and on. While the city was burning itself to the ground and the National Guard was marching in on the Presidents request, The Bookstore was teaming with words and music and a subverted energy that simply said, "We understand your frustration, now lets express ourselves to make real change." A group of younger readers got up and read songs as if they were poems, including the works of punk rock bands like The Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, TSOL, Black Flag, Red Kross, The Minutemen, Sex Pistols, The Clash. With lyrics like, "Wild in the streets, running, running, wild in the streets … " they brought a social commentary and an angst and expression that was wholly appropriate. During all this, Moon turned to Charles and said, "Well, what do you think ?" "About this ?", Charles asked, over the loud readers, crowd and general hum. "I think it's beautiful." She nodded in agreement. "What made you stay out there so long ?" Moon asked him. He breathed in a deep slow breath and then breathed out a long slow exhale, looked at her with his eyes beginning to well up, and said, "I am not entirely sure." Then he thought about it and continued. "There was a silence out there that became very necessary to me. Just a silence of the mind that seemed to make time itself pass rather quickly. I once sat in the same spot under a tree in the middle of a crowded intersection for at least a year. And to me, it seemed like about three or four days. Ya gotta understand, my life had happened at a tumultuous speed. The music, the bikes, the drugs, the times themselves, it was just all to quick and had happened all to fast and then it ended even quicker than it had actually happened. Maybe the thing it Vietnam didn't help. All I know is that, it all had passed so swiftly, I didn't even realize the time."
Moon stared at him. She saw something in him of a small boy. Then asked, "Did you ever think of your family ?" Charles replied, "Yes, All the time. The mind is a strange and interesting place to stay for ten years. I would gaze into the distance and recreate all my favorite people and just watch an interaction in my mind. But there would be no words, simply a beautiful interaction. Like making love or playing on the beach or walking through the forest and then my skill pattern became so focused that I could literally be in the middle of say a battlefield or a busy intersection or anywhere at all, in any weather condition and totally zone in on things. It got to the point where I could sit and watch the Civil War or the Meeting of the Great Chiefs or the entire concert at Woodstock, wether imagined or based on a real experience. I was out there, really and truly, out there. That doctor at the hospital said that if it had not been for the 'shock' of the accident with that bus driver, I may have just spent the rest of my life in that state of mind. He said it 'woke' me up." "Would you like to meet him ?", Moon countered. "Who ?" asked Charles. "Would you like to meet the bus driver ?" she replied. He thought she was joking with him. "He is actually a customer of ours. His rest point on that bus route was just around the corner. We had become friends long before the accident. Mickey rode that bus route into Malibu and even thought he saw you on the beach a week before the accident. He came home thinking that he was seeing things." Charles added, "Mickey's a hawk, he has always been a keen observer. As for meeting the bus driver, Yes. Maybe it would do him some good to know that he actually 'woke me up from a ten year slumber'. We should have someone read, 'Rip Van Winkle'. Then she added, "Charles, I know I've been giving you a hard time…" Just then Mickey and a few of his friends came walking in and interrupted, "Dad, I want you to meet a good friend of mine…" Charles got up and excused himself from the conversation with Moon. He didn't like sentimental apologies and knew that she was correct in criticizing his long absence. So he simply pretended not to know where she was going with that one. Moon watched the man and the son and his friends discussing something or other and she began to like the fact that a King had returned and maybe Mickey wasn't giving up his crown so quickly after all.
When Moon invited Jordan to meet Charles, she had decided to do it in a covert way. Jordan had given her the home number when Moon had convinced him that he should preorder a special collection of Maya Angelou Poetry and said, "We will call you when the books arrive." She was a savvy salesperson and made it extremely easy for people to buy books, either by order or layaway or any way she could. To her the bookstore experience was personal, life was personal and even her business style had become personal. Moon called the house and left a message saying that they had some new books put aside that Jordan would like and could he call the store sometime soon. When he finally got around to it, Moon answered the phone and Jordan said, "Someone called the house about some books I ordered." She replied, "Oh yes, this is Moon from the store in Venice Beach. I put some books aside for you and your lady that I thought would be good for your collection. I hope It's o.k. that we called you." Jordan said it was fine. In fact he explained that he had been thinking about her boyfriend. "You mean Micky ?", "Yeah" Jordan explained that he wanted to talk to Micky about possibly buying a motorcycle. "Well, thats interesting because were having a party at the new family salon next week. Maybe you and your lady…" She paused so that Jordan could fill in the blank, "… Wanda." He added. "Yes. Maybe you and Wanda would like to attend ? It's sort of an investors party, but I think it would be a great time for you to talk to Mick." She gave him the details of when and where and they both said goodbye. A week or so later, Jordan, Wanda and Jordan's mom, who went by the name of 'Baby' entered the Venice beach hair salon, which was not yet open to the public. This was an investors party,s o people were invited to consider investments in the new establishment and those who had already invested were present to see the progress and development so far. The salon itself was the brainchild of Mickey's sister Cali and her girlfriend JD or Jezz as Charles had begun to call her. Jordan had been feeling strange about what had happened out there on the coastline that day. It was bad enough that he had struck a pedestrian, but he had also grabbed a wrapped bundle of bills that had spilt out on the highway, just on reflex and was now wondering if keeping the cash was the right thing to do. The cash had been wrapped in paper that had once been dipped in LSD. It was part of Charles' leftover stash from one of his many post office box drops. So every time the bills were handled, there was always a chance that Jordan would begin to have light hallucinations and this had happened several times since the incident. He decided to bring the entire bundle with him to the salon, not knowing exactly what he would do. Jordan figured that if he ordered a motorcycle from Micky than he would be putting the money back into his hands, so to speak. He had originally been told by his lawyer who the man was and the background of their family, in the event that something such as a lawsuit were to occur, so there was no surprise when he found out that they owned the bookstore and that luckily, he knew Moon. Jordan believed in these types of occurrences and although he was not one to quote his beliefs system publicly. His friends would have easily said, "It is up to Allah." Jordan had a modern way of looking at his tradition. He felt a man had as much to do with the actions of the world as god himself and there were times when that belief both rewarded and seem to challenge his life.
The party was already on its way when Jordan's camp arrived. Moon immediately saw them enter and greeted the trio with beverages, found a seat for Wanda and Jordan's mother and led Jordan over to meet Mickey, who was standing with Charles. "Mickey, this is Jordan, you've met at the store once or twice." Then she turned and notice that Jordan was visibly nervous about meeting Charles. Jordan,"She said, "…this is Charles, Mickey's father." She had already told Charles about Jordan and so he was already well prepared to meet the young man. "So you're the guy who woke me from a ten year slumber." Charles stated rather loudly. "My doctor said that had I not been struck that day, I may not have even returned to the living. So after discussing it with Moon, we decided that a meeting was in order." Jordan didn't know what to say. "I felt terrible about what happened out there sir." Charles responded, "Well it wasn't exactly your fault now was it. Not only was the other driver in the wrong, but as I recall, my little shopping cart was out in the street. We would often do that so cars would not veer so close to the edge of the highway. 'We', meaning, me and my other roving compadres." Jordan felt a sigh of relief and began to reach into his pocket to give the man his money back. Just then, Cally and Jezz brought the meeting to order and announced that investments in the business would provide a return on the money within eighteen months and a percentage of the profits thereafter at such and such a rate. She had drawn out proposals and charts and projections as well as paper kits for attendees to take home. Investors would also be provided services at half rate for them and their loved ones. Then Mickey stepped up and said that the first person to invest over five thousand dollars in the business would also receive one of his motorcycles for half the price and he would provide a custom paint job to order. Now Jordan saw his way out of this without difficulty. He walked into the restroom, counted what was left of the bundle of hundred dollar bills, roughly about eight thousand dollars. He put the wrapper in his coat pocket and walked back into the salon. Jordan waived to Moon expressing that he wanted to talk to Mickey in private. They walked out back away from the crowd. "Hey man, I just want to say how sorry I am about …" Mickey interrupted him, "My dad would maybe never have been discovered if it wasn't for you. The hospital would never have called the house. Who knows how long he may have drifted, were grateful to you." Jordan said, "Well in that case, lets talk business," he pulled out a wad of bills, "I don't want my Lady or my Mother to know about this, so lets keep this in-house. Here is eight thousand dollars for the bike and the salon. I don't want anyone to know about this. Just say its by an anonymous investor. We can start an account for my kid with whatever comes back." Mickey looked at the money and laughed out loud, "All right." Jordan felt relieved, he shook Mickey's hand and mentioned that all the details could be settled at another time. Then he said goodbye to Charles and noticed that his Mother and Wanda were talking up a storm with Cally's girlfriend, Jezz. Jordan said he was tired and wanted to go home. Wanda and Baby said they wanted to stay. Then Cally announced that someone had invested a major amount anonymously and that the shop would be open in the next thirty days. Everybody cheered. Mickey held up his beer in Jordan's direction and Jordan took his left fist and held it in the air. They both smiled at one another. Jordan walked over to Moon and didn't exactly know what to say. Then he remarked, "You don't actually have any books for me at the store do you ?" She laughed, "Of course I do." Jordan looked her over, "But that's not why you invited me here is it ?" She giggled, "Not exactly." Then she added, "We all saw what happened to you with the transit authority, losing your job and all of that." He just looked down. Moon continued, "Jordan, your pretty well known now, maybe it's time you got into a new line of work. How would you like to sell books for a living ?" Jordan lifted his head up, he thought about the question more deeply and simply said, " BOOKS ? "
Here are THE New Chapters at the very Beginning of Part Two of the Fiction Project. The entire Part One is available on our Site BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE . Com as well as here on our Community Sites in L.A. / N.Y.C / S.F. / Santa Barbara / San Diego and the New International Literary Site with links to Publishers, Book Stores and Literary Events. This particular Excerpted Version is accompanied by the Fine Art Paintings of Contributing Artist David FeBLAND represented by George BILLIS Gallery in LA and NYC. The Paintings existed and were created without knowledge of the Novel Project, though we felt their presence here allowed for a visual narrative that compliments the Series.
Published at BUREAU of Arts and Culture Sites in: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Santa Barbara and The Bureau International Literary Site in August 2014 Written by The Bureau Editor Joshua Triliegi Tune in Here Every day Monday to Friday for More ...Fine Art Paintings by New York Painter David FeBLAND with a featured Interview SUMMER
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BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE CHANNEL IS ON YOU TUBE WITH NEW FICTION PROJECT
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Image: David BOWIE The ARCHER By John Robert Rowlands Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago Illinois USA
Welcome to The SUMMER 2014 Edition of BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE MAGAZINE. We are very pleased to bring you a New Slate of Interviews featuring writer Luis VALDEZ of Zoot Suit / La Bamba Fame. Our Guest Artist is Philadelphia Painter David PALUMBO. This Edition features The Iconic David BOWIE Essay and the Musical Tour Art Exhibition. Terry RICHARDSON with a New Photographic Essay from Elvis Presley's GRACELAND. David LEVINTHAL with a sampling from his Fine Art Photography. An Essay on Sci - Fi Screen Writer George Clayton JOHNSON. Various In Depth Interviews with Fine Artists: John WESTON, Gustavo GODOY, David FeBLAND and Designer Andrew WHITMORE. FILM Interviews with The Directors of Billy MIZE + The Bakersfield Sound, Druid PEAK, Lake Los Angeles, Supremacy & The PLEASURES of Being Out of Step: Notes on The Life of Nat HENTOFF. Music Interview/Top Ten List of Very Cool Things by Kenny VASOLI Four Chapters of The New FICTION: " They Call IT The City of ANGELS " by J.A. TRILIEGI
David FeBLAND's Fine Art Painting Catalog is accompaning The New Fiction Projects. We Welcome SomeKindaWonderful of Downtown Records as featured Music at The Site: The LA Classic 'California'.
DAVID BOWIE: IS The Other Man
David Bowie Is the most important contributor to Modern Rock and Roll. Many people forget that Bowie is actually the Godfather of Punk Rock and New Wave Music. That includes: The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Souxie, Gary Glitter & The Entire English New Wave invasion of the 80's. The big difference being that, he outlasted all of those who he had inspired. And to this day, he still puts out interesting, experimental Music. David Bowie is also the most influential contributor to Modern Rock & Roll, hands down. He is the original Chameleon.BOWIE is The Space man, The Thin White Duke, The Spider from Mars, The Cracked Actor, The Joker, The Glam-A-Rama, The Trusty Narrator of our Story, The Social Critic, The Sexual Seeker, The Man who Fell to Earth and so much more. Possibly the most daring and experimental performer in Rock and Roll ever, make that the most daring, most respected and the most successful performer in Rock and Roll Music History.
Todays new music scene is entirely dependent on David Bowie's influence. Bowie alone brought back the return of : The Story, The Character, The Opera, The Entertainer, The Show, to Rock and Roll Music. He became his characters and then killed them off accordingly, like Mary Shelly and Doctor Frankenstein did with The Monster. Bowie's musical alignments with fellow performers like Iggy Pop, John Lennon and Mick Jagger are legendary. Bowie is really the Elvis of a new time and place. He speaks to more than one generation in our homes. The albums are still very much classics. They take us on a journey. They are mini novels. They are sensitive, brash, gentle and oddly scathing. The music is not dated because it was decades ahead to begin with and so we return to David Bowie year after year, decade after decade, again and again. Bowie personified life in London, Berlin, Japan, New York, Hollywood and then, finally, the entire World. In "Young Americans", Bowie told Americans more about ourselves than we would ever know before. Speaking directly to sexuality, politics, housewives, young men, young women and to all of us kids. He spoke and we listened, even Bing Crosby couldn't deny Bowie's influence.
There is so much yearning in Bowie's music, in his voice, in his lyrics, in his trembling statements about life, about love, about loss. He is connected with, on the one hand, Opera and on the other hand, Literature. And in the middle, is this very gentle and fierce performer who, when he grabs the microphone, and warms into the song, flinches his head, smiles, echoes & reinvents the performances as he goes along. When David Bowie gets into the performance, something quite magic happens, to us, to him, to the audience. David Bowie is elliptically responsible for the careers of film makers like David Lynch. Had Bowie not played The Elephant Man on Broadway, for recording breaking performances, in the 1970's, the play would not have been optioned and turned into a film, which launched the career of David Lynch. David Bowies foray into androgynous characters is also partly responsible for the rights of alternative lifestyles that are currently in the limelight at this time all around the world. His music invaded the toughest neighborhoods and even the toughest hoods in those 'hoods. Ziggy Stradust alone is possibly the most legendary music character to celebrate the beauty of Performance, Insanity and Displaced Heroism ever created by anyone ever. Its starts with " Ziggy played Guitar … " and then it ends with, "… Ziggy played Guitar." The bookends of Rock and Roll for The Modern Man: End of The Story. Well, at least until the Next David Bowie album. Download the 178 page SUMMER magazine at link to left
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LUIS VALDEZ : WRITER
By Joshua TRILIEGI
Luis VALDEZ changed The Entire Literature Landscape with his Fierce Hit Play, "ZOOT SUIT". Here in Southern California, The Play is much more than words. It is a personal and positive Idea that gave many people the inspiration to do something with the things they saw, not only in their homes and neighborhoods , but to reclaim what was happening in the media, to own the stories that they were being told and to simply reclaim what was rightfully theirs to begin with: Their Own Family Stories. In This Interview Bureau Editor Joshua TRILIEGI and Luis VALDEZ discuss his career, his working process and the development of a powerful force that continues to inspire millions of Indigenous People around the World and teaches everybody else.
Mr Valdez went on to create The Film "LA BAMBA", which told the very important story of Latin Musician & Songwriter, Ritchie Valens. Fueled by the proliferation of 1950's Retro Nostalgic Films such as American Graffiti and its follow up Happy Days, as well as The Musical Biographical genre's popularity of projects like The Buddy Holly Story, Elvis and the like: LA BAMBA was the perfect project that entirely launched the energy and force of ZOOT SUIT into the stratosphere of popular media and culture, finally a story that rightfully claimed, explained and honored The Latino Experience, or as Luis Valdez might put it, "The Chicano Experience" in popular music history. The film itself touches on the family paradigm in both mythical and real circumstances.
A beautiful & entertaining film that holds up today just as it originally did upon its creation. In the same way that Zoot Suit gave us the career of Edward James Olmos, 'The Chicano Bogart', La Bamba gave us a multitude of talent in front of and behind the scenes: Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Los Lobos & Others.
Since then, Mr Valdez has continued his influence as The Worlds Leading Latino and Chicano Playwright traveling everywhere, all the time, sharing his great wealth of knowledge and experience with a world thirsty for truth, experience & entertainment.WE are very proud to bring you Luis VALDEZ, unexpurgated, uninhibited and unbeaten.
We spoke with Kenny Vasoli of the Band VACATIONER
about his process in making music, composing, inspiration and touring with the band. BUREAU Magazine readers will recognize VACATIONER Music, We showcased it on The Bureau Site in JUNE.
BUREAU: This is an interesting direction and a very cool new album, tell us how you go about creating a tune from the time you write it to what were hearing now.
K.V. : Thank you for saying so. The songs usually come about through a process of me writing top-line and bass-line to a short instrumental track sent to me by my partners, Matt Young and Grant Wheeler. After I come up with a rough draft from home, I'll drive up to their studio in Brooklyn to lay down the final version.
BUREAU: Touring is a big part of the industry you're in, what are the pros and cons of life on the road?
K.V. : Traveling and playing music are two of my greatest interests in life. So it's a natural desire for me to keep moving with a touring lifestyle. Surely, It can be mundane at times. The thrill of it just cannot be matched by anything, and the mundane spans of time are always overshadowed by the memories of fun and adventure.
BUREAU: Do you do a lot of reading, if so, what are you into these days ?
K.V. : I am a slower reader than I'd like to be, but I cheat my way through heaps of audio-books. I am giving "How Music Works" by David Byrne a whirl with my eyes. I'm absolutely loving it. He is very scientific in the way he writes, but is so articulately human at the same time. I'm totally fascinated with Byrne's mind. I had finished "Bicycle Diaries" around this time last year.
BUREAU: What Inspires you most, IE : Film, Art, Music? Tell our readers
a bit about your creative process.
K.V. : I think I'm most inspired by art that not only impresses me, but intimidates me in a way. I love experiencing a loss of self and a humbling when I witness artists executing their work so effectively. It almost scares me. True inspiration is fleeting. I find that I can't just conjure it at will. It's like I have to wait for the reception of the signal to come in clearly, and then I record everything I can before I lose it.
BUREAU: Here at The BUREAU were all about ART + Culture. Give us a List of top ten Cultural References for our readers to check out: Art, Film, Music, Surfing, Design, Etc…
K.V. :
1.Daniel Madeline Collage artist. I've always liked trippy collage work, this guy seems to be among the trippiest.
2. Matt Schwartz Photographer, I recently had the pleasure of working with Matt. I had been a fan of his work prior to the shoot. His pictures are colorful and vibrant, and he usually shoots really beautiful girls.
3. Duncan Trussel Comedian & podcast host. Duncan has a personality that shines brightly through his voice and his words. An expressively positive human who can verbalize thought-provoking humor with inherent ease. To say he is a comedian isn't framing it perfectly. He is somewhere closer to a humorous Terence McKenna. His podcast is called The Duncan Trussell Family hour, I highly recommend it.
4. Yorgos Lanthimos Filmmaker. His most recent movie, Alps, blew me away. Without spoiling too much, I love the way he makes you feel around in the dark for what exactly is going on. But even when you figure it out, something is still very alien. It feels like a Twilight Zone episode a bit, like you are in a different dimension of earth. Yorgos is perfect example of someone who is able to rattle me with their art.
5. Antonio Carlos Jobim Musician & composer . I've been swallowed by a deepening interest in 60's/70's era Brazilian music. When you go down that hole, you are bound to come across Antonio Carlos Jobim. He wrote and performed some of the greats. The album "Wave" is considered a masterpiece. "Stone Flower," however, is my favorite of his records.
6. Eckart Tolle Author & Spiritual Philosopher. I occasionally receive an eyebrow lift when I discuss spiritual philosophy, and understandably so. It's deep into the hippy dipping pond. I'd simply be remiss to leave Eckart Tolle off of my list, he is a significant cultural character in my life. Hearing him speak relaxes me a great deal, so I listen often.
7. James Murphy Musician, producer and just rad dude. This guy knows how to live! LCD was my favorite band when they played their last show, and somehow I felt great about the closure. I'll always get excited seeing his name attached to a project.
8. Maggie Hayes Artist. Maggie is a beautifully talented painter, mixed - media artist, photographer & model. Another figure in my life who positively motivates me to raise my own bar.
9. Righteous Jolly Mixologist. I know of Righteous through mutual friends, I first met him at a pal's birthday celebration at a bar he was managing. He was making some of the most interesting drinks I'd ever experienced, with ingredients he created himself. If you are in Philadelphia, he has a place called Bourbon & Branch. Ask him to make you the one that has the jalapeno in it! Yum.
10. Jimmy Cobra Carbonetti Guitar-maker. Cobra plays guitar in Caveman, he builds every guitar they use. They look and sound gorgeous. Beautiful timeless style.
The BUREAU Film INTERVIEW
DAVID L. LEWIS : FILM MAKER
DAVID L. LEWIS : FILM MAKER
Documentary Film maker Davis L. Lewis speaks with Bureau Editor Joshua Triliegi
The new documentary, The Pleasures Of Being Out Of Step Notes On The Life Of Nat Hentoff features music by Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Duke Ellington. The film focuses on an interesting story and the career of one of America's leading Music Critics and Independent writing voices in last few decades. An authentic and personal film with a an up - close look at a very outspoken writer.
BUREAU: NAT HENTOFF is quite an interesting character: we enjoyed the film. How did you come to choose this subject as a feature documentary and tell us about the journey from impetus to final release if you will ?
Davis L. Lewis: I’m glad you enjoyed it! The initial impulse was complicated but basically boils down to this: As a journalist myself, I’ve always loved the “war stories” I heard in the newsrooms and bars where we tend to congregate. As I got older, and as the digital age crept up & then roared over us, I began to realize that we are losing a generation of journalists who made their lives in the printed word. We are very good about telling other people’s stories, but not so good at telling our own. I felt an overwhelming desire to preserve some of that history. There were lots of possible subjects, but Hentoff presented a particularly intriguing one because of the jazz. I was never an aficionado, and only had a vague awareness of his earlier work. So the chance to learn more about the music was big draw. I remember how hard I worked to prepare for the interview we did on jazz — and how nervous I was when we sat down to do it. Afterward, I asked him how we did, and he said, “At least you knew the right questions to ask.” That was a big relief! I’ve worked all over print and broadcast journalism, but this was my first feature-length film, my first large-scale independent project. The creative challenge as the director was to try to get past the usual bio-pic documentary formula and create a film with its own aesthetic that helped us tell the story. I think we did pretty well at that, although I’m sure not all the critics will agree. As the producer, the biggest pleasure was putting together a great team that helped me keep up the creative momentum over the length of the production. The biggest challenge, of course, was finding the resources to get it all done.
BUREAU: A Documentary like this usually takes some time. Averages of 60 to 85 hours often paired down to 90 minutes is always rather challenging, What was your ratio and discuss how you went about ' finding ' the shape of your film ?
Davis L. Lewis: If you include all the archival material available to us, that ratio is pretty close, probably a little short if you count the music too. We had to make pretty careful choices about what to shoot. We based our decisions on what we thought we would get out of it and that process worked well for us. The problem is the man is so prolific. We knew there was no way we could tell it all, so we had to make narrative choices as well. We tried to keep our focus on the thematic thread that unifies the whole film, which is the relationship between free expression as a creative value and a political value, and the relationship between those values and the ability of an individual to create an identity. We chose an unconventional structure because we wanted to show the connections between those values in Hentoff’s life, and the connections between the people and ideas that popped up at different points. We spent a lot of time in the editing room moving those pieces around, teasing out different themes and association and making sure the connections were as clear as we could make them. We also had to leave a lot of stuff out, but maybe we’ll have some nice extras on the DVD.
BUREAU: The blend of MUSIC, ART & POLITICS symbolized by the single opinion of an individual, in this case, Mr Hentoff, created quite a controversy. When did you first become aware of Mr Hentoff and now that the film is completed, what have you learned about Documentary Film making ?
Davis L. Lewis: I came of political age in the '70s, a particularly awful time in American politics, and I first became aware of Hentoff through is his work at the Voice, which presented such a strong counterpoint to the corruption of that era. He is always outspoken, but it seemed to me that he was rarely a blowhard. At his best, he puts a lot of thought into his work and comes by his conclusions honestly. So even if you don’t agree with everything he says, you can respect him for saying it. I think he would be horrified by someone who agreed with everything he says, or at least he would find that person boring.
The most important thing I learned about documentary filmmaking is patience. It took longer than I thought it would, but I think our focus on quality and depth helped us get to the end. And I learned to always work with the very best people I could find, but people who believed in the project. Because it takes a sustained effort to follow through to the end on a project like this, and it’s hard to sustain that effort if the people you work with don’t believe in it. And you want them to be satisfied with the work at the end as well. I met a producer early on who I wanted to work with, and she turned me down. But she gave me a great piece of advice. She said we had a mature project and that quality work always rises to the top. I always remembered that, and it helped me through some of the tougher stretches, and helped me to be patient. And I hope she’s right. We’ve gotten this far. I would ask her to work with me again. [ CONTINUED - ]
BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Photography Essay : David Levinthal
"I first began to work with toys as the subject matter for my artwork in 1972 while I was a graduate student in photography at Yale. Initially I was interested in the toys merely as objects. As I continued working I began to try to re-create the feelings of childhood play by photographing toy soldiers on the floor of my bedroom and using simple painted wood blocks to represent buildings and cities. I quickly found that narrow focus that came from photographing objects less than an inch tall gave the toys more life and a sense of realism that was not inherent in them. Setting up the toy figures is just the beginning. The set itself is just the background. It is a scene. And it is within and from that scene that the images themselves are found."
- DAVID LEVINTHAL
Courtesy of The Sandra Gering Gallery 14 East 63rd Street New York New York www.sandrageringinc.com info@sandrageringinc.com Also at: http://www.sanjosemuseumofart.org
Illustration Portrait By BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine Summer Guest Artist David PALUMBO
100 Must Read Books Compiled by DAVID BOWIE
- The Age of American Unreason, Susan Jacoby, 2008
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz, 2007
- The Coast of Utopia (trilogy), Tom Stoppard, 2007
- Teenage: The Creation of Youth 1875-1945, Jon Savage, 2007
- Fingersmith, Sarah Waters, 2002
- The Trial of Henry Kissinger, Christopher Hitchens, 2001
- Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder, Lawrence Weschler, 1997
- A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1890-1924, Orlando Figes, 1997
- The Insult, Rupert Thomson, 1996
- Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon, 1995
- The Bird Artist, Howard Norman, 1994
- Kafka Was The Rage: A Greenwich Village Memoir, Anatole Broyard, 1993
- Beyond the Brillo Box: The Visual Arts in Post-Historical Perspective, Arthur C. Danto, 1992
- Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson, Camille Paglia, 1990
- David Bomberg, Richard Cork, 1988
- Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom, Peter Guralnick, 1986
- The Songlines, Bruce Chatwin, 1986
- Hawksmoor, Peter Ackroyd, 1985
- Nowhere To Run: The Story of Soul Music, Gerri Hirshey, 1984
- Nights at the Circus, Angela Carter, 1984
- Money, Martin Amis, 1984
- White Noise, Don DeLillo, 1984
- Flaubert’s Parrot, Julian Barnes, 1984
- The Life and Times of Little Richard, Charles White, 1984
- A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn, 1980
- A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole, 1980
- Interviews with Francis Bacon, David Sylvester, 1980
- Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler, 1980
- Earthly Powers, Anthony Burgess, 1980
- Raw (a ‘graphix magazine’) 1980-91
- Viz (magazine) 1979 –
- The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels, 1979
- Metropolitan Life, Fran Lebowitz, 1978
- In Between the Sheets, Ian McEwan, 1978
- Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, ed. Malcolm Cowley, 1977
- The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Julian Jaynes, 1976
- Tales of Beatnik Glory, Ed Saunders, 1975
- Mystery Train, Greil Marcus, 1975
- Selected Poems, Frank O’Hara, 1974
- Before the Deluge: A Portrait of Berlin in the 1920s, Otto Friedrich, 1972
- In Bluebeard’s Castle : Some Notes Towards the Re-definition of Culture, George Steiner, 1971
- Octobriana and the Russian Underground, Peter Sadecky, 1971
- The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, Charlie Gillete, 1970
- The Quest For Christa T, Christa Wolf, 1968
- Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock, Nik Cohn, 1968
- The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov, 1967
- Journey into the Whirlwind, Eugenia Ginzburg, 1967
- Last Exit to Brooklyn, Hubert Selby Jr. , 1966
- In Cold Blood, Truman Capote, 1965
- City of Night, John Rechy, 1965
- Herzog, Saul Bellow, 1964
- Puckoon, Spike Milligan, 1963
- The American Way of Death, Jessica Mitford, 1963
- The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea, Yukio Mishima, 1963
- The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin, 1963
- A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess, 1962
- Inside the Whale and Other Essays, George Orwell, 1962
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark, 1961
- Private Eye (magazine) 1961 –
- On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious, Douglas Harding, 1961
- Silence: Lectures and Writing, John Cage, 1961
- Strange People, Frank Edwards, 1961
- The Divided Self, R. D. Laing, 1960
- All The Emperor’s Horses, David Kidd,1960
- Billy Liar, Keith Waterhouse, 1959
- The Leopard, Giuseppe Di Lampedusa, 1958
- On The Road, Jack Kerouac, 1957
- The Hidden Persuaders, Vance Packard, 1957
- Room at the Top, John Braine, 1957
- A Grave for a Dolphin, Alberto Denti di Pirajno, 1956
- The Outsider, Colin Wilson, 1956
- Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov, 1955
- Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell, 1948
- The Street, Ann Petry, 1946
- Black Boy, Richard Wright, 1945
- The Portable Dorothy Parker, Dorothy Parker, 1944
- The Outsider, Albert Camus, 1942
- The Day of the Locust, Nathanael West, 1939
- The Beano, (comic) 1938 –
- The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell, 1937
- Mr. Norris Changes Trains, Christopher Isherwood, 1935
- English Journey, J.B. Priestley, 1934
- Infants of the Spring, Wallace Thurman, 1932
- The Bridge, Hart Crane, 1930
- Vile Bodies, Evelyn Waugh, 1930
- As I lay Dying, William Faulkner, 1930
- The 42nd Parallel, John Dos Passos, 1930
- Berlin Alexanderplatz, Alfred Döblin, 1929
- Passing, Nella Larsen, 1929
- Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D.H. Lawrence, 1928
- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925
- The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot, 1922
- BLAST, ed. Wyndham Lewis, 1914-15
- McTeague, Frank Norris, 1899
- Transcendental Magic, Its Doctrine and Ritual, Eliphas Lévi, 1896
- Les Chants de Maldoror, Lautréamont, 1869
- Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert, 1856
- Zanoni, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1842
- Inferno, from the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri, about 1308-1321
- The Iliad, Homer, about 800 BC
Mr Palumbo is a prolific painter working in a multitude of styles. David has an ongoing series of works including: The Tarot, The Portraits, Fantasy illustration, Gallery Fine Art and his sexually charged, if not controversial Quickies. The later available in publication as well as for purchase individually. Once familiar with David Palumbo's work, each style or series is immediately identifiable and interesting. The Quickies definitely push the envelope and raise the bar as well as the blood pressure on sexually charged and inspired figural art work. David Palumbo is that rare breed hybrid of working illustrator, fine artist and individual creator who is pushing the envelope on what can be done with an image.
Mr Palumbo's portraits of well known personalities such as Sidney Poitier, Mathew McConaughey, David Bowie and Jane Fonda capture the essence of the person and also stamp his own style and interpretation accordingly. David Palumbo has what we might call a painterly style: excessive brush strokes, textural experimentation, impressionistic via the materials. Schooled as a classical figural painter with a keen interest in cinema and raised among a family of artists has led him to be commissioned by a wide variety of publications and we are very proud to have him as Guest Artist for The June/August Edition of BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine & BUREAU of Arts and Culture . com & Community Sites On Line. The David Palumbo Sci-Fi or Fantasy illustrative work is not only exciting, bold, striking, sometimes scary and even gory, but also imaginative, humorous and always services the story being told. BUREAU readers may remember Mr Palumbo's artworks affiliated with the Fiction project in the recent June edition of the magazine. David's work brought an entirely new & fresh approach to telling the story and we noticed right away how accessible and welcoming as well as supportive his work is to the text. The dark humor involved in his fantasy illustration harkens back to the American comic books from the nineteen sixties and even further back than that, some of his themes relate back to early 19th and 20th century illustrative technique's of the English variety: Sherlock Holmes and Jack The Ripper.
With the resurgence and popularity of Vampires, Zombies and a new form of sexually expressive literature, art and film in today's current creative landscape, we are sure that the popularity of Mr David Palumbo's artworks is on the rise and we are glad to introduce our readers, as well as allow Mr Palumbo himself to describe his process and share a top ten of his favorites. We spoke with David Palumbo about his career, his education and his approach when it comes to making Art for a living and who he keeps an eye on when it comes to inspiration. Enjoy The David Palumbo Interview and many Artworks dispersed throughout. Rather than censor the artist, we give you full warning now, this is Mr Palumbo un - edited. THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IS DOWNLOADABLE AT THE LINK BELOW ...
BUREAU: Please suggest a list of ten artists that our audience should know about and why.
DAVID PALUMBO: Hmmm. Ok, I hope some of these are already well known, but here are ten artists I’m currently really digging:
Mead Scheaffer - I don’t know much of his story, but damn can he paint. Scheaffer was an illustrator in the first half of the 20th century who was brilliant with design, limited color, and something about his brush calligraphy just kills me.
J.C. Leyendecker - Another early 20th century illustrator, Leyendecker was so bold with shape and silhouette that I’m often looking to him for inspiration. His stylization of figures adds such elegance and drama. Precursor to Rockwell.
Jeremy Geddes - an Australian contemporary painter who has transitioned from illustration to fine art. His work is so moody and stark. I love the illustration and gallery work equally.
Antonio Lopez Garcia - a Spanish painter, still active I believe, who is known for his immense cityscapes and incredibly life-like interiors. The depth and tangible quality of his work is unreal, especially if you ever have the opportunity to see one in person.
Sam Weber - a contemporary illustrator based in Brooklyn who’s done mostly editorial and cover work. Sam’s look has been evolving since I first became aware of him. Back then it was very graphic and stylized, often monochromatic and minimalist. Recently he’s been turning more hyper-realist but still with a strong graphic punch and terrific mood.
Alex Kanevsky - a contemporary fine artist who does very abstracted depictions of figures and such. I’m endlessly fascinated by how far he can break the lines and planes while still showing a clear representation of the figure.
Robert McGinnis - an illustrator who did a ton of crime novel covers with sexy women in the 60s and 70s. Think of Bond girls and you’d think of McGinnis.
Sanjulian - a European illustrator who did absolutely brilliant 70s gothic and horror (and romance) book covers. Wonderful 70s texture and amazing montages
Greg Manchess - a contemporary illustrator who does genre and mainstream work with a very painterly hand in the spirit of the Pyle school. Wonderful chunky strokes and incredible compositions.
John Harris - an English illustrator who does beautiful painterly space scenes rich in color and emotion. Almost nobody can get away with loose atmospheric takes on SF like Harris can.
Mr. Palumbo's worked has been showcased in: Ace Books . Blizzard Entertainment . Centipede Press . Dark Horse Comics . Daw Books . Heavy Metal . Lucas film . Marvel Entertainment . The New Yorker . Night Shade Books . Pyr Books . Roadrunner Records . Rolling Stone . Italia Scholastic . Science Fiction Book Club . Simon and Schuster . Scientific American . Subterranean Press . Tor Books . Wizards of the Coast and In the collection of: George Lucas . Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art . The Association of Fantastic Art he has Numerous Awards Including : Chesley Award - best game related illustration (2013) / Spectrum Gold Medal - book category (2013) / Spectrum Gold Medal - book category (2011) / Spectrum Silver Medal - comics category (2011)
BUREAU Magazine: New CINEMA
Billy MIZE & The Bakersfield Sound
By Joshua TRILIEGI
History is sometimes told by outsiders, sometimes by insiders and sometimes by someone simply very interested in the facts, in this case: it's a little of each. Billy MIZE and The Bakersfield Sound is a New Documentary that tells the story of California's forgotten history. We have got a lot of those around this Golden State. So very much has happened out here in The West. William J. Saunders steps up to tell the story of his Grandfather, songwriter and musician, Mr Billy Mize. A local legend of sorts for anyone living in the middle of California in the 1950's & 1960's. Billy Mize was a big part of what is now commonly called, 'The Bakersfield Sound'. An offshoot of Country Western Music with its own Rock - a - Billy bar room blend of hard driving guitar, rough edged rhythm and wide audience appeal that to this today is influential to musicians such as Dave Alvin, who appears in this film to help tell the story. So too does Merle Haggard and a host of people who were there or highly influenced by the music that was created during that time. A hard driving, hard working community of people whom many migrated to California during The Great Depression ala John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and settled into middle California seeking employment in Agriculture.
" This is a Patchwork Quilt of a Film that is
Truly American in its Creation. "
Billy Mize and his pals had to actually establish the Academy of Country Western Music to chime in and recognize each other and their contemporaries out West. Artists such as Elvis, Dean Martin, Barbara Mandrell and others are sited as influenced and impressed by The Bakersfield Scene. Billy Mize, looked after new talent, collaborated, produced and performed with the likes of folks such as Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, who would go on to prosperous profits and notoriety while Billy, sometimes, did not. This documentary elliptically raises the question: What is Success ? Is it a top ten hit or is it a happy marriage or is it simply being satisfied with the things you have done ? Ask that question to three different people and you will get three different answers. This film allows each viewer to decide for themselves that answer and meanwhile we learn much about the center of California, The Music of Bakersfield and the career(s) of a whole group of people that clearly deserve our recognition. This is a patchwork quilt of a film that is truly American in its creation.
This magazine was once an Art Studio, it transformed into a professional Gallery and later into a multi media center for celebrating the arts of all types: Fine Art, Painting Sculpture, Photography, Classic and Contemporary Arts, Poetry, Music and Film. About this time of year almost twenty years ago, we decided to screen several original Twilight Zone prints on 16MM film reels and invite an audience. Back then, if you were sincere, forthright and naive enough, you could simply pick up the phone, make a few inquiries and next thing knew, you were on the phone with someone like George Clayton Johnson.
By the way, thank you to the lady at the writers guild who broke protocol sensing that many of our older, wiser and more talented writers in this town were not getting enough attention from the next generation. In Bogart and Bacall fashion, she helped Sam Spade.
The phone rings several times, " Hello, Is this George Clayton Johnson the original writer for The Twilight Zone ? ", I asked, sounding not unlike a child actor from an Old Time Radio Show: raspy, anxious, hurried. At that time, I had no idea that George also wrote Logan's Run, The story for The Original Oceans Eleven and a slew of Television shows including: The first Star Trek episode, Kung Fu, Route 66 & Alfred Hitchcock Presents. "Yes, this is he." The voice on the other line replied. I was ecstatic, this was not the first writer from the series I had called, many had passed away, others lived in New York or elsewhere, and to top it off George had actually been the writer of one of the reels we were showing and of some of the best work in the Zone series: Kick The Can, A Penny for Your Thoughts, A Game of Pool, Nothing in The Dark : Each Twilight Zone Classics.
I explained what we had planned and asked if he might be interested in appearing for the screenings, [ long pause ] "Yes, I would." In Hollywood, that is the phrase that opens doors, that is the phrase that begins careers, that is the phrase that starts the great journey, it is the phrase we want to hear from those we love, those we wish to work with and those we admire. And, in classic sci-fi style: everything appeared different after that dialogue. The objects in my office seemed different, as if gravity meant nothing, the world was do able, the opportunities seemed endless and I was about to hang out with a writer I had admired since childhood. Suddenly, we were The Bureau of Arts and Culture, we were purveyors of not just Art, Music and Poetry, but now, we were actually presenting and honoring great writers in town. George showed up trailed by a film crew, he was the great philosopher and old pro and I was a mere student & enthusiast: the perfect combination. It was Obi Wan & Luke. It was the great Chief and a New Warrior. It was George and I. It was also our first official, 'Question and Answer ' exchange with a real working writer. Mr Johnson was a fabulous guest, there was standing room only, we were 'On The Map'. Flash forward almost 20 years. Mr Johnson has had a total resurgence, due to the many remakes of his original story: Oceans Eleven by director Steven Soderberg and the other subsequent films including, Oceans Twelve and Oceans Thirteen. From what we are hearing around town, there will soon be a new Logans Run. We at the BUREAU are very proud to have been on the forefront of recognizing one of The most imaginative and greatest writers working in Hollywood since the early Nineteen Sixties. We wish to thank George Clayton Johnson for his contribution, not only to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Film and Television, but for his collaboration, cooperation and very cool demeanor in working with and recognizing our earnest and heartfelt efforts at a time when many pros had no idea who we were and what it was we were doing at the time. Many still haven't. Mr. George Clayton Johnson has always been ahead of his time and in a way, so are we. Even our name was confusing to people: The BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE. It sure sounded official for an Artist run organization. So much so that, curators from Cultural Affairs working for the city actually came down and hand picked artists for Exhibitions. So to did many reporters for Vanity Fair, Coagula Arts Journal, The LA Weekly, The LA Times, The New Times, Venice Magazine, Fine Art International. Cultural Non profits such as LA Goethe Institute were extremely enthusiastic about our exhibitions & events.
All in all, The BUREAU found itself at the correct place at the correct time doing what many Institutes do with big bank rolls, non profit status or major grants from corporate and private institutes. We did it with enthusiasm, we did it with honesty, we did it with care and we did it without all the phony and fake affiliative aspects that now have pervaded the entire landscape of entertainment, art institutes and music/film related non profits of today. Were still doing it with this publication and we will go on doing just that with whatever venture this artist run organization enters into. After all, we also make Art, Films and Books. Without the George Clayton Johnson's of the world, This organization would not be what it is: Thank You George.
INTERVIEW: Director Deon Taylor
Deon Taylor Directed, Supremacy, a new Film Starring Danny GLOVER & Lela ROCHON
We spoke to Deon Taylor about his experience developing and directing this New Drama.
BUREAU: Although this is a wholly original production based on a true contemporary situation, did you look at crime dramas in your research within the genre ? William Wyler's The Desperate Hours with Humphrey Bogart comes to mind.
Deon Taylor: During the process of preparing for the production of "Supremacy" I worked very hard to stay away from films that lived in a world of containment or hostage situations. I wanted to test myself. I wanted to shoot from my heart and have no pre-game plan. I felt the story was so unique and had so many layers that, creatively, it needed me to be a blank canvas. On another note, I love "The Desperate Hours." Classic!
" This film taught me to live in the moment
and simply be true to the story. "
BUREAU: What particular challenges did you face in entirely switching modes here and taking on high drama ?
Deon Taylor: There were always challenges on this film. Personally, the biggest challenge was staying true to the family. The film is based on a true story and I wanted to be sure to stay in tune with the tragic events that took place that night. This was a challenge simply because, as a creative filmmaker, you’re always looking to see how you can make something bigger and more effective. This film taught me to live in the moment and simply be true to the story.
BUREAU: Working with Danny Glover is a godsend for any director, once you knew he was on board, discuss with our readers how the rest of the film fell into place.
Deon Taylor: Danny Glover is a godsend! Danny was my first call after reading the screenplay. I don't really have the words to explain how I felt once he said “yes” to the project. Danny has always been one of my favorites and represents so much to me. When I think of his career and his body of work, it's beyond amazing. You're talking about one of the first, Black, action heroes that had success globally. From "Silverado" to the "Lethal Weapon" franchise to "The Color Purple," how do you top that? Without talent like Danny Glover and Sidney Poitier, there would be no lane for incredible talents like Jamie Foxx, Will Smith or Denzel Washington. So when I go back to the call and hear the words, "Yes, I'm doing your movie," words cannot explain how I felt. It was simply a blessing and I am so grateful for him and the opportunity he allowed me to have. It is very hard to believe that Danny Glover has not been nominated for an Academy Award over his 40-year-career. He is Academy-worthy in my book and I love him.
BUREAU: Eric J. Adams wrote the screenplay for this riveting drama, when did you first read the script and what made you decide to take this project on as a director ?
Deon Taylor: I first read the script two years ago and everything in my body said, "Go make this film." As a 100 percent independent filmmaker, the challenge then became, "How do I raise the money needed to make such an important film?" I felt strongly about this film as my entire family has had dealings with race-related issues. I truly believed through film I could shine a light on ignorance.
BUREAU: Several dramatic scenes in the film depend highly on pitch perfect performance. Sparse dialogue and situation force some of your actors to find a certain tone: Lela Rochon rises to the challenge beautifully. Could you talk a bit about creating a
creative atmosphere on the set for your actors.
Deon Taylor: Lela Rochon is amazing! Her spirit is beautiful as well. When setting the stage for "Supremacy," I had to find the perfect locations in which the talent could immerse themselves. For high-energy characters like Lela, Joe and Dawn, I found myself talking to them constantly, building layers for their characters and creating backstories. This process was the key ingredient in grabbing these amazing performances.
BUREAU: In a film like this, the ending is all important, it's a bit of a nail biter. Since it is actually based on reality, what are the challenges of delivery a true story that thrills along the way ?
Deon Taylor: To this day, the ending of the film brings a tear to my eye. The speech, the energy, and the performances all mesh perfectly. I would love to take the credit but I give that to God, who allowed me to rewrite the end of the film on set with Danny, Joe and Eric. It was so cool! Going into the film, I knew I wanted the audience to go for a ride. I wanted to shoot this film in a way that would allow the audience to feel trapped and, at times, hot and confused, which is what the family felt. This was challenging at times due to the fact that I was shooting on 16 mm film, and we had no money. I simply had to truly do my homework and understand that I had no extra days or pick up days. What I shot is what I would have in editing. This makes you a bit more aggressive and it truly makes you work harder.
" Going into the film,
I knew I wanted the audience
to go for a ride "
BUREAU: There is a real minimalist approach to background of characters due to the storyline. What challenges do you face when creating a cohesive world under theses conditions ?
Deon Taylor: The challenge is constant! The race overtones, the violence, the drama, the family being at odds the whole film - you find yourself emerged in this crazy world as a filmmaker. You take it home each and every night. You're dirty in a sense. That was how I felt. It was almost like a game. You're sweating, you're focused and you do not want to lose. So, the challenge simply becomes, "How do you get performances to be top of the line?" With the cast I had that was not hard! I love them all.
BUREAU: Joe Anderson puts in a fierce performance that is both extreme and magnetic.Would you describe the process from casting to final performance.
Deon Taylor: Joe Anderson is a star! From the moment Joe walked into the room for casting, I knew he had it. The challenge became how intense we wanted Tully to become. I tease Joe a lot because he knows how big a fan I am of his work. When I think of all the amazing talent in Hollywood like Bradley Cooper and Tom Hardy, I list Joe right up there. I've never seen anyone more committed than him. He pushes himself into an angry state to deliver. There were times that Joe and I would have a crazy argument over a scene and within a hour we would have nailed and then laugh about it.
BUREAU: Your film utilizes the psychological flashback as a sort of tension builder. How much leverage do you give your editor Richard B. Molina and describe a sequence
where he helped you to unify the project.
Deon Taylor: The process as a filmmaker is always difficult. When you are doing a project like "Supremacy," the relationship between editor and director has to be absolutely incredible. While in the cutting room with editor Richard Molina, we spent hours and hours collaborating on scenes and moments. We became best friends in a sense through the process. One scene that comes to mind when I think about Rich is the second flashback in the film. There is a scene where Tully and Doreen pull over and she goes to please him. The scene is very graphic and super intense. I originally removed it from the film. Even though I loved it, we pulled it because of time issues. Rich worked his ass off and trimmed multiple scenes in the film in order to allow that scene to make the cut. I love him. He is so great. It's funny because when I watch the new "300: Rise of an Empire," I can tell you what scenes Rich had his hands on. He is a genius.
BUREAU: Give our readers an example of how an actor influenced the shooting of a particular sequence and shaped the film in a way you might have done differently without their particular contribution.
Deon Taylor: While shooting the end of the film, we were set to shoot the final moment between Tully and Mr. Walker (Danny Glover). As we were reading the lines I could just feel the energy was a bit off between Danny and Joe. I yelled cut. I walked Danny to the side and he simply said, "We need more here." He was right. At that moment I stopped production, rewrote the entire last scene of the film and then shot it. To this day, that is my favorite moment in "Supremacy."
Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp3gl4PLH9A
DAVID FeBLAND : FINE ARTIST
BUREAU: Tell us about your relationship with creating imagery: When & how did it start?
David FeBLAND: I began creating imagery in my head long before its physical embodiment on canvas. I didn’t even think of myself as an artist until I reached my 20’s, and I began to create wholly self-expressive work only as I reached the age of 40. I was a 6 year old child growing up in the bucolic countryside of Southern England when suddenly my family relocated to Coney Island, Brooklyn. It was 1955, during the ebbing but still raucous era of side shows and bawdy entertainments of a working class seaside town. The giant spatulas hadn’t yet been affixed to the front of the Sanitation trucks, better to evenly tan the Unfortunates who fell by the wayside. That was coming but still in the future. My new neighborhood was a lively place where Freak shows were commonplace, and the people who worked them for a living went about their local errands after hours. My first explorations in my new country included quotidian encounters with The Hairy Lady (full mustache & beard), The Leopard Girl (skin half black, half white), The Fat Man (at 400 lbs, a real standout rather than today’s next-in-line at McDonalds), Mr. Pinhead (don’t ask) and a supporting cast of dwarves, simians & fire-breathers. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. This seminal experience gestated for a long time before finding its way into art as I engaged in a variety other life pursuits, but it formed my view of public life forever. I never really took my eyes off the street again, and l believe that at that early age my interest in human interaction with our physical surroundings was set. However unconsciously, my lifelong determination to cast the world around me as dramatic narrative was established. We carry a few essential ideas into and through our creative lives. We go back to them again and again in a process of refinement. Our craft improves, we discover new methodologies and media, but they always support a nucleus of what I would call essential truths that we form early in our experience.
BUREAU: These days, the line between illustration and Fine Art is not entirely clear. As a former illustrator, how do you differentiate these two worlds?
David FeBLAND: I will invoke a famous 11th Century rabbinical scholar, Hillel the Elder, by way of addressing this question. He was asked by a cynical student to explain the meaning of the bible while standing on one foot. To this dismissive question, he calmly replied, ‘Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. All the rest is commentary on that one essential idea’. If I pay my grandmother a visit and she asks me to make a drawing of her cat to hang on her wall, I am creating an illustration. If I pay my grandmother a visit and decide to surprise her with a drawing of her cat to hang on her wall, I am creating a piece of fine art. Intentionality determines the difference between the two. All discussion of style, context, and emotional power over the viewer is commentary on this one essential idea. A work of fine art, whether good or bad, successful or not, is internally generated by the artist no matter the extent to which it may reference the world around us. I have seen some spectacularly well crafted, insightful and emotionally moving visual works, produced by some truly gifted artists, that were created to illuminate written works… but because they exist to support an external idea, thought, command or campaign, reside in the world of illustration. I should add that this is not a judgment of value. I have seen abundant examples of horrific art, breathtaking failures by any measure, that nevertheless stand as fine art for having been created as independent works, intended to stand (or fall) entirely alone.
BUREAU: Do you make a living as an artist? Please describe that process and how it has evolved through the years.
David FeBLAND: Yes, although not in a way that a professional working in a non- creative arts field with a comparable level of education, talent and determination would consider a living. More seriously, the utter lack of a Plan B has compelled me to make a success of my career in fine art. Mine was not the traditional route here. Having not gone to art school & without the very helpful contacts students often acquire there, I had no easy initial entry routes. I was unprepared for the generally cool reception afforded an unknown artist walking into rarified New York galleries. I had spent the previous 18 years running a successful practice as an illustrator & when l walked away from that life in the early '90s, I was used to the meritocratic & far more congenial world of publishing - or even advertising. l did, however, have some essential business, professional & strategic skills acquired over that period & after a year of getting thoroughly stonewalled, I regrouped & decided that a frontal attack on The Beast wasn’t a successful strategy for someone with my background. I began to approach galleries, curators & university art museums everywhere ELSE, all the while entering competitions & group exhibitions wherever they were calling for artists, building a resume quickly over the next few years. Eventually this led to my first gallery representation as well as some critical press, which attracted further interest in my work (as well as sales). Today, the art market is driven as much by online presence & art fairs as by conventional gallery relationships. But where to show & whom to approach from the myriad choices in a fluid world? It is important to understand the nuances & differences in world cultures when plotting a strategy of how to market one’s art. While today, most Western markets rise and fall more or less as one, the differences in culture are immutable; a painting I cant sell for love or money in, say, Atlanta, might sell instantly in Berlin.
David FeBLAND: Today, it is that knowledge that has driven me to develop gallery relationships around the world as a sort of hedge against regional cultural indifference to my work. To understand, for example, why paintings representing American subjects are less likely to sell in the UK than, say, Germany by way of planning a successful international strategy, one has to understand something of the historical relationship between the cultures. It is my view that the UK has a far more uneasy relationship with contemporary America than do the Germans. With some level of bemusement, the British continue to see us as the renegade colony now imposing our culture upon them whereas the Germans still see us as having saved them from a national horror. They visit America in great numbers with genuine affection and a more benign attitude, coming from today’s secure and stable national economy that was in no small way made possible by our intervention. They can afford to experience an expansionist American culture without a sense of existential threat. Whereas the paintings I send to the UK tend to reference their own culture, I sell paintings that make a great range of American references through a number of German galleries with some level of ease. While there are many reasons for this, I cant help thinking that historical relationships are an important factor.
BUREAU: Styles of Art, popularity, trends, values, schools of thought come and go. How do you maintain your particular vision while maintaining relevance?
David FeBLAND: I think it is a mistake to spend too much time or effort pondering ones relevance within the artistic world. Consideration of these matters soon leads us to reach for inclusion in a School or ally with a movement, moving us closer to derivation or appropriation and further from our own artistic truth. My own work eschews most references to popular culture and art world homages, and I believe that its relevance within the artworld may suffer for it. (Many of my collectors have a literary background, not coincidental, I think). My work isn’t about itself, and that puts me at the margins of many contemporary conversations about art. But the alternative is worse: a craven attempt to adapt my work to fit more neatly into art world conversation is as intellectually dishonest as readjusting to meet a sales marketplace. Heat-seeking missiles are more the purview of warfare than art fairs. If my work does have significance, then this will be demonstrated over the life of my career (or beyond it) where each painting represents a building block in service to a greater purpose, a vastly larger idea that becomes apparent in the fullness of time. The good news is that we are in a more pluralistic art world than ever before.
In a recent conversation with a well-placed Chicago art dealer, I heard him describe the evolution of the “scene” in that city over the last 25 years from one driven by abstraction into conceptualism, back into abstraction, then into figuration and now into a world where ‘anything goes”. I try to ignore the direction of trends, do what feels most artistically honest to me, and then shamelessly promote this work when and wherever I can.
BUREAU: Tell us about the most recent work and how it relates to storytelling.
David FeBLAND: My work explores a psychological space that modulates between aspiration & reality. It’s an essentially uncomfortable place – one where you have the sense of not quite being where or what you think you are. This is a contemporary state of mind that I represent in depictions of the transitional edge of combustible & colliding urban neighborhoods, its corporeal equivalent. After observing just such city spaces for many years, l realize that the concept of an Edge - or more precisely, the turmoil where urban neighborhoods collide - is as much a state of mind as a physical reality, and therefore eminently transportable. This isn’t a view I have come to quickly. For years, I embraced the boast that “it can only happen here”, as New Yorkers are fond of saying, and truly, it has always been convenient for me to mine for inspiration from the perch of a densely populated Island, my home in Manhattan, where everything happens at a stone’s throw. Living in New York, I appropriated the common phrase, “living on the edge”, making it a Cardinal Rule of Survival at home but applying a second, more literal, meaning. Surviving here meant staying as close to the water as possible, far from Midtown, thus avoiding the City’s crushing & overheated core.
David FeBLAND: So when I recently had to move my studio into that core, under the threat of eviction from my previous space, my creative response was to figuratively cross the water, venturing away from the Island entirely, to observe new places and subjects. I learned that interpreting the life I lived and observed in New York was certainly expedient but by no means inclusive. My current work is a reconsideration of our relationship to our physical environment. When I was given the opportunity to exhibit in LA, l knew l would have a chance to witness patterns of human behavior in a very different kind of city. My research for this show took me to the West Coast, and I quickly immersed myself in forms of travel and daily give and take foreign to my life in New York. (I didn’t even own a car there for 35 years!). I wanted to create pictorial reference points that would be familiar to Los Angeles audiences either directly or through inference, but I invented narrative tableaux driven by my belief that most human interaction is universal. I was lucky to be in LA during an extended period of clear weather, characterized by transparent, smog-free skies and brilliant, saturated color surfaces. I immediately determined to incorporate high-key tonality into my paintings. This became something of a subversive inducement to viewers; I would seduce them into a closer perusal of the works and allow the less comfortable elements of the stories to reveal themselves more subtly over the course of the viewing. This is a strategy I have no intention of abandoning any time soon.
David FeBLAND Website is Extensive and very Interesting : DAVID FeBLAND SITE LINK
David FeBLAND Fine Art Paintings continue on the following pages at The New Fiction Project
Bureau Media Partners: Downtown Records . First Run Features . Indie Printing
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE : ON LINE
MARNI ZELNICK: Film Director
BUREAU Editor Joshua Triliegi talks with Marni Zelnick about her most recent feature film.
TRILIEGI: DRUID PEAK is a wonderful film. Tell us about your earliest interest in this particular subject and how you went about developing the project.
MARNI ZELNICK: A lot of the story elements that eventually became part of Druid Peak were things that had been germinating with me for a long time. The effect external geography can have on our internal selves; the almost haphazard but devastatingly permanent way life can be lost when you’re a teenager; the fact that people so rarely ask the right questions of each other; the power animals have to communicate without speaking, and how their vulnerability can move even the most stoic heart. I think every writer has those things. But the immediate catalyst for the film was a $100,000 production grant offered by the Sloan Foundation for a script dealing with science or technology. Funding for first features can be incredibly difficult to find and I knew I wanted to apply for the grant. I went to their information session and they were probably no more than fifteen minutes into it when the image of a kid running alongside a pack of wolves streamed through my head. It was the unification of a million things I cared about. All of those ideas I mentioned plus Jackson Hole, Wyoming—a place that had been significant to me both as a teenager and an adult. The story kind of grew out of and around that image.
TRILIEGI: The Film starts out with a common problem facing much of the youth of today: Urban Dissatisfaction. Your lead character, Owen, goes through a slow and steady transformation, discuss the arc of this character.
MARNI ZELNICK: You know, I would say it a little bit differently. I would call it environmental dissatisfaction, rather than urban dissatisfaction. I think it would have been easy to make Owen an urban teen and for the conflict to simply be urban versus rural life. But as a film with an environmental subject, I wanted the issue to be more complicated than that. I specifically set Owen in West Virginia because it’s a place as potentially beautiful as Wyoming, but we’ve used the land very differently. The town we shot in, Mt. Hope, was an old coal town where the seam was mined to exhaustion. The land was depleted and the town never recovered. So a potentially very beautiful place had been used in a way that left its inhabitants with very little, both visually and in terms of opportunity. Owen is a smart kid who feels crushed by the claustrophobia of the place. There’s nothing there for him. He may not be self-aware enough to articulate it that way, but he’s stopped trying to make anything of himself or his life because he doesn’t see where it could lead—what the point is. His arc is a lot about realizing that there are still choices to be made. He can choose a different place, a different life, a different self. [ continued ]
ABOUT BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE:
An Electronic Interactive Version of BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine. 'Electronic' meaning you are reading it with a device, 'Interactive' meaning you can actually tap the featured interview or image & listen to extended Audio Interviews & Links. BUREAU Magazine can be read without being on-line, though it is much more useful and interesting if you are actually on-line or you may visit our website and enjoy a compendium of Interviews, Articles, Reviews and Essays. We suggest you view the pdf in the Two Page and Full Screen Mode options which are provided at the top of your menu bar under the VIEW section, simply choose Two Page Layout & Full Screen to enjoy. This format allows for The Magazine to be read as a Paper Edition. The BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE has been a respected ART Institute since the early Nineteen Nineties. Many of the original BUREAU members have gone on to have stellar careers in The ARTS. Artists, Filmmakers, Musicians such as: Lucas Reiner, Spike Jonze, Alex McDowell, Martin Durazo, James Gabbard, Christina Habberstock, Lorna Stovall, Heather Van Haaften, Chris Greco, Don Harger, Ron Riehel, Joan Schulze all had very early collaborations with The BUREAU Projects. Our relationship with ART spaces who have been interviewed / reviewed by BUREAU: Jack Rutberg, Susanne Vielmetter, Tobey C. Moss, Shoshana Wayne, Known Gallery, Sabina Lee, The Bowers Museum, The Geffen Contemporary, Hammer Museum, RED CAT, The Skirball Cultural Center, Museum of Contemporary Art in L A, San Diego and in Santa Barbara help to create well earned future partnerships, distribution as well as a 'word of mouth' that is priceless. Collectively, they have been in the business for hundreds of years. Not to mention the thousands of public readers that have received the magazine on their door steps. Our coverage of the MIAMI Art Fairs with in depth audio & slide presentations allow us to create a lasting relationship with the ' National Big Tent ' art events that allow for fundraising activity. We recently interviewed the Grammy Museum and are creating a lasting relationship. The same pattern applies for THEATER: Edgemar, LATC, Circle Theater, Cygnet, Robey. MUSIC : The Echo, The Redwood, The Roxy, Grammy Museum, Origami, Vacation, Record Collector, LA Philharmonic & The San Francisco Philharmonic. BUREAU has created relationships with Film, Music and Art festivals, National & Local Radio Stations, continuing the tradition created with BUREAU Film projects and the utilization of Print, Radio and Web to facilitate publicity, fundraising & awareness. Triliegi Film programs were discussed on KCRW 89.9, KPFK 90.7 and Indie 103 FM within the non profit umbrella in the past and we plan to sustain & develop those ties. We were invited to Cumulus Radio's Commercial Rock Formatted KLOS 95.5 FM [ Bureau mentioned on air] to consider an affiliation. We recently interviewed Miles Perlich of KJAZZ 88.1 FM and we were given tickets to Classical Music concerts by K-MOZART Radio & we invited a guest reviewer to attend. The BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine will continue to create a lasting relationship with the Art Institutes, Media & Schools that drive the Arts in America. We distributed Paper Editions to OTIS Art School & The Campus at USC to support alignments with faculty, staff & students who will become future entrepreneurs & participants in the Arts. Our upcoming interview with Barbara Morrison and her connection with UCLA Jazz music department with Herbie Hancock & The Thelonius Monk Institute is solid.We delivered the first edition of the magazines to: Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, Palos Verdes, West Hollywood, Los Feliz, Malibu and The beach communities: Hermosa, Redondo & Manhattan beaches. We received financial support from the arts & culture communities by creating a dialog about the arts, reviewing their art exhibitions, theater plays & films. Art Galleries from Culver City to Bergamot Station to Glendale approved of and supported Edition One. Now we have an online READERSHIP that grows exponentially. BUREAU sites in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara, New York City and very soon Seattle, allow for anyone, anywhere, to see what is going on in the arts in that particular city. Which we feel will allow for us to apply for support, distribution and grants within those particular cities and for local businesses to buy ads. We add new cities quite often and create a lasting relationship with the established Arts Foundations in ART, MUSIC, THEATER. Which usually includes Classical music, Art Galleries, live Theater and Film. We added Surfing , Skateboarding and Biking to get the interest of a younger readership and indeed it worked. We have also celebrated those subjects with our fundraisers, selling artworks in relation to Biking & Skatng. We partnered with local & national businesses that assisted & we provided logo affiliation & coverage on the web: Chrome Bags, Jarrittos, LA Skate, DTLA Bikes and The Los Angeles Bikers coalition, to name a few. Older Established Artists from diverse cultures also participate in the BUREAU of Arts and Culture Exhibitions and Interviews. We brought together Native American, African American, Chinese American, Armenian American and Mexican American elder artists in a single exhibition: a financial as well as critical success with "Gathering The Tribes: Part One". We hand delivered the first paper Edition throughout Southern California and select neighborhoods in San Francisco. We introduced the magazine & created Popular Cultural Sites. We are an official media Sponsor for L A Art Fair & PHOTO LA Photo Fair. We extensively cover and or interview galleries at Art Fairs such as, Platform LA, Pulse LA, Untitled Art, Basel Miami, Art Miami, Miami Project, LA Art Book Fair. We provide an extensive overview, Audio walk throughs, visual presentations with 100+ images per on-line feature. If that doesn't convince you, nothing ever will.
