sysyphus

The snakes find bras in concrete
A cold avails itself of a dawn in Jerusalem
And the screaming whales take their last stand

Thus begins the reign of Sisyphus

Meanwhile, in Saigon, a villager reins his miniature horse into a miniature stable

Joe Bob Briggs looks on

And Patsy Cline plays on a transistor radio hanging from a tree

Crazy

It...
Just explodes

Falling green plastic particles

"Hey man", (Joe Bob), "nice shot".

"Joe"
"G.I. Joe"
"You should know better"
"I don't go for that honky-tonk shit"

Joe, cool as a monk on fire: "I ain't no G.I."
"And, I liked that radio"

It's been 6 years. Joe takes several seconds to recognize him.

Villager (now The Alchemist): "okay, well c'mon"
"I've got a pot of yak butter tea on..."

---

Past a pair of bunk beds in a yurt-like foyer, down a passage with a real cuckoo clock on the hardened mud wall, down further still, the subterrain

"How is your writing coming along?"

Joe: "I don't like it"
"It always starts out like something I'd want to read myself, then devolves. Into something linear, boring."
"You know?"

"What are you going to do about that?"

"What can I do? Keep writing. Try harder. You know?"

The Alchemist pulls a dirt covered tarp
Reveals a crate
The stash

"50 year old stuff"
"As promised"
"You can check it yourself"

Joe's already got his gear out
A portable water heater
Mountain procured mineral water
A set of purple clay cups

"Or... Stop writing altogether"

"Don't do that"
"I need you to keep it up"
"To document that shit out there"
"You're one of the few out there with your head still on"

And as quickly as the figurative is spoken...
Out there...
Out here...
It's difficult to escape the literal

There's perspective to be gained
Out there...
Out here...
If you can keep your head on...

"I tell you what Joe" "Take this" (it's a small satchel)
"Take it when you get home" "In comfortable surroundings"
"and don't forget your pen"

---

The haul. Fifty bricks worth. Will set things up nicely for Joe.

Home.

Joe wonders what the latest distraction from impending chaos awaits him when he gets there.

It was the Lindy Hop when he left. Yeah, he frequented those establishments. Often - not always - but often, he was the only white in the joint.