The Gorbal Vats

2012-02-04T00:35:00.000-08:00

My scars were healing and I wondered why that was; and of courseI hated pickles.

Two times I called out for service in the night and there was no such thing; just the lonely beige walls crawling with ants. I wondered if there were dishes to be done in the sink and why my aunt hadn't called lately...with so many ants in my room you would think one would at least pick up the phone; see how I'm doing, talk about old times, share recipes...

“So how is my fabricated nascent doing today” a weired toadie in a white outfit tried to make me notice him.

“Are you coming for the shoes? I don't have them, Nancy took them.”

“Poor Nancy you'll be having her for breakfast” the Toadie said; and gave me a sour look. I wondered if they were serving pickles.

Then a bell chimed; a deep call to worship for all living variables. I closed my eyes and gave in to the water of consciousness as it swallowed me into the deep deep whirlpool of time. At the end of a long dark corridor a figure appeared; he bowed to my worthy self and left me to stare out at a beautiful pond surrounded by autumn leaves.

A tall dark haired man with a square jaw and a suit shook his head while leaving, out of the corner of my ears I swear I heard him talking about me, and I had a lucid moment.

“Good morning Dr Rauls, Any luck with Rachel”

“Still confused; she won't go down for breakfast because she is afraid they will serve pickles”

Tuna fish, it made a yummy sandwhich...it stood on the plate like it meant to eat me not I it. Bad fish!

There are 30 others in the room with little faces and a big head that looks mean passing out flat squares full of scary wriggly items that the thirty people seem to think of as food. I wonder if I should warn them.

I jumped up to do just that, then was knocked back by a giant wall of sound that took on a dense physicality that literally threw me through time and the deepest depths of space. I settled in to an elypitical orbit around a giant mashmallow in the middle of the milky way. I was satisfed with my place for a few months, but then became hungry, and kept looking up at the strange sun imagining all that sweet white goodness oozing down my eager throat.

I jumped up and down and sideways and shook my finger and barked, but a giant monster guarded the castle of knowledge and wouldn't let me do any weeding in it's vast gardens.

I didn't wand to be a pest so I walked sideways....where.....

Then I began to realize that perhaps the wriggly things weren't dangerous; perhaps not even wriggling, perhaps not even there; perhaps a creation of a warped consciousness mispercieving external stimuli as it was process by the brain; The gardens were full of leaves, not flowers, and the castle on the other side of the giant moat was but an impecably kept up queen anne. My new sanity began from there.

Emerging from drug induced insantyis a sobering occupation; My house was a mess and I had to retreave my cat from my unwilling mother. :What id you go batshit again? Who's going to take care of her then? I gave my mother the key to my apartment and that molified her.

Back I did not imediatley become productive. I spent long hours on my computer writing or playing mindless games...it was on a lazy Saturday in fall when a knock at the door distracted me from saving a trapped princess from a dragon with my gauntlets of fire. I was annoyed; I wanted to ignore whoever it was; perhaps it was the neighbors complaining about my mothers dog barking again; annoying little terrier terror that wouldn't stop moving or barking ever.

“Excuse me...does Rachel Brannigan live here?” a soft voice could barely be heard through the wind.

“It was the tone in the male voice that made me decide against going back to my game; he sounded strangely familier and insistent.”

''Yes” I tried to sound nice when I answered the door but my voice came out a bit flat.

“Um....hi...I don't know if you remember me...but I knew you when.”

As soon as I saw his face a wash of memories flooded back to me; of a cave somewhere in the dark; of strange fruit and strange wriggling forms and teary eyed faces.

“Are you....Donavan?”

His eyes widened....”You remember?”

''Just barely....ilike it was a dream. Would you like to sit down?”

Donovan joined me at the small table near the bay window that looked over the driveway. I stared out it for a moment-wondering if the unreality would take over again.

“Beautiful apartment you have here.”

“It's the in-law apartment of my uncles's home...it is nice «

He nodded appreciately, then leaned forward.

“I need your help” he said...with an ernestness I could not ignore.

The allyways over Cobton are long and tend to meander on needlessly-it's almost like a city of alleyes and no «offcal» stores completly surrounded by an overgowth of trees. I wondered if it had ever been more then what it is-the buildings seemed to have no front to them, only backs. There were rooms behnd glass that seemed to becaredfor, and set up lke surreal bzzares staffed by lunatics.

“This is where we were?”

“Donovan nodded.” I still felt a bit uneasy about following him, like if I wasn't carefull I might slip back into the mad world it had taken months for me to emerge from. Something in his manner led me to trust him and my memories were of a good soul; However I didin't want to think on the particulars of what they have might have done, or eaten-out hear unwashed under the wreakage of this town that once was. He led me to a smll shack undersome trees that looked disturbingly familier, drawing out ad eep blackness in the back of my mind to the forefront.»

“So where is everyone?” I choked.

I remembered a chaotic family of screeching laughs and dirty bodies. There was kindess , and love in places, in others uglyness and the unspeakable.

Donavon gulped in air.

''There not here any more...their missing, Someone said old Henry the butcher might have seen which way they were taken. ''

“Taken?”

“By the religious freaks that live up on the hill, yeah they took them.”

They both turned to see an old, ragged looking man with a cane, with a fine suit that was all ripped up and with dust over every inch of his person.

“They plan to sacrifice them to the great god of the purple sea.”

Somehow I new what that meant and it wasn't good. I held my hand to my neck to stop my mind from scattering....I was going back....back...

And then the world exploded into a mass of dandilions and hopping frogs. I screamed with all my might...but all that came out was soda pop...I fell to the ground in an deluge of frothsome vomit. My friends reality melting into nothing but a sad frown.

“Hold on Rachel...don't go back there yet...stay here.”

Yet? I wondered, why “Yet” entered into the equation....but I held myself somehow routed to a thought...that there was something that needed to be done and I was here to do it, I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but I was here to serve.

“Aye aye Captain” I drunkenly saluted Donovan as he colected a bottle of water and a cloth form his kit.

“Stay still” He gently rupped the soda I had spit up from my face.

“This man is rather adorable” I thought to myself. Such nice green eyes under the attractivly balding hairline.

“Thank you” I said like a naughty little girl, then skipped around the block...

“Where are we off to again?'' I asked after skipping back.

They stopped at a friend of Donovans house. He had told the police and they said they wouldt touch the situation, so he opted to ready as many peoepl as he could for battle.

The group lived rough in the woods and had quite a few guns....they figured a few shos would be enough to cause a scare.

The walk to Craigs hill was rather arduorous but suprisinly beautiful, long grasses and marshland called the mind to memories as they blew across the rocks in the slight dim of near twilight. The sun was going down but bright in their eyes, and the sky was more orange than pink or purple. I felt like the sun was saying something, something decididly against purple.

Loud wailing could be heard from the cliffs above us, wailing and screaming. We picked up the pace; hoping to spare as much suffering as possible . Then a deep, pained, old sounding voice spoke into the dawn; and it sent poor me me realing once again into piles of swirly stimuli.

“Oh great god of the retreeting wind, great lord of pine mountain, great songmaster, please hear my call. I submit to you the blood of liars and theves; the blood of kidnappers, witches and fornicators that have desecrated your great purple sea. May you simmer, swirl and swell over their disemboweled corpses as they sink to your deliciously stinky bottom.

I fell to ground as tall spires went whirling into the air each holding a wriggling human body on it. A scream of anger came from the men in front of me, and they changed up ahead. Gunshots could be heard: it coudln't be helped. Murdering madness tends to lead to more murdering madness and the cycle continues until the clothes are dry.

Shots and blood and screaming and blood and screaming and pain and chocking and screaming and horrible noises of flesh ripping and people suffocating on their own blood as their insides are ripped out, stepped on, eaten and vomited into a violent pool of misery ..

Then silence, blessed terrible silence. The world fell away as a new moon, danced ove the mountains...it danced and spun as life looked up at it and wondered, why this difficult transition from flesh to pure spirit? Why so much pain?

I awoke to singing, I was surrounded by a circle of dirty people and dancing frogs. A woman appeared in clown make-up with a big fat magenta ass with velveteen purple and ochre flowers delicately painted over it., I reached to pet it and it whinnied rather rudely. Tendrils of flourescent yellow glowing lines fell from the sky as she waved her hands at me and chanted. '' Oh baba well offer the spanish fast and the fish medicates around the corner or sin fletched bibble bibble and a doctor with fast budget ..'' I interupted her to ask if she was running for president or vice president and she stopped and thought long enough for me to get away.

''Heel sister'' a familier voice pleaded before my walk turned into a run...I stopped and looked behind me. A lonely fingure beconed sadly under the lilac moon. Soft was his face, and his eyes held tears. Gulping my tongue I turned away.

''I won't join your parade...I made a promise..'' I said, but something in his voice mad me stop for a minute; I couldn't recall what the promise was or why I made it.

''Do you want to always dance alone..'' his voice creaked.

''I have to....I HAVE TOO!!''

It took all of my power to do it, but I walked away. I heard the soft thud of footsteps behind me and I walked faster.

,I walked into a tunnel of rock lit from high above, searching looking finding for the thinking place, the legendary place where thoughts were once clear. There were great slithering tendrils that reached from the sides and tried to stop me, but my resolve was firm and I moved on. I walked in curves and circles and spiral spires until I reached the top of a great unicorn horn, and there at the top was a chair that held great wisdom. I sat and had a coffee...waiting...

Then the thought came...

the water...they must not drink the water.

The mortification that such an evil ungodly thought would strike my noggin. I whipped, burnt myself, promised great horrors to myself for having such a thought, but the thought held through my ministrations of punishment... it held through the pits of hell that opened under me.... it wouldn't let me fall; instead it lifted me up, higher and higher over the purply clouds and lilac moon , and the glittering stars and the last planet of the solar system all the way up into mount olympus; with it's ''for sale'' sign still hanging forelongly near a lonely looking man with a full white beard that sighed and sighed and sighed.

I went up to him nervously...he just motioned to the sign halfheartedly. He sighed again and turned away at my quizical expression.

''Wait...'' I said He turned back, a bit surprised if not hopefull.

'''The water I drinkit and it warps m world but it is wonderful and special and godly but it is not it should be stopped but it can't and I am left broken and confused and I don't know can you help?''

He pointed back to the sign...

''How much?'' I asked?

A deep soft voice answerd ''Martredom... '

With that I ....I fell....

Down...

I fell past a swirl of everything, trees, gardens, planets moons automobiles, lolipops and inpolit waiters,

I fell past the sun

I fell past the earth

I fell past all matter of sense that I could recal

I fell into a giant vats of writhing distorted putrid bodies screaming and churning in their gloppy disorganized hell. I looked around...and somehow held strong to something in myself, I think it was purple. I pulled myself over the edge of the vat and stood tall.

Eyes moved from every direction toward me....I was something different, a catalyst to a new light, a new way of seeing.

''Hear me'' I cried. ''You are human bee people swimming in the frothy leavings of your own putrification and unease; you are pickled ducks squakcing at the wind that won't be swayed. You are frightend, nasty and you smell bad....but most of all....this here is not a right situation!!''

Rows of eyes widened, brains unfogged ever so slightly...memories fell into the pool of unease to sway the spill of nausea to it's true course....they walked together...out.

And out we went...

All filed one after another to the black line on the white piece of paper turned sideways like a cliff; people were jumping off...

I followed, knowing it was the right direction.

2007-08-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

2007-08-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

2007-08-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

2007-08-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

2007-08-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

2007-08-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

2007-08-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

"The Waitress"

2007-05-25T08:34:00.001-07:00

"Dave"

2007-05-25T08:32:00.001-07:00

Metaphysical Prayer

2006-11-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

2006-06-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Rooftops

2006-06-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

The Blessing

2006-06-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Empty

2006-06-14T08:41:00.001-07:00

reading the news

2006-06-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Swirly

2006-06-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here are more

Blogging from the future

2005-09-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Attention Darkly, do not adjust your computer this is all real: This is "you" blogging from the year 2030, and the world is a mess; All the trees are dead, the cities are emmersed, the oceans are brown and bubbling with polution, and for some strange reason coco puffs are everywhere.

Please, you must find a man named Balthus Frond...and tell him I love him....thank you:)

2005-01-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

"The Norbal of the Gorbal Vats".

2005-01-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

The twirble and his sweetie go and get something to eatie.

The Purple Water

2005-01-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

I live with my brother Bob in an apartment in Massachusetts…. (Or was it California? I forget.) He likes fish.

I am walking walking, walking to work. I stack records, I’m not sure why. My boss Alfred whips me when I stack to slow. He is green and has long yellow hair that snakes into the air in rhythmic undulations.

I walk home. Giant white faces come down from the sky and try to sell me their latest products. They are evil and smell. I run home.

My brother is lying down on the couch. He is fat, naked and dirty. He is eating a bloody pencil and watching images that emerge from the television. They enter the room and do naughty, ungodlike things to each other involving various fruits. It reminds me of a painting I saw once, oncity once.

I lie on my bed and force my shattered nerves to calm. My every day is painful these days. A tube of toothpaste, a can of soda, and a fish fly in through my open window. I think to get the fish for my brother but my eyes close and my mind drifts off to sleep.

“Would you like to purchase the latest in scuba gear?” A voice wakes me with a crack. I stand upright, scuba diving would be fun. I dive out the window. I will worry about getting a credit card later.

I land in bushes, not water. I frown. I hate those fishes that get to be in the water all the time. That lovely purple water.

“Just give it a try,” the face says, his voice liquidy and strange, like he is having a big feelings. The faces don’t seem to have very large emotions so I stop for a moment to see what he has to say, then a glass of clear liquid appears in front of me.

I gasp in a very large amount of horror. I knew all about the clear water. I knew about it since…well I forget. It was poison; it would frickesea my insides and turn me into a blob of jelly, and then into nothing.

I run from him. I run past children lying on street corners and playing with the newest of dangerous toys, I run past people doing handstands in the mud and a pony named Bill that lost most of his limbs in a terrible war with France. I run until I come to the only place I know I can be safe.

I see the docks ahead, and the lovely purple sea that stretches out forever into a terrible sunrise. I run up the pier and dive in.

First the water shocks me, then its purple loveliness envelopes me. I am a baby in my mother’s womb. Beautiful, safe, and unchanged.

I had been another way once. I remember it like a painful and blurry dream. I remember feelings that I wish I could have again. Feelings of love and wholeness and of the steadfastness of reality, but such have my dreams always been. I should be satisfied with my life, as god has willed it.

A hand grabs me, I struggle as I am dragged out of my lovely purple water and the harsh air overcomes me. In seconds I am thrown to the ground and my head is pulled back. An unbearable burning sensation wracks my throat, mouth, and then my stomach. I fight and couch and wheeze. My eyes see nothing, my head spins. I run and fall and sputter and do jumping jacks and swallow nails, but nothing seems to help. I fall into a puddle of gushing sand and lie there, waiting to die

OKay, so this is a work in Progress

2004-12-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

I made this this week in my free time, just trying to cheer people up. Please tell me what you think here. I know, it's out there, LOL!

2004-12-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

THE BODY POLITIC

2004-12-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

Watching the election in the socket one night.

2004-12-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

Little miss eyeball said "That's not right!"

2004-12-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

Body land seemed to have an easy pick. An upstart brain versus an incumbant (Censored....FCC regulations)

(Censored FCC regulations) was funny, but not very deep.

The brain was so smart, everyone fell asleep.

2004-12-02T08:32:00.000-08:00

Somehow (Censored...FCC Regulations) won while they were all napping, to the thunderous applause of one right hand clapping.

2004-12-02T05:49:00.000-08:00

She went to polling place, to see what was a miss.

There was (Censored FCC Regulations) and he said "Miss your a miss now please be dismissed."

2004-12-02T05:48:00.000-08:00

So she consulted the brain, in his quiet consternation.

"Please be quiet", said the brain, "You might hurt my concentration."

"There are multiple eventualities hither and thither. Let us not be to rash, we should sit and consider."

So they sit...

Hmmm.... thinks Miss eyeball, how can this be?

He is so involved in his own thoughts, he is not not using me to see.

2004-12-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

So she thought she'd come together with the lazy eye.
He was really her kinda guy..

If they could pull together the brain might have some direction.
Save him from the cage, of his infernal intospection.

But the lazy eye, ignored her, he said not a word.
He gave a cute little grumble, Hmph...quite perturbed.

2004-12-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

Hmm, said the stomach, I wonder, said the toe. Said the Kidney, oh my goodness I don't know.

"None of voted for the incombant (Censored FCC regulations) we should do someting, we should do it quick"

2004-12-01T13:53:00.000-08:00

Deep into the socket she took the lazy eye, so they could come together and...focus on the issues. (Insert hot and sexy eye on eye love scene here)

2004-12-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile the ears listened to soft music, sick of the harsh sounds of debate, and the mouth swam in sweet waters of soda pop, trying to drown it's sorrows with comfort.

Miss eyeball seethed inside at the incessant procrastination,
so she got up on her soapbox and spit out a proclamation.

2004-11-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

"This is Democracy!" she said with a shout.
Stop your loly-galliging about!

Are we going to sit around talking of maybe someday possibly somehow, if we really have to, rutebago, IsmelloffishnonotmeIdon'twannagoIhavetocarpooldonutbreath

Or are we gonna deliver that pizza pie of Democracy so there is a piece for al of us!

Yum, pie, said the stomach

2004-11-29T11:19:00.000-08:00

And so they danced and sang and called on the wondrous heart to save them all from the great consternation.

2004-11-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

And from out of the sky, and from out of the dark, comes the saviour of all, the great bloody old heart.

2004-11-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

The body parts, they laugh and clap and sing. "Thank you oh heart, what joy for us you bring!"

2004-11-26T21:01:00.000-08:00

Why are you all so happy? What about me? Mr brain there, he never thinks of my needs. What am I to do now that I am un-elected president of bodyland? Just hang around like I usually do?

It's okay, says eyeball, we have something for you. Thinking just isn't what you are supposed to do. I brought this up with brain and he thought it over, and he has a new job for you.... an explorer.

2004-11-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

(Censored....FCC Regulations) stood to his feet with a big AHA! I wanted that the whole time, I was just testing y'all!

2004-11-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

lets see what happens

2004-11-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

blah

Welcome to the Vats....

2004-07-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Let me be your guide through the hard and harrowing wanderlust of night and fallow fields of funneld dreams and polka dots and wishes....

The rule hear is "Surreal".

Break it, and I will send you spiraling back to the oppressive normalness from whence you came.

Is that a floating french fry? Iyeeeeeeeeeeee........................................................