I look up, I see nothing
Blue skies, evaporated people
Numb now to horror then
A decade ago
What to say that’s not been said?
I’ve been thinking on that
*
Pearl Harbor’s flying attacking bombers
Began a war seventy years ago
A lifetime ago
So similar to the towers in loss
In treachery
Posted on August 11, 2011
“So, Miss, I want to make Payment Arrangements”
There will be a late fee, Sir
But I’m already having trouble paying you
Sorry, Sir, but that’s the rules, Sir
I tried to call 611 to get you, but this message wouldn’t let me
Wait a minute, Sir, I’ll check on that
(pause)
Oh, that’s an automatic upgrade!
What for?
Well, you qualify for a new and better phone…
But I don’t want one
I don’t know how to use the one I already have
Oh, but Sir, you’ll be able to connect directly with the internet!
(pause)
Excuse me, Miss–but, what’s your name?
(pause)
Robert M. Katzman September 9, 2009
A reflective note from Bob Katzman to loyal readers of my non-fiction story blog, www.DifferentSlants.com:
Yeah, I lie on my bed in the dark (carefully, on my back) wondering which Deity I offended and what it will take to appease him/her. My world is smaller now and filled with silence. That part, the last part, is not entirely bad. This morning I’m going to write my long delayed Part 6 of the 7-part Grand Central Station Conversation story about 22 hours in NYC. It will appear soon.
Remarkably, people still go to read the other previously posted chapters 1 thru 5 on my blog, though I’ve posted nothing for nearly two months. While the story is about melancholy and disorientation as my once familiar past disappears, it is very real and human. It’s entitled: Cursed by a Tribeca Fortune Teller
Now, with the slow-motion closing of my 20-year old Morton Grove, Illinois back-issue periodical store, Magazine Memories, the loss of my past seems to be accelerating.
My store closed for good last Monday, after 4 weeks of terrible labor removing 3,000 boxes and tons of lumber. Last Saturday, August 29th, I fell suddenly from a ladder onto concrete and smashed my left side. This morning, the hospital told me I fractured two ribs, besides other damage.
I am essentially ok, thanks to modern narcotics, but I have had my own little hell for the past week, or rather Hell 2.0.
So, I am trying to sort things out and figure out my future.
Part 6 of GCSC is a zig-zagging odyssey from the mid-town Jacob Javits Convention Center on the island’s West Side, through lower Manhattan in my quest to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge located near the Lower East Side, one more time. Part 7 was written long ago because long stories need a strong ending, and when that part crystallized for me, I quickly wrote it down. It will be posted in a couple of weeks if my readers respond to my blog and conclude I’m not dead. Or not completely dead.
To pile on just a bit more to this bizarre moment of my physical, economic and mechanical life, my 1996 Dodge Caravan died in Buffalo Grove on Friday night. While I waited for rescue, a transformer on a power line blew up with a deafening bang, right in front on my eyes, and all the power to that area stopped. I guess I bring my shortage of luck with me, wherever I go.
As the sun went down, I waited and I shivered in my thin shirt. Fall came fast, this year.
When the truly eccentric AAA driver eventually showed up–two hours later!–we got to talking about our lives and when he dropped the car and me at my mechanic’s shop fifteen miles later, he refused my offering of a $5.00 tip, saying that my life was worse than his and he couldn’t take any money from me. After hearing his sad story, this was an honor I could do without.
As he drove off in the dark, lights blinking, motor gunning, I stared at his red tail lights thinking to myself:
This, is why I don’t write fiction!
About the writer and his other life in Skokie, Illinois:
Bob Katzman’s Magazine Museum: 100,000 periodicals back to 1576!
Wall of Rock: 50 years of cool Rock periodicals on display & for sale
4906 Oakton St. (8000 north and 4900 west) Skokie, Ill 60077
(847)677-9444 Mon-Fri: 10 am to 5 pm / Weekends: 10 am to 2 pm
Katzman’s Publishing Company site: www.FightingWordsPubco.com
Katzman’s online non-fiction stories: www.DifferentSlants.com
Poetry? For me, writing poetry is not an option.
It’s a response to emotion. Like cigarette smoke,
it’s fast-flowing, shapeless and with little time to capture it.
Writing poetry in an imperative. I say what I feel compelled to say.
I sell my five published books via mail order and accept major credit cards.
I don’t use PayPal. I just talk to people on the phone.
Fast, reliable service. Read my stories and see what you think.
I’m also available for hire to read my true Chicago stories to organizations
and answer all questions. I autograph my books when I sell them.
I am currently seeking an agent to do more readings.
Feel free to call me at the number above.
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Here is another conspiracy theory video. This one tells us that it doen’t matter who is president, the Bilderberg group and the Tri-Lateral Commission run everything on behalf of the bankers.
Like most of the videos I find in this genre, it is about 20% interesting information, 40% questionable information and 40% hallucination. Still, I found it worth watching and you might too.
A new documentary was released October 2 called Zeitgeist: Addendum. It comes from the same people who brought you “Zeitgeist” described in my post of May 23, 2008. You can click on the image below to view this 2 hour long feature.
The topic of this movie is money. How it is created in a fractional reserve system such as ours, and how it affects government policies and our lives. This is a conspiracy theory movie but still well worth the time to watch. A document, “Modern Money Mechanics” published by the Federal Reserve, is referenced and may be downloaded here if you want to read it.
This documentary is highly relevant to the current financial crises and the government bailout of the banking industry.
Here is another fascinating movie for all you conspiracy theorist. This one comes in three parts: Christianity, 911, and the Federal Reserve. What do these have in common? More than you might think but, you have to watch the movie to find out.
Runtime is about 122 minutes. Get your snacks ready in advance.