dontravis.com
blog post #331
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| Artist: Maria Fanning |
DEAR READERS, Radio Station KSJE in Farmington, New Mexico did an interview with me about The Bisti Business. Click on the link provided below (or copy it) to listen to the interview.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-dxlzn-a9b9ad
I'd also like to thank Traci HalesVass, Professor Emerita of English and host of the program Writers on 4 Corners on KSJE 90.9 FM, who conducted the interview.
Now to current business:
Given that we’ve concentrated on my later BJ Vinson books, this week, I’d like to call attention to the first one. The Zozobra Incident, released in 2016 by DSP Publications, introduced Burleigh J. Vinson (known as BJ to everyone but two individuals in his world), the former marine, ex-APD detective turned confidential investigator. That’s also when he met his companion, Paul Barton.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-dxlzn-a9b9ad
I'd also like to thank Traci HalesVass, Professor Emerita of English and host of the program Writers on 4 Corners on KSJE 90.9 FM, who conducted the interview.
Now to current business:
Given that we’ve concentrated on my later BJ Vinson books, this week, I’d like to call attention to the first one. The Zozobra Incident, released in 2016 by DSP Publications, introduced Burleigh J. Vinson (known as BJ to everyone but two individuals in his world), the former marine, ex-APD detective turned confidential investigator. That’s also when he met his companion, Paul Barton.
In
the following excerpt from Chapter 15, BJ attends the burning of Zozobra at the
opening of the Santa Fe Fiesta. Let’s watch the sucker go up in flames:
*****
THE ZOZOBRA
INCIDENT
The crowd grew larger, noisier, and more
restive as evening arrived. Booze was banned in the park, but flasks abounded,
and they sure as hell didn’t contain sassafras tea. Another band had taken the
stage—if anything it was more enthusiastic and louder than the first. Every
thump of the bass reverberated inside my chest. It was just like being at an
outdoor rock concert. Pretty soon, we’d have to give in to the press of people
and stand up, but first, I shared my corned beef sandwich and some water with
Darrel.
After that, we stood, and I tried to
retrieve my blanket. There were too many people standing on it, so I abandoned
it to its fate. Eventually, the decibel level grew to a pitch where
conversation became impossible.
We stood and craned our necks to do some
more people watching. Just as I figured my back was going to give out, a blare
of trumpets heralded the approach of the traditional procession from St.
Francis Cathedral. The Conquistador Band approached the base of Zozobra’s stage
from a gate that spared them from having to squeeze through the mob.
Immediately, the Star Spangled Banner blared through the speakers, and the
crowd sang…no shouted along.
Then the tempo switched from triumphant to
funereal. Black-robed and hooded Kiwanis members led the parade bearing the
effigy of the Mother Mary in the persona of La
Conquistadora. Gloomies, eight- and nine-year-old children who dance as
ghosts around Zozobra, preceded the Fire Spirit Dancer, the Queen of Gloom,
Gloom Princesses, handlers, dignitaries and a seemingly endless host of others.
As darkness fell, a synthesizer blared
when white-sheeted Gloomies began cavorting before Zozobra. The Fire Spirit
Dancer, clad in a flowing red costume, drove away the mischievous children in
an acrobatic dance originally created by a New York ballet dancer especially
for the burning. A drum crew added to the din of the frenetic synthesizer. A
band added brass and reed as the dance reached its tempestuous climax. Then the
master of ceremonies stepped forward and whipped the assembled crowd into a
chant of “Burn him! Burn him!”
As the demand for his death grew, Zozobra flailed
and roared in protest. I could almost believe he was some grotesque human
personification facing a burning at the stake. It was eerie.
At last, Santa Fe’s black-suited mayor
took the stage to solemnly pronounce the death sentence to the screaming crowd.
Instantly, weird green lights lit the periphery of the doomed monster. As the
official stepped away, the crowd broke into a chant again. Cries of
anticipation reached a crescendo, grown men shouted, women screamed, and
children yelled. And everyone pressed forward for a closer look. For a
moment, I wondered if I’d be able to draw another breath. The panic passed,
although the pressure continued to mount. The noise was indescribable.
Then the Torch Handler gave in to the
demands of the frenzied crowd by touching a brand to the skirts of the giant.
Old Man Gloom’s grunts and groans became squeals of agony. His arms flayed
helplessly as a white-hot blaze raced up his loins. Thousands of throats let
out a deafening roar when the first fusies, little containers of black powder
concealed in the marionette, fired off. The band struck up the Mexican
revolutionary tune, “La Cucaracha.”
The animated creature continued to flail
as parts of him began to come apart. Gloom was now totally consumed by flames.
His lower jaw fell away, blasted apart by fireworks concealed in his head. The
roaring fire reached for the sky. It was a miracle half of Santa Fe wasn’t
incinerated by now. Of course, Zozobra’s auto-da-fé
came at the end of New Mexico’s monsoon season when the countryside was wetter
than usual—at least in theory.
A deafening roar came from the crowd as
the personification of Anxiety came apart. A flaming arm fell to the ground in
a burst of sparks. The massive fire seemed to exert a magnetic force, drawing
spectators at the rear to press even harder against those in front. The
conflagration turned the chilly night warm as Old Sourpuss disintegrated before
our eyes. I stole a glance at Darrel. His eyes were glued to the dying monster.
He trembled from unconcealed excitement.
The
raging inferno collapsed in upon itself and became a mere bonfire. Immediately,
the most spectacular fireworks show I’d ever seen began. Rockets flared, shells
burst. Vivid, vibrant colors filled the entire sky.
*****
I
hope this sparked some interest in The
Zozobra Incident for those of you who haven’t read the book.
Now
my mantra: Keep on reading and keep on
writing. You have something to say, so say it!
My
personal links:
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www.facebook.com/donald.travis.982
Twitter:
@dontravis3
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links to Abaddon’s Locusts:
See
you next week.
Don
New Posts are
published at 6:00 a.m. each Thursday.
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