… the manicurist …

So…. I pick up where I left off…. I have arrived in my little coastal
town…the one where we had first met so many years before…
I am greeted by friends from every direction, and being northern
California in the fall…. well…
…it Is called the Harvest Moon, and yes indeed it was.

I had work 7 days a week, such abundance that is hard to imagine…
I stayed in cabins, I stayed in the camper shell on a little pickup…
I stayed on couches, I lived in a luxurious trailer.
I went here and there, working with friends for a while, then
moving on … bounty beyond belief.

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I had access to my friends warehouse where they stored all their
art studio stuff, plus tons of things from the past… the place was
packed, with isle running through and between desks with computers,
half finished art work, collections of materials ready to be turned
into magic.  A Surreal Retreat, amongst the spacey days of work
and changing company.
He works in Holography, she in sculpture and casting, creating
very glamorous Art Deco style awards for huge companies and
corporations, as well as art pieces for famous individuals.

I slept in their little bedroom, dark like a cave, draped in soft cloth
and shoji screens, quiet and shut away from the world…
…and once I’d dug in for the night, I’d turn on the soundmaker,
dial to the Sea, and dream-image being on the boat with Alcir….
…it was sweet.
I’d call him from there, and describe the toss and weave of that
boat we were on, the feel of our togetherness in that nether world.

“Oh that’s beautiful,” he would say.

I was offered a room for a while in my friends’ home, that you see
above… warm and exotic, warm colors of mirror cloth and shimmer,
from other worlds more fantasy-filled than ours.
Waking every day to good work, good company, good food
and music, and nice cold cash…

And Always with the promise of a trip back to Him, to Alcir, who
was alternatively thrilled and terrified…
I think he couldn’t believe I’d really come back, and
I know he was scared that I would.
His life was tenuous…difficult…complicated…
and though he wished for better, that was all he had to offer.

Because of his past as a Revolutionary, and later in the Foreign
Legion, it was dubious that he could leave Brasil and come
to the states, especially with the current administration and
the wars… security and scrutiny had so increased…
although he often thought he might just somehow do that…
He talked of getting a boat and sailing over to Hawaii or the Coast.
Always the romantic dreamer, ready to be the Hero…
…and he had loved his 10 years in the US, back in the eighties.

Much of this story is already written, leading up to this time…
If you want to catch up, click on Brasil or Brazil in Categories,
and start at the beginning…or jump around, I don’t care.
It’s a fun story, very romantic, very sweet, very beautiful, and
yes of course, sad.
Love is sad…. because…it’s always something.

 

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… just another day …

It’s October, 2005, as the leaves take their turns, and
I find friends and work in abundance, staying on the
NorCal Coast.

Alcir is very busy back in Brasil, with his test looming near,
but we talk on the phone sporadically, and he has this
inner smile because I’m back on our coast, the one with
all the memories attached.
He’s been very disciplined, working hard and
hardly drinking,  reading constantly, studying…..
I know he’s very nervous…

Journal:  October 5, 2005
Tomorrow is Alcir’s test.  I am so excited for him, for I know
how long and hard he has worked towards this day.
I know as well that he will want to celebrate, and likely too much….
but I must let go, as anything else is not a choice.

I’ll call him early, to wish him well, sending kisses
and thoughts his way.
So exciting after all these months…
And a Captain’s License in the future!  His Dream!!!

Work going well, money flowing in. So many friends glad to
see me, and it feels so good.
Love it so warm and welcoming, and several folks have said
they were just thinking of me.
Miss Alcir more in a way, because it was here our memories
began….he was Here after all, and places do hold memory.

Mick’s friend Wolfie, the one back in Manchester, who said
the town had 16 bars, and only 14 of them were any good…
that hilarious one… and I picture him on stage with his
wild harmonica, leaned over and tapping his foot…
here’s a quote from Wolfie:

“A religious war is like two people arguing about who
has the best imaginary friend.”

 

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