My
girlfriend and I once came upon this lovely French restaurant as we were
driving through a picturesque southern town in the Tar Heel state. Named the Chez Carolina, we walked in and
were warmly welcomed. I informed the
Maître D’ that we did not have a reservation, bur he quickly advised us there
was always room for guests at the Chez Carolina, and we were promptly
seated. The place was bustling with what
appeared to be many happy diners and as our eyes began to roam around the room,
we were both delighted by the rustic charm of the establishment, which was
cobbled together nicely with a sense of modernity. There were old black and
white photographs of weatherworn tobacco warehouses along with pre-industrial
farm implements on the wall. These were intermixed with contemporary art pieces
by artists such as Susan Rothenberg and Sol Lewitt. Beethoven piano sonatas drifted softly
through the air as all the background conversations joined in together to form
a comfortable chorus, which made for a pleasant ambiance. Within a few minutes our waiter arrived. He introduced himself as Pierre, and with a
heavy French accent, he began to recite the wine list. Emily and I decided on two glasses of the
Bordeaux. While Pierre was retrieving our
drinks, we eagerly began devouring the menu, finding it difficult to decide on
an entrée since all the dishes sounded so delectable. There were so many dishes to choose from,
such as roasted duck with a red port glaze, seared sea bass in a sherry butter
sauce, and pork tenderloin in a brandy cream sauce just to name a few. Emily and I were both having a difficult time
deciding, bur once Pierre had arrived with our wine, we had settled on the
house specials. Emily requested the Coq
au Vin and I the Beef Bourguignon. A few
minutes after ordering we had emptied our glasses and I motioned for two
more. As soon as I took the first sip,
my taste buds were startled. “This isn’t
the Bordeaux” I told Emily. Emily took a small sip and was taken aback. She took another one to confirm her suspicion
and said, “This is Boones Farm Sangria.
I used to drink this in college”.
I looked around for Pierre, and I didn’t see him, so I motioned to
another waiter who asked me if there was a problem. “Yes”, I said, “We ordered two glasses of the
Bordeaux and what we have here, is, well it is an inferior vintage. Can we please have two more glasses of the
Bordeaux?” The waiter looked at us in a
curious fashion and advised that what was before us was the only wine that they
had in stock and it shouldn’t matter because only liberal socialists complain
about such things and he walked off. We
were dumfounded. It was then we noticed
that the restaurant had atmosphere had changed.
The Beethoven piano music was gone and the conversations around us were
louder and more heated. We even noticed
a table where a couple were kneeled down at their chairs praying. The contemporary art was gone and replaced
with pictures of fracking sites and large televisions playing FOX news. Our increasing anxiety at these inexplicable
changes was momentarily interrupted as we saw Pierre approach with our
food. Hungrily we watched as the plates
descended from the lofty tray and were set before us, bur we were shocked at
what appeared. Instead of Coq au Vin,
Emily had received fried chicken tenders with Cole slaw and I was given a
hamburger and tater tots. I advised
Pierre that this was not what we had ordered and demanded an explanation for
all of these strange alterations. He
replied that I should no longer refer to him as Pierre, bur as Jebediah. “Despite what you call yourself”, I said,
“This isn’t the food we ordered. In fact
this isn’t even French cuisine!”
Pierre-slash-Jebediah then explained the situation to us. “You see”, he began, without any trace of the
thick French accent, “two different families own the restaurant and the
majority ownership switches back and forth between the owners constantly. Well
such a shift just occurred right after you had ordered and the new ‘majority’
owners have a very rigid view on what defines a proper restaurant and we have
to abide by their demands”. Emily and I
exchanged bewildered looks, bur we noticed that we were drawing attention to
ourselves, and since we were strangers in this town, we both reached the
conclusion that it was best just to eat our food and be on our way. The food was palatable, though Emily found
the Cole slaw to be a bit tart and my hamburger was overdone. After we finished eating, Emily said she
needed to visit the restroom before we departed. We motioned for Jebediah to bring us our
check and asked him where the restrooms were and he pointed toward the
back. As Emily arose from her chair, she
removed her headscarf, revealing her beautiful blonde locks. A series of audible gasps erupted through the
dining room and Jebediah rushed back to our table. He abruptly told Emily that she would not be
allowed to use the restroom. “Madame,
our restrooms are reserved for non-blondes only, you will need to perform your
natural business outdoors!” At this
point I became beyond indignant, insisting that we were paying customers with a
legal and moral right to use the establishment’s restroom, regardless of our
race, religion, creed, or hair color!
Suddenly a man who was dining at the next table over, stood up, and introduced
himself as a local judge, and proceeded to quote the ordinance that prohibited
blondes from using public restrooms in their town. “Young man” the judge said, “this is a
god-fearing town of brunettes, silver manes, and even ginger folk, bur as for
blondes, well son, that just ain’t natural!
Why if we let blonde folk use the bathroom with our humble and righteous
non-blonde residents, who knows what sort of tragedy might fall upon
them”. Emily was starting to shift her
weight from one leg to the other, her bladder an innocent victim of this
misplaced jurisprudence. In a desperate
attempt to appeal to the locals’ better angels she said, “I was born a
brunette, it’s just that I identify as a blonde”. Now people were visibly distressed and
begging the staff to take the children that were audience to this escalating
situation away so that there innocence would be destroyed by our Philistine protests. The judge pointed to me and yelled, “Son you
better get control of your wife!” I
replied back that Emily wasn’t my wife, just my long-term girlfriend. A scream shook the room and I saw several
women faint and fall to the floor, thankfully avoiding any serious injury due
to the bustles they were wearing.
Jebediah returned with the check and advised us that we must pay
immediately and leave the establishment.
Emily told me to hurry up and that she would meet me outside as she
rushed out the door to take care of her natural business. As I was handing Jebediah the cash for the
bill, I noticed the place had completely transformed. The chairs were rough hewn wooden benches and
the outward garb of all the patrons had transformed into a sea of large Pilgrim
hats, white aprons, and shiny buckles.
They were all looking up at a giant rabbit floating in the air. “What is that?” I exclaimed. “Oh that’s God” Jebediah calmly replied as he
handed me my change. I was stunned, bur
I asked aloud while my eyes were transfixed, “Does he say or do anything?” “Nope”, Jebediah said, “He just floats there. We kind of just guess what he thinks by the
way he looks at us sometimes. Well you
have your change, so you need to go”. I
left, still trying to process all that occurred. Emily was already in the car, looking for
tissues in the glove box. As we drove
out of town, we were careful not to speed after noticing a giant sign that
said, “Speed Limit strictly enforced under penalty of stoning”. We headed west, following the setting sun,
desperately trying to stay within the light as darkness descended behind us.
There Ain't No Sanity Clause
Just a bit of e-randomness with a dash of the profound.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Chez Carolina - A Short Story by Chuck Keith
Dual Nature - A Short Story by Chuck Keith
If
there had been any curious onlookers around, they might have wondered why a man
and a woman were walking through a seemingly endless field. Whatever they may have thought, it is
doubtful that the word spies would occur to them. It didn’t matter anyway, they were so far
from the road, there was virtually no chance that they might run into another
person, and if they did, well, that would be unfortunate for them. His nostrils flared as he caught a whiff of
something in the air. He smelled rain. “It’s
going to rain soon y’know. Are you sure
you don’t want to hold off on this for awhile?”
She responded, “Stop here”.
He obeyed, hoping that this pause was the
prelude to a reprieve. She was still
lovely, bur a cold and commanding voice had usurped the sweet sighs lightly
sung just a few hours before. He looked
up at the gray sky and slightly shrugged his shoulders to try to shake off the
morning chill. He remembered the warmth
of her body and the brief moment of contentment he had felt right before he had
blacked out, only to awaken in the back seat of some non-descript car. He shook himself back to the present. He needed to test the waters here and take
advantage of the apparent lull. “You say
stop now, but last night you were begging me not to stop.”
She responded to his quip with three
powerful blows to the back of his head, which dropped him to his knees. The high grass was thick, sparsely populated
with a few white and red wildflowers that had managed not to be chocked
out. “I was kidding, “ he achingly
groaned. His hands kept trying to move
to comfort his bereaved head, bur they were kept from doing so by a tightly
wrapped cord. “Ah the infamous American
sense of humor. The ease with which I
captured you is quite amusing, no?” She
was right. Instead of remembering the
basic rules of the game, he had let things get personal. Overhead he heard geese honking, migrating to
their southern home and he found himself yearning to break his bonds, sprout
wings, and join them in their journey to some safe cozy abode. “You know my bosses would pay you well for my
safe return. A woman with your talents
could find the West very profitable. Plus we could work together. If last night was any indicator, I think we
would make a pretty good team.” He heard
something drop to the ground. It wasn’t
a gun, bur familiar. “I am afraid money
will do you no good here. As for our
brief partnership, well all good things they say.”
He felt the cold dew covered earth seep
through his pants as his knees grew numb.
“At least allow me to face death on my own two feet!” His adrenaline was kicking in and he knew she
could hear the panic in his voice. If he
didn’t do something fast it was all over.
“Go ahead and stand”, she said, “here let me help you.” She quickly used one hand to help steady him
as he stood, bur then quickly stepped back.
He turned and immediately was struck by her eyes. Her eyes somehow had remained the same. She was so lovely. Lovely with a gun aimed directly at his heart
and three feet to far for him to realistically offer a defense. In a resigned voice he asked, “What about
last night? Isn’t there a part of you,
the real you that feels anything? I’ve
been in the business long enough to know last night wasn’t just work. I know you felt it to. We could walk away, just you and me. Fuck the money and fuck this life, I honestly
think you and I could have something special.”
She smiled and to his surprise even laughed in that sweet voice that he
had known so well just a few hours ago.
He had reached her. He knew
it. His heart felt a hundred times
lighter as he took in a deep relaxing breath.
He wasn’t afraid of dying, but afraid of living without love, without
her love. He thought he saw the sun
emerge from the clouds when suddenly he was forcefully knocked down by something
powerful. His lungs felt heavy and hot, quickly filled with blood and
bile. He looked up and watched her
staring down at him. Damn she was lovely. As the world grew dark, he stared into her
eyes and smiled.
She bent over to pick up the shovel and as
she rose back up, she found herself considering his last words. “To answer your question, the real me did
feel something for you, just as the real me has just killed you and is
preparing to bury you. Love and duty,
passion and apathy, life and death are two sides of the same coin. It is the duality of nature.” She felt a few drops of cold rain on her
face, bur those were the only tears that would be shed this morning. She had smelled rain earlier; bur realized
that there would be no rain today as she started to dig.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Two Years Later and I've Got Something to Say
I know. It’s been forever and a day since I’ve
written a piece for my “There Ain’t No Sanity Clause” blog. The main reason for the hiatus was that I
didn’t really have a purpose for it.
Skip to the end, 4 years later and I still don’t know if it’s worth
posting my insights and musings. Suffice
to say I feel like posting now, so I hope that you find my post(s) entertaining
and informative. I would encourage you
to read my Ben Franklin for President blog and give me your feedback on
it. I am also considering publishing
what I call erotic Rand fiction (it’s erotic fiction for fans of Ayn Rand and
basically it’s just a bunch of people jerking off, cause why should anyone help
you get off, they owe you nothing!). Did
you find that joke funny? Have you ever
heard of an Ayn Rand sex joke? If not
then maybe there’s a market for the genre.
So this blog is just basically thoughts to page, brain to blog, blog to reader,
reader to enlightenment, and fringe jokes.
So now to the main event; I have seen
lately several articles about a project to re-write Shakespeare’s plays into
modern day English. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is commissioning 36
playwrights to modernize the text for the stage. The main argument is that the Bard’s
vocabulary is over four hundred years old and barely comprehensible to
contemporary audiences. There is no
doubt that Elizabethan English can be difficult to understand, but for this to
truly work you can’t just “modernize” the language. You have to change archaic references from to
modern, and there are all of the little innuendos and commentary on the society
of that time, which have no relevance, so what happens to them? There is a good possibility you risk losing
more in the translation than you gain.
Modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s already exist. “West Side Story” is “Romeo and Juliet”, the
movie “Big Business” is “Comedy of Errors” Suffice to say it is an
interesting experiment and an enormous endeavor, and I look forward to seeing
the outcome. But let’s not go to far in lowering “bard” so to speak instead of
underestimating an audience. Given the
world of “tweeting”, “Instagraming”, and emoticons, which erode our vocabulary
and lexicon, a rich dose of “wherefores”, “yon”, and “anon’s” offer up a nice bulwark
and remind us that language, poetry, and prose are worthy of our time.
You
can read the NPR article here
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Saturday Night Live and Hemingway (but really Hemingway)
Originally this blog post was going to focus on the
television show “Saturday Night Live” as seen through my eyes over the past
several decades. I even had a keen
observation on the “Not Ready for Prime
Time Players”. Belushi (John not Jim)
was definitely the Id whereas Ackyroyd (Dan not Peter) was the Ego. Gilda was the heart, Jane the face, Lorraine
the inner child, Garrett gave the cast some theatre cred and Billy I think was
the soul. Chevy in some ways I think was
the Super Ego, but I may be stretching that just to include the whole Freudian
psyche model.
Then I read Ernest
Hemingway’s “The Green Hills of Africa”
Then something changed.
I have been trying
to write this post for weeks. I’ve
debated back and worth of writing a fictional story embracing the concept or
just to go forward as a standard post.
Time and a desire to communicate, even if it is just me yelping from the
blogosphere as pushed me toward the latter, but the former hopefully will be on
some page in the future. I am still fathoming the passage listed below; an echo
that rings back and forth at my core. A
competing call that sounds against the constant uncertainty that plays inside. A call to truth, my truth and to write that
truth and share it no matter the lack of reward or recognition, simply for the
sake of the quest (Hemingway uses the word hunt, but I like quest, it is more
noble) itself. Can the madness of Don Quixote
still persevere in this modern world, consuming its victims as it has over the
centuries and propelling them to fight, to woo, and in then end to succumb to
their fate. It’s a far better adventure
than what I am on now and I can’t help to be a bit excited about embracing the
madness, but decades of being cautionary is not easily dismissed. I suppose not every journey begins with a
leap. Bilbo’s began with one step; one
step and then another, and another.
I have copied the
excerpt from the book and listed it below.
Read at your own risk!
“Now it is pleasant to hunt something that you want very
much over a long period of time, being outwitted, out-maneuvered, and failing
at the end of each day, but having the hunt and knowing every time that you are
out that, sooner or later, your luck will change and that you will get the
chance that you are seeking. But it is
not pleasant to have a time limit by which you must get your kudu or perhaps
never get it, nor even see one.
It is not the way
hunting should be. It is too much like
those boys who used to be sent to Paris with two years in which to make good as
writers or painters after which, if they had not made good as writers or
painters, after which, if they had not made good, they could go home and into
their father’s business. The way to hunt
is for as long as you live against as long as there is such and such an animal;
just as the way to paint is as long as there is you and colors, and canvas, and
to write as long as you can live and there is pencil and paper or ink or any
machine to do it with, or anything you care to write about, and you feel a
fool, and you are a fool, to do it any other way. “
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