WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.189 align:middle line:90% 00:00:08.189 --> 00:00:08.700 align:middle line:90% Oh, Tim. 00:00:08.700 --> 00:00:09.670 align:middle line:90% That was fabulous. 00:00:09.670 --> 00:00:10.470 align:middle line:90% Thank you so much. 00:00:10.470 --> 00:00:13.810 align:middle line:84% I don't know if I can even rise to that wonderful introduction. 00:00:13.810 --> 00:00:15.550 align:middle line:90% I am very appreciative. 00:00:15.550 --> 00:00:16.230 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:00:16.230 --> 00:00:19.990 align:middle line:84% And thank you so much, Gail and Aurelie for inviting me. 00:00:19.990 --> 00:00:23.160 align:middle line:84% It is a true pleasure to be here as an alum of the University 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:25.200 align:middle line:84% of Arizona creative writing program. 00:00:25.200 --> 00:00:27.510 align:middle line:90% It is so good to be in Tucson. 00:00:27.510 --> 00:00:30.180 align:middle line:84% I just feel like I'm coming home whenever I come here. 00:00:30.180 --> 00:00:32.280 align:middle line:90% So very happy to be here. 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:34.710 align:middle line:84% And very happy to have the opportunity 00:00:34.710 --> 00:00:37.560 align:middle line:90% to read with David Wojahn. 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:41.640 align:middle line:84% I feel like I was actually a student in this program twice. 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:44.850 align:middle line:84% I was sort of lurking around the edges 00:00:44.850 --> 00:00:49.680 align:middle line:84% when Dave was a student here in 1978, '79 00:00:49.680 --> 00:00:54.090 align:middle line:84% and watching his star rise very fast. 00:00:54.090 --> 00:00:55.680 align:middle line:90% Going to readings. 00:00:55.680 --> 00:00:58.440 align:middle line:84% I think I told him tonight I thought I first heard 00:00:58.440 --> 00:01:00.205 align:middle line:90% him read at Cushing Street. 00:01:00.205 --> 00:01:01.830 align:middle line:84% I don't know if you guys all know this, 00:01:01.830 --> 00:01:04.170 align:middle line:84% but David and my friend Stephen Schwartz 00:01:04.170 --> 00:01:06.910 align:middle line:84% were the first editors of Sonora Review. 00:01:06.910 --> 00:01:09.960 align:middle line:84% So we also have them to thank for that wonderful literary 00:01:09.960 --> 00:01:12.120 align:middle line:90% quarterly. 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.450 align:middle line:84% So very glad to be able to read tonight. 00:01:15.450 --> 00:01:17.190 align:middle line:90% I'm going to-- 00:01:17.190 --> 00:01:20.550 align:middle line:84% I feel like I'm in hometown territory tonight. 00:01:20.550 --> 00:01:24.150 align:middle line:84% So I'm going to try out a new story on you. 00:01:24.150 --> 00:01:28.080 align:middle line:84% I don't even think this is really finished. 00:01:28.080 --> 00:01:31.920 align:middle line:84% But you can tell me maybe afterwards 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:33.660 align:middle line:90% in the reception area. 00:01:33.660 --> 00:01:36.360 align:middle line:90% 00:01:36.360 --> 00:01:43.530 align:middle line:84% This may be a story that will be part of a linked collection. 00:01:43.530 --> 00:01:46.440 align:middle line:84% I know that I'm working with these characters in longer 00:01:46.440 --> 00:01:47.070 align:middle line:90% work. 00:01:47.070 --> 00:01:49.710 align:middle line:84% Not sure if this will actually make it into the longer work. 00:01:49.710 --> 00:01:53.861 align:middle line:84% And the title for tonight is going to be Boop. 00:01:53.861 --> 00:02:06.140 align:middle line:90% 00:02:06.140 --> 00:02:08.720 align:middle line:84% I head down the dirt road to Kah's trailer 00:02:08.720 --> 00:02:10.400 align:middle line:90% and here come the dogs. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:14.360 align:middle line:84% There are so many, too many to count, and they're mean. 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:16.730 align:middle line:84% I turn up the radio so I don't have to listen 00:02:16.730 --> 00:02:19.340 align:middle line:90% to their nails scratch my car. 00:02:19.340 --> 00:02:22.850 align:middle line:84% They're with me into the ravine, across the bridge, 00:02:22.850 --> 00:02:24.470 align:middle line:90% and up the hill. 00:02:24.470 --> 00:02:28.670 align:middle line:84% I stop at the edge of the lot next to Len's crippled up Jeep. 00:02:28.670 --> 00:02:30.890 align:middle line:84% He rolled it last month bushwhacking 00:02:30.890 --> 00:02:32.840 align:middle line:90% through the desert. 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:36.440 align:middle line:84% Kah's construction truck is in front of the trailer. 00:02:36.440 --> 00:02:40.220 align:middle line:84% The trailer is temporary, a single wide up on cinder 00:02:40.220 --> 00:02:44.090 align:middle line:84% blocks while they build Kah's dream house. 00:02:44.090 --> 00:02:47.990 align:middle line:84% Roscoe, the pack leader, jumps on my hood. 00:02:47.990 --> 00:02:52.220 align:middle line:84% He's blue gray, a desert mongrel, they all are. 00:02:52.220 --> 00:02:54.920 align:middle line:84% I blast my horn and try to meet his eye 00:02:54.920 --> 00:02:57.560 align:middle line:90% but he doesn't look at me. 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:01.610 align:middle line:84% He stands like some kind of sentry watching dust devils 00:03:01.610 --> 00:03:03.200 align:middle line:90% whisk through the yard. 00:03:03.200 --> 00:03:05.720 align:middle line:90% I blast the horn again. 00:03:05.720 --> 00:03:08.870 align:middle line:90% At last, the trailer door opens. 00:03:08.870 --> 00:03:13.220 align:middle line:84% Len stands there, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. 00:03:13.220 --> 00:03:14.540 align:middle line:90% He looks great. 00:03:14.540 --> 00:03:17.210 align:middle line:90% Sleepy, tousled. 00:03:17.210 --> 00:03:19.580 align:middle line:84% He rolls his tongue under his upper lip 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:22.590 align:middle line:90% like he does and I glare at him. 00:03:22.590 --> 00:03:26.610 align:middle line:84% Finally, he whistles and the dogs go wagging to him. 00:03:26.610 --> 00:03:29.210 align:middle line:90% He takes his time walking over. 00:03:29.210 --> 00:03:33.140 align:middle line:84% I'm mad at you, I say, rolling my window down. 00:03:33.140 --> 00:03:36.410 align:middle line:90% He watches me, lids half closed. 00:03:36.410 --> 00:03:38.780 align:middle line:84% You don't answer your phone anymore? 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:40.490 align:middle line:90% You called? 00:03:40.490 --> 00:03:43.130 align:middle line:84% He pulls his cell phone from its holster. 00:03:43.130 --> 00:03:46.670 align:middle line:84% Oh yeah, but he doesn't pretend to look. 00:03:46.670 --> 00:03:48.980 align:middle line:90% I've been calling him all week. 00:03:48.980 --> 00:03:50.390 align:middle line:90% I flick his arm. 00:03:50.390 --> 00:03:52.640 align:middle line:90% He flicks me back. 00:03:52.640 --> 00:03:55.280 align:middle line:90% I guess you're mad at me, I say. 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:56.330 align:middle line:90% Me? 00:03:56.330 --> 00:03:58.400 align:middle line:90% Why would I be mad? 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:02.330 align:middle line:84% I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. 00:04:02.330 --> 00:04:05.420 align:middle line:84% Last weekend, we went camping in the Chuskas 00:04:05.420 --> 00:04:07.880 align:middle line:84% and we had ourselves a little tiff. 00:04:07.880 --> 00:04:11.060 align:middle line:84% I just said maybe I should join the Peace Corps because there 00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:15.080 align:middle line:84% are no jobs in this podunk place, which there aren't. 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:17.329 align:middle line:90% I moved west two years ago. 00:04:17.329 --> 00:04:21.140 align:middle line:84% Got a sweet job doing archival work at Mesa Verde. 00:04:21.140 --> 00:04:23.270 align:middle line:90% But the funds dried up. 00:04:23.270 --> 00:04:25.050 align:middle line:90% Been dry everywhere. 00:04:25.050 --> 00:04:27.170 align:middle line:90% So now, I'm temping for parks-- 00:04:27.170 --> 00:04:31.520 align:middle line:84% for the Park Service clearing trails for minimum wage. 00:04:31.520 --> 00:04:33.710 align:middle line:90% Join the Marines, Len said. 00:04:33.710 --> 00:04:35.630 align:middle line:90% They probably pay better. 00:04:35.630 --> 00:04:37.970 align:middle line:90% The few, the proud. 00:04:37.970 --> 00:04:40.070 align:middle line:84% Then he starts up with a million reasons 00:04:40.070 --> 00:04:43.820 align:middle line:84% why I should join something and get out of here, which hurt me. 00:04:43.820 --> 00:04:44.780 align:middle line:90% It did. 00:04:44.780 --> 00:04:49.490 align:middle line:84% So I took off and left him in the middle of the Chuskas. 00:04:49.490 --> 00:04:51.350 align:middle line:90% It was your fault, I say. 00:04:51.350 --> 00:04:52.850 align:middle line:90% What did I do? 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:54.480 align:middle line:90% Anyway, I went back for you. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:55.880 align:middle line:90% Where were you? 00:04:55.880 --> 00:04:57.110 align:middle line:90% You went back for me? 00:04:57.110 --> 00:04:58.460 align:middle line:90% You know I did. 00:04:58.460 --> 00:05:00.950 align:middle line:84% You were hiding just to make me worry. 00:05:00.950 --> 00:05:02.120 align:middle line:90% You were worried? 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:02.900 align:middle line:90% Yes. 00:05:02.900 --> 00:05:04.730 align:middle line:90% No. 00:05:04.730 --> 00:05:07.520 align:middle line:90% He smiles and flicks my cheek. 00:05:07.520 --> 00:05:10.940 align:middle line:84% Kah comes out with a huge bag of Alpo. 00:05:10.940 --> 00:05:13.040 align:middle line:90% Tell Kah you're sorry, he says. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:14.240 align:middle line:90% Why? 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:17.210 align:middle line:84% Because after you abandoned me he had to come get me 00:05:17.210 --> 00:05:20.600 align:middle line:84% and missed watching the Padres beat the Dodgers. 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:24.410 align:middle line:84% I'm sorry you missed your game last week, Kah I yelled. 00:05:24.410 --> 00:05:27.440 align:middle line:84% Kah pours the dog food into big bowls. 00:05:27.440 --> 00:05:30.470 align:middle line:90% How the fuck sorry are you? 00:05:30.470 --> 00:05:32.540 align:middle line:90% Yikes. 00:05:32.540 --> 00:05:33.440 align:middle line:90% Told you. 00:05:33.440 --> 00:05:34.370 align:middle line:90% Let's go. 00:05:34.370 --> 00:05:35.270 align:middle line:90% Where? 00:05:35.270 --> 00:05:37.070 align:middle line:90% To the fair. 00:05:37.070 --> 00:05:39.410 align:middle line:84% The Navajo fair is going on in Shiprock 00:05:39.410 --> 00:05:41.450 align:middle line:90% 30 miles south of here. 00:05:41.450 --> 00:05:45.590 align:middle line:84% Corn roasted in husks sprinkled with salt and hot chili pepper. 00:05:45.590 --> 00:05:47.270 align:middle line:90% That's what I want. 00:05:47.270 --> 00:05:49.640 align:middle line:90% We can camp by the river. 00:05:49.640 --> 00:05:51.260 align:middle line:90% OK, but I'm driving. 00:05:51.260 --> 00:05:53.750 align:middle line:84% He snatches the keys from the ignition. 00:05:53.750 --> 00:05:54.830 align:middle line:90% Not a chance. 00:05:54.830 --> 00:05:56.600 align:middle line:90% You're not wrecking my car. 00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:58.010 align:middle line:90% Then we're staying here. 00:05:58.010 --> 00:05:59.240 align:middle line:90% Come on. 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:01.280 align:middle line:90% No way, Jose, he says. 00:06:01.280 --> 00:06:03.380 align:middle line:90% I have abandonment issues now. 00:06:03.380 --> 00:06:05.180 align:middle line:90% Last week I was perfectly fine. 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:08.210 align:middle line:90% But now, I've got these issues. 00:06:08.210 --> 00:06:09.590 align:middle line:90% I reach for the keys. 00:06:09.590 --> 00:06:12.590 align:middle line:84% He puts them in his pocket and starts toward the trailer. 00:06:12.590 --> 00:06:13.700 align:middle line:90% Len. 00:06:13.700 --> 00:06:15.740 align:middle line:90% He dashes away kicking up dirt. 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:18.820 align:middle line:90% 00:06:18.820 --> 00:06:21.310 align:middle line:84% When I enter the trailer, Dottie the dog 00:06:21.310 --> 00:06:23.200 align:middle line:90% comes over to say hello. 00:06:23.200 --> 00:06:26.890 align:middle line:84% She's the raggedy mom of the rascals outside. 00:06:26.890 --> 00:06:30.970 align:middle line:84% Dottie has a crater in her right haunch, a tattered left ear, 00:06:30.970 --> 00:06:34.870 align:middle line:84% and she probably once had a longer tail. 00:06:34.870 --> 00:06:39.100 align:middle line:84% On the TV, Cab Calloway sings about Minnie the Moocher 00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:42.940 align:middle line:84% while a ghosty walrus chases Betty Boop and her boyfriend 00:06:42.940 --> 00:06:44.050 align:middle line:90% Bimbo. 00:06:44.050 --> 00:06:46.180 align:middle line:90% Kah is a cartoon nut. 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:50.710 align:middle line:84% The trailer is littered with old cartoons on DVD. 00:06:50.710 --> 00:06:53.410 align:middle line:84% I head down the hall toward Len's room and jump 00:06:53.410 --> 00:06:56.170 align:middle line:84% in the middle of folded laundry on his bed. 00:06:56.170 --> 00:06:57.490 align:middle line:90% Hey. 00:06:57.490 --> 00:07:02.020 align:middle line:84% I turn on to my back, wave my arms and legs windmill-like, 00:07:02.020 --> 00:07:04.000 align:middle line:84% and send the laundry to the floor. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:05.800 align:middle line:90% Len jumps on me. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:07.750 align:middle line:90% You smell rotten, he says. 00:07:07.750 --> 00:07:09.730 align:middle line:90% Am I foul? 00:07:09.730 --> 00:07:12.580 align:middle line:90% He buries his nose in my armpit. 00:07:12.580 --> 00:07:14.290 align:middle line:90% I came here from work. 00:07:14.290 --> 00:07:16.270 align:middle line:90% Didn't stop to shower. 00:07:16.270 --> 00:07:19.720 align:middle line:84% Been worrying all day about how it would go with him. 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:22.090 align:middle line:84% The telephone begins to ring and the trailer 00:07:22.090 --> 00:07:24.250 align:middle line:90% shakes when Kah enters. 00:07:24.250 --> 00:07:27.190 align:middle line:84% Len scoots down pushing my shirt up 00:07:27.190 --> 00:07:29.440 align:middle line:84% closing the bedroom door with his foot. 00:07:29.440 --> 00:07:31.840 align:middle line:90% Stop it, Kah can hear. 00:07:31.840 --> 00:07:33.280 align:middle line:90% Kah doesn't care. 00:07:33.280 --> 00:07:36.820 align:middle line:84% He slips his fingers up the loose legs of my shorts. 00:07:36.820 --> 00:07:39.580 align:middle line:84% I close my eyes and listen to Cab sing 00:07:39.580 --> 00:07:43.600 align:middle line:84% about that good old hoochie coocher. 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:47.920 align:middle line:84% The door opens and Len rolls off pulling my shirt down. 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:49.630 align:middle line:90% I cross my ankles. 00:07:49.630 --> 00:07:51.640 align:middle line:90% Let's go, Kah says. 00:07:51.640 --> 00:07:52.930 align:middle line:90% Where? 00:07:52.930 --> 00:07:54.580 align:middle line:90% Bid on a job. 00:07:54.580 --> 00:07:56.200 align:middle line:90% What job, Kah? 00:07:56.200 --> 00:07:57.670 align:middle line:90% Walks away. 00:07:57.670 --> 00:07:59.650 align:middle line:90% Tonight, Len yells. 00:07:59.650 --> 00:08:01.480 align:middle line:90% We stare at each other. 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:04.390 align:middle line:84% After a minute he comes back carrying a clipboard 00:08:04.390 --> 00:08:06.550 align:middle line:90% in a battered leather case. 00:08:06.550 --> 00:08:09.280 align:middle line:90% Never mind, he says, you stay. 00:08:09.280 --> 00:08:11.350 align:middle line:90% Len closes his eyes. 00:08:11.350 --> 00:08:13.000 align:middle line:90% I got to go. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:14.690 align:middle line:90% No you don't. 00:08:14.690 --> 00:08:16.060 align:middle line:90% It'll be fast. 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:18.070 align:middle line:90% Why do you have to go? 00:08:18.070 --> 00:08:19.720 align:middle line:90% Just wait for me. 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:23.590 align:middle line:84% He sits up and begins pulling on his boots. 00:08:23.590 --> 00:08:25.930 align:middle line:84% God, this is what I'm talking about. 00:08:25.930 --> 00:08:27.700 align:middle line:90% Give me my keys. 00:08:27.700 --> 00:08:29.770 align:middle line:90% I hold out my hand. 00:08:29.770 --> 00:08:34.840 align:middle line:84% He squints and sucks his cheeks as if he's going to spit on it. 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:38.440 align:middle line:84% I didn't go off and leave you to the Coyotes last weekend. 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:42.400 align:middle line:90% He throws the keys on the bed. 00:08:42.400 --> 00:08:42.970 align:middle line:90% How long? 00:08:42.970 --> 00:08:45.640 align:middle line:84% I'm not sleeping in this trailer. 00:08:45.640 --> 00:08:48.190 align:middle line:84% Since Len moved in with Kah last month, 00:08:48.190 --> 00:08:50.290 align:middle line:90% we're basically homeless. 00:08:50.290 --> 00:08:53.200 align:middle line:84% I can't take this coffin-sized room 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:55.840 align:middle line:84% and he can't take my roommates always 00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:01.000 align:middle line:84% asking him about books he hasn't read and movies he hasn't seen. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.280 align:middle line:90% Kah he yells, where is it? 00:09:03.280 --> 00:09:08.290 align:middle line:84% In town, Maple Street, hour, hour and a half tops. 00:09:08.290 --> 00:09:09.850 align:middle line:90% It's 5:00 o'clock. 00:09:09.850 --> 00:09:13.120 align:middle line:84% I tell him if he's not back by 6:30 I'm leaving. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.570 align:middle line:84% After that, it'll be too dark to camp. 00:09:16.570 --> 00:09:20.770 align:middle line:84% He shrugs, starts down the hall, but then ducks back. 00:09:20.770 --> 00:09:23.650 align:middle line:84% You can drive me to the fair, he says. 00:09:23.650 --> 00:09:27.520 align:middle line:84% His eyes glitter as if he's just offered me a prize. 00:09:27.520 --> 00:09:31.630 align:middle line:84% Like cave crystals, Len's eyes, the color of hematite. 00:09:31.630 --> 00:09:35.020 align:middle line:90% 00:09:35.020 --> 00:09:38.470 align:middle line:84% I pull his pillow onto me and sniff this morning sleeping 00:09:38.470 --> 00:09:39.820 align:middle line:90% head. 00:09:39.820 --> 00:09:41.830 align:middle line:84% The curtain over the window flaps. 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:45.610 align:middle line:84% It's been a blowy day and it smells a little like rain. 00:09:45.610 --> 00:09:49.030 align:middle line:84% But the monsoon clouds have been snagging on sleeping 00:09:49.030 --> 00:09:52.120 align:middle line:90% Ute Mountain for weeks now. 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:54.670 align:middle line:84% We call this room the cowboy crypt 00:09:54.670 --> 00:09:58.720 align:middle line:84% with its Roy Rogers bedspread and matching curtains. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:01.960 align:middle line:84% There's also a bucking bronco lamp and Dale Evans 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:03.910 align:middle line:90% pin-ups on the wall. 00:10:03.910 --> 00:10:07.390 align:middle line:84% When Len moved in, Kah unburied the paraphernalia 00:10:07.390 --> 00:10:11.350 align:middle line:84% from their parents' house and decorated especially for him. 00:10:11.350 --> 00:10:15.150 align:middle line:84% He wanted to see if Len could laugh about it.