i am going to reveal to you

and you only

america's best kept secret

the beach extending northward from from venice california to a mile past the santa monica pier is one of the most serene in the world. during the day you can enjoy bright sunshine ocean waves and a beautiful view of nearby mountains. at night stroll along the shore beneath a silvery moon and admire the colorful lights of the pier's ferris wheel and roller coaster

but what really makes it special is whether you are beautiful woman or handsome man no one will care because desire, the source of all societal ill, has been extinguished

i am revealing this to you alone so make sure to cross your heart and promise not to tell a soul            

in my long ago younger days there was a teevee program called " the outer limits "

it began with the screen going blank then a deep voice saying

" do not attempt to adjust your television, we control the horizontal
we control the vertical, you are now in the outer limits "

very spooky long ago stuff  

i walked in and stood against the rear wall. a man and woman each holding microphones were standing about thirty feet away. a woman near them asked a question

" why are you in this lifestyle ?"

 

i turn the radio on

"....you've got your diamonds you've got your pretty clothes

the chauffeur drives your car and you let everybody know

but don't play with me because you're playing with fire...."

i turn the radio off

dad looks in the fridge and takes a beer from the bottom shelf

billy calls " dad can you come here "

dad opens the beer picks up a bowl of chips and walks to billys room

" yeah billy whats up ?"      

brothers and sisters despite the atomsphere of forboding
and dread like a moody blues song

"....breathe deep the gathering gloom
watch lights fade from every room

red becomes grey yellow turns white
we must then decide which is right

and which is an illusion...."

brothers sisters do not give up the ship
until youve gone ten fathoms to the gates of hell
and are looking into the devils blood red eyes

here is the reason why

good evening folks in the studio with me is wen ho lei

my economics teacher during college days

i can hear music from a nearby apartment

"....riding along in my automobile
my baby beside me at the wheel

i stole a kiss at the turn of a mile
my curiosity running wild...."  

i turned on the radio

"....and if the world does not stand up and confront this threat

we will act alone at the time of our choosing", a spokeswoman

for the prime minister said. she went on to say "never again

means just that, never again!"

the warning sent a chill through the market and the price of
crude oil reached an all time high of...

i turned off the radio and came to a stop. charlie stepped between
two parked cars, open the door, got in, closed the door and rolled
down the window. as he was liquored up he immediatedly begin to talk  

i turn left onto figueroa then cross the street after three harley's roar pass. sitting on a wall are several women, one takes a puff on a cigarette and says "if that bitch even thinks of showing
her face at my door, it's on!" her friends laugh

a taco cart at the corner is decorated with red and green flashing lights and a radio is playing
"....mi tres animales, el chivo, el gallo, el perico...." i look at the sizzling meats and order "senor,
al pastor, quatro, con todos, para llevar"    

the food stall of mister mana jirajumrus sits inside the concrete floored entrance hall
and a dozen meters from the hat lek taxi stand.
i order green chili fish with garlic pumpkin and fried peas. fifteen baht

me - good evening everybody. in the studio tonight
        i have guitarist vuka vuaka, an old friend

the set

song for my father

the lineup

leon thomas - vocals, percussion
james spaulding - flute, alto sax

lonnie liston smith - piano
cecil mcbee - bass

roy haynes - drums
richard landrum - bongos

the lyrics

"if there ever was a man who was generous

gracious and good that was my dad the man....

this morning a young neighbor girl asked if i had seen thirty dollars.
her slightly older friend explained she lost it while running down the street. i joked that i hadn't found it but if i did i would spend only half and return the rest

ten minutes later they came back and i asked if the money was found. the older girl said it wasn't but her mom gave twenty more. she is an american and her mom is cambodian which led to a bit of chat about my visits there and the khmer langauge and her fear of going to her mom's homeland because she's been told it's full of ghosts    

this is the story

or rather it is the story as told to me by my mom

and with the blessing of god i will be able to tell it

to you so that you can know it as i do

her name was claudia

the ceiling fan rhythmically squeaked. four large insects flew around the room. a uniformed man raised his right arm and signaled me to come forward. a bamboo stool was in front of his deck. "sit" he said.
i did and handed him my documents. he looked at the pages "you pay one dollar. special fee"

i pulled a bill from my shirt pocket and placed it on his desk. he opened a drawer, put it inside and returned the documents to me, then pointed to a woman seated beneath an open window opposite us "go there". a chair was besides her desk. "sit" she said. i did and gave my papers which she glanced at briefly "you pay special fee. one dollar"

after i paid she smiled and extended her arm towards a door "exit there"

   

at cock's first crowing i'd leave my wooden floor bamboo wall bungalow and walk down a gravel
red dirt pathway that leads to the seaside food houses where one dollar buys a bowl of congee thickened with chunks of squid and raw egg yolk

the ocean air would smell of burning wood, clove cigarettes and the occassional whiff of diesel engine exhaust. that same air carried the highs and lows of elongated vowels and guttural consonants of boatboys, fishermen, and girls and women of various ages and styles of dress

the swirl of chaos calm then chaos again sometimes induced a feeling of being guided by voices....