~ The Salmon River Chronicles (Part I)
daybreak
at a boat ramp
fifteen miles up the salmon river
from riggins, idaho
beneath a gnarly juniper tree
sit the three buddhas
passing a joint
they hear a ’57 chevrolet bel-air nomad
roaring up the river road towards them
the chevy
is pulling a 23 foot jet boat on a trailer
and it turns off into the gravel parking lot
circles
and comes to a stop
the buddhas watch
as the chevy backs across the lot,
at 40 miles per hour,
straight down the ramp
suddenly breaking
and sliding the last 20 yards
the trailer comes to an abrupt stop
all the wheels buried below water
and the jet sled pops off
god rolls down the window
“turboglide, baby,” he says,
“you gotta love it”
“where’ve you been?” asks one of the buddhas
“yeah, it seems like an eternity,”
says another buddha
as he takes a toke off the joint
“well let me enlighten you,” says god
“it’s a big universe”
“an empty universe,” says the second buddha
“and it’s expanding,” adds the third
as he holds the smoke in his lungs
“you boys want to fish or talk?” asks god
the buddhas look at each other;
“fish,” they say in unison
“well, you might want to grab the boat
before it leaves without us,” says god
“and would one of you mind getting me
another budweiser
out of the cooler on the back?”
the buddhas grab the rope
and a bud for god
"thanks," says god
as He snaps back the lid
of a zippo lighter
and fires up a lucky strike
blue smoke curls to the heavens
the air is soft, expectant
sage, juniper, spent lighter fluid
across from the ramp
in a pocket of water
of dark, blue green water,
a steelhead rolls
“i’ll go park the rig,” says god,
as he looks up the canyon,
with a smile.
off the bow
of a jet sled
on the salmon river
in southern idaho
zero image 69
pinhole camera
kodak e100vs
color slide film
image cropped to 15x7
~ The Salmon River Chronicles (Part I)
daybreak
at a boat ramp
fifteen miles up the salmon river
from riggins, idaho
beneath a gnarly juniper tree
sit the three buddhas
passing a joint
they hear a ’57 chevrolet bel-air nomad
roaring up the river road towards them
the chevy
is pulling a 23 foot jet boat on a trailer
and it turns off into the gravel parking lot
circles
and comes to a stop
the buddhas watch
as the chevy backs across the lot,
at 40 miles per hour,
straight down the ramp
suddenly breaking
and sliding the last 20 yards
the trailer comes to an abrupt stop
all the wheels buried below water
and the jet sled pops off
god rolls down the window
“turboglide, baby,” he says,
“you gotta love it”
“where’ve you been?” asks one of the buddhas
“yeah, it seems like an eternity,”
says another buddha
as he takes a toke off the joint
“well let me enlighten you,” says god
“it’s a big universe”
“an empty universe,” says the second buddha
“and it’s expanding,” adds the third
as he holds the smoke in his lungs
“you boys want to fish or talk?” asks god
the buddhas look at each other;
“fish,” they say in unison
“well, you might want to grab the boat
before it leaves without us,” says god
“and would one of you mind getting me
another budweiser
out of the cooler on the back?”
the buddhas grab the rope
and a bud for god
"thanks," says god
as He snaps back the lid
of a zippo lighter
and fires up a lucky strike
blue smoke curls to the heavens
the air is soft, expectant
sage, juniper, spent lighter fluid
across from the ramp
in a pocket of water
of dark, blue green water,
a steelhead rolls
“i’ll go park the rig,” says god,
as he looks up the canyon,
with a smile.
off the bow
of a jet sled
on the salmon river
in southern idaho
zero image 69
pinhole camera
kodak e100vs
color slide film
image cropped to 15x7