tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19913598891070916362024-03-05T07:18:27.908-08:00Robin Christensen Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06346765476556078197noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1991359889107091636.post-85115191606498260702017-06-09T09:41:00.005-07:002017-06-09T09:54:19.435-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0.3in 0.0001pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rough Draft - A Chapter from </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Riding a Bus in Mexico</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
is something delightful about silver-stream zippers that when pulled upon,
reveal thick, feather soft sleeping bags, sometime a pillow, puffed with
perfection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
there is something whimsical about wearing jeans tucked into heavy hiking boots
that sport multicolored toe-socks, cuffed slightly over the top-tier of
shoelace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
in that moment, standing stranded outside a dilapidated nowhere liquor store
somewhere in a Mexican jungle, alone, I didn’t feel the magic, the lovely, or
the delight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
as for whimsy? My polished pedicure was buried under dirty mud slicked
Birkenstock’s, and my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">borrowed</i> jacket
didn’t exactly provide warmth and comfort over my light blue halter-top and
navy pinstriped short, shorts. And, I was terrified. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Every
monster in the world came out that night. Some screamed and chattered from
treetops. Others trotted on jungle paths snapping twigs under soft-pad paws. A
few howled (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">werewolves!) </i>But most
hugged gallon jugs of liquor. Their silhouettes shown against crackling embers
jagged like tree-branch beasts. A sip, a swig, it didn’t matter. More was in
store, once the shop doors opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
more pleasant, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">beyond drunk</i>, sang and
strummed guitars, sloshing their words and fumbling their fingers over slightly untuned strings. I stood there unable to comprehend how I could get left behind, yet
again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even Joe, must be frantic by now. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
quieted my mind and searched for solution. I remembered a piece of required
reading during in the fifth grade about a cowboy named Shane. He was an
outcast, and always sat with his back to the wall. I thought that sound advice
in my situation, and chose my territory against the exterior wall of the store.
From my vantage point, I could see almost every direction. I was safe from
rouge drunks. Shane would have been proud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With
some assurance of safety, I settled in not so nicely. I was afraid and the moon
didn’t help. It loomed through the soft sway of canopy, and with it, long,
crooked shadow-claws stretched across the ribbon of highway and up
mountainsides. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My
worry and fear didn’t end there. Nomads and drifters surrounded me, plopping to
the ground, mumbling and fumbling through bags filled with junk food, but mostly
drink. The only things familiar to me were the stars, the cold, and two other
intoxicated men the cashier had battled with earlier that night. For some
reason, one decided to keep me company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Go
away.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gentleman,</i> who had not seen the
inside of a shower in weeks, offered me a drink from his almost empty bottle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, thank you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Being
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">considerate guy</i>, he wiped off the mouth
of the bottle on his crusty sleeve and offered again, holding the bottle close
to my face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No.
I don’t drink that stuff. Go.” For more clarity, I shooed my hand. It worked.
He swaggered away, but unfortunately, only to make room for my next <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">date</i>. He was wearing a long, trench
coat . . . lovely . . .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No.
As I told the other <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gentleman</i>, I
don’t drink that stuff.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So
what does he do? He caps his gallon of Vodka, and lifts from inside his coat a
fifth of Tequila. He aimed a flashlight from underneath the bottle to highlight
his display. While pretending to read the label, I noticed his hands. They were
soft and his nails were manicured. His coat was clean. Obviously, he was not a
local.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It
looks like a good brand, and domestic, but I don’t drink. I never touch the
stuff.” He unscrewed the cap and reached under his coat and he delivered two
plastic party cups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">am</i> impressed, but gracias, no. I
never touch that stuff.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
finally spoke…in Spanish. His tone, and style of speech was eloquent like Dr.
Jake’s. With gesture of hand toward the sky, he continued to converse. I
decided that he was talking about the stars, the frigid air and of course,
sharing a drink. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
set his flashlight on the ground, but not before giving it a click to emit more
light. I could see that his clothes were clean and maybe expensive. He reached,
again, inside his coat and this time brought out two pictures. One was a photo
of three women, and the other a single shot of the eldest woman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Your
esposa?” I asked pointing to the woman whose hair was piled high on her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
confirmed with a smile and a nod.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“And
la hija and la hija?” I asked pointing to each young lady.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Si,
si. Doce. Catorce.” He said pointing to each.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Ah.
Twelve and fourteen. They are beautiful–bonita.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
nodded in agreement. He talked a bit more and then asked again through charade,
if I wanted a drink. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No.
Gracias. No.” Then he smiled. His act was the same. He reached inside and
across his coat, but this time he twisted a bit before bring-out a corkscrew
and next a half carafe of wine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What
a fabulous idea. A roving bartender.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once
again and like a trained concierge, he held enough light against the bottle so
that I might read the label. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
see that the vineyard is from Ensenada. It’s a good one. I’ve enjoyed a few
glasses myself, but I never touch the stuff. No thank you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of
course he ignored me and commenced to set the corkscrew. Within seconds, it
popped. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Champagne?”
I asked. He indicated no and moved the bottle under my nose tipping it slowly
right and left. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Ah.
Wine, and no doubt, a good one, but I don’t drink. No booze, no wine, no
bubbly. Never have, never will.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Language
barrier or no, I was a bad liar. He poured two glasses and then reached into
his coat one more time and brought a third plastic tumbler. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Three?”
I said. “Really, wine is enough. I don’t drink the hard stuff.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From
out of the shadows, a woman once hidden behind the curtain of night, appeared
on perfect cue. “You are the woman–the pictures!” Her husband, like a magic
man, produced the photos almost out of thin air. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes.”
I said pointing at her tiny portrait. “That’s you!” She held out her hand and I
shook it wildly. Both she and her husband laughed and chortled through excited
conversation. With our cups almost filled, we toasted something. I chose to
believe that we were celebrating our safety, the adventure, and the fact that
my angels had stopped ignoring me…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06346765476556078197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1991359889107091636.post-85060891935404078592016-10-03T17:11:00.000-07:002016-10-03T17:29:48.878-07:00I am a writer. My first piece was finished sometime around kindergarten. It was about whales––their beauty and grace. For years that was my genre. Whales. Soon, explorations of thought and word<span style="background-color: white;"> expanded into the world of food</span>. In the fifth grade, I won First Place in a classroom award for my poem simply titled <i>Grapes</i>.<br />
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Grapes</div>
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I love grapes. Purple grapes, green and even light yellow.</div>
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I like round grapes with spots in jello with marshmallow.</div>
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Pink grapes are good, but I think they are not ripe.</div>
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I won't give up my grapes without a fight.</div>
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White grapes are harder and okay on cereal when sprinkled.</div>
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And when they get old they get wrinkled.</div>
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I eat grapes on break at the ice rink. </div>
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If I could, grapes of all colors would be my favorite drink.</div>
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Okay, so I was a little girl who could see into the future. Another thing that I am certain about is that when my teacher critiqued my poem, she had consumed a glass of grapes too many . . .</div>
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When in the 10th grade, I had a creative writing teacher that told the whole class that it was a good thing that Robin Hilsinger could write because she was never going to make it out of high school. I wasn't embarrassed because it was in that moment I realized that I could do something with my writing. So I set out to prove my teacher wrong. I graduated from high school and began to write - not in that order. My latest work is my best so far and I wouldn't be a proper author if I didn't plug it along - Amazon.com at Robin Christensen Books.</div>
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Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06346765476556078197noreply@blogger.com0