Snowing again in the Emerald city, I tell ya...

My friend's this is Thankxgiving and we got

snow up to our...ok, so there's but a few inches

but in this, oh, this weird place that means panic,

and boy do they. Brother's and Sister's on the south side,

near the Southern Ranch are slippin' and a slidin' a new wave

of weather challenges out there, with poor to fair result's .

Hill's abound. Languages are all over the place.

Not much snow in Rwanda...

Nor many frozen roads in Ethiopia...

and the fine brother's and sister's of the Viet lands,

well dude, I understand. You slid into the back of my truck

and with a smile said, " ... Huh, snow. This is my first experience ",

reaching down and making a small snowball, the brother threw it at me.

Yep. He laughed like some little kid... there was little damage, so

a snowball fight ensued. Gue won, if any ones askin', and he deserved

the victory. They slide about in that slo-mo we all know...with

the sound track of your choice behind , mine's " Death and the Madien " by Vagner.

They slide and crash into one another with grace, exiting their

rides smilin' and laughin'...Not the " CHA-CHING $$$$ !!!... "

of these Amerikans.

Parked the truck for the winter today.

Gettin' me some Yak-Trax, and am gonna walk.

Best of luck to the rest of Y'all...

Aint' no sno in Buenos Aires, so they aint'.

What am I thinkin' ?.

Be well todo mundo...

J.Level

foto: J.Level ©2010

waiting in line...

Like Ikea
I could not
follow their map
looks alot like this
and they still wanted us
to buy some of
their crappy
stuff

Lines did not seem as
bad a wait in the old country
The old ladies squakin'
and chirpin'
complainin'
and telling me how cute the
little white dog was
"...que guapo eres..."

Lines here have a tension to um'
lines mean there's something
up there ahead worth
being in the midst
of a hundred people
trying not to look
at
or be looked at by the other
99.
Many cell fone conversations
mostly just holding the fone up to
their heads, not speaking
but using it as a shield.

Cold sorta folks
that don't comment on the dog
smile
or
say thank you.

All good.
I live my life behind dark glasses and my fone...

oh look I can see my old house from here..


Be well todo mundo,

J.Level

foto: "the map of uncertainty"

A tale of love, strife, adventure & beer..My three ex-girlfriend's and one wife..." #2

( snippet from the book # 2)

...Venus said she was going to the store at the bottom of the hill.

I did'nt see her again for a month. A long weird month.

" ...guess you lucked out brother..." said the Jerry " el Gillipollas ".

I lost Venus. She drove off with no fone number to the house.

No address.
No clue as to where she was...

The weird stress of losing a person. No, no break up. No harsh

fight, she simply did not know where she lived, in Seattle.

Never been there. At a total loss, I made a few calls to Spain,

I didn't speak spanish.... Luna, another gillipollas, speaks for me...
..." Yeah missing... Kidnapped ?, well I couldn't say that exactly...? "

3:00 am a month later fone rings...

" Jess ?... Dan here..., hey listen I have this strange

Spanish chick standing in front of me sez she knows you and is lost....
No, I don't think she's totally nut's,

but she's got these eye's...."

I get Venus on the fone, and am amazed by the story...

...Venus drives down the hill to the store and got to talking. Forgetting

which street to take leading back up to the house. She drove all night looking and crying.

Nothing. She sleeps in the car in downtown Seattle, and of course, she finds the cafe Zeitgeist.

One thing leads to another, Venus finds a gig house sitting for a famous artist

with a bonus, two big happy dogs... Yeah she was like that, taught me to be like that

"...there is no defeat when you sleep on clean sheets and have good coffee in the morning,

the rest, we find or no?... ".
Venus said that.

I had forgotten that as of late,
so I have.

We returned to the house on the lake
and stayed about a month.
Eating, painting, and preparing

me for España, and all that would occur
over the next ten years...
We get on the plane in a week.

Be well todo mundo,

J.Level

" Back from Cuenca..."

02.12.07
Uvieu,España

" Vanished from the face of the earth..."
These were the last words spoken about Slamo.
Nobody had seen him in months...
" Last time I saw him we was a drinkin'
and the brother was mumblin' something
about Seattle, and some guy named Jess..
Nope, don't know more... hey, you gotta buck
for a veteran, buddy.....? "

It was true. Slamo caught a Iberica flight to
Seattle. Spent all the money the first day
and found refuge at the " Elephant ", a notorious
flop house in The First Hill district...
Jerry was there and Brad , wavin' a big gun around...
There would be many freaks and freakshows, truths and
near truths crossing and crossing again
an again in and outta
his life..." Hey, you know a guy named Jess...? " he asked...
" You know a guy named Jess... about this high... Gray hair
and a gotee like Velazquez...? ", he asks of everyone he'd meet.
"...I'm lookin' for a guy named Jess.. Paints bad clowns and bull fighters.",
he'd asked everyone he'd met.
Slamo was way outta his territory....
"... Big mean ulgy town..." sighed Slamo,
zippin' himself into the sleeping bag
under the I-5 freeway overpass.
Seattle began to rain ..." Of course..." and
" Manaña mas y mejor, Slam old boy "....said Slamo, to
himself.

Slamo dreams.....

Hanging out in Campo San Fransisco with Juanjo, Zazir The Great, a mime, and the russian oprea singer. It had been a good day for all, they shared 10 boxes of wine between them..." Remember when....? " and " Well, we usta....." Slamo, drank and thought about the little house in the Valley, " ...Long time ago..." he thought. Then the russian began to talk, a rare occasion... he told stories of his mothers borscht " steaming hot with a big drop of well soured cream..." Humm..." Hummed Zazir The Great ..The russian told of his fathers machine shop, and the bribes to the police,and the last day of the year celebrating with the guys whom worked for him... low pay harshly cold, and little future... He said he was " blessed to be here, and in the company of such fine and generous friends..."
Zazir The Great looked over to Juanjo, " You speak russian ? " he asked, " what ? me? russian ? huh, his eyes are speaking english and spanish and french...just read the eyes of the brother, brother, it's all there...". Slamo, he told the story of the flight to Spain...then the flight to Vietnam, to Paris to Helsinki and beyond, until the sun went down and they gathered their stuff, moving on to where they would drink and sleep and refuel their hope for tommorow " Awhicha way ya going there Slam ?... ", asked the russian opera singer...
" ...West, I think..Yuri, West...." said Slamo.

Tommorow Slamo would go back to the Elephant to wash some clothes,
he'd met a chick , that lived there
that said she knew where Jess could be found,
Slamo took it well ,
with hope , but not much....
" Stop in if your ever in Seattle, Slam.... " Jess had said...
The fones number had been changed long ago...

The next morning Seattle continued to rain
Slamo packed up the hill towards the Elephant
Jean was there, cooking fried rice and mushrooms,
and smiling...

Slamo, wringin' out some soxs
looks out the window towards Lake Washington
and the house of Bill Gates, up there aways....
" Huh ! Why don't I just call Bill ..Duh....wheres my god damned fone ?
rinnnnng-rinnnnng-rinnnnng...
" Hello Bill ?, Slamo here.....yeah... yeah.. I'm in Seattle....great ,yeah, great
Yeah huh huh... looking at your house as we speak...yeah
9:00's better for me... Ok ... yeah..... see you there... Anything to smoke ?
..any thing better ? Jo.....
Slamo smiled, I think I'll wear the BIG pants.... ! NO !
I'm gonna wear the suit...

end of Part 1

be well todo mundo,
J.Level
foto&story:©spl2007