BOB DYLAN REVISITED

The other day, Stephan Elliott of The Rumpus said this… “I’ve been reading about Bob Dylan in 1965. He was tired of music and fame and he went to upstate New York to live in a cabin and be alone. He didn’t even bring a guitar. He said he quit music. After five days he started writing what many consider the best songs of his career.”  That got me to thinking…

I saw Bob Dylan in 1965 at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento.  A girl I was interested in at the time suggested I take her, as she had no money to buy a ticket.  I had no idea who Bob Dylan was, but thought it was in my best interest to buy the tickets.

 The Auditorium seats 3,000… there were about 600 in attendance, scattered all about.  Bob came out on the stage… a skinny guy with a guitar and a folding chair.  He sat down, strummed his guitar and sang a song.  After a few songs, he told everyone to come down and sit in the chairs on the main floor.  In those days no one stood at the front of the stage and lit matches or waved Bics… and certainly not cell phones.  I thought that was a cool move on his part.

 I enjoyed the concert and my introduction into the World of Bob Dylan.  I didn’t get laid that night, but I did get a Bob Dylan record the next day.

Highway 61 Revisited was that album.

Flash Friday Fictioneers… DRIP, DROP, DRIP

Something keeps rumbling overhead.  Sounds of pushing.

I was falling.  That was the scariest part.  Of course the landing wasn’t a piece of cake… hurt like hell. Right on my back.  Oh, God it hurts my ribs to move.

How long has it been? Maybe five days now.  I can remember walking the field, then grabbing at air as I went down the pit.  So fast… like instant. 

 I can just see some light above, and the drip of water every once in a while has been a Godsend.  I think I’m past hungry.

There’s the rumbling again.  

Darkness…

Another 100 Word Photo Prompt from Madison Woods… and here’s where to find the stories… Madison’s blog

100-words Flash Friday Fictioneers... THE UNDERPASS

Today's the day.  Going to pop another cherry.  Almost getting hard thinking about it, I know I will be when I get there... that's always the way it works.
  
Chancy, taking the risk... she may be watched.  Doesn't matter, someone else will get the honors, and I want to be first.  I have a reputation to uphold, and you don't get to be the master without a few risks.


This tunnel is the perfect place... dark and cool inside.  No one to see.
The cans rattling in my backpack empower me... Carnelian my favorite.


"STOP... POLICE!"  "I told you he'd come."


Another Friday... another photo prompt... another stab at Fiction with Madison Woods and her friends... see their stories here.

Flash Fiction Faction: I CAN’T FIND IT!!!

   The following story was inspired by Quill Shiv‘s Flash Fiction Faction prompt:

Oh dear. What happened to the train?

“Has he called it in yet?”
“No, and I’m starting to worry. Not like him to be this late letting us know the number.”
“Be sure to have them meet him at the station. I don’t want anything to delay the delivery.”

I know I’ve just been down this street. Nothing is looking right. God, I have to hurry.  They can’t move a train, can they?

“Anything yet?”
“No.”
“I told him it was not safe to miss the train.”

I should call them!   Oh…  I forgot the number!  I know it’s in this phone somewhere.   How do I bring it up.  Maybe this will work.  Who are these people?  I don’t recognize any of…

“Finally! I’m putting him on speaker. Was that a cry?”
“I heard it too.”

This is my third attempt at fiction.  I had not planned to write on this prompt… I guess I wasn’t prompted.  But then, yesterday I awoke at 4:30 and had this story in my mind.  I don’t think I dreamt it, just thought about it when I woke up.  I think I was inspired by all those waiter and actor dreams where you are trying to find something, like the table you are supposed to be waiting on, and you keep getting more desperate.  I got up and wrote what I thought was a pretty good story, and then… I erased it by mistake.  I could not get it back, and try as I might, I could not recreate the same mood.  Tonight when I saw Rinn’s story (that’s Quill… some Pen Name, huh?), and stories others had written, I really wished I had mine.  So here it is.   A little different maybe, but I like it.  

THE MISSING TRUCK... Postscript

Just an Empty Space

WELL... SHE'S GONE FOR GOOD!

 

After my last lament regarding the missing truck, so many readers wondered, like I, what the hell had happened to her.  One, was my son-in-law Steve.  He didn't just wonder... he called his friend Kevin. 

2011 San Juan County Fair

Now, there is a show on the History Channel called 'American Pickers'... kind of the poor man's 'Antique Roadshow'... where two guys go around the country combing junkyards, garages and people's 'collections' finding hidden treasures, just as worthy.  They would have a 'field day' at Kevin's.  He is San Juan Island's Premier Collector.  Island Stage Left needed a rusty old-fashioned radiator for their latest play... Steve called Kevin... they have a rusty old-fashioned radiator for their latest play.  At our County Fair each year, one of the highlights is 'Trash to Treasures' hosted by Kevin.  So, who better to ask about a missing roadside attraction. 

Old Island Landmark

Kevin knew all about my truck.  She is a 1946 Ford Flatbed, with a flathead V8 engine.   In fact, he had offered to buy her at one time and was told the owners of the property just liked having it sit there... they enjoyed looking at her while passing by on the way to their ranch.  It seems a neighbor did not share the same affection and deemed her an eyesore.  Word has it, that a scrapper had permission from the non property owner, and took her in the middle of the night.  As Kevin says... "These guys scrap first and ask questions later".  The goods are carted off the island to be sold for scrap metal to one of the mainland salvage yards.
 

Gone but not forgotten

They call these guys Tweekers... as most are methheads, trying to score their next 'eight ball', so they can make it a few more days.  So, that's what my truck became... 1/8 ounce of Methamphetamine.  Steve, Kevin, their friends in the collecting community and the Sheriff knows who they are... but, you can't do much if you can't catch them in the act.  And you can't station someone to watch the ferry lines night and day.  Unfortunately, the problem has spread to outright theft of property, not just abandoned vehicles. 

I have never shed a tear upon hearing of some mainland fool being electrocuted while attempting to steal the power company's transmission wires to sell.   I hope that does not start happening here... or maybe...

Island Stage Left's latest Production 'Someone Who'll Watch Over Me' plays at the County Fairgrounds Theater from April 5 - 29...

俳句… HAIKU BOMBERS #4… “When the Moon Hits Your Eye”

Lost in endless space
My first telescopic gift
Moon, Stars my new friends.

Backyard after dark,
Oohs and awes with each focus
Celestial beings.

And, Steely Dan says 
'That The Stars Come Out At Night',
Oh, they do...they do!

✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ 

I don't know how ideas come into people's minds. When I looked at Quill's Haiku Photo Prompt, I thought... "What in the hell am I going to do with that?". Then it hit me... My telescope!

When I was in college, I had to pick an elective science course. I chose Astronomy. One night the class went out to look at the stars, there were only a few telescopes and about 30 budding astronomers. The next day I bought a telescope. That night I set it up in my parent's backyard, and marveled at the Moon. The stars were not that big a deal with my little telescope, but the Moon... That was Fantastic! The telescope also came in handy at the next field trip... there were a lot of girls in that class.

When my daughter Krista went off to Chicago to attend The Theater School of DePaul University, she too had to pick an elective science course. I suggested Astronomy.

I don't know why I just thought of that, so I called and said "Hey, how did you like that Astronomy class in college?". She said "Oh, I don't know. I was an acting major, and it was at 8 o'clock in the morning. The lights were always out, and it made me sleepy". She did say that she thought she  enjoyed it.  But, I am reminded, that recently when a comet or some such celestial phenom was due, she stayed up half the night in sleeping bags outside, so her daughter could witness the event.

Two years ago, I was staying with a friend in Sacramento. Her neighbor had a big telescope in his backyard. He invited us over for a look. As I focused the full Moon into view, I got the same chills I had experienced over 45 years before.

Looking for an elective science?  Astronomy!

✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ ✣

Quill Shiv took The Haiku Bombers into Space this week... here's the link if you would like to try... https://quillshiv.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/haiku-bombers-prompt-4/