[joe-frank-list] 'Rose'

[russellbell at gmail.com]

	Joe tells us about Rose, the 30-something (at least 32, at
most 37) manager of a (garden) nursery in Santa Monica.  She lives in
the San Fernando valley.  She has a lover, a man. ('Her lover doesn't
kiss her as much as she'd like him to.  She feels it is a very sweet,
loving act and that's probably why he doesn't do it more often.' - A
'lover' doesn't want to perform a sweet and loving act?) (She washes
with Vitabath (https://www.myvitabath.com/)) She drives a '83 Honda
Accord.
	8:50: 'The drive to work is a ritual she's performed many
times.  She never gets on the freeway.  She knows all the back roads
and parallel side streets in her area...  When she hits Sunset it's
like reentering civilization and she turns onto Montana.'  (The
freeway she doesn't take is I-405, the infamous San Diego Freeway.
The Santa Monica Mountains block most roads heading south from the
Valley.  The streets she most likely takes are Laurel Canyon (made
famous by Joni Mitchell), Coldwater Canyon, Beverly Glen, and
Sepulveda, east to west.  Sepulveda is the fastest and the shortest
route.)  (Note Montana Avenue, the street that divides the wealthy
from the riffraff in Santa Monica appears again.  There are no
nurseries on that side of town in 2022 and one does not drive Montana
unless going to a business on or near it.)
	10:00: 'there's a country club she passes' (The Brentwood,
which Joe passes in 'Karma crash'.)
	11:40: 'She knows that she's addicted to grass.  She can't
imagine not doing it but she doesn't know why she has to do it so
much.'
	12:20: Someone recounts sitting in his apartment with at least
one other person, a woman, in the late afternoon, where they can hear
the ocean:

	'We sit in my apartment in the late afternoon overlooking the
parking lot, the sound of the ocean in the distance.  The un is going
down now, casting long shadows across my floor on the wall.  I look
out at people strolling back from the beach; the ocean shimmers in the
sunlight.  We drink coffee.  She smokes cigarettes and talks in a
soft, thoughtful, relaxed, and yet, I think, extremely controlled
manner.  I don't think that even she's aware of it.  This room is a
microcosm of the world.  She talks and I listen.
	'"Do you know that you were very angry at her?"  He says this,
leaning back in his easy-chair.
	'"What do you mean?"
	'"Because she's forced you to expose yourself.  You couldn't
hide your disfigurement from her so she compromised you - and you hate
her for that."
	'"I know that.  I told her myself how much easier it was before
I met her.  You're not telling me anything I didn't think of already."
	'"You've been hiding behind your voice and words."
	'"Of course I have."
	'And she comes to my room in the afternoon.  She talks and I
listen.'

	14:50: Joe describes the nursery Rose manages, the work she
has to do.  The boss is there 10 minutes a week, leaves the rest to
Rose.  She'd like to quit; the job stresses her so much.
	22:00: Joe recounts Rose's birth, her childhood.
	23:00: 'They [her family] didn't have a lot of money.'
	23:10: 'She had a small Shepherd and Siamese cats.  And all
the animals got ringworm and she got it too.  And they had to put all
of the animals to sleep because they couldn't afford to treat them
except of course for her.  And she still has little round scars on her
arm.' (Ringworm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermatophytosis) is a
fungal disease.  It can be cured by hygiene.  If necessary, OTC
topical anti-fungals can be used, the same stuff one uses for
athlete's foot.  It doesn't leave scars at all or permanent marks.  It
would cost more to euthanize a pet than treat it.)
	23:20 'then she got measles and when that was over the muscles
in her left eyes stopped working and she wore a patch over her right
eye to force the left one to work.  And she became nearsighted' (This
is believable.  Quoth Wikipedia: 'In the United States, measles
affected approximately 3,000 people per million in the 1960s before
the vaccine was available.  With consistent widespread childhood
vaccination, this figure fell to 13 cases per million by the 1980s,
and to about 1 case per million by the year 2000.'  It attacks nerves,
not muscles.)
	23:50: After her ophthalmologist's appointment, 'her mother
would then take her to Norm's, a restaurant across the street for a
big lunch.'  (Norm's is a cheesy all-nite diner chain in LA.  In
'Better off without a wife', mentioning the odd things he has eaten,
Tom Waits includes 'weird patty melts at Norm's', which gets a laugh,
at least in LA)
	24:00: 'She grew up in a tract house in Reseda where
attractive land was bought by a developer and a bunch of little houses
were put in... it stood on 1/3 of an acre and they had the best
skateboard driveway in the neighborhood.'  (No way a family that had
'not a lot of money' has 1/3 acre nor did a developer who put in a
bunch of little houses give them lots that large.)
	26:20: 'Rose got into trouble twice at school once when she
was a member of the student Peace Union in the war resisters League.
She was only 11 years old in the seventh grade. ...This was in 1961.'
(Thus she was born 1949/50.  Seventh-graders are usually 12-13.)
	28:20: When she was 18 she corresponded with an inmate at
Soledad, a maximum-security prison; he was a friend of her older
brother.  She drove up to visit him.  He recommended that she meet a
friend of his, Detroit, who lived in San Francisco.  She did, and they
became lovers.  Detroit was a pimp, alcoholic, and drug user.  After
their relationship ended she moved back to LA.
	37:30: Someone recounts sitting in his apartment with at least
one other person, a woman, in the late afternoon, where they can see
the ocean:

	'We sit in my apartment in the late afternoon, overlooking the
parking lot.  I can see the ocean in the distance.  I watch the people
walking by beneath me.  She smokes cigarettes.  She talks in a soft,
thoughtful, voice.
	'I ask him, "Why are you smiling?  What's funny?"
	'"Nothing is: my smile is ironic."
	'"I'm supposed to be comforted by that?"
	You have battle scars not only battle scars but I am
embattled.  And I'm losing the war.
	'"Don't look at me."
	'"No - I will not stop looking at you.  I will look at you
whenever I want to."
	'It's not my fault, the things that happened to me are not my
fault.  But you know I don't really believe it.  Sometimes I feel I'm
getting what's coming to me.  I haven't been good enough.  I've been
too selfish.  She'll play whatever game you want her to play.  She's a
good friend, a companion, because she can give herself over.  That's
one of the reasons she's so important to you.
	'And I want to lose myself in you.  I want to be injected into
your bloodstream to swim everywhere inside you.'

	40:20: She had a relationship with another pimp until his
liver burst.

	41:20:  Another strange interlude:

	'"Why are you smiling?  What's funny?"
	'"Nothing is: my smile is ironic."
	'"What's happened to you is, well..."
	'"Don't look at me."
	'"No - I will not stop looking at you.  I will look at you
whenever I want to."
	'I want to roll down another hill with you and never let go.
We're all battle-scarred, all damaged goods.  We're all wounded.  I've
never known anyone who wasn't.
	'"You know, I just filled my bladder with water about an hour
ago and my bladder just about burst.  And now my colon's getting the
business.  Do I get anything for this, like a candy or a present when
this is all over?"
	'"We'll think of something."
	'"I should hope so and I'm thinking what is all this stupid
banter?  Why don't you just shut up instead of trying to be cute or
whatever is you're trying to do."
	'"Self-loathing - I guess I'm just nervous."
	'"Don't be too hard on yourself."
	'Here's my blood I can't give you my body just yet.  I hope my
blood passes this test - I've always had problems passing
examinations.'

	44:30: Joe tells us about Rose's friend Katie, a nursery
school teacher, who's getting married.  A few weeks before the wedding
Rose visits her at her house on Laurel Canyon (must be expensive; she
has cocaine, too.)  They make love.
	Katie's parents fly everyone to their home on Cape Cod for the
wedding.  The night before Katie takes Rose to see her old boyfriend,
David.  They drink wine, visit a lighthouse, skinny-dip, have a
threesome.  Katie leaves, tells Rose to stay with David.  Rose and
David make love.  In the morning Rose and Katie make love.
	51:40: Joe talks about desert plants: ephemerals and creosote.
	53:10: Someone recounts sitting in his apartment with at least
one other person, a woman, in the late afternoon, where they can see
and hear the ocean:

	'We sit in my apartment in the late afternoon, overlooking a
parking lot, the sound of the ocean in the distance.  The sun is going
down now, casting long shadows across my floor and the wall.  I look
down at people strolling back from the beach.  The ocean shimmers in
the sunlight.  We drink coffee.  She smokes cigarettes and talks in a
soft, thoughtful, relaxed voice.
	'"Do you know that you are very angry at her?", he says,
leaning back in his easy chair.
	'"What do you mean?"
	'"Because she's forced you to expose yourself - you couldn't
hide your disfigurement from her.  So you see she compromised you and
you can't help hating her for that."
	'"I know that.  I told her myself how much easier it was before
I met her.  You are not telling me anything I didn't think of already."
	'"You've been hiding behind your voice, your words."
	'"Of course I have."
	'It's not my fault, the things that happened are not my fault.
I can't really believe it.
	'"Don't look at me."
	'"No I will not stop looking at you.  I will look at you
whenever I want to."
	'I want to lose myself in you.  I want to be injected into
your bloodstream where you can't see me.  We're all battle-scarred;
we're all damaged goods; were all wounded; I have never known anyone
who wasn't.
	'Here's my blood.  I can't give you my body, not just yet.  I
hope my blood passes this test.
	'I drive along a Pacific Coast Highway late at night - up and
down the highway.
	'We sit in my apartment in late afternoon.  I listen to the
ocean.  It's getting dark.  It's quieter outside.  I watch her mouth
moving - I can't hear her talking anymore.  I wonder if she knows.
And after she leaves it's back in the car and up and down the
highway.'


	Who's talking in the interludes?  The narrator talks in the
first person, mentions a woman.  A 'he' says 'Do you know that you are
very angry at her?' - who's that?  Is the narrator talking to himself?
Joe had a club foot, made his living with his voice and words, lived
in Santa Monica near Montana Avenue - does he allude to himself?  Is
the narrator talking to himself?  I can imagine it all as internal
monologue.

	http://jfwiki.org/index.php?title=Rose

russell bell