Inspired by David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” – Club Silencio scene
“Watch out!”, I shout – as the deer leaps in front of the car –
we’re on a road that is near the Interstate (but local) –
We plunge head-on into the deer – I hear the thud – it’s loud –
and unforgettable –
“Stop”, I say! “Why?”, he asks –
“We hit a deer!” - I tell him –
…and he doesn’t seem to be understanding what I am saying
No hay banda – there is no band
I hear the sweet soothing sound of the trumpet –
and soon realize it’s pre-recorded and synthesized –
That’s okay –
It plays on the car radio – and I listen to it play…
it’s beautiful –
and it’s okay that it isn’t real – there is no trumpet
No hay banda – there is no band
“Didn’t you see the deer?”, I ask exasperated –
“There was no deer” –
“How do you explain the blood on the front of the vehicle?”, I ask
“There is no blood – I’ll clean it all up tomorrow” –
the trumpet plays and I can hear it’s sound (real or imagined) –
it plays gently to my ears (whether trumpet or synthesized)
A sudden clap of thunder – “It’s not real”, he tells me –
“What does that even mean?”, I ask –
“it’s not thunder – it is a keyboard stroke imitating thunder” –
I pause
“But, I heard it” – “You heard what you wanted to hear – what you thought you heard”, he says –
“what you’re comfortable in hearing” -
I’m confused -
and I think about us hitting the deer –
No hay banda – there is no band
“I don’t speak Spanish”, I tell him
“The deer was in your imagination”, he tells me –
and I know he is mistaken or wrong –
“there is no blood on my vehicle” he tells me –
(and I think he has cleaned it off)
And my memory conjures thoughts of the deer leaping out in front of the car -
directly in front of us – we hit the deer
No hay banda – there is no band
In his vehicle – he is driving – we come across a stop sign –
In the middle of nowhere -
and he stops – a clarinet plays for us gently and smoothly
through the car speakers and I cannot tell if it is a real clarinet -
A triangle joins the symphony – and I hear it – but he doesn’t
– we continue through the deserted intersection –
as I listen to this symphony that may or may not be real
When there is no band – there is no conductor –
when there is no band – there is no meaning or understanding –
it’s an illusion
“Watch out!”, I shout, as the deer jumps in front of the car –
and there is no deer
…or perhaps there is
Photo: Jimmy Broccoli.
