Kangaroos Boxing
I saw a pack of fully uniformed nuns rollerblading along the cross island parkway on my way into work. I thought it an odd, sort of fantastic, sight--something to write a blog post about.
As i'm sitting down to write I'm realizing that, while an odd sight, "nuns rollerblading" is not merely so. There is something familiar there.
I couldn't say for sure, but I think there are some nuns rollerblading in the parade scene in Ferris Beuler's Day Off.
In the language of film a shot of "nun's rollerblading" signifies a rare but acheivable harmony among individuals in a community. A kind of groovy playfulness celebrating the child within us all.
Here's a scene:
(A brilliant, sunny afternoon in early fall.)
Corduroy-jacketed protagonist is sitting alone on a park bench, thinking hard, trying to gain some perspective on "the big picture". He studies his shoes, drops his head in his hands. A toddler throws her arms around the neck of a golden retreiver. (Latest Natalie Imbruglia featured-single starts up.) Two elderly men--one black, one vaguely European--with canes, smoke pipes, play chess. Giggling teenage girls eat ice cream cones and share the latest Natalie Imbruglia single playing on their head phones. Spiky haired Asian boys breakdance while children run through a sprinkler in the background. Protagonist lifts his head from his lap and his eyes are hooked to a pack of nuns rollerblading past him. They are close enough that he feels the breeze from their habits.
It all comes clear.
"The world is in perfect harmony. I'm going to go tell her I love her right now, and then I'm going to soak my boss in kerosene and burn him alive."
(Scene)
posted by Peter @ 11:43 AM
8 Comments:
That is beautiful. Bravo! Am jealous of the Nuns. I could never master rollerblading.
Lisa
A brilliant and sunny scene, even the part where Natalie Imbruglia made you do that. Excellent post though, really.
Lisa- Yeah, I see them in kind of that early 70's, John Updike, "rap about Jesus" style catholic. They're a very athletic bunch.
Dale- Thanks for noticing. I wanted the most insipid, corporate pop act I could think of that, in the end, could drive someone to homicide.
Well done. It is really good. Are you a writer by profession?
Lisa
Jeeze, not even close Lisa. Thanks for suggesting I might be. I just like messing around with writing. I like singing too. Check out the link to my myspace. I have some songs there.
Your blog is very polished and you tell a good story. Do you have aspirations of publishing beyond the blogosphere?
BRAVO!!!
Thank you. I was a journalist for newspapers for about 10 yrs. But I never wrote any personal essay type articles. So the blog --it's an all new kind of writing. I am doing occasional pieces for Huffington Post nowadays and not much else. Trying to figure out what it all means and what the hell to do with it. Know what I mean?
So, while not presently employed with a paper you really enjoy writing. It shows, and I really like the way you lay out a story.
All I can say is, aint the internet great. You can write exactly what you want, be anonymous and someone is bound to read it and tell you what they think.
Again, thanks for reading Lisa.
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