Danger - A Safe Bahamian Novel - Day 03

Danger - A Safe Bahamian Novel - Day 03

(12:05 pm Saturday Nov 03, 2007)

*** The Other Other Other Far Side Of The Galaxy

So, by the next day the tortoises are spread out over the idyllic countryside. Some hither and some yon, all depending on their relative speeds and their open country routing skills.

Back in the stadium, everyone is till having a grand old time and watching carefully to see if they can discern any actual progress race wise on the part of the hair.

And they are still singing that song...

Well I'm not a man who likes to run,
But I find myself waiting for the - STARTER'S gun,
And some day baby when my race is done,
I'll kiss you before I fall.

And consuming way too much of everything. To the chagrin of their bankers and non-race loving spouses should they have either.

Now you really should know that, so far as anyone have ever been able to determine, no hair has ever made any actual race moves in all the long history of the famous tortoise and hair race days. Sure, on a windy day, some of the longer heads of hair might be seen to display a good amount of movement indeed, but not race movements as it were. not moves that would indicate progress along the course of the race track.

I think you will not be overly surprised to learn that in all the years that the race has been contested, not once has any hair made even one lap of the track, much less made it out of the stadium or finished the race. Well, no, not quite, there was that once, but no one believes it to this day. That once time exists in a sort of agreed social amnesia. We may speculate as to why at some later date.

(3:59 pm Saturday Nov 03, 2007)

*** Beach Near Shack Near Beach ~;-)

Most everyone is having a meeting under the coconut trees again, or is it the same meeting...

Ronnie, with his keen seafaring eyes spots something offshore in the waves.

"I think that is someone out there by that head, one of you come with me and let's go check it out."

He is up in an instant and heading for the back of the shack where they keep a small aluminum skiff. Sam is right on his heels.

They drag the skiff down to the water and set out, Ronnie pulling strongly at the oars, well, as strongly as he can manage in his now weakened condition, still they let him pull instead of Sam as even in his weakened state, his skill and Sam's clumsiness with the oars more then offset the difference in their strengths.

As they get closer to the head, it becomes clear that it is indeed a body in the water but it is not yet clear if it is a living or a dead one. Then Ronnie thinks he spots some signs of life and redoubles his efforts even though he is nearing the limits of his endurance. There is a small white hot anger down in his core at his current physical state. How could he have done this to himself?

They get closer and are confused by what they see. It becomes clear that the person is alive, but they are face down and unmoving as far as swimming goes.

The skiff pulls alongside and Sam grabs an arm and lifts the person out of the water and drops him face down into the bottom of the small boat.

Sam flips the person over and they are both floored to see that it is Jack, with some sort of contraption stuck in his mouth and taped on so that it will not come out.

"What the..."

"Are you kidding me!" says Sam, reaching down to rip the tape off and the device out of Jack's mouth. He lifts Jack into a sitting position and hits him on the back with the flat of his hand.

Jack coughs and his eyes open to rad slits and he moans from deep in his being.

"Jack. Jack! Can you here me? Where have you been? Are you alright?"

Jack moans again and plops down into the bottom of the boat and closes his eyes.

"Ronnie, cut out the questions and get us back to shore fast."

"Sorry Sam, you are going to have to take over, I am spent five ways from Sunday."

(6:20 pm Saturday Nov 03, 2007)

*** The Other Other Other Far Side Of The Galaxy

The tortoises are still making their swift way over the countryside in their quest for glory.

Meanwhile, back in the stadium, there is still no real evidence that the hair is making any race moves yet, this despite the strong encouragement on the part of the various persons on whose heads the hair happens to be growing. Or on the part of some, stern rebukes.

I must say that this lack of responsiveness on the part of the hair is none too surprising on the hair. I mean, after a life time of being treated the way hair gets treated, does it surprise you?

Regularly being cut with sharp instruments, tangled, yanked at, dried out as with hot Santa Ana winds. A regular dose of concoctions applied whether you like it or not, some natural, some harsh chemical mixes. No, it should surprise no one. Noe one at all.

And the song plays and the people stomp and romp.

Well I'm not a man who likes to run,
But I find myself waiting for the - STARTER'S gun,
And some day baby when my race is done,
I'll kiss you before I fall.

You would think they would adjust the verse now that the race is so well underway and the starter's pistol has long fallen silent, but they don't. That is just how things go over on The Other Other Other Far Side Of The Galaxy.

*** Inside of Shack Near Beach

(7:04 pm Saturday Nov 03, 2007)

Jack is laid out on a cot, squirming and moaning. His friends stand over him, concern on their faces.

"I still think we should call a doctor," says Ronnie, "he is burning up."

"He will be alright Donny, I mixed him up some of my grandmother's old Andros bush medicine and his fever will break soon, you will see. Put on some soft music and let's go sit on the porch to give him some peace and I will check on him once in a while to make sure he is doing OK."

"OK, you win, any requests?"

"Just pick something easy."

Ronnie walks over and flips through some CDs for a while before selecting one and putting it in the changer.

It is a recent song by Barry and the Cudas, come on down to Nassau Town...

Come on down to Nassau Town
And sing me a new brand song
Tell me that you love me baby
That you'll never do me wrong
Sing to me of starry nights
And a love that will grow strong
Yes come on down to Nassau Town
And sing your new brand song

Come on down to Nassau Town
And sing me a new brand song
We'll sit on sandy beaches girl
Drink switcher an eat conch
Then we'll get the lovin started baby
Don't tell me that we wont
So come on down to Nassau Town
And sing your new brand song

It plays softly in the background as Jacks friends sit on the front porch in the cool evening breeze and look out over the calm sea and talk quietly about the mystery of their friends disappearance during the storm and strange reappearance today in the waters near their shack.

*** Inside of a sub-sub-basement, deep below a huge new house on the eastern end of Paradise Island.

The room is in darkness and we cannot make out the sole occupant who is standing at a desk and pushes a button on an answering machine.

The machine speaks...

"Boss, where are you? I have been trying to reach you all day at your house and on your cell. The cell system must have been down all day though. I keep getting that 'all circuits are busy' message every time I try. And I can't get you at your house. I have called and called. I know you said not to leave messages, but I need you to know this. Black Jack has surfaced. Literally. Call me on my celly phone as soon as you get this message."

"That fool! He knows I told him not to leave any messages and so what does he do? He leaves a message! That's what! You just can't get decent help these days. Everyone is so full of themselves and buys all that poppycock about getting ahead by taking the initiative. What balderdash!"

He picks up a phone and dials a number from memory.

"We're sorry, all circuits are busy now, please try your call again later."

"Doesn't anything work right in this infernal country?"

(9:11 pm Saturday Nov 03, 2007)

He dials another number.

"Hello, good, it's you. I need you to get in touch with Reg and tell him that I cannot reach him on his cell phone and that he is to get in touch with me as soon as possible... Yes, I know, probably so, but if you too cannot reach him on his so called celly phone, then you must seek him out and give him the message in person. Then he is either to call me from the nearest working phone or come here if necessary... Yes, get started right away."

*** Inside of Shack Near Beach

Sam comes out of the shack and sits back down on the porch, "I told you he would be alright Donny, his fever is on the way down now and he is not tossing and turning so much, if he can sleep through the night, I think he will be feeling much better by the morning."

"That's good Sam, but we need to ask him what's going on. I have a feeling in my bone that something is just not right."

"You and your feelings, you are worse than the old people on the island. Plus, how many times do I have to tell you that it is 'a feeling in my bones' not 'a feeling in my bone."

"I don't care how many times you try and correct my english, how many times do I have to tell you that the feeling I get is not in my bones, it is only in one of my bones, this bone right here!" says Ronnie, poking his left shin bone with his right index finger.

"Like I say, worse than the old people on the island. Before I met you, I didn't know that people from such a small island could have crazy ideas as big as people from the Big Yard, but you take the cake."

A song ends and another Barry and the Cudas tune comes on. They both stop to listen.

"Oh, I like up 'The Only One' big time says Ronnie.

Everybody knows my name
But to me they're all the same
Darling you're the only one
That I want when the day's run
Its course

Everybody wants their fame
I only want what I can't tame
Darling you're the only one
That I want when the day's done
Of course

The force of your love
Is pushing me higher
The heat of your skin
Fuels every desire within
Our hearts and our souls and our brains
Like two runaway trains
Are rushing us on
We dare not remain
But fly on till dawn
Has come once again

Everybody wants someplace
I seek my own with calm and grace
Darling you're the only one
That I want the only one
I love

The song finishes...

"Yeah, I really like that one too," says Jack from the opening doorway, "how did I get here?

"That's what we want to know." blurt Ronnie and Sam at the same time.

"Well, what we really want to know is where you have been for two days, we fished you out of the water out by the big head earlier this afternoon. You were mostly unconscious and had what must have been some sort of breathing device taped in to your mouth." explains Sam.

"You what? I had what?"

"Exactly! You never showed up for our meeting two days ago and we have searched everywhere since then but there was no trace of you until you just sort of surfaced out there this afternoon," says Ronnie.

(9:41 pm Saturday Nov 03, 2007)