Pax Nortona – A Blog by Joel Sax
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Butt Up and Hands Down
Posted on May 2, 2003 in Book of Days
Note: This is seventeenth in a series based on exercises from A Writer’s Book of Days. It’s something of a rebellion against the Friday Five and similar tupperware content memes.
Today’s topic: Write about falling.
I hate stairways, especially steep unprotected ones like those you must manage to reach the tops of Mexican pyramids or certain parts of the turtleback ridge that is Alcatraz. Up is always worse than down. Falling backwards means that the eyeless side of my head will lead the way and I won’t know where to throw my hands to deflect the impact. It’s the snap of the cranial sutures coming apart when my head kisses the ground that unnerves me. I don’t like to think about the aftermath, the mess of blood and cheeselike bits of brain all over the pavement.
I eschew the illusion that you’re safe when you walk standing tall with your back to a drastic precipice, especially if the ground is hard, the ocean cold and concealing clusters of rocks bearing a hundred knives.
When I helped build the Alcatraz web page, Ranger Craig had us going all over the Rock, up stairs that would have been deterrent enough against any escape plan I might have formulated. We were walking in a line. I walked, cat-soul that I was (and still am) on all fours. I didn’t care if my butt stuck out for the world to see the courduroy seam that covers the centered crease of my behind. It was my face to Gunilla’s butt ahead of me, with no space between us to speak of. Suddenly, she stopped and said “Would you like me to go ahead of me.” I answered her loudly and in unvoiced thoughts. “No.” Dammit. “No, keep going.” It was the stopping that jerked my shoulders backwards, towards the concrete angles and the irregular points of the rocks, the rocks of the thousand knives.
For my contribution to the NPS Alcatraz site, click here.
Want to participate? First either get yourself a copy of A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves or read these guidelines. Then either check in to see what the prompt for the day is or read along in the book.
Tomorrow’ topic/prompt: Write about a sin.
