31 "pieces" between the beginning and the end, all different in size, presentation and flavor: from required genetic testing before pregnancy to the "sleep-sees" and "visions" from the time of early man, to the trial of a Holocaust criminal. Presentations of personal epiphanies, both large and small, to muses or ponders that explore and ask more questions than they answer. Machine-gun-burp style storytelling of: staring through a turning airplane propeller; hunting the horned one and the life of a clothes line.
31 piece of "rubble" in a pile like so much rip-rap, but if you begin to spread the pile out, peruse the table of contents, you will quickly see pieces that might be too large or perhaps, too "heavy", while others might appear to be only pond water, skipping stones. Do not be fooled by size. The rubble pile has something for everyone. The tense bombing mission for mining rights; the winds of ancient Egypt; a baseball World Series fantasy; finding "The Buddha" by a river and a ship's radioman's empathic ears.
Start anywhere: hop, skip and jump. Go down the rabbit hole of a visualizer extraordinaire, feel a little pig in your coat pocket or "see" the summit just up ahead through the blinding snow.
"....He stands on the platform with all the others. He sees, but he really does not notice, and he hears, but he really does not recognize. He is just another piece of cargo to be loaded onto the next subway train...."
"....On a Greyhound bus traveling, there is only countryside and impatience, and on the shoulder of the road stands a large black crow...."
"....Then, flashes of hundreds of objects: old Egyptian vases; miniature wood horses; old misshapen gold coins from the bottom of the sea; deer antlers; a neon sign spelling out "Jesus Saves" in the shape of a cross...."
"....Solo. I am about to solo an airplane for the first time...."
".... Mary glances at the front of the pamphlet in her hand. Women Against Government Required Pregnancy Testing...."
"....Sir, you want to buy?" I was startled. "Did you hear that, the winds?" "Very fine piece. I just got it in the shop, very old. You want to buy?" "Did you hear the winds?" "Sir, you want to buy?" I put the clay horse back on the shelf and walked out...."
"....The doors in the rear of the room open, and the earphone portion of their headsets come alive with "Rise" in German and English, and in walks, in single file, the three judges, each dressed in the court robes of their respective country...."
"....Just bits and pieces in various shapes and sizes, like my memories or the flowers between the pages of a book, or the yellow tattered photographs stored in albums under beds, except this album is kept in the garage...."
"....The Major eye clicks cargo settings and moves air burst detonation to 60,000 feet. "Might be a little low, but gives him more time to get away from detonation radiation...."
"....Alone on the pitcher's mound in the middle of Yankee Stadium, 7th and deciding game of the World Series, 4 to 3 Yankees, the tying and winning runs on base, 2 'outs', 9th inning, and sweat dripping out of every pore on my body...."
"....The tribe is everything. Only together can one hope to have enough meat or survive an Ugly or wolf-pack attack. The tribe is everything...."
"....The first time I saw Walt, he was standing on a small sandbar, which jutted into the South fork of Virginia's Shenandoah River.... "
"....What a place this living is! Waving and waving my "Miracles" banner in the summer's sun. I am so happy to be here and you should be too...."
"....It was January 1, 2000. Yep, it was New Year's Day of the new millennium or what was often referred to back then, as the dreaded 'Y2K'...."
