Newspaper Page Text
February 21, 1990
Flagpole Magazine
Page 15
The Diamond Thief
Part V: Aligning With Saturn
Perhaps if I had been born an uncaring
* bastard, I would have lost my shit when I
the painting of Duncan. I would have
told Duncan it turned my stomach.
Perhaps if I had been born a fool, I would
have applauded when I saw the painting of
I Duncan. I would have told Duncan it made
me quiver.
Just to set the record straight, in those
days, I fell somewhere between the audac
ity of a bastard and the blindness of a fool.
Appalling? Perhaps. However, those quirks
balanced me and I never fell apart on
friends. Not even when the backbone be
gan to sever.
Once Duncan was certain Dexter and
Lillian had left the studio, he turned to me,
grabbed my shoulder and said, “C'mon,
1 Adger, you've got to see this."
In Dexter’s painting, Duncan had one
leg out of the Venus cake. The cake had
huge shark-like teeth, one of which jabbed
at Duncan's Italian-tailored crotch. The top
of the cake served as the mouth of the beast.
Duncan was pushing the mouth open, one
hand between two teeth, in an attempt to
free himself. An invisible force, a wind
maybe, sifted Duncan’s hair and the cake’s
texture to the left. Underneath this image,
boxed in black and printed in blue read:
PIECE OF CAKE.
I kept looking at the painting and then
looking at Duncan. I stared at Duncan for a
long time. I could tell he was feeling nervous
because he shifted around a lot and went
and stood by the side windows. Finally, I
said, “Let’s go for a walk."
We walked a dirt road which crossed
through the center of the cornfields. Duncan
i pushed the emerald-green bicycle Dexter
had lent him for travel. A wire basket painted
white adorned the handelbars. Kindling
overflowed from the basket and was tied
down with a red string. Chelsey had put the
kindling there.
“I never meant to get scared, Adger,"
Duncan began. We had walked for at least
a half an hour before either of us said any
thing.
Beams of light passed through the corn
fields. Headlights.
Duncan and I covered our faces as the
car approached us. It was Lillian saying
Chelsey had disappeared and she was out
looking for him. We told her we hadn’t seen
him. After looking away, she sighed and
said, “Okay."
Lillian also told us that if Chelsey was at
his barn when we arrived to tell him she was
looking for him. Worried for him was more
like it. I couldn’t look at her. Not before she
drove away. I understood that worry all too
well. I was worried for Duncan and simply
could not bring myself to tell him this fact.
Not with his dilemma going down.
“You know where I was before I got
sick?" he asked. “You are going to laugh at
this one. I was at Syd’s party. I was the only
one there that wasn’t on X. Thomas was
there. Liwy. Randolph. Carmen. Diane.
Perry. The whole fashion clan. Everybody
was at Syd’s. They had lit the apartment with
black light bulbs. Everyone was wearing
white clothes and had smudged white on
their lips. Everyone except me. Diane had
broken her hand. She was giggling and
saying how much she loved the bag of ice,
how she loved the way her hand was turning
blue, how she loved everyone comforting
her. And everyone loved her back. I thought
it was shit.
Perry was just as bad. He said he had
always cared for me, that no matter what he
did, he did it because he loved me. He never
really loved me. He got off on beating r e,
that’s all. Then there was Randolph, pa
thetic and blushing. He kept saying to come
back, come back. As if I’d been with him. I
knew what he meant. He missed me being
around. He had gotten so lonely, he’d said.
But now that he saw me he was incredibly
happy and said I had no choice but to love
him. I told him I couldn't model for him
anymore. But the dogwoods are blooming,
the dogwoods are blooming, he’d said. I’m
blooming. You’re blooming. Think about the
possiblities!
I didn’t want to think about anything so I
split. I didn’t say goodbye to anyone. Not
Perry. Not Syd. No one.
I ran from one side street to the next. I ran
until I was lost. And then I took another side
street-just to be safe-and found a bar I had
never seen. It was called Saturn. That’s
when I started drinking Scotch. Ajazz band
was playing. I’d listen to the jazz and drink.
As soon as my glass was empty, I was back
to the bar for one more drink. Don’t ask me
how long this went on. Icouldn’ttell you. Not
even in my wildest dreams, Adger. Want to
know why? It’s going to get scary now.
The world went Black.” . .
Adger York
• Danzig
• Kate Bush
• The Rolling Stones
MON. - S AT.- 10-9
SUN. • 1-5
* . ’ '
Corner of
College and Clayton