Mykel's
Post
MRR Column no 58
or
Life
after Death
"If
any doctor tells me, as I like in my hospital bed, that my death will
not only help others to live, but be symptomatic of the triumph of
humanity, I shall watch him very carefully when next he adjusts my
drip” --Julian Barnes
“You’re
shorter than I thought you would be.” I tell her. “You
too,” she answers. We both laugh.
So
I’m hangin’ out with God at the Purgatory Bar and Grill…
known locally as The Purg. Drinks are on her… I don’t even
know if they take cash here… let alone my United Airlines
Mileage Plus card.
I’ve
been dead about two weeks... came here to drink first thing. Now I’m
a regular, but I hadn’t met the big boss until just a few minutes
ago.
“I
like to visit the celebrities,” she says. “I just left Tom Wolfe…
and I gotta tell you… you’re looking better than he does.”
“He
was 88 when he kicked the bucket,” I remind her. “I was almost 20
years younger.”
“Yeah,”
she says, “but he stayed a natty dresser to the end….” She
looks me down and up… from my holey army boots to my bad transplant
comb-over. “What happened to you?”
I
look her up and down from her brown feet in Greek-wrapped calf-length
sandals to her naked thighs, to her bright colored bikini (I expected
leather) over a muscular-- but not six-packed stomach …. to her
cascade of braided black hair.
God |
Okay,”
I say, “You win.”
“But
I was nearly right in my earthbound imaginations,” I continue. “I
knew you’d be a colored girl.”
“THAT’s
one of the reasons I wanted to meet you,” she says. “No one else
would have the balls to call God “a colored girl.” You get ten
punk points for that.”
“I
call most females girls,” I say, “unless they’re
feminists who’ve completely lost their playfulness or ability to be
cute, whimsical, laugh easily, or delight in a kitten. Women
are mature in the worst way. Women
have no sense of humor, no ability to enjoy blowing the
pollen off a dandelion, no thrill in wondering why grass is green or
why men like sports. Girls ask about the universe. Women
demand an end to the patriarchy.”
“Yep,”
says God. “I’m older than the universe and I’m still a girl. I
HATE that word woman! It’s almost as bad as man.
Boys can light farts. Men talk about the stock market….
just disgusting.”
“Agreed!”
I shout, slapping her open palm with mine… She orders another round
of beers. Yes, there is Founders Breakfast Stout at
The Purg.
“Speaking
of farts...” she starts.
“I
know,” I answer. “It was a pretty dumb move.”
[NOTE:
I died while trying to light a fart. It was a giant beer fart... the
morning after my last night on earth. The accident involved some
nearby flammable liquid and an explosion… from the inside, that
left my half-naked body in pieces.]
“It
wasn’t dumb,” answers God. “It was boyish! That’s what I like
about you.”
I
smile at her compliment… an aw shucks kind of smile.
“Then
there’s the colored part,” she says.
I
raise my eyebrows to show that I don’t know what she’s talking
about.
“I
mean the colored part of colored
girl.”
“Oh yeah,” I say. “ I always liked that… from Lou Reed, ya know. The colored girls go Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo dooooooo...”
“Oh yeah,” I say. “ I always liked that… from Lou Reed, ya know. The colored girls go Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo dooooooo...”
“Yeah,
that’s almost worth it on its own,” she says. “By the way, I
just saw Lou last weekend. Sometimes, he has trouble getting along
with the other recently deceased. They say he’s got an attitude
problem.”
“Maybe
that’s why I never see him here,” I say.
She
nods, “but back to the main point… the word colored… I
love it. Rainbows are colored. Flower gardens are colored. African
clothes are colored. Check out this bathing suit.” She runs her
hands along the skimpy material that hides the good parts.
“I
am not BLACK,” she continues. “I’m auburn, with tinges of pink
on my palms… on my tongue.” She shows me. “Look, hold out your
arm.”
I
do.
“See, It’s just an ugly gray pink. Not really white, but no color in particular... a rather boring hair-covered nothing. Sorry, but it’s not attractive. Now look at this...”
She holds out her arm, “Every color from the earth beneath your feet to a deep night sky. BLACK is an insult!”
“I’ve met two REAL black people in my life,” I say. “And none in my death!”
“See, It’s just an ugly gray pink. Not really white, but no color in particular... a rather boring hair-covered nothing. Sorry, but it’s not attractive. Now look at this...”
She holds out her arm, “Every color from the earth beneath your feet to a deep night sky. BLACK is an insult!”
“I’ve met two REAL black people in my life,” I say. “And none in my death!”
She
nods. “I know. And that African American shit! Give me a
break! You know when Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa?
A CNN reporter went down there to introduce him to the American
people. She said, ‘Here’s Nelson Mandela… a great
African-American.’ You should have seen the look on his face!”
I
laugh.
“Yeah,”
she continues, “but it wasn’t her fault. CNN rules said she had
to use the word African American for any colored person. It
was crazy.”
The
beers follow one on another. Maybe your alcohol tolerance increases
after death… I dunno. I’m feeling good, but not soused. I don’t
want to make a fool of myself before God. You know what I mean?
“And
how ‘bout them Yankees?” I ask…. not knowing her team
preference, but unable to imagine God as a Red Sox fan.
“Yeah,”
she says, “they started slow, but picked up really quickly…. And
how ‘bout that Ohtani guy? Pitching? Under a 200 ERA. Hitting? Over
three hundred. Boy those Orientals are finally catching up.”
“Orientals?
You said Orientals? I’m in love!”
“Of
course I said Orientals,” God answers. “Waddaya think? Asians?
People from Siberia are Asians. Pakistanis are Asians. Arabs are
Asians. Goddamn Australians are practically Asians.”
We
raise hands and slap palms again.
“Besides,”
she continues, “Oriental means from the East the same as
Asian means from the East. But Asia has taken on the meaning
of the continent… and it’s useless as a description.”
“You’re
telling me,” I say to her, emptying my glass. “You got a room
full of all kinds of people. Guys from India, Russia, Afghanistan,
even Israel for fuck’s sake…. Is it rude to say FUCK to God?”
God
laughs.
“Anyway,”
I continue. “In that room is one guy from Japan. Someone asks you
how to find him…. So waddaya say, ‘He’s the only Asian in
the room?’ They’re ALL Asians.”
Asians |
I
still have a little Founders left in my glass. I gulp it down.
“I
love Founders beer,” I tell her. “It's the best brewery in
America.”
“And
that's another thing,” says God.
“Founders?”
I ask.
“No
LOVE!” she answers. “It's total horseshit. People love beer, love
their parents, love their paramours. What crap! Love and marriage go
together like a horse and carriage? Are you gonna marry your beer?”
“I
think it means a different kind of love,” I tell her. “Like the
Greeks had. You
know eros, philia,
agape, that kind of
thing.”
“You
guys don't even know what love is... and marriage has NOTHING to do
with love,” she continues. “For men, marriage is pussy
insurance... a trade of freedom for the guarantee of getting laid.
For women, marriage is nanny insurance... a trade of freedom for the
guarantee she won't be on her own to take care of the brood. The
institution of marriage is just giant insurance agency.”
“Bingo!”
I say waiting to slap her hand... but this time she doesn't offer it.
“That's why gay marriage is so stupid. Why bother? Do homosexuals
need pussy insurance?”
“You're
forgetting something,” says God. “The institution of marriage is
so ingrained in the culture. To encourage it, the culture offers a
bunch of perks to those who embrace the institution. Tax breaks,
hospital visitation rights, legal joint ownership of property, more.
Gay marriage makes sense for the social benefits... not for LOVE.”
“Still,
it isn't fair,” I say. “What business does the government or the
rest of society have in encouraging marriage?”
“It's
the business of money, of course... saving money,” she answers.
“The pussy insurance isn't so important. But the nanny insurance IS
important. It saves the government from having to be the nanny... or
at least from having to pay for one.”
I
shake my head, simultaneously unable to answer-- and in awe of-- the
brilliance of God. I thought she'd be an airhead.
God
smiles, walks over to the bar. I stare as her netherparts sway away
from me. She’s gone to order another round of drinks. She looks
over her shoulder at me and asks “Another one of the same?”
I
consider for a moment... then figure... since God is paying… “I’ll
have a Space
Barley this time.”
The
bartender, a man looking much like Mr. Whipple, laughs hard through
his nose. I'm afraid he might splash God with his mucus. She could
get sick.
She
doesn't seem to notice, but just turns, smiles and talks to me.
“Yo Mykel,” she says. “This is The Purg… not The Elysium… How ‘bout an Ommegang Three Philosophers?”
“Yo Mykel,” she says. “This is The Purg… not The Elysium… How ‘bout an Ommegang Three Philosophers?”
“Great!”
I answer.
When
she returns, I raise my glass and click it to hers. “L’chiam!”
I say.
“Sawa!”
she answers.
“Now
where were we...” I start… but don’t continue. There is a
disturbance in another part of the bar. My back is to the noise…
sounding like breaking furniture. God looks over my shoulder at
something going on behind me. I turn around to check it out.
It’s
like a scene from an old Western: the bar brawl. A table is on its
side. Broken glass and doused candles litter the floor. Flat against
another table a man-- late twenties I’d guess…but what the fuck
does age mean if you’re dead? Jockish-looking, with a millennial
beard… he lies on his back... pinned. On top of him, a brawler
kneels on his chest… slamming fist to face… right… left…
right… left. A rivulet of blood drips from the corner of his mouth
down to the table… puddling under his neck.
The
puncher is a woman... slightly stout and matronly…. a bit
overweight... but with a set of those arms women get when they lift
weights instead of protest signs.
“What
happened?” I ask.
“The
usual,” says God. “Some newbie comes here with a chip on his
shoulder. Thinks he can just be Mr. Macho. They learn fast. Death
does not mean you’re immune from a beating. That guy tried to hurt
an old man... muscle him out of the way. The girl now mauling him
came to his defense. Girls here know how to take care of
themselves... and everyone else.”
“You
mean there’s no violence against women laws? “
God
laughs. “There are no laws at all,” she says. “We help each
other… and we help ourselves….” She shakes her head, “That’s
one of the many things I don’t get about your culture… Women--
not girls-- complain about inequality. They ask for the same
benefits... salary... positions... respect... as men. But then they
whimper that they’re NOT equal. In every country on earth
(and most in places you don't know... but I do.) There is a shitload
more violence against men than against women.”
“What
do those women
want?”
she continues, pronouncing the word WOMEN with heavy italics.
She
answers her own question. “They want a law against violence
against women? Like they’re a difference species… a kind of
dog or cat... American Society Against Cruelty to Women... ASPCW!”
She clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “Where we are now,
God helps those who help each other.”
“I’ll
drink to that!” I say hoisting my Three Philosophers
again and clicking her glass of something darker. Then we drink up.
I
look at the empty glass. “I was afraid there would be no beer in
heaven,” I tell her.
“In
heaven?” she asks… then breaks out laughing. “In heaven???”
she shakes her head. “Hahahahahaha! Heaven! That’s a good one.”
She calls over her shoulder. “Get a load of this guy,” she says.
“He thinks he's going to heaven.”
-end-
ENDNOTES:
[You can contact me on facebook
or by email at god@mykelboard.com.
Through the post office: send those... er... private DVDs..or music
or zines... or anything else (legal only!) to: Mykel Board, POB 137,
New York, NY 10012-0003. If you like my writing, you can be notified
when anything new is available. Subscribe to the MYKEL'S READERS
Yahoo group readmboard-subscribe@yahoogroups.com]
-→Right
again, of course, Dept:
Last month I wrote about how
the only evils people acknowledge in the modern world... are evils
related to SEX. No matter how awful someone is, it only counts if
somehow there's sex involved.
Now
we have the news that Wikileaks hero Joshua
Adam Schulte has been arrested. He's the guy who revealed how the CIA
was breaking into iPhones and smart TVs to turn them into spy tools
for the government. Of course the CIA folks are pissed off... so they
arrest him.
On
what charges?
Child
pornography!!
Yep,
somehow, someplace, on
some server he administers for work, they found some sex pictures of
some people who looked young. Bang! In jail, like that other Wikileak
hero, Julian Assange.
The
government knows in order to make a good guy into a bad guy... you
need SEX. Details, though a bit skewed, are here.
-->Yuck
dept: The newest fad among
oldsters is fecal
transplants. That's
right. Doctors take someone else's shit and shove it up your ass. At
least, that's the basic part of it. Wikipedia says the transplant can
be done by colonoscopy,
enema, orogastric tube or by mouth. No
further comment
necessary.
-->
It Had To Happen dept: The
University of Utah became the first University to offer Video Gaming
as a varsity
sport. It's my guess that this came about as the administration
felt the pressure from the snowflakes to avoid fat-shaming.
Sports-- up to now-- have been all about fat-shaming. To do well, you
have to be IN SHAPE... and that shape is not fat. Then, along comes
video games.
-->Dust-biting
time dept:
They're dropping like Israeli-shot Gazans! Tom Wolfe, Glenn Branca,
Steven Hawking,
Margot Kidder, Philip Roth
and a bunch more. Though it was last year, I just
heard that Chuck Shephard,
editor of the amazing
News of The Weird
has not died... but has retired... which is a kind of death. Over
the years, I have cribbed tons of endnotes from Chuck. The website,
however, appears to continue without him.
-->That's
the spirit Dept: Craig
Mitchell, a Scottish man, drove over three hundred miles... leaving
Scotland and entering England... to avoid a new alcohol
minimum price imposed by the Scottish government. In one of those
moves that makes libertarianism tempting, the
Scottish government imposed a new booze
pricing policy aimed at
discouraging alcohol use.
I
bet the government is going to
be plenty surprised
at the INCREASE in traffic accidents caused
by the law, as people leave the country for a cheap
drink or three south of the
border... and then come back drunk.
===========================================
LINK
TRADE DEPARTMENT:
I
read that the search engines like lots of links... and it's also nice
to support my friends... and enemies... in their blogs. So facebook
me or email
me
if you have a blog, webpage or something else to connect to. I add
you. You add me.
Here's
a start:
-
David Goldberg's Busy Microbes Blog
-
And another Goldberg: goldberg.wordpress.com
-
I post a blog for Kyle Nonnemon, in prison for a ton of shit. He's a smart guy, with a passion for industrial metal and a general detestation of humankind. You can read his blog at: apothelema.blogspot.com
-
Poetry and humor fans will like Justin Martin in The Latency
-
And my friend Mike R has a nice site with recipe hits from the past! (He cooked for me once... great stuff.) Check out Yesterday's Recipes.
-
Savage Hippie is a guy who has been YouTubing for a long time. Our opinions largely overlap... but he complains that I'm a Communist. I'm not! I'm a communist.
-
Chris Stecher publishes a zine called PRECIS. You can see the back issue links there... and he promises a new issue soon.
-
And my long-term pal Sid Yiddish contributes with his Mishegas Master Blog.
See
you in hell,
Mykel