“Are you sure about this?” Aiko asked me, her face radiating doubt as we drove through the campus. “No more clubs, no more bars… this is what’s left. Besides, they said one of the guys heard us in Chicago, so they must know what they’re getting.” She gave me her “Inscrutable Asian” look, and then […]
Posted on August 10th, 2008 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, Immortality, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | Comments Off on Spring, 1965
It had already turned cold before the bar emptied out and over the next hour the temperature dropped like a stone. I was wearing a light denim jacket over my stage outfit and the cold dug into me remorselessly, but I forced the sensation down, concentrating on listening and watching. Cigarette stubs littered the ground […]
Posted on February 7th, 2008 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | 3 Comments »
The air was thick with spilled beer and old cigarette smoke.These little clubs always seemed so desolate once the crowds had filtered out. The four of us were sharing a bottle while the waitresses and the bartender cleaned up for the night. Neff and Aiko seemed relaxed and happy, but Dalene was cool and pensive, […]
Posted on January 3rd, 2008 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | Comments Off on November, 1964
A crowd had gathered- they always did when Dalene sat outside with her guitar, but that evening it was larger than ever. We were leaving in the morning and it seemed everyone we had met that summer wanted to stop by to hear her play one last time. She sat on the steps of the […]
Posted on August 11th, 2007 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | 3 Comments »
Human beings are variables. Failure to grasp this fact is the major failing of all Utopian visions regardless of their provenance, for such fantasies assume humanity can be controlled, made predictable, guided. Case in point: Four whores from New Orleans should find no haven in a small Virginia town, yet this is precisely what we […]
Posted on May 27th, 2007 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | Comments Off on Virginia, Summer, 1964
“Angie!” I was moving even before Aiko’s panicked shriek died in the air and the deputy was right behind me. We found Dalene stretched out on her back in the doorway to the bedroom, her head cradled in Neff’s lap as she twitched and gagged, foam drooling from the corner of her mouth. I froze, […]
Posted on March 12th, 2007 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | Comments Off on Confrontation
We were three days on the road when Dalene began digging through her bag, her face a study in quiet desperation as she pawed through her few belongings searching for something she knew she would not find. Aiko was driving with Neff beside her. Dalene and I were in the back seat. “When did you […]
Posted on December 16th, 2006 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | Comments Off on Crisis
I seldom attempt anything drastic without having a sense of certainty regarding the outcome. I require no guarantees, but there must be some logical expectation of success. Unfortunately I set out that morning without such expectations, instead simply counting on Jacques’s greed or, failing that, being prepared to use force- the latter option not being […]
Posted on October 6th, 2006 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | 3 Comments »
My only thought is to somehow ease you from the grip of this death spiral that defines you. There are but two things capable of touching your darkly secreted soul and you continue to hold the first at bay. I could seduce you with ease, but I fear to introduce yet another complication. All that […]
Posted on August 25th, 2006 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | Comments Off on 1964
“It’s an electric guitar,” I said, blinking at her as innocently as I could manage. Dalene smirked at me, “I know what it is. Where’d you get it?” “Last night. You know how musicians are- always horny, always broke. I made a trade.” It was mostly the truth, though I had laid out cash for […]
Posted on July 19th, 2006 by Zsallia
Filed under: 1963 to 1967, The Past, Wounds Inflicted | 1 Comment »