Electric Eden

I
Two lifeguards blow their whistles for beach infractions. I walked on to the rocks, I sat in the ‘clear area’. I look like the hick I truly am.

II
Three women, lying on beach towels, trying to light their smokes on a windy day. One woman has the bright idea to stick her head in a big bag – flicking the lighter in her plastic tent.

III
An old couple wading into the water. He’s very skinny & wears a bright yellow bathing cap not pulled down over his scalp. Bunched loosely on top of his head, it looks like a cock’s comb.

IV
People come in all shapes and sizes but Speedo’s, apparently, come in only one.

V
To ride the Cyclone you must ‘secure all hats, wigs and jewelry’. An old man, hunched into the booth, takes our tickets. We suspect he’s like a goldfish – or square watermelon - and has grown to fit his environment, shaped by his very small space.

VI
I only hold the safety bar half of the time. I scream for most of the ride.

VII
I am brave enough to pee in the washroom (not as dirty as you might think/ not as clean as you’d like) of a Coney Island freak show.

VIII
We are old time gullible enough to pay an extra dollar (U.S. funds) to view the ‘Freak Show Hall of Fame.’ It’s a video montage – mostly images pulled from episodes of ‘Biography’ & the Tod Browning film.

IX
A Carny calls us ‘Baby Mommy’ & ‘Baby Daddy’. He pulls us in by yelling, ‘Only other thing you get for $2 is stamps & cigarettes!’ We wonder if his booth is also a time machine.

X
On a rooftop patio in Brighton Beach, a Russian man uses a Snapple bottle to open our beer. His entire table cheers as foam spills on the concrete floor. Our beer, and their vodka, is technically illegal. No one seems to mind.