STRANGE MAGIC AND THE VIRGIN SUICIDES

There is this gay guy who lives on the same floor as me. Affable and funny, he possesses a dark humour that is both facetious and obtuse. I like the guy. (From what I can gather from our elevator conversations)

I saw him a couple a weeks ago coming into the building with an attractive brunette woman (a french, native American cultural mix) on his arm.

"Perhaps I was way off on him. This guy Frank may give new definition to the word METEROSEXUAL". (Or maybe I just need to make another run to winners)


MOVING FORWARD A WEEK


I meet this Brunette lady in the laundry room. After the obligatory silence and shyness subsides. I finally GESTALT a word.

RICK: Hi, I'm on the eighth as well. ( A clever opener)
Brunette:Oh Yeah, Yeah I think I have seen you around. I'm Lorene.
RICK: I'm RICK. It's funny I have a good friend with the same name.
LORENE: And here I thought I was so unusual.

AWKWARD PAUSE

LORENE: I'm from BOSTON. I'm visiting my COUSIN FRANK for a couple of weeks.
RICK: BOSTON, know alot about it. Been most places, but never there.
LORENE: Oh, it's wonderful. Dynamic...It's changing alot though....but still it's
a special city.
RICK: How do you like TORONTO?
LORENE: GREAT, really great from what I've seen. So many restaurants and so clean.
RICK: Uh Huh


FAST FORWARD TO THIS PAST SATURDAY NIGHT

It's pouring rain out and I am returning home from a meeting. I am soaked like a
drowning RAT.

LORENE runs up behind me as I approach the building. She slaps me on the back
scaring the hell out of me.

LORENE: RICK hows life?
RICK: Uh, it's happening. Welcome to our wonderful world of insane weather.
LORENE: I don't mind it.

WE WALK THROUGH THE LOBBY AND WAIT FOR THE ELEVATORS TOGETHER.

LORENE: HEY RICK, I know you guys are really polite and here and all and you
might just think I'm a slob for asking you this.......

RICK: Go ahead, I can take it; and for the record, we are all not that polite
we are just a little on the.....self absorbed side.

LORENE: Well....FRANK is away for the night at his partners house and I thought
if you weren't busy you might like to come over for a movie and a FONDUE
or something. If you aren't married. If you are, bring your wife.

RICK: That's a really sweet offer. I am not married and you know what. I accept.
I just need to change first. Also, I haven't even heard the word FONDUE
since the 70's.

WE BOTH LAUGH

LORENE: Yeah, FRANK is MR RETRO MAN. It's cute really. A good movie is on IFC
tonight, one of my favourites. THE VIRGIN SUICIDES.

RICK: Ok. I Like that movie as well. I like Sophia Coppola. Give me 15 minutes
alrighty?

NOW IN THE ELEVATOR


LORENE: (smiling) Do you have any meat? For the FONDUE?
RICK: I haven't been eating meat for a couple of weeks, but for this occasion
I will break out a steak I have.

LORENE: Cool, see you soon.

LOTS OF SMILING


INTERIOR. FRANKS RETRO APARTMENT. LATER



THE apartment IS THE 70'S.

BLACK LIGHT POSTERS, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER B/W PHOTOS, BEADED DOORWAYS, INCENSE,
A PHONOGRAPH, BEAN BAD CHAIRS AND THE PROVERBIAL FONDUE POT.

The experience was beyond SURREAL all night long. Loved it. LORENE was friendly, funny and extremely easy on the eyes. That wasn't even that important. It was the full experience IN SENSURROUND that was doing it to me.

Just before the movie started, I noticed that FRANK had a copy of THE VIRGIN SUICIDE soundtrack in his CD COLLECTION. It had been pulled out and was sitting on the top of a pile in the corner.

A thought occurred to me. Is there some CRYPTIC hidden agenda here that I am missing?

However, the whole night was an IMPROVISED BLAST FROM THE PAST.

I think the feeling of Love began as she put on the KISS disco song..."I WAS MADE FOR LOVING YOU" as the FONDUE pot was HEATING UP.


We played with our food as we watched the movie and provided improvisation to some scenes as we went along. Some highlights of the film being Josh Hartnetts hair, the 13 year old girls performance and of course the ICONIC 70's soundtrack.


RICK: How is it humanly possible for you to know all of these old tunes?
LORENE: I am 33 not 3.
RICK: AND? SPLAIN?
LORENE: I have a brother about your age, what are you, early 40's? Anyway, what
am I too young for you?
RICK: I wouldn't exactly say that. I think you are great. Fun night. Classic
and completely unexpected.

I THINK IT WAS ME THAT AFTER THE MOVIE AND DINNER TRIED TO BYPASS THE SMITH'S MEAT IS MURDER AND GET DIRECTILY BACK INTO THE SOUNDTRACK FROM THE FILM IN A BIG WAY.

RICK: Care for a little STYX?
LORENE: BABE?
RICK: Not exactly.

Now I hadn't danced to "COME SAIL AWAY" in many years, but I did have the cogent thought that it would be a challenge.


(Featuring the over the top lyrics...."We will reach for tomorrow, on every shore")


I now remembered the NUANCES and CHANGES in the tune. It starts out depressingly slow and then revs up up.

SHIT. As we both jumped up onto the SHAG CARPET to give it a shot we couldn't stop smiling. We started to touch and we were off.

The thought that kept pin balling around my head was........

"I am fast dancing to STYX with a STRANGER in a gay man's APARTMENT" This is
very cool.



Another thought..."Is there any real irony in the fact that I might be making
a total JACKASS out of myself right now?"



I didn't care..I didn't want to miss it. It was the definition of "in the moment" and "spontaneous".

We danced slow to 10cc's "I'm not in love" and to "Alone again naturally". What more can I say, description isn't really needed and would simply be superfluous.

LORENE said she was leaving in a few days to go back home, but we would stay in touch.


We Kissed and hugged for a few seconds at the door and then I was off to my BARRACKS.


As I walked down the hall I could still hear ELO's "STRANGE MAGIC" playing in the background. You got a strange magic. You do.


From Bed about an hour later, I still couldn't get the bloody song out of my head.


The VIRGIN SUICIDES, ELO and LORENE.....Nobody could take this experience away from
me now. We both wanted to live. Beautiful and Real. Beautiful and Real. Wow life is good, almost asleep.


I was drifting deep into a DREAMLAND of SHAG AND BLACK LIGHTS when I heard the KNOCK AT MY DOOR...............


RL OCT 25/10

THE SCREAMING WOMAN

My previous post was so filled with philosophy and metaphysics, that I thought I would try some good old fashioned BUDDHISM and relationships.


Something that kept coming up in the book "The Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying" was the now famous concept that to be truly happy, and I am greatly paraphrasing.....

To be truly happy in live, not just for a minute but completely happy, we have to let go of all of our attachments.. Attachments to people (including the girl you might love) to material goods, etc..

Another concept is that LIFE IS SUFFERING AND THEN YOU DIE.

Sounds morbid, but actually if you fully embrace these concepts, then it helps you enjoy the moments in between much more acutely, and you appreciate them more.

If you have lived an honest, thoughtful life, then when you are at the end you will be fully at peace.

You can't take it with you and you certainly can't buy any STAIRWAYS TO HEAVEN.


I was in the Hospital the other day and I heard a DYING woman (true story) howling like a dog, for hours. It was awful.

I asked the nurse what was wrong? Her reply.......

"She's just terrified to go"
It scared me, JOLTED me to my CORE.

AND YET......

I STILL WANT TO LOVE ...I WANT TO TAKE THE RISKS AND THE CHANCES. I WANT TO RISK THAT PAIN!!!!!

I WANT TO DO IT HONESTLY AND WITH LITTLE EGO, BUT I DON'T WANT TO MISS IT.

I WON'T MISS IT WITH YOU SOPHIE OR WITH ANYBODY ELSE.


I heard an old fashioned song that ended an episode of MAD MEN last night that put a smile on my face. I wanted to end with those silly but romantic LYRICS from the song by Etta James.


"TRUST IN ME"

Etta James - Trust In Me Lyrics


Trust in me in all you do
Have the faith I have in you
Love will see us through
If only you trust in me
Why don't you, you trust me?

Come to me when things go wrong
Cling to me daddy, woah yeah and I'll be strong
We can get along, we can get along
Oh, if only you trust in me

While there's a moon, a moon up high
While there are birds, birds to fly
While there is you, a you and I
I can be sure that I love you, oh

Stand beside me, stand beside me all the while
Come on daddy face the future, why don't you smile?
Trust in me and I'll be worthy of you
Oh yeah, yeah, why don't you
You trust in me in all you do?

And have the faith that I, I have in you
Oh, and love will see us through
If only you trust in me
Yeah yeah yeah

Why don't you, you come to me, when things go wrong
Cling to me and woah, and I'll be strong
We can get along, we can get along
Oh, if only you trust in me, yeah


YOU TELL ME IF DETACHMENT IS REALLY ALL THAT HEALTHY, ALL YOU ROMANTICS AT HEART.

RL OCT 16

PREVIEW OF FLYS AND BUTTERFLIES

SCENE FROM MY NEW PLAY/SHORT FILM "FLYS AND BUTTERFLIES"



Rebecca: Keep going, right there, right there! Oh yeah,

Cory: Ok

Rebecca: (Whispering) What about you?

Cory: Forget about me right now sweetie.

Rebecca: (Singing) "I know that you wont just come for the cash, will you come for
my bangers, my beans and mash"


Cory: Oh lord, no singing while I'm down here, no get him to the greek, as much as I love it. New Rule. It's slightly
surreal. Want me to have an aneurysm?

Rebecca: Nooooooooo

Cory: You almost there?


Rebecca: There, yeah, same spot, don't stop.

Cory: You are so beautiful.

Rebecca: Oh. I'm COMING. Oh god.


Cory: You are beyond sexy.

Rebecca: Thankyou. You are so good at that.

(They move around into spooning position in the bed)


Cory: Don't thank me sweetie. You are truly ethereal, how did I luck out like this.

Rebecca: But I am too young right? (Laughing slightly)

Cory: Well, it would be nice if you hit your 20th birthday sometime in the near
future, so the cops don't come bursting in, but it's all good.

Rebecca: You sure?

Cory: Hey I should be thanking you for giving me these moments before they take me
away to the "Live here and love it" nursing home.

Rebecca: You're hot, there is no way around it.


Cory: Ok, enough of that. Take a deep breath and chillax, I'm going to make you a
delicious lunch. Life is good no?

Rebecca: Don't you want me to do something for you?


Cory: You just did baby, I am as content as Deepak Chopra on Larry King. We are
not all selfish prick misogynists like you are used to.

Rebecca: Why don't I do that special thing to you again.


Cory: Which one of the plethora of your special tricks are you referring to?

Rebecca: You know.


Cory: Where's Kenneth Branagh when you need him?


Rebecca: Cmon, you loved it.


Cory: What kind of talk is that from a girl your age?


Rebecca: I don't quite get why we can do it but not speak about it openly.

Cory: How the hell should I know. It makes no sense precocious one. It's just
that it's cool when it happens organically. I don't want to turn your
fragile, clear, creative, eggshell mind into some sort of attractive
sewage vestibule.

Rebecca: Ok, I get it, I really have had only one lover before you, back in Japan.
I am not that experienced.

Cory: Really, you are totally insatiable.

Rebecca: Thanks, I think. (Laughing)

Cory: Did your Japanese lover say he wanted to "break, break,break away those ties"

Rebecca: Is this one of your cryptic musical references you pussy. (She lightly
pokes him in the ribs)

Cory: Anything else you want to get off your sensuous chest before breakfast?

Rebecca: Actually yes. I don't want to be dealing with that ....Mensa New York
chick of yours anymore. It's just depressing to me, that old hag is..
DANGEROUS.

Cory: Dangerous? Very strong word sweetie. Dangerous how?


Rebecca: Not dangerous in the same terms as your scary street friends that owe you
favours. Just unbalanced. Those phone messages creep me out.


Cory: Why do people directly sabotage fabulous moments? Get this.....I can't
reverse the pain another person is projecting on me. I can just listen.

Rebecca: I just don't like the skank. Tell her to stop calling so much please.
For my sanity.

Cory: Ok, I will. Let's move on

Maybe I should try a new way of
using inflection in my voice, a new way of walking. Anything to
to get to you.

Rebecca: You already got me. You are a real find.


Cory: So was Amelia Erhart, but that didn't work out too well.

Rebecca: French toast and bacon please. I am still getting the feeling that I am
too young for you. It really blows.

Cory: Get over it, I think we really love each other, whatever that means.

Hey I get the feeling daily that I need to shed about 50 pounds for you. All those
guys with those Chistiano Ronoldo abs, it's sickening to me.


Rebecca: Hey but you are still my little legend in his own mind.

Cory: You are really hilarious, you should try stand-up in ICELAND.


Hey can I take a couple of Polaroids of you while the sun is hitting your ASS like that.
I don't know....It's like Deneuve on the Riviera in the spring of 66 or something.


Rebecca: Sure babe, and make that Bacon well done. I need Ketchup. Shoot away.


(Cory snaps shots of Rebecca's tight bum from all angles, exits and returns with the
food)

Cory: You eat your bacon like a wolf, in one gulp, classy but fascinating said the

chef.

Rebecca: mmmm


Cory: Are you still up for the documentary next week. Remember you promised.

Rebecca: How many hours is it again?

Cory: (Resenting the question a touch) 7 hours with an intermission. It's called
"Our Hitler a film from Germany"

Rebecca: Welllllllllll........I did promise and I suppose I must honour this
exciting but bad decision. (He gives her a little push as she devours
some more bacon)


Cory: You are really too much sweetie. Way too much......But I like it.