The Conversation

Super: (over black) The Conversation

EXT. DAY — STEARNS WHARF

An overcast day, mostly still with just a hint of onshore breeze. The tide is high and a south swell buffets the pilings. The sound is like small marbles rolling along a glass-bottomed box. From nowhere, a tallish black woman appears.

She has well-kempt dread nubs. Her face is lean, long and clean. Her eyes are dark and wide, and the whites are slightly milky. She wears a zippered, dark blue Abercrombie & Fitch hoody with white, stitched on lettering. Her jeans are clean but look like “dad jeans.” Her feet are sandy, with cheap flip flops.

She immediately begins talking as if I’d solicited the conversation. To me she is somewhat loud, proud and speaks as if what she’s saying is gospel. When people walk by, which she senses almost as if she’s Daredevil herself, she hushes up and waits for them to pass: as if they aren’t important enough or “in the know” to be privy to such knowledge.

Much later in the diatribe, we learn where she’s from—or at least the answer she provides to the question. Where she’s from may be more a question of where she should still be—like maybe a small room with people closely monitoring her activity.

She is from New York. So for lack of a name, we’ll call her New York. York for short.

(quietly, due to a couple nearby perusing the menu)

… and, so … Do you know who George Michaels is?

George Michael.

(as if it could be possible to talk about anybody else)

Yeah. He has really good music. He has this song Outside. It’s a really good song. Really good song.

I shuffle a few things, trying to strategically not be too obvious that I’m recording her.

Yeah, so, the thing is … I’m more of a—I’m more of a Sting fan. I really like Sting. But you know what? I can’t decide between Sting and Neo. You know Neo had—do you know who Neo is?

From The Matrix.

Huh?

From The Matrix?

No. He’s not from The Matrix.

Neo.

I get customers. Mothers with children talking about Donald Duck. York stays put. Anxious to continue. I figure we’ll continue on Neo when she feels safe after the guests leave. However.

When they attack, that’s the dinosaurs. Get that aspect of the dinosaurs. We need that.

(agreeable)

Alright.

So Neo’s music is, is, is really good.

More cars shuffle. York waits patiently.

So when they attack, that’s the dinosaurs. Which is Spain. Attacking you.

Spain.

Yes.

Is the dinosaurs?

Yeah.

What does that have to do with Neo, though?

Oh. Well. Neo, see, I’m trying to decide, I’m trying to decide, because, cuz,

She falters as another group walks by.

Um, the thing about Neo is this right here. Neo represents true year of the gentlemen. You understand that? So, to me, how I look at Neo, I see Neo and I say, ‘Wow.’ Neo is a certain kind of …

Another group. She leans in.

(conspiratorial. Hushed.)

So when I see Neo, I say, ‘wow. Neo is a certain kind of guy.’ But um, see, what Spain is trying to do is kill off all its creations. And so—

Spain is trying to do this.

Mm-hmm.

Kill its creations?

Mm-hmm. But there is an aspect of The Creator in me. You understand?

In you.

Yes. So every time they attack that’s Spain attacking you, but you don’t know  that. Because there’s an aspect inside of me. You understand? In Sumner, so …

From Sumner?

Yeah. So, what I’m saying to you is when they attack, that dinosaur thing … you have to figure this out. I forgot what I wanted to tell you. But, um …

It started with Sting, though.

Okay, but the whole point, the whole point of this is ‘ugly.’ Ugly is a representation of, of a creation that they created. So when you honor beauty, which you have been doing, which is why the European [lake] can’t represent you, because, um, on the land, there is a creation that looks just like Spain. You understand? And because there is a creation that looks just like Spain, every time you display your beauty, every time you display ugly, or any aggression, anything, Spain can see you, and they, they, they attack, but they’re doing shit to you to try and kill you. But you don’t know that. Because, they’re attacking me to hide it. And they’re …

People. The monologue dries up. This shit is so nuts I wish people would just dry up for a bit.

And they’re accessing Sumner, which is why he’s nuts. Another thing is that, um …

Sumner is nuts.

Well, he’s not nuts, but he sits, he sits in the aspect of me doing what I did [sexually]. That’s all he goes to [around here].

More people. Duran Duran’s Hungry Like the Wolf plays in the background.

So we’ve got Sting, Neo, and Sumner.

Yeah. That’s all you, that’s all he sits in is the aspect of me sexually. So he’s with all these people, and he gets there, and you think, and you see that he’s doing this, he’s doing that. It’s not him. It’s Roy, it’s Wayne,and whomever else—probably even George Michaels. It’s probably even Italy at this point. It’s probably even Spain, at this point. But—

Italy, Spain, Roy, Wayne and George Michaels.

Or, he’s probably, because he’s mind controlling all of them, which is why you can’t mind control. You have to—

Wait, who’s doing the mind controlling?

Listen, when you see the Europeans, surrender to whatever they’re doing to you. Whatever they’re giving you, surrender to it. Because, the whole point of this—he can’t, he is sitting in it.

“He” is Neo?

The Indians are Spain’s protection. You understand? They’re no aspect of me. They’re Spain’s protection. So, the whole point of this, is, whatever you see the Europeans doing, … you’re making me forget stuff. So, so, when you surrender to the ugly, and the attacks, and all the abuse, that’s them going to different aspects of, of, of the white, who’re going through different things, and, stuff like that. Um, there was something I wanted to say about the [baggage dream]. God, I forgot. That’s what I came here to tell you.

You came all this way to tell me this.

She’s flustered.

Where’d you come from. You came from Spain?

No.

No. Europe.

Scandinavia.

Scandinavia.

Yeah. Um. But, um. Gosh, what is it. Let me walk down here. When I remember, I’ll come back and tell you.

Very good.

Sorry. No problem.

She storms off super fast and disappears around the building.

After a few minutes she returns. Determined.

… and stuff like that, cuz he’s on [pimpin’]. That’s why—

—he’s on what?

He’s on birds. Cuz I said the birds are gay? So he’s on that aspect. Um. Oh! Your beauty is not recognized, because—to Spain—even though it’s him, even though he is all of Spain, it’s um, it’s fake, because: Scandinavia. And also, remember, they were in Europe, and they came here and made you … this way. So …

So, wait, that’s somebody’s fault?

She senses a couple approaching.

Wait a minute.

She squints at them as they walk by, like they might be part of the problem.

Every Spaniard that you meet is on mind control. So try to access that, and get to the other side of them. Your beauty can’t be honored, so when you look at me, and you walk past me, dominantly, that’s where you’re accessing Spain, and fucking things up. So just, when you see me, you have to be normal. And um, what else, um. Uh, did I tell you that …

Another couple stops and peruses the menu. She breathes impatiently. Waiting.

… but it’s not Ron that’s through Sting, it’s Sting that’s through Ron.

Wrong?

Ron. So, um,

Ron.

Yeah. So, to overthrow Spain, and to do what needs to be done, you have to access every aspect of every thing. So that’s why I’m telling you this. You can’t, I can’t, you …

More people.

So um, uhg, what else … so, accessing upon and all the filth, which the gay men could be used for.

The gay men could be used for filth?

Because, think about it. Nepon is where heroin comes from.

Nepon?

Nepon. The, Asia, is where …

She clams up as a family walks by. Clears her throat in annoyance at their passing.

Every Spaniard you meet is on mind control. So try to find a way to access that. Also, every one, every Spaniard that comes here is on mind control. So, that’s them trying to get to you on the other side, to make sure it finishes. Nepon. Think about what people do on heroin. For real. So, Nepon is very filthy. So, you gotta access that. But you just looking at what you see, so that’s why Nepon is through the [Mexican], living off of you, and your creation. Through that way. So you have to, you have to access that mind control. You have to access that, and … what else, what else.

She pulls a giant tube of lip balm from her pocket. It too, is dark blue, with a white cap and white lip balm. The tube is easily twice the size of a normal lip balm. The top pops off with a satisfying POP.

She pauses for a bit as I ready to leave. I pass her off to my replacement. I’ve called him Turtle. It is his line of questioning that garners the looney bird her name.

Where’re you from?

New York.

New York.

Yeah. Um, let’s see … [Pimpin’] is fagging them out. It’s pimping, I mean, the birds are fagging them out. What the gay men are seeking, which is love, man to man, is possible, but it’s possible when we actually get together, which is why he’s never go— … I remembered it this morning, but I forgot it. But, it’s possible. So if he’s, if he’s … I forgot. That was this morning.

She pauses. Turtle gives a polite chuckle.

It’s possible. I saw it this morning, but I forgot about it. As I forget about so many things. What else. So … oh, which is probably why that girl was calling me. But no, no. I can’t … I’ll come back.

She storms off again, gathering her thoughts. She returns and gets right back into it.

So, Sting is the Police, and Ron’s been to jail, so, whenever there’s a threat to put me into jail, figure out what that’s about, cuz that’s Ron. That’s someone trying to access Ron, in some sort of way, or maybe that’s Ron trying to get to you. To join. So, that’s what it is.

Who’s Ron?

I’ll be back.

She strides off back to Cabrillo Boulevard. I’m feeling slightly trapped. I have to walk off the wharf, and I’m hoping I don’t have to cross paths with her. Based on her diatribe, I would feel compelled to listen to her. Although it wouldn’t be quite as rewarding if I wasn’t recording it.

As I walk off the wharf, I see her turn right past the dolphin fountain toward East Beach. I pick up my pace. Maybe I can make it past her cycle and not cross paths. She turns around.

Uh-oh.

I make a phone call, hoping I can submerse myself into the call and pretend I’m busy when we cross. As she draws nearer, I pull myself in and look down as I’m talking. It is then that I remember her advice:

‘Don’t walk by me defiantly. Walk by me normal.’

Shit. Is ignoring her defiant, or normal?

Am I accessing Spain?

This is not a mind-controlled loony bird.

As I searched for a relevant image, I Googled “dreadlocked looney bird” and among the multitudes of pictures, (among them Bruce Willis, Megan Fox and aliens talking to Obama) I found a delightfully grotesque photo of a gallbladder surgery. Upon clicking it, a clothing website came up, with the subdomain something about Dennis Rodman Basketball, but no link on the site had any relevance to either the rehab dude or an orange ball. Ah, Google, how wonderfully strange thou art.