Le Voyageur

"Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course..." Continuing journeys across a changeable terrain...

[epea-pteroenta]

First Concert

I used to have an original tee from the Damn the Torpedoes tour. It was awesome.

I wanted to go so bad, but didn't know anyone else who was going. I didn't know anything about concerts at all, since I'd never been to one before. I didn't drive, and there was no way my parents were gonna be able to drive me from the hour and a half and wait or drop and pick me up. I had plenty of cash from having done collections for the paper route and not yet having deposited it, but no ride, no way, and I was stuck. The topic came up in Geometry, I don't know how. Denise turned to me and said she and her boyfriend had been planning on going, but that he wasn't able to anymore. Before I had time to hope that she would offer me that ticket, she continued to say that her older brother had bought it from him and was driving, and that they could give me a ride. Denise sat next to me in the back of Geometry in Freshman year. When things got boring (which for the two of us was the usual, because we were good at it), we’d flirt. It was hard for me, because I really liked her and assumed she didn’t mean it because she had a boyfriend with a car. I met them at their house. Todd had a VW bug. They were both waiting outside, and their mom waved to me from the screen door, and called "Hi Quentin!", and I waved back and wondered why she knew my name since we'd never met. Todd got in the driver's seat, and Denise nudged past me to lean the passenger seat up so she could get in the back seat. I started to put the seat back and sit in the passenger seat, when she said, "Nuh-uh mister, you're sitting back here too." I gave Todd a look, and he just smiled and shrugged and held the seat so I could get in the back.This was exactly what I was hoping for, but I had in no way prepared for it to happen. I was tongue-tied and sat stiffly trying not to end up leaning on her, almost specifically because that was exactly what I wanted to do. There weren't any belts in the back, and Todd drove fast, so not ending up leaning on each other really wasn't an option. Todd smoked a couple of cigarettes up front and played Tom Petty songs loud on the cassette player, so we didn't do much talking. A little screaming about "I love this one", some pointing out the window at stuff we saw. Eventually it was just relaxed and we ended up leaning up on each other in a way that minimized the slipping around. When we got to the concert Center, I offered to pay for parking, but Todd said something about Denise making him promise he wouldn't let me. Because she liked me. And as that tried to sink in through my thick skull, we split up. They went in, and I tried to not freak out thinking I was gonna get arrested for buying a scalped ticket. (I really didn't know anything about it). I finally did buy a ticket from a group with an extra because someone had failed to show, for not much more than the actual price. There were people selling t-shirts outside, but I didn't like any of them (in retrospect, I think they were probably all knock-offs). As soon as I got through the gate, and quit worrying that I would get caught in some intricate trap and end up arrested for my ticket, I picked a cool shirt from the merch booth (it was probably too big for me). I pulled it over whatever shirt I was wearing and wore two shirts through the show. The show was awesome. I don't really know how it compares, because it was the first and was just overwhelming. It was loud, and bright, and people were so into it, and the band was clearly having a blast. I was hooked. When it ended, I was worried about not finding my way back to the car, and getting left behind (give me a break, okay, I was in 9th grade). I got there first, and Denise and Todd showed up about 20 minutes later. Denise was wearing the same style t-shirt that I was. Hers was not too big for her. On the way home, Todd played the music loud again and we all three sung along (Todd had a band that he the front man of, and in my mind, he looks a lot like Marshall Crenshaw, at least he had close-cropped hair and wore those Buddy Holly glasses). After about a half hour we were getting too hoarse to sing anymore. Denise looked me right in the eye and lifted my arm up to put it around her shoulders. In minutes she had fallen asleep leaning up on me. Again, it was just what I had wished for, but I was totally unprepared for it to happen, but it did.

The next morning, I figured because I'd worn my concert tee over my other shirt that it didn't need to get washed. I wore it to school. At lunch I spotted Denise out sitting on the hood of her boyfriend's car, and she was wearing hers too. I got asked a few times if I'd been smoking. In Geometry, we sat next to each other where we always sat, and people assumed we were joking when we said we'd gone to the show together. Anyone then would have thought it was ridiculous. I didn't want to have to explain the whole thing, so I left it at that.

[epea-pteroenta]

Me and Maryanne

Maryanne chuckled at me and at remembering what it was like when she was my age. “A girl could get into trouble believing everything you have to say.”

“Now Maryanne, that’s unfair, I would never lie to you. The truth is always in there in what I say, just sometimes sitting at a different angle.”

[inanotherdirection]

She Woke

She woke to dead skies, dark clouds dragging, Down by haunted driftwood shores. Seafoam-slick stone, stubborn in silence, Laced the silken sands.

Why now?

Storm cloud cries called on the horizon, Motion blur haze of rage And thunder. Death-scent air hastes.

What has he done?

Screams in the storm. Cold steel’s choking crush.

[epea-pteroenta]

Gripping first play in the collab by @hereticalwritings.

[inanotherdirection]

Inanotherdirection 2017A, the start.

Midway

As I come in out of the rain the bell over the doorframe rings. I stomp my boots and wipe their soles on the mat, take my jacket off and shake it before hanging it up on the rack. I lift my cap with one hand as I use the other hand to sweep the rain back off my face and into my hair. I pull the cap back down tight and adjust the brim as I blink and look around. The sign says “Welcome, Please Seat Yourself”, and there are plenty of options to choose from. I absently cycle through them a few times before finally becoming fully present. I decide on a booth. I walk by the counter on my way over, reaching out to grab a menu as I pass. Arriving, I slide in sideways across the seat, straightening out my legs out on the bench to stretch my knees out. The waitress looked up from her magazine to catch my eye as I went by the counter, and she’s followed me over. She holds out the carafe, and I flip the mug over and slide it to the edge of the table, both of us making it clear without saying anything. She pours out as I watch. Is she new here, or have we just not crossed paths before? She looks a little young to be working a late night at this place, but then what do I know and what does that even mean? She fills the mug and pushes it back over. “You need a minute or two to decide? I’ll be back.” She turns and walks straight away from me a few paces before turning to head back to the counter. This seems intentional to me, so I oblige her and watch her walk away. My attention focused on the knot of her apron tied just above her waist. The loops and ends jostle with each step, vaguely hypnotic. I snap out of it, chastising myself with a close-lipped grunt of judgment. I’m becoming aware again and awakening back from the reactive and autonomic mindset of driving and driving in the rain. I blink tightly and rub my eyelids, wring out my eyebrows. Holding up the menu, the marking on it become letters, then words, then descriptions. What am I hungry for? Am I even hungry? Tired, but not sleepy. A bed doesn’t seem to be on the menu. Neither is Time. I check my watch quick. Okay, I got 45 minutes, should be fine. Just a quick bite and then get going again.

I hold my mug snuggly in both hands. The ceramic is hot on my palms and prints but it feels good as it sinks in. If I just had a day, a day I could get a break from the lifting and gripping the wheel. My hands feel like they need a vacation, like they’d like to lie on the side of a mountain and let the sun shine down on them, let the breezes blow across them. So many times I’ve driven this stretch of road. I’ll bet anyone who lives on the last ten miles has seen me pick my nose some time in the last 8 years of going back and forth on it. I hope none of them are here, or that it was not memorable for them. I try to bring up something memorable for myself. The only thing my mind wants to consider is that one afternoon.

We were driving the car back from a full morning and late lunch together. The littles were in their seats in the back already asleep. They had been so enthusiastic and excited all day, and we had started out early, so they had nodded off in the first five minutes. She was in the passenger seat, drifting. She was trying to stay awake with me, but she always found the rhythm of the road dozy. I always liked it, that she felt that comfortable and that safe with me at the wheel. It was rainy that day too, a gentler rain than tonight’s. The trees were full and green under the grey sky. We wound through these hills with the windows cracked just enough to let the cool air in without getting too wet with the rain. I would take my eyes off the road more than I knew I should to look at her there. She had that smile on her face, that one I always wanted to cause, and I think this time it is me. On the car stereo, I pick out songs to sing to her in her sleep, to be there wherever her dreams have taken her.

“You decide what you’re having?” The waitress has come around the other way, so I didn’t see her coming. “That coffee okay for you?” “Oh yes, thanks. It’s terrific. Did you make it?” “I’m the only one here tonight, so I’ll be making everything for you.” “Well then, what would you recommend?” “I’d make you my favorite. You want to hear about it?” “You don’t need to tell me first. I’ll take the chance.” She filled my cup back up before heading back behind the counter, and I sat and watched the raindrops run down the windows as I waited.

[epea-pteroenta]

It's on at @inanotherdirection, head on over and see what happens next.

[inanotherdirection]

Inanotherdirection 2017A, the start.

Midway

As I come in out of the rain the bell over the doorframe rings. I stomp my boots and wipes their soles on the mat, take my jacket off and shake it before hanging it up on the rack. I lift my cap with one hand as I use the other hand to sweep the rain back off my face and into my hair. I pull the cap back down tight and adjust the brim as I blink and look around. The sign says “Welcome, Please Seat Yourself”, and there are plenty of options to choose from. I absently cycle through them a few times before finally becoming fully present. I decide on a booth. I walk by the counter on my way over, reaching out to grab a menu as I pass. Arriving, I slide in sideways across the seat, straightening out my legs out on the bench to stretch my knees out. The waitress looked up from her magazine to catch my eye as I went by the counter, and she’s followed me over. She holds out the carafe, and I flip the mug over and slide it to the edge of the table, both of us making it clear without saying anything. She pours out as I watch. Is she new here, or have we just not crossed paths before? She looks a little young to be working a late night at this place, but then what do I know and what does that even mean? She fills the mug and pushes it back over. “You need a minute or two to decide? I’ll be back.” She turns and walks straight away from me a few paces before turning to head back to the counter. This seems intentional to me, so I oblige her and watch her walk away. My attention focused on the knot of her apron tied just above her waist. The loops and ends jostle with each step, vaguely hypnotic. I snap out of it, chastising myself with a close-lipped grunt of judgment. I’m becoming aware again and awakening back from the reactive and autonomic mindset of driving and driving in the rain. I blink tightly and rub my eyelids, wring out my eyebrows. Holding up the menu, the marking on it become letters, then words, then descriptions. What am I hungry for? Am I even hungry? Tired, but not sleepy. A bed doesn’t seem to be on the menu. Neither is Time. I check my watch quick. Okay, I got 45 minutes, should be fine. Just a quick bite and then get going again.

I hold my mug snuggly in both hands. The ceramic is hot on my palms and prints but it feels good as it sinks in. If I just had a day, a day I could get a break from the lifting and gripping the wheel. My hands feel like they need a vacation, like they’d like to lie on the side of a mountain and let the sun shine down on them, let the breezes blow across them. So many times I’ve driven this stretch of road. I’ll bet anyone who lives on the last ten miles has seen me pick my nose some time in the last 8 years of going back and forth on it. I hope none of them are here, or that it was not memorable for them. I try to bring up something memorable for myself. The only thing my mind wants to consider is that one afternoon.

We were driving the car back from a full morning and late lunch together. The littles were in their seats in the back already asleep. They had been so enthusiastic and excited all day, and we had started out early, so they had nodded off in the first five minutes. She was in the passenger side, drifting. She was trying to stay awake with me, but she always found the rhythm of the road dozy. I always liked it, that she felt that comfortable and that safe with me at the wheel. It was rainy that day too, a gentler rain than tonight’s. The trees were full and green under the grey sky. We wound through these hills with the windows cracked just enough to let the cool air in without getting too wet with the rain. I would take my eyes off the road more than I knew I should to look at her there. She had that smile on her face, that one I always wanted to cause, and I think this time it is me. On the car stereo, I pick out songs to sing to her in her sleep, to be there wherever her dreams have taken her.

“You decide what you’re having?” The waitress has come around the other way, so I didn’t see her coming. “That coffee okay for you?” “Oh yes, thanks. It’s terrific. Did you make it?” “I’m the only one here tonight, so I’ll be making everything for you.” “Well then, what would you recommend?” “I’d make you my favorite. You want to hear about it?” “You don’t need to tell me first. I’ll take the chance.” She filled my cup back up before heading back behind the counter, and I sat and watched the raindrops run down the windows as I waited.

[epea-pteroenta]

And so it begins...

[epea-pteroenta]

Inanotherdirection 2017A, the players thus far

I’ll go first, and then we’ll try to stick to this order: @hereticalwritings @lzlabs @quaintobsessions @reinventing-wednesday @diffusedmuse @retarded-teddybear @absolutely-and-always13 @ajttk @trixclibrarian @ellenya @nosorryforyou @redearth-blueskies @mikeyj529 @bcourchaine @street-heart-posts @bipedal-trashbag @maya-doolali @mjao7 @teacup13 @accountant-pirate-dufresne @ambroseharte @incexual

Yes, I actually drew the names out of a hat. Anyone who joins from here on will add at the end. Tell your friends! Come on. All the coool kids are doing it… The posts will go up at @inanotherdirection Any questions can be sent to me, Quentin, @epea-pteroenta I’ll try to get the first one up tomorrow, and then we’ll see what happens.

[epea-pteroenta]

Inanotherdirection 2017A

Okay, we've got 17 people signed up. It must be about time to wind up the springs and let it go. "Sure", you're thinking (maybe even saying aloud), "let it go already. But what IS it?" Oh yeah, I guess some direction would be useful. Here's how I thought it would go... Background Art is a bit focused, yes? You've got something to express and you manipulate the frame to bring it into focus. But what about the thing right next to the thing, or the thing that intersects with it? You can't tell every story, can you? Or can't you? Maybe everything is a possible focus, and it all depends on the perspective. "Listen, that all sounds very very, but still, I've got a question." Go ahead, ask me. "WHAT?!!" Yeah, I hear that. How about I try describing it in terms of... Method 1) I have collected and will continue to collect players 2) I will post a list of the players in the order that they will take their turn (yes, I will put the urls in an actual hat and pull them out). 3) I will post a little piece I made just for this. 4) The next person in the queue will create a piece of their own taking any non-main detail as its main focus. 5) This response piece gets submitted to me, or tagged so I can find it, and I add it to the string at @inanotherdirection . Everyone admires it. 6) The next next person in the queue picks any non-main detail of the string and creates a piece with that as the main focus. 7) We keep doing that until we get to the end of the queue, and then we all take another turn. 8) We keep playing until we have expressed every possible idea, or until we just can't deal with it anymore. 9) Each player has 3 days to respond after the person ahead of them in line posts (I will try to let people know when the person two places ahead of them starts). If you miss your turn, don't sweat it, I'll put you back in the queue somewhere so you'll still get a turn. Any Questions? "When is it possible to join?" At any time, just let me know ( @epea-pteroenta ) "When can we drop out?" Again, any time, but please let me know. "Do we have to wait until the person ahead of us posts before we start working on our piece?" Ah, you're good at working the angles, aren't you? So long as your piece doesn't highlight something that's already had its own highlight piece, you're golden. I'm not much of a rules person (here anyway), so it's unlikely that anything you submit will be rejected. "Your piece is prose (I'm guessing, isn't it?), does it all have to be prose?" Nope. Your response should suit your particular oeuvre, it just has to recognizably feature something already present in the string. It would also be helpful if your piece had different supporting elements, to increase the number of other directions the other players could take. Everybody ready? I'll put the first thing up by the end of this week.

[epea-pteroenta]

On the stair

Thanks for your patience in waiting for the inanotherdirection collab to get going. You will hear from me this weekend to prepare, planning to start the slinky next weekend.

[epea-pteroenta]

In Another Direction 2017A

I’m back with a new crazy idea to curate. It’s a new version of the original. I’m looking for a group of creatives that can pull a riff, who can see where else a piece could go and take it there, making their own eddy without leaving the rill. I won’t assume anyone here remembers, if you want to see some examples, you can find them at @inanotherdirection The basic idea goes like this: Sign up, and I’ll assign you a spot. Someone will start (probably me) with a piece with a main element (character, image, theme, note, color…) and at least one minor element. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main for their piece and spins it out, with at least one minor. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main… And so on, and so on until we come to the end of the line (I don’t know, maybe we’ll go around again if anybody wants to. I’ll keep it running for as long as I can stand it as long as there are people who still want to play).

So, does anybody want to play? Just send me a message.

[Also, I’ve been mostly absent here for some time now, if you all wouldn’t mind spreading the word so that anyone who would want to play would have a chance to play]

[epea-pteroenta]

Let’s make something

[epea-pteroenta]

This weekend is the end of recruiting players. We'll kick it all off soon.

[epea-pteroenta]

In Another Direction 2017A

I’m back with a new crazy idea to curate. It’s a new version of the original. I’m looking for a group of creatives that can pull a riff, who can see where else a piece could go and take it there, making their own eddy without leaving the rill. I won’t assume anyone here remembers, if you want to see some examples, you can find them at @inanotherdirection The basic idea goes like this: Sign up, and I’ll assign you a spot. Someone will start (probably me) with a piece with a main element (character, image, theme, note, color…) and at least one minor element. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main for their piece and spins it out, with at least one minor. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main… And so on, and so on until we come to the end of the line (I don’t know, maybe we’ll go around again if anybody wants to. I’ll keep it running for as long as I can stand it as long as there are people who still want to play).

So, does anybody want to play? Just send me a message.

[Also, I’ve been mostly absent here for some time now, if you all wouldn’t mind spreading the word so that anyone who would want to play would have a chance to play]

[epea-pteroenta]

Let’s make something

[epea-pteroenta]

In Another Direction 2017A

I’m back with a new crazy idea to curate. It’s a new version of the original. I’m looking for a group of creatives that can pull a riff, who can see where else a piece could go and take it there, making their own eddy without leaving the rill. I won’t assume anyone here remembers, if you want to see some examples, you can find them at @inanotherdirection The basic idea goes like this: Sign up, and I’ll assign you a spot. Someone will start (probably me) with a piece with a main element (character, image, theme, note, color…) and at least one minor element. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main for their piece and spins it out, with at least one minor. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main… And so on, and so on until we come to the end of the line (I don’t know, maybe we’ll go around again if anybody wants to. I’ll keep it running for as long as I can stand it as long as there are people who still want to play).

So, does anybody want to play? Just send me a message.

[Also, I’ve been mostly absent here for some time now, if you all wouldn’t mind spreading the word so that anyone who would want to play would have a chance to play]

[epea-pteroenta]

Let’s make something

[epea-pteroenta]

In Another Direction 2017A

I’m back with a new crazy idea to curate. It’s a new version of the original. I’m looking for a group of creatives that can pull a riff, who can see where else a piece could go and take it there, making their own eddy without leaving the rill. I won’t assume anyone here remembers, if you want to see some examples, you can find them at @inanotherdirection The basic idea goes like this: Sign up, and I’ll assign you a spot. Someone will start (probably me) with a piece with a main element (character, image, theme, note, color…) and at least one minor element. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main for their piece and spins it out, with at least one minor. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main… And so on, and so on until we come to the end of the line (I don’t know, maybe we’ll go around again if anybody wants to. I’ll keep it running for as long as I can stand it as long as there are people who still want to play).

So, does anybody want to play? Just send me a message.

[Also, I’ve been mostly absent here for some time now, if you all wouldn’t mind spreading the word so that anyone who would want to play would have a chance to play]

[epea-pteroenta]

Let’s make something

[epea-pteroenta]

In Another Direction 2017A

I’m back with a new crazy idea to curate. It’s a new version of the original. I’m looking for a group of creatives that can pull a riff, who can see where else a piece could go and take it there, making their own eddy without leaving the rill. I won’t assume anyone here remembers, if you want to see some examples, you can find them at @inanotherdirection The basic idea goes like this: Sign up, and I’ll assign you a spot. Someone will start (probably me) with a piece with a main element (character, image, theme, note, color…) and at least one minor element. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main for their piece and spins it out, with at least one minor. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main… And so on, and so on until we come to the end of the line (I don’t know, maybe we’ll go around again if anybody wants to. I’ll keep it running for as long as I can stand it as long as there are people who still want to play).

So, does anybody want to play? Just send me a message.

[Also, I’ve been mostly absent here for some time now, if you all wouldn’t mind spreading the word so that anyone who would want to play would have a chance to play]

[epea-pteroenta]

In Another Direction 2017A

I’m back with a new crazy idea to curate. It’s a new version of the original. I’m looking for a group of creatives that can pull a riff, who can see where else a piece could go and take it there, making their own eddy without leaving the rill. I won’t assume anyone here remembers, if you want to see some examples, you can find them at @inanotherdirection The basic idea goes like this: Sign up, and I’ll assign you a spot. Someone will start (probably me) with a piece with a main element (character, image, theme, note, color…) and at least one minor element. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main for their piece and spins it out, with at least one minor. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main… And so on, and so on until we come to the end of the line (I don’t know, maybe we’ll go around again if anybody wants to. I’ll keep it running for as long as I can stand it as long as there are people who still want to play).

So, does anybody want to play? Just send me a message.

[Also, I’ve been mostly absent here for some time now, if you all wouldn’t mind spreading the word so that anyone who would want to play would have a chance to play]

[epea-pteroenta]

Let’s make something

[epea-pteroenta]

In Another Direction 2017A

I’m back with a new crazy idea to curate. It’s a new version of the original. I’m looking for a group of creatives that can pull a riff, who can see where else a piece could go and take it there, making their own eddy without leaving the rill. I won’t assume anyone here remembers, if you want to see some examples, you can find them at @inanotherdirection The basic idea goes like this: Sign up, and I’ll assign you a spot. Someone will start (probably me) with a piece with a main element (character, image, theme, note, color…) and at least one minor element. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main for their piece and spins it out, with at least one minor. The next person in line takes one of the minors as the main… And so on, and so on until we come to the end of the line (I don’t know, maybe we’ll go around again if anybody wants to. I’ll keep it running for as long as I can stand it as long as there are people who still want to play).

So, does anybody want to play? Just send me a message.

[Also, I've been mostly absent here for some time now, if you all wouldn't mind spreading the word so that anyone who would want to play would have a chance to play]

[merseawaves]

I miss cheese.

[epea-pteroenta]

I'm easing back. The "jokes" will be here soon.

[epea-pteroenta]

Downpour

He remembers how it was, looking out on the rain from the highchair, the chill of mist blown through the kitchen screen door, the onrushing volume, timing the thunder. Some connection was forged then, or merely discovered. He would notice the rain would come when he called, halt when he demurred. He never hid from it, sloshing shoes and dripping hair and sleeves crossing the threshold.

Today the clouds are gathering, and he hopes he has not yet grown up.