Adonis Diaries

Wild marathon run in the city; (Apr. 4, 2010)

            I got in bed before 10 pm and then got up at 2:30 am; my body was telling me “either you get up and take a walk or you suffer an itching trip that I can’t guarantee the consequences.”  I emptied my bladder.  It is too early to go down to my study and read and write. I prepared a cup of Nescafe and flicked on the TV.  I am watching “What eats Gilbert…”  Johnny Depp (Gilbert) is saying in the background “Endora is a place where you dance with no music” (It is your regular US one Main Street town.)  The main event is when a streak of caravans spend a few days or weeks every summer.

            Gilbert is the grown up boy of four working overtime to feed the family and repair the house that his dead father built. Seven years earlier, the father hanged himself in the basement; the wife would not get out of the shock; she ended up not stepping out of her home and she is now as vast as a whale. Gilbert shows understanding when kids come over to take a peek from the window at his mother.  The mother could no longer escalate the staircase to her bedroom.  She watches TV 24/7.  Once, Gilbert experimented with his napping mother: when he turns off the TV she wakes up and when he turns on the TV she goes back to napping.

            Erny (De Caprio) is the younger mentally retarded brother who was not supposed to live beyond the age of 12; he is 18 now.  Erny’s mother wants to throw a big 18 years birthday party. Gilbert still bathes his brother.  Once, Gilbert had to return to his new girlfriend touring the USA with her grandmother in a caravan; he gives Erny instructions of what to do after he finishes bathing; Erny almost drowned in his bathtub as Gilbert returned home. Erny is now scared of water and is left to stink for a week.

            There are the eldest sister taking care of the house and cooking. The youngest sister is 15 and just removed her teeth braces; she plays the trombone with the school cheerleaders’ team; she can’t wait to move away from this troubled family. Erny likes to play the “disappearing game” hiding in trees or hanging from the roof top; he waits for Gilbert to shout “have you seen Erny? I can’t find him” for Erny to laugh out loud and jump.

            Well, after the birthday party Gilbert presents the girlfriend to his mother who never received guests. Then, the mother decides to make the extreme effort to climb to her bedroom; she said to Gilbert “you are my shimmering knight”; Gilbert rectifies “you mean the shining knight” but the mother repeats “shimmering, glowing boy” and then asks him to send up Erny.  Erny finds his darling mother dead.  Gilbert says: “The police officers will order for a crane to take her down. I will not permit this ultimate humiliation for mother.”  They decide to remove all the furniture and set fire on this crumbling house.

            I saw the second half of another movie of an American baseball player hired to win Japan’s series.  It is 5 am and I feel sleepy; I decided to go back to bed. Then I had this fantastic dream. I don’t know how I met this file of joggers and I joined the runners. The run led to a city.  We are running on different kinds of streets; crowded streets, streets reserved for walkers or cyclists, others are routes among restaurants and shops. Here I am running by the side of a long and immaculate “trottoire” fast food chain.  I say to my running mate: “It feels as if we are crossing a cultural and educational area” He replies: “This is a university medical complex center; the homes are for physicians and psychologist.”  I look down and see the old sprawling medical center with plenty of tall green trees; it feels as if we are running  on an over ganging passage way: I am seeing through a window cars flowing on the highway crossing this hyped region. The passage ends on a blocked wooden wall.  The running mate takes a quick look on his booklet and says: “We must backtrack and climb the (Papal staircase)”.  I figured that this tight rickety wooden staircase is but two flights high; but no.  We are climbing and climbing various kinds of staircases; the last sort is a rope variety that ends nowhere and I would have to jump over.

            Just then, my mind or body is telling me: “time to get up and empty your bladder.”   I am having hard time opening my eye. It is 7:45 am and dad is preparing Turkish coffee.