CHAPTER 91

Chapter 91 of MAGIC ISLAND

LIKE MOST of MODERN AMERICA

“My clematis is crawling across the laundry line,” she said. There’s no more need for sun-warmed clothes in the breeze. Like most of modern America, we use a washing machine and a dryer. When we go outside, we have to duck the purple flowers.

$6 Pond

Last summer's book was LEXINGTON BROWN and THE POND PROJECTOR. I never heard if anyone read it yet, but it's only $6 now on Amazon. A deal! Inspired by the popular Encyclopedia Brown franchise, this book features a kid inventor who creates a new way to see movies: in a pond! Much adventure leads to the grand showing of his Super-8 movies at the town aquarium. If you've got $6, treat yourself!

PITCH for an OSTRICH FARM

There are advantages, that much is obvious, the eggs are colossal, also if you want to eat an ostrich, it’s like a 300-pound chicken. And weren’t they once fashionable, didn’t people wear ostrich feathers in their hats, or make elegant blue and silver robes from them, waving from the windows of zeppelins? It’s all in a day. You can hitch your ostrich to a carriage, bring along a friend. Ride into town, sell your products to the market, and be back by sundown.

The CAPYBARA

A bit before midnight I got up and looked out the window and saw a strange animal on the grass, near the curb. It was tense as if sniffing the air. It was too small to be a deer, but not a dog, the shape was wrong. I guessed it might be a capybara. I don’t know how one drifted so far north on a hot July night. The thermal conditions must have been just right. It stayed an animal for eight more seconds then I realized it wasn’t. On 32nd Street in that very spot is a fire hydrant, so tame we almost forget it is there.

CHAPTER 79

Chapter 79 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 77

Chapter 77 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 73

This scene from Chapter 73 of the new novel MAGIC ISLAND

The PINEAPPLE

There’s a pineapple in the living room. It looks like a citizen of Mars who has come here sightseeing. We welcome it, we have made it the center of attention. We’ve been needing this exact distraction. It’s hard to even notice you’ve been worrying.

Neptune's Daughter

From Neptune's Daughter (1914)

The PERFECT DAY in PARIS

Today we met Jules Verne, or should I say the reincarnation, Fern Julliard. She remembers Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and the creatures of Mysterious Island. She can remember the perfect day in Paris in 1859.

CHAPTER 68

Chapter 68 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 67

Chapter 67 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 65

Chapter 65 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 60

Chapter 60 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 58

Chapter 58 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 52

Chapter 52 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 49

Chapter 49 of MAGIC ISLAND

SEVENTH FLOOR

Next to a fir tree is a small gravestone: “Here Lies Birdy, Wilson’s Warbler & Friend.” I’ve buried my share of rabbits and birds and our family dog. Why do we do that, with a flower on top? We hope that space in the ground will lead like an elevator to another, even better place, where there won’t be the worries of this world. And when it’s your turn, you can see that little yellow warbler again, just listen for: “Seventh Floor: sunshine, running stream, warm breeze, Birdy.”

roscoe

Buster and Roscoe. Just before I woke up this morning, I saw Mr. Arbuckle in a dream. I was on a silent movie set, lots of cobblestones and weird costumes.

CHAPTER 41

Chapter 41 from MAGIC ISLAND. (I'm still surprised I got away with this!)

CHAPTER 17

Chapter 17 of MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 10

Chapter 10 from MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 7

Chapter 7 from MAGIC ISLAND

CHAPTER 1

This is Chapter 1 of Magic Island...

cover for MAGIC ISLAND

This is the cover for the new book. MAGIC ISLAND, starring Mickey Rooney and Lionel Barrymore. More about this novel soon...

The BROKEN BIRD

It repeats the same song on our fence, over and over like listening to an old friend tell a story you’ve heard again and again. You know where it’s going, you know what will be said, but there’s something so calming about it that time itself has been lulled and circles around it like a clock.

herbert

parsnips

12, 21

A quarter century ago when we moved to this northern mill-town, our TV got two stations: the local channel 12, and 21 was the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. My favorite show on KVOS was hosted by the owner of the movie theater, and his college instructor friend. They sat in old easy chairs and discussed film classics. “Algiers” was one. Another time it was Val Lewton. On the CBC, my favorite program was about a disillusioned, lonely kid who could take a cottonball from his coat pocket and make a lady named Fluffy appear. She would sing and dance and bring joy to the world.

HUNGRY

I bought $4 worth of bananas. The cashier asked if I wanted a receipt and I said, “No thanks, I’ve got a hungry gorilla waiting at home.” People we meet momentarily leave us with mysteries.

The LIONS CLUB

After my wife’s car accident, we found out the local Lions Club will loan walkers, crutches, and wheelchairs if you have trouble walking. If you have trouble with lions, you can go to Maplewood Avenue, to the Club Club. Take your pick. Either aluminum or pine will do the trick.

Merwin

Another book I enjoyed recently is W.S. Merwin’s The Miner’s Pale Children. 8 of my favorites are “Tergvinder’s Stone,” “The Weight of Sleep,” “The Wedding March,” “The Animal Who Eats Numbers,” “Unchopping a Tree,” “A Thing of Beauty,” “Blue,” and “The Sky Beetle.”

The BUG TOW YARD

So this is where they come, crashed ants that have been stepped on, crumpled centipedes, dented ladybugs, balled-up spiders and flies that can’t fly. The man in overalls will show you around but this isn’t a place to dally, new wrecks are arriving all the time.

The JUNGLE COILS

The jungle would open into a clearing and part of the lawn would turn into quicksand. We would take turns falling in. Sometimes a garden hose could be a vine for rescue, to climb hand over hand, or in another second, just when you thought you were safe, it would change into a snake and catch you in coils.