A PAOt FROM XOCIOMIICO
On Feasting Palnergast > Conviction Rats Like
Bloodhounds Saved By Candlelight
A Roar In The Night
by Doctor Xochomilco
That night I ate dinner at Seronera Lodge in
the Serengeti, Tanzania. East Africa. Southern
Hemisphere, Earth, third planet from the sun
in a solar system of nine planets in a galaxy
named after a candy Par
I had a light meal. Put some accounts would
have it that I feasted By accident. I sat w ith
two German women and an American py the
name of Palnergast whose eyebrows were
Drought together in the center of his forehead
as if in permanent prayer The siience after
the spar, Gappy and Palnergast were in a funk,
disgusted Gerta had not said a thing Quite
unpopular. I was. however, fine and dandy
The topic had Peen Somal ia Mi 11 ions of
starving people versus im perialist American
fo rc e s . you see
Ive never starved, Put once I slept two
nights on a bench, eating a banana for
breakfast, lunch and dinner - the same one,
that ,s Then there was that stretch in
Taiwan where my neighbors went round
sampling the stray dog population I kept
hoping they d invite me over it was insanity
Palnergast told Gabby that he d tried before
to reason w ith me. to forget it, it is useless
Gabby was downright caustic Palnergast said
he was stuffed
A zebra cantered in front of the vehicle as
we drove back to the bunkhouse The outside
light had been le ft on so there were Dugs
a-plenty Along the walls, cluttering the
floor, crawling over the window screen Real
exotic ones, too I tucked my mosquito net
round the m attress, and when the light was
nixed I trickle d quickly away into that much
acclaimed gutter between re a lity and dreams
And I did the time-space tw ir l
A Huey thundering over some bleak
god-forsaken scape Blank sky, white sun,
frying-pan desert Somalia Palnergast
s ittin g opposite looking airsick, and w ith
those worried eyebrows I'm feeling fine
Below us, something Four life forms, barely
I motion the p ilo t this is the spot Rodger
Down we go, rotors whirling, slapping, a red
dust devil rising The door opens The black,
emaciated life forms They are thinking,
Angels7 Devils7 No, human beings
Palnergast is wreched from his seat, yanked
out the door Standing there disheveled in the
desert of his convictions, I te ll him he s going
to take a tumble down Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs real fast, but that if he gets started
before the sun evaporates his senseless hide,
he can make the UN re lie f station in Baldoa a
scant twenty klicks due east, whichever way
that is I note that some say logic taken to
its inth is illog ica l I motion to the barely
life -fo rm s w ith bloated bellies we carry on
board, saying, perhaps the same holds true for
starving Anyway, something to ponder over
in his wanderings Raving mutely in the rotor
wash, Palnergast s hair whips w ith the q rit of
the resurrected dust devil My heel is just
grinding Palnergast s fingers from the landing
skid when
Ben7 W illard7 Quite right - and all the
rest of rat pack back home in the bunkhouse
They bound across the ra fte rs like
bloodhounds, poured up from the cracks
African w ild life , get your camera
Hey, whattayas think this place is 7 A
H a bitra il7
Rats were all over the place Planergast
h,gh-tailed it and slept in the car the three of
them drove in on I found out later when
Palnergast and Co had gone on, the rats came
for the bugs - crunch crunch crunch The bugs
that kamikazed the candle flame, crackling
and popping in their own funeral pyre In the
morning they were p e trifie d in a puddle of
dried wax
I li t a candle and the beasts retreated from
the light like the lit t le furry vampires they
were into every nook and cranny Greta
thanked me Gabby peeped she wanted one too
by her bed Fine I slept like a stone
Alone, several eves later I awoke to hear a
lion roar I had never heard a lion roar before,
but the instant it seized the night, s tille d the
savanna, somehow grazed my throat, my liver,
my stomach, my heart, w ell, it was clear
enough what prowled out there, along the
venues of darkness
$ ty A
•z , -
r
•
• " ♦» n • ••
OSBORNE
W O R K IN G H TVIM O A
GALLERY
n t U 'r r i i > sau o ( ntfmi ' okaky a
ORIGINAL FINK ART,
KMA1J MOTION PRINTS.
GHATH1C& CVMMFKi IAI ART
AKi H m d T V K A I RKNHKK1N<.-
ACUOTOM FRAMING
»IIM N FSS HIM Its
Fnday. S»iurd»t A Sutxb*
1100 am 600 pm
M ui " H i «<v H " * (>»
6.IY M aitrun ila A*rnui
PO boa XH
Ma.'.Uk.uU> U><«
5 03
3<i8
‘*-1»
75 IS
lib e r t y Is the only thim j you
cannot have unless you are w illln q
to qive it to others
W illia m Allen W hite
A in 't Moborty's B u sin e ss I f You Do
(th e Absurdity o< Consensual Cr imes in a fre e Society)
by Peter M cW illiam s
Prelude Press
8139 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, Ca 9 0046
1-800-LIFE-101
$22 95
This is a provrxrative book' M r McW illiams examines the
costs, economic and social, of what used to be cal led Victimless
Crimes", but which he prefers to call Consensual Crimes, and
makes a very strong arguement for getting the Oover nmen, out
of the m o ra lity business The dust jacket alone w ill provide
hours of stim ulating debate
"What ore consensual crim es9 A consensual crim e is any
a ctivity - c u rre n tly illegal - that does not physically harm the
per son or property of another
The idea behind this book is simple As an « k ilt, you should
be allowed to do w ith your person and property whatever you
choose, as long as you don t physically harm the person or
propery of another
Here are a few facts
a More than 3 5 0 ,0 0 0 people are in ja il right now for
consensual crimes
An additional 1 ,5 0 0,0 0 0 are on parole or
probation
a More than 4 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 people w ill be arrested
this year for committing consensual crimes
a We w ill spend more than $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
(yes, that's b illio n ) this year punishing people
for "crim es" that do not physically harm people
or property of another
a We w ill lose an additional $ 1 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
this year in tax revenue
a
The only thing that saves us from all having gone to ja il for
consensual crim e at one time or another is the inefficiency of
the system
Why can I we just live and let liv e 9 If we did, we d
a Reduce per sonal income tax by o n e -th ird
a Create 6 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 tax- pacing jobs
a Stimulate the economy
a Reduce reel crim e by freeing police to catch
( "Commies'"), transvestism, not using safety devices (such as
motorcycle helmets and seat belts), public drunkenness,
laywalkinq. loiter inq. and vagrancy ( as long as they don I
become trespassing or distur bing the peace)
This is not just some old hippy wantmq to legalize pot, no,
this 800 page plus volume wants us to re-exam ine our society
and its attitudes toward personal freedom and gover nment
responsibilities He includes
A P rim e r of American Self-Oover nment
1 Understand, honor and p re ro rve the C onstitution of the
United States
2 keep forever separate and distinct the legislative, executive
and judicial functions of gover nment
3 Remember that government Delongs to the people, ts
inherently' inefficient, and that its activities should be
lim ited to those which government alone can per form
4 Be vigilant for freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and
fr eedom of action
5 Cher ish the system of F ree T nter pr ise which made Amer ica
great
6 Respect thr ift and economy, and beware of dBbt
7 Above a ll, lei us be scrupulous in keeping our word and in
respecting the riq h ts o f others
(B y P h ilip D Reed)
The book could be dull and preachy, but is very funny andean
be read w ith greet onjcymenl and am harassment by both
lib e ra ls and conser vatives Also thr oughout the book on every
pa^i almost, are quotes that w ill make you lough or groan or
wonder We tvorve included some of our favorites in this issue
o fth e fd g e We called the publishers and talked to Ed" and he
said that this is the "only" book available on th is subject. and
that it is now 5 0 1 off at mosl bookstor es, so p ie « » buy lots of
copies. H apparently 13 not selling as well as was hoped It is a
shame, because these days w ith the OCA. the religious r ig h t ,
Lottery Mania, AIDS. Crack Oang War fare, and the over -
crowded prison situation, not to mention jobs, taxes and the
environm ent, th is is a valid option that should be dicusi«d,
debated and decided So. don , le, the size scare y o u - - It s a
funny fast rend - - nor the pictures of the near ly naked folks on
the dusl jacket prevent you from tak mg the subject ser lously
(Available now at Cannon Beach Books)
reel crim in als - m urderers, robbers, rapists,
a
a
a
etc
Unburden the court system
Double available ja il space
Free the federal authorities to track down
polluters, te rro ris ts , consumer fraud, and
savings and loan embezzlers (and prevent such
h a lf - a - t r ill ion-dollar travesties from
recurring)
a
Create an environment in which people can
live their own lives in their own w a /, free to
experiment, free to fa il, but also free to
succeed ’
M r M cW illiam s goes on to list the most popular consensual
crimes gambling, recreational drug use, religious drug use,
prostitution, pornography and obscenity, violation of marriage
(adultery, fornication, oral sex, anal sex, bigamy, polygamy,
cohabitation), homosexuality, ragenerativedrug use and
unorthodox medical practices ( Quacks'"), unconventional
religious practices ( "C u lts'"), unpopular p olitical views
I