T
hegardenneedsBounceBack,soI bounceit. Thisis allso
greenie-goodie-goodieorganicthatit makesmewilt.I rub
myfaceandsmellmyhands.Theystink.Mywifewalks
pastwitha basketofwashingandtellsmethatI stink.
She’sa washaholic.I escapeto mysecrethideoutcellar
in mystudio.I amnotgoingto saywhereit is becauseyoumightarrive
hereandtellmeI smell.
Yesterday,someamateurphotographersarrivedat myfrontgate
andaskedif I couldtellthemsomemoretime-exposure-moon-stories.
I wishedsecretlythatI stillstank.Manyyearsago,whenI didn’tstink,
I wasyoungandgigologood-looking.Backthen,I foundmyself
surroundedbyyoungwomen– justlikenow– in a Germanbarin
Swakopmund.
IspokefluentGermanto themwearingmyCheGuevaraberet.
Slowlyovercomebybeer,pretzelsandothersensations,I dashed
outsideanddroveintothedesert(I havefoundthatit’sasgoodasa cold
shower).Well,actually,I foundmyselfheadingeastalongtheC28gravel
road.AtthebendofWelwitschiaDriveI stoppedandhyperventilated.Youknow,relax,focus,andorientate.However,I wasstillplaguedby
double-beervision.
Istucka largepieceofducttapeovermylefteyeto stopthedancing
doubleimagesfromflickering.ThenArtgrippedme,cuddlingmein
herinspirationalgrip.Filledmewithpassionandcreativearousal,just
likethat,therein themiddleoftheNamib.Therewasa fullmoonrising
in theeast,upalongtheendoftheroad,soI securedmyCanoncamera
ontothedashboardwithPrestik,starteda timeexposure,lockedit in
placewitha cablerelease,andcontinueddrivingintothemoonrise,
guidedintotheone-eyeddarknessbyextraterrestrialforces.
Thiswasa firstforme,drivingmytimeexposureintothemoonrise.
SoonI sensedthatmyheadlightswerepickingupsmallreflectorpoles
oneithersideoftheroad.Insidemetherewasanotherworldlyscream.
Beingmyrecklessself,I startedswervingmybakkierepeatedlyacross
theroad,likea drunkarrrr...
That’swhenmywifeshookmeawake,toldmeI wasscreamingin
mysleep,andstillsmelledlikethedaybeforeyesterday.
http://www.obieoberholzer.netOBIE OBERHOLZERindulgesin some Namibia dreaming, harking back
to thedays whenhe wasgigolo good-looking, and had to escape the throngs
of young women bydriving into the desert
September 2019 112 http://www.countrylife.co.zaParting Shot