WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.214 align:middle line:90% 00:00:05.214 --> 00:00:08.340 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:00:08.340 --> 00:00:09.060 align:middle line:90% 00:00:09.060 --> 00:00:10.410 align:middle line:90% Long live punk rock. 00:00:10.410 --> 00:00:11.130 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:00:11.130 --> 00:00:13.740 align:middle line:90% 00:00:13.740 --> 00:00:18.240 align:middle line:84% Leslie Silko probably needs no introduction here, 00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:20.280 align:middle line:84% a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:23.850 align:middle line:84% and a Pulitzer Prize, a resident of Tucson 00:00:23.850 --> 00:00:26.280 align:middle line:90% for more than 20 years. 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:30.840 align:middle line:84% She's the author of books of poetry, fiction, essays, 00:00:30.840 --> 00:00:35.970 align:middle line:84% memoir, and more, including Laguna Woman, a book of verse. 00:00:35.970 --> 00:00:39.420 align:middle line:84% Ceremony, a novel that the poet James Wright 00:00:39.420 --> 00:00:42.270 align:middle line:90% called a perfect work of art. 00:00:42.270 --> 00:00:44.190 align:middle line:84% Also, "Yellow Woman" and "A Beauty 00:00:44.190 --> 00:00:47.610 align:middle line:84% of the Spirit," which is a collection of essays, 00:00:47.610 --> 00:00:50.490 align:middle line:84% and the epic called "Almanac of the dead," 00:00:50.490 --> 00:00:54.750 align:middle line:84% which is eloquent, harrowing, complex, 00:00:54.750 --> 00:00:58.655 align:middle line:84% and as The New York Times wrote, bravura storytelling. 00:00:58.655 --> 00:01:00.780 align:middle line:84% And then somebody told me in a late night gathering 00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:02.850 align:middle line:84% last weekend, ought to be required 00:01:02.850 --> 00:01:05.790 align:middle line:90% reading for everyone in Tucson. 00:01:05.790 --> 00:01:08.460 align:middle line:84% Her new novel is Garden in the Dunes, 00:01:08.460 --> 00:01:10.380 align:middle line:84% but I understand she's going to read something 00:01:10.380 --> 00:01:15.060 align:middle line:90% from the New Century tonight. 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:17.670 align:middle line:84% Among her work, I particularly love a small volume 00:01:17.670 --> 00:01:22.320 align:middle line:84% from Graywolf Press, a book of letters called The Delicacy 00:01:22.320 --> 00:01:24.720 align:middle line:90% and Strength of Lace. 00:01:24.720 --> 00:01:27.810 align:middle line:84% It's a correspondence between Leslie Silko 00:01:27.810 --> 00:01:29.610 align:middle line:90% and the poet James Wright. 00:01:29.610 --> 00:01:32.910 align:middle line:84% And it's a remarkably compassionate and exquisitely 00:01:32.910 --> 00:01:36.300 align:middle line:84% literary exchange carried out in the last months 00:01:36.300 --> 00:01:40.710 align:middle line:84% of Wright's life and illuminated by the foreknowledge 00:01:40.710 --> 00:01:42.660 align:middle line:90% of his death. 00:01:42.660 --> 00:01:45.600 align:middle line:84% The two speak about storytelling and its power. 00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:50.070 align:middle line:84% And Silko writes about the use of stories in her own Laguna 00:01:50.070 --> 00:01:51.870 align:middle line:90% Pueblo tradition. 00:01:51.870 --> 00:01:54.960 align:middle line:84% At "Laguna," she says, "whenever something 00:01:54.960 --> 00:01:59.040 align:middle line:84% happens happy or sad or strange, that vast body 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:01.870 align:middle line:84% of remembered stories is brought forth. 00:02:01.870 --> 00:02:04.710 align:middle line:84% And by the time, people get done telling you 00:02:04.710 --> 00:02:07.860 align:middle line:84% about all the others who have lost wagons and whole teams 00:02:07.860 --> 00:02:09.660 align:middle line:90% of horses in the quicksand. 00:02:09.660 --> 00:02:11.850 align:middle line:84% You aren't feeling nearly so bad about spending 00:02:11.850 --> 00:02:17.020 align:middle line:84% an entire Saturday digging your bay mares out." 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:21.510 align:middle line:84% And so it is that stories can have power over death even. 00:02:21.510 --> 00:02:25.420 align:middle line:84% At "Laguna," Leslie writes, "when someone dies, 00:02:25.420 --> 00:02:28.200 align:middle line:84% you don't get over it by forgetting. 00:02:28.200 --> 00:02:30.600 align:middle line:90% You get over it by remembering. 00:02:30.600 --> 00:02:34.470 align:middle line:84% And one remembers in the form of stories." 00:02:34.470 --> 00:02:38.820 align:middle line:84% This, I think, speaks to the usefulness of literature, 00:02:38.820 --> 00:02:44.490 align:middle line:84% to its importance in community, and to its capacity to heal. 00:02:44.490 --> 00:02:46.500 align:middle line:84% And this is the gift-- one of the gifts 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:49.530 align:middle line:84% that Leslie Marmon Silko gives us through her work, 00:02:49.530 --> 00:02:54.000 align:middle line:84% this gift of remembrance of healing of transcendence 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:56.340 align:middle line:90% over suffering through art. 00:02:56.340 --> 00:02:59.760 align:middle line:84% In one letter to her, James Wright closes by saying, 00:02:59.760 --> 00:03:04.650 align:middle line:84% "I am very happy that you are alive and writing books, so am 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:06.180 align:middle line:90% I. And I hope you are too." 00:03:06.180 --> 00:03:09.523 align:middle line:84% And so please welcome Leslie Marmon Silko. 00:03:09.523 --> 00:03:25.810 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:03:25.810 --> 00:03:27.120 align:middle line:90% I can fix this for you. 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:27.760 align:middle line:90% Can you fix it? 00:03:27.760 --> 00:03:28.670 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:03:28.670 --> 00:03:29.170 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:03:29.170 --> 00:03:38.680 align:middle line:90% 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:39.730 align:middle line:90% That works? 00:03:39.730 --> 00:03:40.450 align:middle line:90% OK, great. 00:03:40.450 --> 00:03:41.110 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:03:41.110 --> 00:03:44.530 align:middle line:90% 00:03:44.530 --> 00:03:48.710 align:middle line:84% Well, I'm amazed to see so many people out here tonight. 00:03:48.710 --> 00:03:51.040 align:middle line:84% I don't know what I thought what kind of gathering 00:03:51.040 --> 00:03:52.210 align:middle line:90% I thought it would be. 00:03:52.210 --> 00:03:56.170 align:middle line:84% I was mostly excited about an opportunity 00:03:56.170 --> 00:04:02.380 align:middle line:84% to showcase Daryl Ross Begay's work and more than ever 00:04:02.380 --> 00:04:08.770 align:middle line:84% as the time goes by, anxious to have the new wave of foot 00:04:08.770 --> 00:04:12.430 align:middle line:84% soldiers to come in and let some of us old folks 00:04:12.430 --> 00:04:14.170 align:middle line:90% go off and sit in the sun. 00:04:14.170 --> 00:04:19.120 align:middle line:84% And so that tonight, I think it's-- 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:23.980 align:middle line:84% for me, it's mainly a celebration of the new work. 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:27.530 align:middle line:84% So I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm a little bit-- 00:04:27.530 --> 00:04:29.960 align:middle line:84% I wasn't expecting so many people. 00:04:29.960 --> 00:04:33.040 align:middle line:84% So [LAUGHS] what I thought I would do 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:39.340 align:middle line:84% is I brought some new work, this very sketchy, messy, 00:04:39.340 --> 00:04:40.390 align:middle line:90% and in progress. 00:04:40.390 --> 00:04:42.910 align:middle line:84% But I thought, well, I've done that before. 00:04:42.910 --> 00:04:44.530 align:middle line:84% Here at the University of Arizona, 00:04:44.530 --> 00:04:46.910 align:middle line:84% I always bring things I'm working on, 00:04:46.910 --> 00:04:51.470 align:middle line:84% and then seven or eight years later, they finally shape up. 00:04:51.470 --> 00:04:53.950 align:middle line:84% But before I do that, I thought I'd do a little bit-- 00:04:53.950 --> 00:04:57.760 align:middle line:84% read a little bit from Gardens in the Dunes, 00:04:57.760 --> 00:05:00.130 align:middle line:84% the novel that came out last year. 00:05:00.130 --> 00:05:05.890 align:middle line:84% And it was set approximately a 100 years ago, 00:05:05.890 --> 00:05:11.590 align:middle line:84% so that the action begins around 1895. 00:05:11.590 --> 00:05:16.720 align:middle line:84% I created a fictional tribe of Colorado-- 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:19.480 align:middle line:84% a fictional tribe of Colorado River 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:23.860 align:middle line:84% Indian people in part to commemorate those tribes which 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:26.650 align:middle line:84% were completely wiped out, those cultures 00:05:26.650 --> 00:05:32.230 align:middle line:84% that completely disappeared not long after the incursion 00:05:32.230 --> 00:05:34.720 align:middle line:90% of the miners and ranchers. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:37.600 align:middle line:84% And it's a part of Arizona history 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:41.980 align:middle line:84% that just doesn't get told because it's so nasty and ugly. 00:05:41.980 --> 00:05:46.150 align:middle line:84% They did not have to send the US troops into the Colorado River 00:05:46.150 --> 00:05:51.770 align:middle line:84% drainage areas to eradicate the people. 00:05:51.770 --> 00:05:55.540 align:middle line:84% The tribes that lived in those areas were very humble. 00:05:55.540 --> 00:05:57.610 align:middle line:84% They were mostly involved with just trying 00:05:57.610 --> 00:05:59.540 align:middle line:90% to make a living in the desert. 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:04.060 align:middle line:84% And so we don't even have a US Army records or government 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:06.890 align:middle line:84% records of the disappearance of these people. 00:06:06.890 --> 00:06:11.380 align:middle line:90% So I decided to imagine-- 00:06:11.380 --> 00:06:14.950 align:middle line:84% I imagine these two sisters, two young sisters, 00:06:14.950 --> 00:06:17.710 align:middle line:84% and they are among the last of their people. 00:06:17.710 --> 00:06:20.020 align:middle line:84% And it's right around the turn of the century. 00:06:20.020 --> 00:06:26.320 align:middle line:84% And a lot of the action is set around Needles, California. 00:06:26.320 --> 00:06:29.860 align:middle line:84% And my characters go up and down the Colorado River. 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:33.520 align:middle line:84% The younger sister, Indigo, gets taken off 00:06:33.520 --> 00:06:37.390 align:middle line:84% to the Sherman Institute, an Indian School in Riverside. 00:06:37.390 --> 00:06:42.250 align:middle line:84% Indigo, it is-- gets runs off, is 00:06:42.250 --> 00:06:46.930 align:middle line:84% befriended by this white woman, Hattie and her husband. 00:06:46.930 --> 00:06:49.960 align:middle line:84% And Indigo gets to go to Europe for the summer. 00:06:49.960 --> 00:06:53.890 align:middle line:84% While she's in Europe, her older sister, Sister Salt, 00:06:53.890 --> 00:06:56.500 align:middle line:84% is back along the Colorado River. 00:06:56.500 --> 00:07:00.930 align:middle line:84% And in 1901, 1902, they were building 00:07:00.930 --> 00:07:02.950 align:middle line:90% a dam on the Colorado River. 00:07:02.950 --> 00:07:06.640 align:middle line:84% And they began to construct the Aqueduct, that 00:07:06.640 --> 00:07:10.390 align:middle line:84% first diverted Colorado River water to Los Angeles. 00:07:10.390 --> 00:07:16.030 align:middle line:84% And this is where we find sister Salt. Sister 00:07:16.030 --> 00:07:19.840 align:middle line:84% Salt has met a wonderful Black Indian, Big Candy. 00:07:19.840 --> 00:07:22.390 align:middle line:90% And she's pregnant. 00:07:22.390 --> 00:07:25.870 align:middle line:84% Big Candy works for the construction boss, 00:07:25.870 --> 00:07:30.190 align:middle line:84% and so this is a section from there. 00:07:30.190 --> 00:07:33.000 align:middle line:84% And then, when I finish this section, 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:38.467 align:middle line:84% I'll read you a little bit from my sketchy, strange new work 00:07:38.467 --> 00:07:39.550 align:middle line:90% that I've been working on. 00:07:39.550 --> 00:07:42.700 align:middle line:90% 00:07:42.700 --> 00:07:45.340 align:middle line:84% "At first, she had difficulty understanding 00:07:45.340 --> 00:07:48.460 align:middle line:84% the language her baby spoke to her from the womb, 00:07:48.460 --> 00:07:51.070 align:middle line:84% but then she recognized the sand lizard 00:07:51.070 --> 00:07:53.750 align:middle line:90% words pronounced in baby talk. 00:07:53.750 --> 00:07:55.480 align:middle line:84% She had not heard the sand lizard 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:59.800 align:middle line:84% language spoken for a long time, except in dreams. 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:04.030 align:middle line:84% To hear the baby, Sister Salt had to wait until early morning 00:08:04.030 --> 00:08:07.390 align:middle line:84% before dawn after the night shift quit, 00:08:07.390 --> 00:08:10.060 align:middle line:84% but before the day crews started. 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:13.610 align:middle line:84% She lay as still as she could, holding her breath. 00:08:13.610 --> 00:08:17.020 align:middle line:84% And if the baby was awake and turning restlessly, 00:08:17.020 --> 00:08:19.180 align:middle line:90% then she could hear it talk. 00:08:19.180 --> 00:08:23.050 align:middle line:84% How its voice reached her ears was a mystery. 00:08:23.050 --> 00:08:26.320 align:middle line:84% She did not tell Maytha or Vedna because they 00:08:26.320 --> 00:08:29.650 align:middle line:84% were likely to blame the voice on witches. 00:08:29.650 --> 00:08:32.890 align:middle line:84% Sister Salt talked to the baby whenever it kicked and moved 00:08:32.890 --> 00:08:34.059 align:middle line:90% inside her. 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:37.150 align:middle line:84% She told the little sand lizard about their home 00:08:37.150 --> 00:08:40.390 align:middle line:84% and the gardens and the dunes where she and indigo used 00:08:40.390 --> 00:08:42.159 align:middle line:90% to play games. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:46.240 align:middle line:84% There it was peaceful at night with no drunks or fights 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:49.810 align:middle line:84% to send men falling against the tents. 00:08:49.810 --> 00:08:54.430 align:middle line:84% She could feel her baby's impatience grow more urgent. 00:08:54.430 --> 00:08:57.190 align:middle line:84% The baby did not like the noise and the dust. 00:08:57.190 --> 00:08:59.710 align:middle line:90% The place was not safe. 00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:02.650 align:middle line:84% "No place is safe," she told the baby. 00:09:02.650 --> 00:09:07.160 align:middle line:84% The baby wanted her to leave it once for the old gardens. 00:09:07.160 --> 00:09:09.460 align:middle line:84% How could she leave without Indigo? 00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:14.860 align:middle line:84% Indigo was still a child, but she is not your baby like I am. 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:16.810 align:middle line:90% You don't breathe for her. 00:09:16.810 --> 00:09:19.360 align:middle line:90% You breathe for me. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:23.440 align:middle line:84% Most days, he was so busy, Candy did not come to her tent 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:24.940 align:middle line:90% until after midnight. 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:27.650 align:middle line:84% And even then, he was only taking a break. 00:09:27.650 --> 00:09:31.600 align:middle line:84% The gambling tents were full of players, and sales of beer, 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.570 align:middle line:84% and barbecued meat were non-stop. 00:09:34.570 --> 00:09:37.060 align:middle line:84% She did not see as much of Maytha and Vedna 00:09:37.060 --> 00:09:38.950 align:middle line:90% after she quit the laundry. 00:09:38.950 --> 00:09:41.560 align:middle line:84% The pregnancy caused her to sleep more, 00:09:41.560 --> 00:09:44.080 align:middle line:84% and the Twins got busier as more workers 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:46.270 align:middle line:90% arrived to finish the dam. 00:09:46.270 --> 00:09:49.780 align:middle line:84% Maytha and Vedna knew Sister Salt wanted company. 00:09:49.780 --> 00:09:52.720 align:middle line:84% But usually, by the time they bathed in the laundry tent 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:56.320 align:middle line:84% after work to take advantage of the clean, warm water, 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:00.490 align:middle line:84% their dates arrived before they had a chance to visit her. 00:10:00.490 --> 00:10:04.570 align:middle line:84% Sundays were days of rest not because Maytha or Vedna were 00:10:04.570 --> 00:10:07.450 align:middle line:84% Christians, but because preachers and missionaries 00:10:07.450 --> 00:10:11.110 align:middle line:84% descended on the construction camp for Sunday services 00:10:11.110 --> 00:10:13.270 align:middle line:90% and scared off their dates. 00:10:13.270 --> 00:10:15.370 align:middle line:84% So the three of them decided Sundays 00:10:15.370 --> 00:10:17.350 align:middle line:90% would be their day together. 00:10:17.350 --> 00:10:20.080 align:middle line:84% After they ate, they talked and laughed 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:22.750 align:middle line:84% as they took turns combing and braiding new satin 00:10:22.750 --> 00:10:24.580 align:middle line:90% ribbons into their hair. 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:28.300 align:middle line:84% They were best friends now, and the twins teased each other, 00:10:28.300 --> 00:10:32.920 align:middle line:84% saying they wished Sister Salt were their twin, not the other. 00:10:32.920 --> 00:10:35.440 align:middle line:84% The camp was a dump, Maytha said. 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:38.290 align:middle line:84% And Vedna and Sister Salt had to agree with her. 00:10:38.290 --> 00:10:41.720 align:middle line:84% All the noise and dust drifted to their tents. 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:44.620 align:middle line:84% They were getting tired of sex along the river week 00:10:44.620 --> 00:10:47.740 align:middle line:84% after week with the same sweaty workers who 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:49.630 align:middle line:90% never changed what they did. 00:10:49.630 --> 00:10:52.780 align:middle line:84% Sex with these men was boring and tedious. 00:10:52.780 --> 00:10:55.600 align:middle line:84% Luckily, the twins had saved almost enough money 00:10:55.600 --> 00:11:00.010 align:middle line:84% to retire forever before they died of boredom here. 00:11:00.010 --> 00:11:03.010 align:middle line:84% It's so bad, Vedna started to read 00:11:03.010 --> 00:11:07.420 align:middle line:84% the Bible, all the sexy parts in the Old Testament. 00:11:07.420 --> 00:11:09.460 align:middle line:84% The three of them laughed together. 00:11:09.460 --> 00:11:13.090 align:middle line:84% Vedna reminded them about the weird stories too. 00:11:13.090 --> 00:11:17.200 align:middle line:84% Those are even better than the sex, chariots of fire, 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:19.480 align:middle line:90% beasts with seven heads. 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:21.310 align:middle line:84% The Bible was the only book of Vedna 00:11:21.310 --> 00:11:23.590 align:middle line:84% could find to practice her reading. 00:11:23.590 --> 00:11:25.210 align:middle line:84% They had gone to school and learned 00:11:25.210 --> 00:11:28.030 align:middle line:84% to read when they lived in Winslow with their father. 00:11:28.030 --> 00:11:30.400 align:middle line:84% Their Chemehuevi people were troubled 00:11:30.400 --> 00:11:32.560 align:middle line:84% because their father wasn't Chemehuevi. 00:11:32.560 --> 00:11:35.980 align:middle line:84% He had been from Laguna, Pueblo, working on the railroad 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:37.690 align:middle line:84% and was already married with children 00:11:37.690 --> 00:11:40.600 align:middle line:90% when he met their mother. 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:44.260 align:middle line:84% Still, he took them in after their mother died but kept them 00:11:44.260 --> 00:11:46.540 align:middle line:90% away from Laguna and Winslow. 00:11:46.540 --> 00:11:48.880 align:middle line:84% Their father was killed in a railroad accident 00:11:48.880 --> 00:11:52.390 align:middle line:84% when they were 13, old enough to go back to their mother's 00:11:52.390 --> 00:11:54.250 align:middle line:90% people on their own. 00:11:54.250 --> 00:11:57.790 align:middle line:84% Only one old auntie, their grandmother's sister, 00:11:57.790 --> 00:12:02.050 align:middle line:84% welcomed them inside and poor things she didn't have much-- 00:12:02.050 --> 00:12:04.870 align:middle line:84% a tiny stone house on a dry floodplain 00:12:04.870 --> 00:12:08.870 align:middle line:84% of tumbleweeds and river gravel south of needles. 00:12:08.870 --> 00:12:10.750 align:middle line:84% The government took away her farmland 00:12:10.750 --> 00:12:13.420 align:middle line:84% on the river to lease out to white men. 00:12:13.420 --> 00:12:16.510 align:middle line:84% Maytha and Vedna like to say they had only two living 00:12:16.510 --> 00:12:22.450 align:middle line:84% relatives in Arizona-- their old auntie and Sister Salt. Later, 00:12:22.450 --> 00:12:25.690 align:middle line:84% Sister had to lie down because her back ached from the baby's 00:12:25.690 --> 00:12:27.370 align:middle line:90% constant turning. 00:12:27.370 --> 00:12:30.790 align:middle line:84% Candy looked in on her and was concerned about her discomfort. 00:12:30.790 --> 00:12:34.150 align:middle line:84% He didn't want anything to harm his first child. 00:12:34.150 --> 00:12:37.960 align:middle line:84% His huge hands gently closed around both of her hands, 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:40.480 align:middle line:84% and he kissed the top of her head. 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:42.580 align:middle line:90% He was sorry he was so busy. 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:45.640 align:middle line:84% He could see something was wrong. 00:12:45.640 --> 00:12:46.990 align:middle line:90% Nothing was wrong. 00:12:46.990 --> 00:12:49.840 align:middle line:84% She was only listening to the baby. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:53.080 align:middle line:84% Candy exhaled and glanced down at her belly. 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:55.870 align:middle line:84% He had to take Wylie the evening receipts. 00:12:55.870 --> 00:12:58.540 align:middle line:84% He wanted to know how the baby could talk, 00:12:58.540 --> 00:13:02.470 align:middle line:84% how she could hear it when it was so tiny, 00:13:02.470 --> 00:13:06.370 align:middle line:84% but questions would have to wait until he got back." 00:13:06.370 --> 00:13:08.470 align:middle line:84% Then I'm going to skip a section here 00:13:08.470 --> 00:13:10.960 align:middle line:84% where Wiley is Candy's boss, Wiley 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:13.510 align:middle line:90% is a construction crew man. 00:13:13.510 --> 00:13:15.760 align:middle line:84% And the basis of their relationship 00:13:15.760 --> 00:13:20.530 align:middle line:84% is food and big candies, cooking. 00:13:20.530 --> 00:13:22.420 align:middle line:90% And so I'll skip over that. 00:13:22.420 --> 00:13:28.400 align:middle line:84% Anyway, well, Candy-- while Candy's off with Wiley, 00:13:28.400 --> 00:13:31.160 align:middle line:90% Sister Salt is alone. 00:13:31.160 --> 00:13:33.907 align:middle line:90% Time goes by. 00:13:33.907 --> 00:13:34.740 align:middle line:90% I'm skipping around. 00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:37.560 align:middle line:84% "Sister Salt was lying down that evening when Maytha and Vedna 00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:40.430 align:middle line:84% surprised her they had big grins on their faces 00:13:40.430 --> 00:13:42.440 align:middle line:84% because they just counted it all up 00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:46.610 align:middle line:84% and realized they'd made all the money they needed to buy land. 00:13:46.610 --> 00:13:52.160 align:middle line:84% Very soon, they'd be leaving this noisy dump for good. 00:13:52.160 --> 00:13:54.210 align:middle line:84% They invited her to come with them. 00:13:54.210 --> 00:13:57.080 align:middle line:84% They weren't going right away, in a month or two. 00:13:57.080 --> 00:13:58.610 align:middle line:90% Think about it. 00:13:58.610 --> 00:14:01.280 align:middle line:84% After they went back to their tent, 00:14:01.280 --> 00:14:03.740 align:middle line:90% her eyes filled with tears. 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:07.010 align:middle line:84% I am the only one who will wait for you, dear little Indigo, 00:14:07.010 --> 00:14:10.130 align:middle line:84% she whispered that night before she went to sleep. 00:14:10.130 --> 00:14:13.370 align:middle line:84% Now, both the baby and its father wanted to leave. 00:14:13.370 --> 00:14:15.410 align:middle line:90% And the twins were going too. 00:14:15.410 --> 00:14:21.740 align:middle line:84% See, Sister Salt is waiting for Indigo to come back. 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:24.020 align:middle line:90% She's trying to find her sister. 00:14:24.020 --> 00:14:26.660 align:middle line:84% The baby was big enough to be seen in her belly, 00:14:26.660 --> 00:14:30.230 align:middle line:84% so she only had sex with big Candy now, otherwise, 00:14:30.230 --> 00:14:33.110 align:middle line:84% the baby's features might resemble other mens. 00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:35.540 align:middle line:84% The cloth of her smock shifted just a bit 00:14:35.540 --> 00:14:37.610 align:middle line:90% as the baby kicked and turned. 00:14:37.610 --> 00:14:40.880 align:middle line:84% The baby wanted her to eat sand lizard food, not 00:14:40.880 --> 00:14:43.700 align:middle line:84% all this animal grease and cooked food. 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:46.460 align:middle line:84% Big candy wanted a big strong son 00:14:46.460 --> 00:14:48.710 align:middle line:84% and insisted she eat plenty of meat. 00:14:48.710 --> 00:14:52.280 align:middle line:84% And each night, he brought back big platters of leftovers-- 00:14:52.280 --> 00:14:56.480 align:middle line:84% beef rib roasts, and stuffed pork loins and bowls piled high 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:59.540 align:middle line:84% with orange yams and stewed okra. 00:14:59.540 --> 00:15:03.320 align:middle line:84% But now, the odor of meat and its grease made her nauseous. 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:07.310 align:middle line:84% She ate the okra and yams but pushed the meat aside. 00:15:07.310 --> 00:15:08.900 align:middle line:84% Why should I talk to you when you 00:15:08.900 --> 00:15:10.940 align:middle line:90% don't feed me the food I need? 00:15:10.940 --> 00:15:14.750 align:middle line:84% The baby turned and turned but didn't speak again. 00:15:14.750 --> 00:15:17.540 align:middle line:84% The baby worried her, and she decided to confide 00:15:17.540 --> 00:15:18.950 align:middle line:90% and Maytha and Vedna. 00:15:18.950 --> 00:15:20.990 align:middle line:84% But when she went by the laundry, 00:15:20.990 --> 00:15:24.890 align:middle line:84% the wash tubs were turned upside down, and the fires were out. 00:15:24.890 --> 00:15:27.300 align:middle line:84% And the twins were nowhere to be found. 00:15:27.300 --> 00:15:29.510 align:middle line:84% They must have found a ride going North 00:15:29.510 --> 00:15:33.530 align:middle line:84% and went to visit their old auntie who was ailing, 00:15:33.530 --> 00:15:38.360 align:middle line:90% so she decides to take a walk. 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:39.710 align:middle line:90% It wasn't too hot yet. 00:15:39.710 --> 00:15:41.270 align:middle line:90% A walk would do her good. 00:15:41.270 --> 00:15:43.850 align:middle line:84% She left behind the river for the Sandyhills 00:15:43.850 --> 00:15:46.340 align:middle line:90% above to gather wild greens. 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:49.340 align:middle line:84% The construction noise has receded as she walked, 00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:51.560 align:middle line:84% so she kept going until she no longer heard 00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:55.940 align:middle line:84% anything but the wind and the metal arcs and the rice grass. 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:59.570 align:middle line:84% She had not planned to walk so far without her gourd canteen, 00:15:59.570 --> 00:16:01.310 align:middle line:90% but her legs kept going. 00:16:01.310 --> 00:16:04.220 align:middle line:84% And the farther she went, the better she felt. 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:07.950 align:middle line:84% Even the baby stopped turning so much. 00:16:07.950 --> 00:16:11.780 align:middle line:84% Distanced up a dry wash, she found a coyote melon vine 00:16:11.780 --> 00:16:14.750 align:middle line:84% snaking through the rice grass and thistles. 00:16:14.750 --> 00:16:17.330 align:middle line:84% At the first sweet taste of melon, 00:16:17.330 --> 00:16:20.990 align:middle line:84% she was overwhelmed by memories of the sweet yellow melons 00:16:20.990 --> 00:16:25.070 align:middle line:84% they shared the last autumn they were all together. 00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:28.280 align:middle line:84% The salt of her tears made her cheeks itch. 00:16:28.280 --> 00:16:31.550 align:middle line:84% They had been so happy together that sunny afternoon 00:16:31.550 --> 00:16:35.810 align:middle line:84% a few months before the crows and then the dancers came. 00:16:35.810 --> 00:16:38.630 align:middle line:84% That last afternoon, the melons sugar 00:16:38.630 --> 00:16:40.400 align:middle line:90% stuck their fingers together. 00:16:40.400 --> 00:16:44.180 align:middle line:84% And they squealed with delight as they pulled them apart. 00:16:44.180 --> 00:16:47.900 align:middle line:84% She ate one melon and then another like a starving person 00:16:47.900 --> 00:16:50.360 align:middle line:84% until her hands and even the strands of her hair 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:51.710 align:middle line:90% were sticky. 00:16:51.710 --> 00:16:54.590 align:middle line:84% Her stomach felt too full and unsettled. 00:16:54.590 --> 00:16:58.610 align:middle line:84% She sat with her arms across her belly protectively 00:16:58.610 --> 00:17:01.250 align:middle line:84% and waited for the cramp to pass. 00:17:01.250 --> 00:17:05.390 align:middle line:84% Grandma always warned them not to eat too much too fast. 00:17:05.390 --> 00:17:07.760 align:middle line:84% The baby must like this sand lizard food 00:17:07.760 --> 00:17:09.770 align:middle line:90% because it didn't complain. 00:17:09.770 --> 00:17:13.369 align:middle line:84% She lay back on the fine sand to take a rest. 00:17:13.369 --> 00:17:16.460 align:middle line:84% The sky here was pure endless turquoise, 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:19.040 align:middle line:84% and the air here smells so clean, 00:17:19.040 --> 00:17:22.640 align:middle line:84% unmoored by the dust and smoke of the construction. 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:25.700 align:middle line:84% The sun was moving lower in the sky, 00:17:25.700 --> 00:17:27.980 align:middle line:84% but she didn't want to turn back yet. 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:31.490 align:middle line:84% What else was there growing wild in this sandy wash 00:17:31.490 --> 00:17:32.780 align:middle line:90% ready to eat? 00:17:32.780 --> 00:17:35.540 align:middle line:84% She walked a distance farther up the wash, 00:17:35.540 --> 00:17:39.560 align:middle line:84% and sure enough, she found a stand of sunflowers, many 00:17:39.560 --> 00:17:42.290 align:middle line:84% still in bloom but others gone to seed. 00:17:42.290 --> 00:17:44.630 align:middle line:84% Her stomach felt uncomfortably full. 00:17:44.630 --> 00:17:47.150 align:middle line:84% But at the same time, she felt so hungry 00:17:47.150 --> 00:17:49.310 align:middle line:84% she crammed handfuls of dry seeds 00:17:49.310 --> 00:17:51.500 align:middle line:90% into her mouth hulls and all. 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:55.850 align:middle line:84% Mmm, the flavor in her mouth was so rich and delightful. 00:17:55.850 --> 00:17:59.150 align:middle line:84% She swallowed despite how full her stomach felt. 00:17:59.150 --> 00:18:02.510 align:middle line:84% She couldn't spit them out and waste them. 00:18:02.510 --> 00:18:04.520 align:middle line:84% A short distance beyond the sunflower, 00:18:04.520 --> 00:18:09.080 align:middle line:84% she spotted bright, red fruit of a chili pepper plant. 00:18:09.080 --> 00:18:11.720 align:middle line:84% Once someone must have had a garden here, 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:15.410 align:middle line:84% and a few seeds replanted themselves just 00:18:15.410 --> 00:18:17.540 align:middle line:90% as they did at the old gardens. 00:18:17.540 --> 00:18:19.970 align:middle line:84% Oh, how she wished she were there. 00:18:19.970 --> 00:18:23.240 align:middle line:84% She ate the sweet hot peppers one after the other 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:26.750 align:middle line:84% as if they might take her home if she ate enough of them. 00:18:26.750 --> 00:18:28.820 align:middle line:84% The heat of the peppers in her stomach 00:18:28.820 --> 00:18:31.790 align:middle line:84% eased the odd heaviness she felt. 00:18:31.790 --> 00:18:34.100 align:middle line:84% She knew she really should start back to the river 00:18:34.100 --> 00:18:36.830 align:middle line:84% before it got any hotter than it was, 00:18:36.830 --> 00:18:40.880 align:middle line:84% but all the food in her stomach made her feel heavy and sleepy. 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:43.010 align:middle line:84% The heat was already strong, so she 00:18:43.010 --> 00:18:46.220 align:middle line:84% decided to take a nap in the shade of a big boulder 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:48.620 align:middle line:84% and start back when the sun went down. 00:18:48.620 --> 00:18:51.050 align:middle line:90% And it cooled off. 00:18:51.050 --> 00:18:53.180 align:middle line:84% She slept longer than she intended. 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:56.570 align:middle line:84% The shadows were already long, and the sun about to set. 00:18:56.570 --> 00:18:59.420 align:middle line:84% If she wasn't backed by dark, big Candy and the twins 00:18:59.420 --> 00:19:00.740 align:middle line:90% might worry. 00:19:00.740 --> 00:19:03.650 align:middle line:84% She walked only the distance back down the wash 00:19:03.650 --> 00:19:07.190 align:middle line:84% past the melon plant when another cramp tightened 00:19:07.190 --> 00:19:11.930 align:middle line:84% around her belly and back until she knelt in the sand, doubled 00:19:11.930 --> 00:19:14.450 align:middle line:90% over from the pain. 00:19:14.450 --> 00:19:18.140 align:middle line:84% She thought it was only diarrhea until she 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:21.170 align:middle line:84% saw the gouts of dark red blood glistening 00:19:21.170 --> 00:19:23.540 align:middle line:90% on the sand between her feet. 00:19:23.540 --> 00:19:25.790 align:middle line:84% How strange that the blood's color 00:19:25.790 --> 00:19:31.070 align:middle line:84% was identical to the dark red edge of the sky at sundown. 00:19:31.070 --> 00:19:34.190 align:middle line:84% All this blood, how much more blood 00:19:34.190 --> 00:19:36.530 align:middle line:90% did she have before she died? 00:19:36.530 --> 00:19:38.750 align:middle line:90% And the baby died too. 00:19:38.750 --> 00:19:41.720 align:middle line:84% She crawled to clean sand and lay on her side 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:43.940 align:middle line:84% with her knees drawn up to her belly. 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:47.210 align:middle line:84% The blood felt warm and thick between her thighs. 00:19:47.210 --> 00:19:48.770 align:middle line:90% And then it happened. 00:19:48.770 --> 00:19:52.670 align:middle line:84% She could not stop her body from contracting 00:19:52.670 --> 00:19:55.310 align:middle line:84% and push to relieve herself, then 00:19:55.310 --> 00:19:57.620 align:middle line:84% realized something else had happened. 00:19:57.620 --> 00:20:00.320 align:middle line:84% Some part of herself had been expelled. 00:20:00.320 --> 00:20:04.430 align:middle line:84% She felt it pulsate, but it beat faster than her heartbeat. 00:20:04.430 --> 00:20:09.650 align:middle line:84% And she knew it was the baby sand lizard born too soon. 00:20:09.650 --> 00:20:11.780 align:middle line:84% Twilight was fading into darkness 00:20:11.780 --> 00:20:14.840 align:middle line:84% as she gathered up the wet bundle still connected 00:20:14.840 --> 00:20:16.380 align:middle line:90% to her own body. 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:19.400 align:middle line:84% She smelled blood as she cradled the dark sticky mess 00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:22.160 align:middle line:84% in her arms before she bit through the cord that 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:23.480 align:middle line:90% connected them. 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:26.210 align:middle line:84% He was a tiny shrunken old man who 00:20:26.210 --> 00:20:28.580 align:middle line:84% refused to stop sucking his own hand 00:20:28.580 --> 00:20:30.920 align:middle line:90% long enough to open his eyes. 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:35.120 align:middle line:84% She tore her skirt and gently wrapped him not too tightly 00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:38.150 align:middle line:84% around and around until she made a cocoon 00:20:38.150 --> 00:20:42.170 align:middle line:84% with only a small opening above his face to keep him warm. 00:20:42.170 --> 00:20:45.410 align:middle line:84% She was still bleeding, and the cramping did not stop. 00:20:45.410 --> 00:20:48.800 align:middle line:84% And she thought my sand lizard grandfather 00:20:48.800 --> 00:20:52.100 align:middle line:90% has come to take me home. 00:20:52.100 --> 00:20:54.620 align:middle line:84% The sand remained warm after darkness came, 00:20:54.620 --> 00:20:57.200 align:middle line:84% and she curled around the little black grandfather 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.710 align:middle line:84% who preferred his own fist to the nipples of her breasts. 00:21:00.710 --> 00:21:02.900 align:middle line:84% She did not lose consciousness, but she 00:21:02.900 --> 00:21:05.450 align:middle line:84% was so weak she felt the pull of the Earth 00:21:05.450 --> 00:21:06.770 align:middle line:90% bring her to the ground. 00:21:06.770 --> 00:21:11.000 align:middle line:84% And she thought, "so this is how we return to mother Earth." 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:14.180 align:middle line:84% She was happy to return because she 00:21:14.180 --> 00:21:16.970 align:middle line:90% missed Grandma Fleet so much. 00:21:16.970 --> 00:21:19.250 align:middle line:84% Toward morning, the desert cooled off, 00:21:19.250 --> 00:21:21.650 align:middle line:84% and she woke shivering in the darkness. 00:21:21.650 --> 00:21:24.320 align:middle line:84% The stars were bigger and brighter late at 00:21:24.320 --> 00:21:27.050 align:middle line:84% night when they thought no one was watching them. 00:21:27.050 --> 00:21:31.250 align:middle line:84% She looked overhead, the stars were closer and bigger now. 00:21:31.250 --> 00:21:35.540 align:middle line:84% How they flashed in arcs traveling from place to place. 00:21:35.540 --> 00:21:39.230 align:middle line:84% Though she shivered, still she took care not to move her arms 00:21:39.230 --> 00:21:41.180 align:middle line:90% or shift the bundle in her arms. 00:21:41.180 --> 00:21:43.400 align:middle line:84% She did not look down because she did not 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:46.280 align:middle line:84% want to know if he was alive or dead. 00:21:46.280 --> 00:21:48.680 align:middle line:90% Was the bundle warm or cold? 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:51.500 align:middle line:84% It was so small she couldn't be sure. 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:54.380 align:middle line:84% Carefully, she pushed herself deeper 00:21:54.380 --> 00:21:57.590 align:middle line:84% into layers of sand that were still warm. 00:21:57.590 --> 00:22:00.890 align:middle line:84% O how soothing the warm sand was on her belly 00:22:00.890 --> 00:22:02.960 align:middle line:90% and the base of her spine. 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:05.480 align:middle line:90% How sweet sleep was. 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:08.360 align:middle line:90% Let me sleep forever. 00:22:08.360 --> 00:22:13.010 align:middle line:84% At dawn, she woke to a black dog gently licking her face. 00:22:13.010 --> 00:22:16.610 align:middle line:84% If the dog's motion had not been so gentle and slow, 00:22:16.610 --> 00:22:19.040 align:middle line:90% she might have feared an attack. 00:22:19.040 --> 00:22:21.230 align:middle line:84% The bundle was secure in any case 00:22:21.230 --> 00:22:24.590 align:middle line:84% because she slept curled around it to keep it warm. 00:22:24.590 --> 00:22:27.890 align:middle line:84% During the night, she woke, but could not be sure if he moved 00:22:27.890 --> 00:22:30.140 align:middle line:84% or if she had only dreamed he moved. 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:32.330 align:middle line:84% She was still bleeding, though much less 00:22:32.330 --> 00:22:33.920 align:middle line:90% than the night before. 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:38.270 align:middle line:84% The afterbirth was in the sand nearby untouched by the dog. 00:22:38.270 --> 00:22:39.770 align:middle line:90% A good sign. 00:22:39.770 --> 00:22:42.800 align:middle line:84% The dog had a fat stomach, but seemed crippled. 00:22:42.800 --> 00:22:46.790 align:middle line:84% It hobbled backward wagging its tail as she raised up. 00:22:46.790 --> 00:22:48.620 align:middle line:84% Did something move in the bundle? 00:22:48.620 --> 00:22:51.200 align:middle line:84% She still couldn't bring herself to look. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:53.360 align:middle line:84% Too bad she hadn't brought a canteen 00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:55.760 align:middle line:90% because she was really thirsty. 00:22:55.760 --> 00:22:58.610 align:middle line:84% She wondered if Big Candy came to her tent last night 00:22:58.610 --> 00:23:00.515 align:middle line:90% and was looking for her. 00:23:00.515 --> 00:23:02.960 align:middle line:84% Maytha and Vedna probably wouldn't get back from Needles 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:03.590 align:middle line:90% until tomorrow. 00:23:03.590 --> 00:23:06.350 align:middle line:90% 00:23:06.350 --> 00:23:10.760 align:middle line:84% The dog stood a short distance away 00:23:10.760 --> 00:23:14.600 align:middle line:84% watching her face and the bundle in her arms curiously. 00:23:14.600 --> 00:23:16.550 align:middle line:84% When they lived in Needles, she and Indigo 00:23:16.550 --> 00:23:19.100 align:middle line:84% used to beg for a puppy, but Grandma Fleet 00:23:19.100 --> 00:23:21.680 align:middle line:90% said dogs eat too much meat. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:23.930 align:middle line:84% Now, the sun rose above the horizon, 00:23:23.930 --> 00:23:26.810 align:middle line:84% but with a partial mask of thin clouds. 00:23:26.810 --> 00:23:29.390 align:middle line:84% Her left arm was stiff from holding the bundle, 00:23:29.390 --> 00:23:32.540 align:middle line:84% and she tried to shift it a bit without disturbing it. 00:23:32.540 --> 00:23:34.670 align:middle line:84% If she bumped it and it didn't move, 00:23:34.670 --> 00:23:36.830 align:middle line:90% then she'd know he was dead. 00:23:36.830 --> 00:23:39.740 align:middle line:84% Just then, she was aware of a strange sensation, 00:23:39.740 --> 00:23:42.230 align:middle line:84% an odd tingling, and when she touched herself 00:23:42.230 --> 00:23:46.730 align:middle line:84% with her right hand, her breasts were swollen and leaked 00:23:46.730 --> 00:23:49.520 align:middle line:84% warm milk through the cloth of her blouse. 00:23:49.520 --> 00:23:51.950 align:middle line:84% The dog's ears pricked up at the bundle, 00:23:51.950 --> 00:23:56.150 align:middle line:84% and when she first looked down, she thought she saw a spider, 00:23:56.150 --> 00:24:00.140 align:middle line:84% but then she realized it was a tiny black hand reaching out 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:01.580 align:middle line:90% of the bundle. 00:24:01.580 --> 00:24:03.560 align:middle line:90% He was still alive. 00:24:03.560 --> 00:24:06.230 align:middle line:84% Now she had to look, but she dreaded 00:24:06.230 --> 00:24:09.410 align:middle line:84% to see the poor little thing breathe his last. 00:24:09.410 --> 00:24:11.090 align:middle line:90% Yes, she whispered to him. 00:24:11.090 --> 00:24:14.390 align:middle line:84% It was her fault he was born too soon, for eating too 00:24:14.390 --> 00:24:16.880 align:middle line:90% much greasy white colored food. 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:18.800 align:middle line:84% She whispered to him as she gently 00:24:18.800 --> 00:24:20.840 align:middle line:90% pulled open the bundle to look. 00:24:20.840 --> 00:24:24.470 align:middle line:84% Now both little black hands are waving at her angrily, 00:24:24.470 --> 00:24:26.840 align:middle line:84% and she laughed with relief at how briskly 00:24:26.840 --> 00:24:28.400 align:middle line:90% they punched the air. 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:31.940 align:middle line:84% He smelled breast milk, and wanted some right now. 00:24:31.940 --> 00:24:34.760 align:middle line:84% As she fumbled with her blouse to bring out a breast, 00:24:34.760 --> 00:24:38.600 align:middle line:84% he began a high pitched cry sounding like a river heron. 00:24:38.600 --> 00:24:40.520 align:middle line:84% The longer it took for her to push back 00:24:40.520 --> 00:24:44.030 align:middle line:84% the cloth wrapped around him, the louder the heron's cries 00:24:44.030 --> 00:24:45.080 align:middle line:90% became. 00:24:45.080 --> 00:24:48.140 align:middle line:84% His little wrinkled face was contorted in anger. 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:52.310 align:middle line:84% His eyes squeezed shut and mouth gulping like a fish. 00:24:52.310 --> 00:24:55.370 align:middle line:84% In her haste to get the breast and nipple to his mouth, 00:24:55.370 --> 00:24:58.730 align:middle line:84% milk squirted on his forehead, and for an instant, 00:24:58.730 --> 00:25:01.940 align:middle line:84% he stopped wiggling and opened his eyes in surprise, 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:04.790 align:middle line:84% and she saw he was a tough customer who 00:25:04.790 --> 00:25:08.480 align:middle line:90% wouldn't die anytime soon. 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:09.050 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:25:09.050 --> 00:25:09.710 align:middle line:90% So that's-- 00:25:09.710 --> 00:25:13.654 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:25:13.654 --> 00:25:14.640 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:25.000 align:middle line:90% 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:25.500 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:35.340 align:middle line:84% Now, this is just sort of for people that work with writing, 00:25:35.340 --> 00:25:40.650 align:middle line:84% and you struggle, and just so you know, 00:25:40.650 --> 00:25:42.840 align:middle line:90% it never gets any easier, guys. 00:25:42.840 --> 00:25:47.130 align:middle line:90% So this is something-- 00:25:47.130 --> 00:25:52.530 align:middle line:84% the publishers are publishing fewer and fewer books 00:25:52.530 --> 00:25:56.610 align:middle line:84% of serious fiction or fiction of any kind-- silly fiction, 00:25:56.610 --> 00:25:58.110 align:middle line:90% ridiculous fiction. 00:25:58.110 --> 00:26:03.240 align:middle line:84% Fewer books of poetry, and everything is nonfiction, 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:06.900 align:middle line:84% and so I decided that I had to get with it 00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:09.600 align:middle line:90% and come up with something-- 00:26:09.600 --> 00:26:13.370 align:middle line:84% one of those sort of self-help books-- 00:26:13.370 --> 00:26:16.560 align:middle line:90% play the stock market. 00:26:16.560 --> 00:26:19.350 align:middle line:84% So this is just something I'm playing around with. 00:26:19.350 --> 00:26:21.130 align:middle line:84% I don't know what it will turn into. 00:26:21.130 --> 00:26:24.480 align:middle line:84% And so I bring it tonight not because it's 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:27.330 align:middle line:84% in any kind of very good shape, but mostly just 00:26:27.330 --> 00:26:30.250 align:middle line:84% to share with you what I'm doing right now. 00:26:30.250 --> 00:26:33.700 align:middle line:84% So needless to say, it's kind of a mess, 00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:38.340 align:middle line:84% but that's what happens when you share 00:26:38.340 --> 00:26:40.050 align:middle line:84% work that you're just starting with. 00:26:40.050 --> 00:26:44.430 align:middle line:84% The working title is "Protect Yourself From Bad Spells 00:26:44.430 --> 00:26:45.420 align:middle line:90% While You Get Rich." 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:50.400 align:middle line:90% 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:53.340 align:middle line:84% And it looks like there's this narrator, 00:26:53.340 --> 00:26:56.380 align:middle line:84% and the narrator is writing a book. 00:26:56.380 --> 00:27:00.450 align:middle line:84% So the first thing you read is this table of contents 00:27:00.450 --> 00:27:03.520 align:middle line:90% that the narrator has made. 00:27:03.520 --> 00:27:06.810 align:middle line:84% And I guess this, Protect Yourself From Bad Spells 00:27:06.810 --> 00:27:10.110 align:middle line:84% While You Get Rich, must be the title of the book 00:27:10.110 --> 00:27:12.210 align:middle line:90% that this narrator is writing. 00:27:12.210 --> 00:27:15.720 align:middle line:84% I think this narrator is a writer that-- 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:16.365 align:middle line:90% is the writer. 00:27:16.365 --> 00:27:17.740 align:middle line:84% We'll find out a little bit more. 00:27:17.740 --> 00:27:20.610 align:middle line:84% Anyway, this is the table of contents, 00:27:20.610 --> 00:27:23.890 align:middle line:90% and it's not complete. 00:27:23.890 --> 00:27:25.740 align:middle line:84% So this is the first thing you see. 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:30.900 align:middle line:84% There's a table of contents, introduction, then chapter 1-- 00:27:30.900 --> 00:27:34.800 align:middle line:84% those who may wish you harm, and then in parentheses-- 00:27:34.800 --> 00:27:37.230 align:middle line:84% Unfortunately, close family members 00:27:37.230 --> 00:27:40.140 align:middle line:84% lead the lists of likely suspects. 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:43.860 align:middle line:84% I wish it were not so, but the facts remain. 00:27:43.860 --> 00:27:48.300 align:middle line:84% It is the family that is most likely to do a person in. 00:27:48.300 --> 00:27:52.720 align:middle line:84% Others on the list include police, doctors, teachers, 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:54.435 align:middle line:90% and clergy who may be envious. 00:27:54.435 --> 00:27:56.280 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:27:56.280 --> 00:28:00.180 align:middle line:84% Chapter 2-- reasons to communicate with the dead. 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:04.350 align:middle line:84% Parentheses-- To find the locations of lost loot, 00:28:04.350 --> 00:28:08.070 align:middle line:84% to learn lottery numbers, and race track winners, 00:28:08.070 --> 00:28:11.010 align:middle line:84% or to learn the identities of enemies, 00:28:11.010 --> 00:28:14.610 align:middle line:84% and finally, to make peace with the dead so they will help 00:28:14.610 --> 00:28:17.010 align:middle line:84% keep the claws of the witches away. 00:28:17.010 --> 00:28:19.260 align:middle line:84% Only the spirit world can protect you 00:28:19.260 --> 00:28:21.870 align:middle line:84% from witchcraft, exclamation mark. 00:28:21.870 --> 00:28:24.960 align:middle line:84% Chapter 3-- cases of witchcraft and then 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:26.640 align:middle line:90% there's kind of a big blank. 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:29.040 align:middle line:90% Chapter 4-- prevention. 00:28:29.040 --> 00:28:32.580 align:middle line:84% Parentheses-- Keep your house filled with live snakes, 00:28:32.580 --> 00:28:34.680 align:middle line:84% rodents, and other birds and animals 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:37.800 align:middle line:84% who repel the evil spells aimed at you. 00:28:37.800 --> 00:28:40.320 align:middle line:90% Chapter 5-- cures-- 00:28:40.320 --> 00:28:44.160 align:middle line:84% bathing and blessed herbs, oils, and prayers after the cleaner 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:48.000 align:middle line:84% takes on all the filth she finds planted around your house. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:51.150 align:middle line:84% Chapter 6-- gambling and gambling machines. 00:28:51.150 --> 00:28:54.090 align:middle line:84% Parentheses-- how to waltz into a casino 00:28:54.090 --> 00:28:57.450 align:middle line:84% and hit jackpot after jackpot without effort. 00:28:57.450 --> 00:29:00.300 align:middle line:90% Chapter 7-- sex magic. 00:29:00.300 --> 00:29:04.230 align:middle line:84% Parentheses-- To break a spell, a man and his mate 00:29:04.230 --> 00:29:07.050 align:middle line:84% must go have sex in numerous public places 00:29:07.050 --> 00:29:08.445 align:middle line:90% at night and in broad daylight. 00:29:08.445 --> 00:29:12.030 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:29:12.030 --> 00:29:15.420 align:middle line:84% There's 10 chapters but apparently, this writer 00:29:15.420 --> 00:29:17.340 align:middle line:84% hasn't gotten any further or at least 00:29:17.340 --> 00:29:21.090 align:middle line:84% I haven't gotten any further than seven. 00:29:21.090 --> 00:29:27.330 align:middle line:84% OK, and then you the introduction to this book. 00:29:27.330 --> 00:29:29.970 align:middle line:84% The water suddenly heaves and washes 00:29:29.970 --> 00:29:32.310 align:middle line:90% against the sides of the bucket. 00:29:32.310 --> 00:29:34.620 align:middle line:84% While brushing your hair, a voice 00:29:34.620 --> 00:29:37.170 align:middle line:90% croaks from your left shoulder. 00:29:37.170 --> 00:29:40.725 align:middle line:84% His black tuxedo jacket disappears from the closet. 00:29:40.725 --> 00:29:43.290 align:middle line:90% 00:29:43.290 --> 00:29:47.310 align:middle line:84% You dream of a dead husband who wets your bed. 00:29:47.310 --> 00:29:49.980 align:middle line:84% You dream a misunderstanding in which 00:29:49.980 --> 00:29:53.970 align:middle line:84% you do not tell the person he may not have the book. 00:29:53.970 --> 00:29:56.520 align:middle line:90% Someone wants power over you. 00:29:56.520 --> 00:29:59.940 align:middle line:84% Someone always wants a slave or a toy. 00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:02.190 align:middle line:90% Power comes from spells. 00:30:02.190 --> 00:30:05.700 align:middle line:84% Spells come from all places and all times, 00:30:05.700 --> 00:30:08.610 align:middle line:84% and you never know which ones will work. 00:30:08.610 --> 00:30:11.970 align:middle line:84% Right here, let me say all power comes from God. 00:30:11.970 --> 00:30:14.940 align:middle line:84% Whatever you call her or him or them, 00:30:14.940 --> 00:30:17.190 align:middle line:90% let's not leave anyone out. 00:30:17.190 --> 00:30:21.120 align:middle line:84% I'll explain why in chapters to come especially the chapter 00:30:21.120 --> 00:30:24.170 align:middle line:90% on gambling machines. 00:30:24.170 --> 00:30:28.430 align:middle line:84% This could happen-- electronic communication with the dead 00:30:28.430 --> 00:30:30.620 align:middle line:90% by tape recorder and computer. 00:30:30.620 --> 00:30:33.860 align:middle line:84% I will tell you all about it in the chapters to come. 00:30:33.860 --> 00:30:36.260 align:middle line:84% Electronic devices are peculiarly 00:30:36.260 --> 00:30:39.470 align:middle line:84% vulnerable to interference from the spirit realms. 00:30:39.470 --> 00:30:43.280 align:middle line:84% The dead can tell you who is out to get you. 00:30:43.280 --> 00:30:46.580 align:middle line:84% The earth shrinks and turns faster each year. 00:30:46.580 --> 00:30:50.900 align:middle line:84% With time and space running out, vicious emotions 00:30:50.900 --> 00:30:54.530 align:middle line:84% brew out of the scarcity of oxygen and water. 00:30:54.530 --> 00:30:59.090 align:middle line:84% Envy and greed send them down on us and the others. 00:30:59.090 --> 00:31:02.570 align:middle line:84% The old people say there are four previous worlds 00:31:02.570 --> 00:31:05.750 align:middle line:84% below this world, which is on the brink of passing 00:31:05.750 --> 00:31:07.700 align:middle line:90% to the realms below. 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:12.360 align:middle line:90% No destruction, only change. 00:31:12.360 --> 00:31:15.980 align:middle line:84% Then there seems to be some sort of gap or space, 00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:20.990 align:middle line:84% and then apparently, the writer says, 00:31:20.990 --> 00:31:23.330 align:middle line:84% we are going to write this book together you 00:31:23.330 --> 00:31:26.480 align:middle line:84% and I. It is the best direct sort of life learning 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:28.320 align:middle line:90% experience for the student. 00:31:28.320 --> 00:31:31.490 align:middle line:84% Some of you want to learn about communication with the spirit 00:31:31.490 --> 00:31:33.500 align:middle line:84% world, while others only want to learn 00:31:33.500 --> 00:31:36.710 align:middle line:84% how to write a book about spirit communications. 00:31:36.710 --> 00:31:41.600 align:middle line:84% We can easily cover both topics in the same book, 00:31:41.600 --> 00:31:45.410 align:middle line:84% and then there's another space, and-- 00:31:45.410 --> 00:31:47.570 align:middle line:84% I was never very interested in the subject 00:31:47.570 --> 00:31:53.720 align:middle line:84% of stargazing or crystal ball readings 00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:56.660 align:middle line:84% or seeing the future in flames or pans of water 00:31:56.660 --> 00:31:58.310 align:middle line:90% or goat's blood. 00:31:58.310 --> 00:32:00.830 align:middle line:84% Still, I keep a quartz crystal ball 00:32:00.830 --> 00:32:03.140 align:middle line:84% as a knickknack on my writing desk, 00:32:03.140 --> 00:32:06.920 align:middle line:84% in the hopes the crystal might somehow attract or capture 00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:09.240 align:middle line:84% radio transmissions from outer space. 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:18.230 align:middle line:84% Now this I is not me, but this character-- 00:32:18.230 --> 00:32:21.020 align:middle line:84% in the hopes the crystal might somehow 00:32:21.020 --> 00:32:24.620 align:middle line:84% attract or capture radio transmissions from outer space. 00:32:24.620 --> 00:32:26.660 align:middle line:84% Then, there's a parentheses, I think 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:29.600 align:middle line:84% they've made mistakes in the past, the sorts of earth 00:32:29.600 --> 00:32:32.360 align:middle line:84% people they've tried to communicate with, 00:32:32.360 --> 00:32:36.710 align:middle line:84% but there are political considerations 00:32:36.710 --> 00:32:38.510 align:middle line:90% they must take into account. 00:32:38.510 --> 00:32:41.810 align:middle line:84% Saving us until they really need our support. 00:32:41.810 --> 00:32:43.790 align:middle line:84% They've tried to focus their efforts 00:32:43.790 --> 00:32:48.410 align:middle line:84% on those who fear them, and want to destroy them. 00:32:48.410 --> 00:32:52.940 align:middle line:84% They've put off contacting those of us who are their friends. 00:32:52.940 --> 00:32:55.400 align:middle line:84% Instead, trying to learn what happens 00:32:55.400 --> 00:32:58.430 align:middle line:84% if they contact humans who are ignorant or afraid of them. 00:32:58.430 --> 00:33:00.230 align:middle line:84% They will eventually need to bring out 00:33:00.230 --> 00:33:03.080 align:middle line:84% us humans who support them, and when they do, 00:33:03.080 --> 00:33:05.150 align:middle line:90% I hope to be called. 00:33:05.150 --> 00:33:07.940 align:middle line:84% Are the alien beings merely human spirits gone 00:33:07.940 --> 00:33:09.980 align:middle line:90% into another realm or plane? 00:33:09.980 --> 00:33:13.970 align:middle line:84% If not, then do the alien beings have souls or are 00:33:13.970 --> 00:33:16.670 align:middle line:84% they constructs of mathematical operations 00:33:16.670 --> 00:33:18.830 align:middle line:90% on the subatomic level? 00:33:18.830 --> 00:33:21.680 align:middle line:90% Then there's some kind of space. 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:26.990 align:middle line:84% In the dust, I can't recognize any of the old places-- 00:33:26.990 --> 00:33:28.760 align:middle line:90% that's what one of them said. 00:33:28.760 --> 00:33:31.740 align:middle line:84% That sounds like what a dead soul might say. 00:33:31.740 --> 00:33:35.300 align:middle line:84% We're not used to the loss or change of the corporeal self 00:33:35.300 --> 00:33:37.010 align:middle line:90% to the spirit self. 00:33:37.010 --> 00:33:38.930 align:middle line:90% Later on, they get used to it. 00:33:38.930 --> 00:33:40.820 align:middle line:84% Then in parentheses, how can there 00:33:40.820 --> 00:33:45.590 align:middle line:84% be a later on when they are dead and in a timeless place? 00:33:45.590 --> 00:33:46.400 align:middle line:90% Right. 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:50.840 align:middle line:84% The word later can't really be applied to the spirit realm. 00:33:50.840 --> 00:33:54.320 align:middle line:84% The ghosts are everywhere they ever were for strictly, 00:33:54.320 --> 00:33:57.390 align:middle line:84% they left little bits of themselves behind there. 00:33:57.390 --> 00:33:58.910 align:middle line:90% Then there's some more space. 00:33:58.910 --> 00:34:01.130 align:middle line:90% Do the dead contact the living? 00:34:01.130 --> 00:34:03.890 align:middle line:84% Do they want us to make money off of them? 00:34:03.890 --> 00:34:06.500 align:middle line:90% Then there's another space. 00:34:06.500 --> 00:34:09.320 align:middle line:84% I am located in a small southwestern city 00:34:09.320 --> 00:34:11.540 align:middle line:84% which shall remain nameless to protect 00:34:11.540 --> 00:34:13.040 align:middle line:90% the people who helped me. 00:34:13.040 --> 00:34:14.820 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:34:14.820 --> 00:34:17.929 align:middle line:84% I will describe the dusty blue mountains that enclose 00:34:17.929 --> 00:34:20.360 align:middle line:90% the valley in its own smoke. 00:34:20.360 --> 00:34:23.780 align:middle line:84% Ancient volcanic deposits of pale ash 00:34:23.780 --> 00:34:27.739 align:middle line:84% fill the sky with fine dust from the denuded plane 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:29.540 align:middle line:90% above the riverbank. 00:34:29.540 --> 00:34:33.080 align:middle line:84% For some years, I made a decent living as a writer 00:34:33.080 --> 00:34:37.159 align:middle line:84% until I was forced to find other means of support. 00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:40.790 align:middle line:84% I thought since I was choosing a new life and new profession, 00:34:40.790 --> 00:34:43.580 align:middle line:84% I should do something I knew very little about, 00:34:43.580 --> 00:34:46.489 align:middle line:84% something which people truly needed enough to spend 00:34:46.489 --> 00:34:48.230 align:middle line:90% their money to get. 00:34:48.230 --> 00:34:51.905 align:middle line:84% I expected the answer might lay in fortune-telling or sex. 00:34:51.905 --> 00:34:54.770 align:middle line:90% 00:34:54.770 --> 00:34:56.810 align:middle line:84% The summer heat was bearable only 00:34:56.810 --> 00:35:00.710 align:middle line:84% by sealing the windows of the motel room with aluminum foil. 00:35:00.710 --> 00:35:04.160 align:middle line:84% When I took the watchman's job, the real estate agent 00:35:04.160 --> 00:35:05.750 align:middle line:84% said the demolition was scheduled 00:35:05.750 --> 00:35:08.060 align:middle line:90% to begin at the end of August. 00:35:08.060 --> 00:35:11.240 align:middle line:84% I could have any of the rooms I wanted she said. 00:35:11.240 --> 00:35:14.870 align:middle line:84% The land was in the process of being sold to foreign buyers, 00:35:14.870 --> 00:35:17.300 align:middle line:84% but there were problems with the financing, which 00:35:17.300 --> 00:35:18.950 align:middle line:90% had delayed the deal. 00:35:18.950 --> 00:35:21.290 align:middle line:84% The real estate agent stared off in the distance 00:35:21.290 --> 00:35:25.230 align:middle line:84% when she said this, and I thought she was probably lying. 00:35:25.230 --> 00:35:28.200 align:middle line:84% All over the city, there were motels and restaurants closed 00:35:28.200 --> 00:35:30.510 align:middle line:90% up with plywood and 2 by 4s. 00:35:30.510 --> 00:35:33.580 align:middle line:84% The lawns around the motel dried up first. 00:35:33.580 --> 00:35:35.760 align:middle line:84% Now, the yellow frizzled grass seemed 00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:39.090 align:middle line:84% to sink into the baked clay beneath. 00:35:39.090 --> 00:35:41.820 align:middle line:84% The hedges of dead oleanders all around the room 00:35:41.820 --> 00:35:45.270 align:middle line:84% seemed like fire hazards to me, and I made a mental note 00:35:45.270 --> 00:35:49.980 align:middle line:84% to tell the real estate agent the next time I saw her. 00:35:49.980 --> 00:35:53.040 align:middle line:84% I avoided the heat of the day by staying inside close 00:35:53.040 --> 00:35:54.420 align:middle line:90% to the air conditioner. 00:35:54.420 --> 00:36:00.240 align:middle line:90% 00:36:00.240 --> 00:36:03.600 align:middle line:84% The motel swimming pool was half full of green water. 00:36:03.600 --> 00:36:06.930 align:middle line:84% At night, I sat outside and watched the toads come out 00:36:06.930 --> 00:36:09.900 align:middle line:84% and perch on the floating trash and debris. 00:36:09.900 --> 00:36:13.890 align:middle line:84% They watched me with yellow headlight eyes, the small males 00:36:13.890 --> 00:36:16.440 align:middle line:90% on the backs of the big females. 00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:18.630 align:middle line:84% Through the dull haze of city light 00:36:18.630 --> 00:36:21.180 align:middle line:90% only the brightest stars shine. 00:36:21.180 --> 00:36:24.180 align:middle line:84% I walk along the river until I reached the cemetery 00:36:24.180 --> 00:36:27.210 align:middle line:84% where the darkness brings out more stars. 00:36:27.210 --> 00:36:31.320 align:middle line:84% I try to avoid the cracks where the earth subsided 00:36:31.320 --> 00:36:33.270 align:middle line:90% after the lawns dried up. 00:36:33.270 --> 00:36:36.480 align:middle line:84% In a few places, the deepest cracks 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:41.400 align:middle line:84% reveal parts of concrete grave vaults. 00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:44.610 align:middle line:84% I sit for a long time looking up at the big white star 00:36:44.610 --> 00:36:48.285 align:middle line:84% watching me out of the southwest sky just above the horizon. 00:36:48.285 --> 00:36:51.240 align:middle line:90% 00:36:51.240 --> 00:36:53.910 align:middle line:84% The light reaches my eyes and completes a circuit 00:36:53.910 --> 00:36:56.880 align:middle line:90% across galaxies. 00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:59.820 align:middle line:84% The star sees its own reflection in my eyes, 00:36:59.820 --> 00:37:04.770 align:middle line:84% and recognizes it being here as it moves West westward. 00:37:04.770 --> 00:37:08.040 align:middle line:84% I swivel my ass on the ground and keep facing it 00:37:08.040 --> 00:37:10.050 align:middle line:90% until it sets. 00:37:10.050 --> 00:37:13.470 align:middle line:84% I see a bright blue star and two bright red stars. 00:37:13.470 --> 00:37:16.320 align:middle line:84% Could one be the red planet, Mars? 00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:20.430 align:middle line:84% I know nothing about the stars, but feel they 00:37:20.430 --> 00:37:22.590 align:middle line:90% will reveal themselves to me. 00:37:22.590 --> 00:37:25.290 align:middle line:84% I will learn how to locate them in the sky. 00:37:25.290 --> 00:37:27.780 align:middle line:84% I watched them for hours on end, and then began 00:37:27.780 --> 00:37:29.670 align:middle line:90% to recognize a few. 00:37:29.670 --> 00:37:31.980 align:middle line:84% All summer, I look back at the twin stars 00:37:31.980 --> 00:37:35.670 align:middle line:84% that formed the monster's eyes on the southern horizon. 00:37:35.670 --> 00:37:38.430 align:middle line:84% The bright blue star is below the snake's mouth 00:37:38.430 --> 00:37:41.970 align:middle line:84% in the cluster I used to know as Orion's bow. 00:37:41.970 --> 00:37:44.220 align:middle line:84% I leave all my former life behind me 00:37:44.220 --> 00:37:47.760 align:middle line:84% in my efforts to become acquainted with the star. 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:51.180 align:middle line:84% Then one night in January when the weather is warm, 00:37:51.180 --> 00:37:53.820 align:middle line:84% kids break into the boarded up motel office, 00:37:53.820 --> 00:37:56.940 align:middle line:90% and set a small fire. 00:37:56.940 --> 00:37:59.340 align:middle line:84% When I get back from my night with the stars, 00:37:59.340 --> 00:38:02.310 align:middle line:84% the fire engines are just leaving. 00:38:02.310 --> 00:38:03.930 align:middle line:84% I know the real estate agent will 00:38:03.930 --> 00:38:06.990 align:middle line:84% want to know why I wasn't there to stop the kids. 00:38:06.990 --> 00:38:10.290 align:middle line:84% Weeks go by, but eventually, she comes with a cancellation 00:38:10.290 --> 00:38:12.990 align:middle line:84% notice from the insurance company in her hand. 00:38:12.990 --> 00:38:16.440 align:middle line:84% She said she was disappointed because the others in her group 00:38:16.440 --> 00:38:18.930 align:middle line:84% wanted to hire a man as a night watchman, 00:38:18.930 --> 00:38:21.270 align:middle line:90% but she had argued for a woman. 00:38:21.270 --> 00:38:23.790 align:middle line:84% I promised not to do my laundry late at night 00:38:23.790 --> 00:38:26.340 align:middle line:84% when the punks leave their music clubs. 00:38:26.340 --> 00:38:29.640 align:middle line:84% I know she doesn't want to advertise again for a watchman. 00:38:29.640 --> 00:38:31.830 align:middle line:90% I ask her about a gun, then. 00:38:31.830 --> 00:38:35.820 align:middle line:84% Punks are dangerous, especially for a woman alone. 00:38:35.820 --> 00:38:37.200 align:middle line:90% And that's as far as it goes. 00:38:37.200 --> 00:38:39.150 align:middle line:90% But she gets to have the gun. 00:38:39.150 --> 00:38:42.915 align:middle line:84% Well I want to thank you so much for listening tonight. 00:38:42.915 --> 00:38:46.200 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] Thank you. 00:38:46.200 --> 00:38:47.380 align:middle line:90% Thank you very much. 00:38:47.380 --> 00:38:47.880 align:middle line:90% Thanks. 00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:53.860 align:middle line:90% 00:38:53.860 --> 00:38:54.360 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:38:54.360 --> 00:39:01.670 align:middle line:90% 00:39:01.670 --> 00:39:05.180 align:middle line:84% Please join us for carrot cake in the lobby, 00:39:05.180 --> 00:39:08.830 align:middle line:84% and the author's books are on sale out there. 00:39:08.830 --> 00:39:21.000 align:middle line:90%