Hi! I don't really have anything terribly important to say but as the Official Librarian of Mythangelo.com I was told I could use this space as I see fit. I don't really know what to put here, though, so bear with me...
Ah yes, there is this little poem my uncle Paul used to tell me when he wanted me to go away cause I hated it so much... it goes like this.
There is a lake in Lili Town
Sometimes it's up,
sometimes it's down.
The water's blue,
the grass is green,
Sometimes the water's
actually clean.
But once in May
of sixty-three,
I was in love with Clara Lee.
We used to go
down to the lake,
and all night long
we'd stay awake.
We'd see the sky
and dream our dreams,
of love and birds
and clouds of cream.
And on that fateful
night of May,
We went alone
and I would say
I never saw a better night,
The mood was set
the time was right.
I looked into
her eyes of blue,
and told her "Clara,
I long for you.
I love you Clara,
You know I do,
But next week
I'm marrying Mary Lou."
She jumped into
the lake that night.
Perhaps the time
was not quite right?
They found her body
but all the same
I'll never drink
from that lake again.
Ari
Makes a Run For It
by Jouse Kidden, BS
Page 2
Around that time in Panama, a fellow by the name of Noriega decided one morning that what he really needed was his own country and so the family found themselves stuck in the middle of a hostile takeover. There is nothing like the nostalgic memories of walking down the sunny street one afternoon and suddenly finding yourself surrounded by a cloud of tear gas and an angry rioting mob. Well, that's when Ari really made a run for it, and I mean he ran like a chicken in a KFC Convention. Oh yeah, his parents were running too, but man that kid was not even touching the sidewalk. Although some might call him a coward, I prefer to call him passionately survival oriented. He would tell you that the tear gas was burning his insides like a steak on a grill, but I think anyone that runs at the first sign of a murderous mob and a bunch of toxic gas bombs is just making up excuses.
Anyway, it is no secret that the family made it out of Panama in one piece and made their way to Ecuador, where their very first cultural experience was sleeping in the airport of the violent city of Guayaquil. Apparently their ride decided his bed was much to comfty to leave it just to pick up a bunch of migrating Cubans. As it turns out, this was a lucky break for Ari and company, because the very next day they flew to Quito, capital of Ecuador and a much nicer city all around. That is if you don't consider that it is sitting in a valley completely surrounded by volcanoes, but hey, nothing is perfect. This was to remain their home for the next nine months. Nine months is the time required to make a baby, and also in this case, to purchase a fake passport, three fake names and an illegal entry to the U.S. The family did not get a baby, but everything else applies.
Ari's family resided in three locations during their stay in Ecuador. The first was in the house of an aquaintance they had made in Panama. This lovely family had a nice house, two kids and a staff of two or three housemaids, which are not as big of a luxury there as they are in the U.S. In fact in Ecuador, if you don't have a maid, you're probably homeless... that or you are the maid. They did not indulge long in their hospitality, however, having been promptly kicked out of the house by its most prominent occupants; the local united army of head lice.
So it was that soon after arriving in Quito, homeless and penny-less, Ari and company had a place of their own, with no maids, but also, no head lice. There was no head lice because they had all been previously kicked out of the appartment by a billion-strong army of roaches which resided there. OK, so it was not perfect... and what if they woke up one morning to find a pool of blood by their doorstep, courtesy of a fight the night before? It was home, sweet home.
It was while living here that Ari experienced his very first
Christmas, complete with a ten inch tall paper christmas tree and the
coolest present any kid whose family is biting the dust like an earthworm
on steroids could want; a wild parrot. I think it was around this time
that Ari lost one of his fingers to his christmas present... wait... what's
that? Oh, you still have all your fingers? Oh! That one too, huh?
Hey! Watch your manners!
I apologize, my employer had a correction to make. Carry on.