included in the more text is a story from a long time ago, six years, yet another example of lizards touching my life, which i've included here so it can be part of dotlizard's archives, as it should be.
yet another lizard: my friend m.b. (who i haven't seen in years, and miss, and should call) is an incredible artist. she is also the source of my philosophy 'life is for living hair is for dyeing'. and at one point, she employed me as an assistant, and i helped make this papier-m�ch� lizard, which adorns the ceiling of wild planet, which is a record head store shop type of place downtown (she also painted the place):
and wild planet is for lease, if you're interested:
in other, non-lizard related news, the far right lunatic fringe is alive and well in our fair city:
about five years ago a neighbor of mine committed suicide. it was meticulously planned & carried out in the most thoughtful manner possible; this struck me as an unusual way to approach what amounts to a desperate last act.
he gave no outward indication of his intentions during his final weeks; instead, he was laying out his cover story, a planned medical procedure that would have him out of the house for several days. he arranged for his bird to be cared for with another neighbor; he delivered the animal right on schedule, the last time anyone saw him alive.
the neighbor watching the bird had keys to the apartment. after several days, he went to check on things & found the suicide note � written in marker on a piece of cardboard about 3 feet high by 5 feet wide � & its author dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.
he had been sick for several years, in constant pain with no hope for recovery, yet no end in sight. he was unable to work & living alone, in poverty. he apologized for the inconvenience of his death. there were three envelopes taped to the cardboard, containing his will, letters to relatives, & copies of bank & vehicle records, all very neat & organized.
down to the last line of the note, a line scrawled in large angry (or terrified) letters, with a different pen, a red one, apparently as an afterthought:
�THE LIZARDS ARE OUT THERE�
the lizards are out there. now, lizards have never really bothered me, but i know what he meant. it�s the same way with spiders � you know, there are always spiders. the ones you see, & the ones you don�t. spiders are far more aware of us than we are of them. we walk in a room, the spiders there know. but how often do spiders walk unseen, unknown, through our rooms, all amongst us? often indeed, believe you me.
the lizards are out there.
That big lizard is cool, and your friend's place looks groovy. Nice pictures of your city, they give a good feeling of what it's like there.
and that building on the corner is, i think, the earle stanley gardener building, so named because earle stanley gardner did earle stanley gardnerish things in it way back when. or something.
i have the big version of the interior shot as my desktop wallpaper. it's a good big picture, it is
Yes, they are...
...and you were addressing the hand-lettered signs rather than the signage at Dexter's? Cameras and Hi-Fi! Man, that goes back a ways...
I love love love that paper mache lizard...
And the lizards will eat the spiders.
Which is comforting. I hope.