California Multilogue "Severaliloquy"
Earthquake preparedness. Stand far away from everything and everyone. Well I've been doing that for years and don't feel any more prepared than last time I was on this Coast. A year ago I'm in Portland. I approach the the dead man's house what's next? I took a picture, I walked in the park, I got a thick and drippy egg sandwich with JD the retired Air Force captain who walks thirty miles a day to offset his pastry addiction but hasn't had a drink in nine years. Now here I am in Oakland.
On one side of this house a chihuahua lives in a box. The neighbor with sun-red arms moves his coffee cup and cigarette in one hand up and to the side, rhythmic like he's conducting an invisible orchestra. He checks the fruit trees, finds one drooping, takes a sip. The little dog leaps up wagging its tail, its frenemies the street cats gather at the man's feet to receive pets and treats. More cats than I thought. Kittens. Grooming themselves on a pile of wide and yellow decaying leaves. I don't know the names of any plants out here. This one sprouts sturdy green commas. The tree next to the fence drops orangelos onto the pavement where they splatter and offer their blood to add some color to the place.
On the other side a party in the yard with amplifiers and instruments but no one ever plays a song. A lady keeps taking the mic and saying 'I've been a mom for fifty years' then a chorus chants 'TAKE THE SHOT! TAKE THE SHOT!' then loud bass feedback for a while and a drummer dribbles their sticks on a snare. Update: she said fifteen not fifty. It's a quinceanera and the young lady of honor gets up to say thanks to everyone for celebrating with her. No idea if the random fireworks going off in the neighborhood are related or not. Okay now they're playing. Tejano rock and what I can make out sounds great but the bass is droning through the fence and into my skull and I can't hear the vocals over it so this concludes tonight's immersive Spanyish lesson.
Nothing quite tame here. By design or circumstance who knows, I'm not a scientist, just a guy trying to figure out how to unlock a bike from an automated bike stall. Lake Merritt at dusk. Placid on one side, bass heavy parties on the other, surrounded on all sides by weird shadows. I met a guy over here once walking down the street. He had a glass box, an improvised terrarium if you wanna be technical about it, some water sloshing around and a pair of turtles in there. The turtles weren't doing anything interesting. I'm bringing these to my ex, he said. I fucked up. How are the turtles going to help? I have to bring her something, he said. I fucked up bad this time. Doubt she'll even open the door for me, he said. I'll leave 'em if she don't. What will she do with the turtles? She'll find 'em, he said. She'll take care of 'em. She's good like that. Then he said, oh shit I'm late and he crossed the street in a hurry against the walk light leaning forward to accommodate the weight of the box and the turtles therein.
I was on my way to a weed dispensary and when I found the address it was an unmarked door in a short alley between a Thai restaurant and laundromat. Inside a waiting area with a security glass and a young man in a security uniform handed me a questionnaire on a clipboard. Unclear if I was there to buy a pre-roll and some gummies or about to get tested for the clap. He waved me through a doorway into a magical space with beads and swirly colors and ashram music playing and behind the counter a woman with long tangled gray hair, standing perfectly still, like an NPC in a video game waiting to be activated so you can purchase some supplies. Not sure what happened next but I think I joined some kind of church.