The Ledge
[1957 It was during this time when I would come to visit Mike Reassert, mostly in the summers, but all year round for the most part (I was ten years old back then, Mike was nine). Sometimes it was early in the mornings and Id throw rocks at his window to wake him up, but Mike would never wake up that easy. Oh no, it was not so simple, He slept like an old rock, similar to an old man that dozes off to sleep and it takes a knock on the head to wake him up, or two or three; all in all, Mike never had a hard time sleeping for sure. He had a bed close to a window, and they had a one room apartment, that is to say, there were two beds on one side of the room, a rope dividing Mike from his parents, and a blanket used as a divider. Thus, Mike slept right next to the blanket, and his parents but a few feet away, beyond the blanket, against the wall. There was a small separate kitchen, with a corner table, room from two people to seat, one at each corner. And in th e main room were an old sofa chair, a standup ashtray, and a black and white TV set.
As I was about to say: but then neither did I have a hard time sleeping back then, I suppose, with all the energy we had he and I, we slept well when it came nighttime; yes, ah, yes, we exerted our energy on our daily adventures, it was a wonder where we found all that vigor in the first place.
In any case, I wouldafter having thrown the rockI would, figure, I perhaps should throw another rock; if I had to throw another rock, but I was always a ting apprehensive Id bust the windowin consequence, I told myself: Go to: Plan B1yes indeed, and that is what I did, most of the times. And so through the front building door Id go, climb the three flights of stairs, rush through the hallways, open a few more doors on the way, so the light would chase the dark away. (There was a pale-smell, of moss like odor in the building, as if it had old wet booksat one timein there, in there for a h undred-years and so, and when theyd dried out, they had left something behind; the smell disturb me, yet, somehow I got acclimated to itkind of; I say, I almost became unconscious to this acclimation processhow possible, I dont know, or perhaps I do, that is to say, anyone that can work in a slaughterhouse, as I did some years later, and not smell the putrid-ness of it, has gotten acclimated to the maximum: so it is believable. Then Id lay open the window at the end of the hallway, on the third floor, next to Mikes apartment, overlooking the dumpster. There, there to his right was a ledge, a fat, not fat, a wide heavy looking kind of ledge, not too disturbing, and so Id step out on it, and over to the side was his window, Mikes window, and Mikes head was usually by the window; or under his covers, and I normally could tell his shape, so if he wasnt in bed, hed be in the kitchen or bathroom in the hallway and Id wait until he came back in the apartment.
After a few ta ps on the window, Mike would normally wake uplook once or twice to see if it was me (who else), rub his eyes, look surprised and open the window (the few times he didnt his father or mother would say, your buddys at the damn window again, cant he use the door for godssake!) and hed get dressed, and wed go running off to the wild-blue-yonder again: which was really some place, any place throughout the city of St. Paul, Minnesota. And accordingly thats how it was: we were both impatient, and waiting to be teenagers. And then when we were, well, thats another story.
Written 2002/revised 8/2005
In Spanish
Translated Nancy Penaloze
La Repisa
[1957 Fue durante este tiempo cuando yo venia para visitar a Miguel Reassert, sobre todo en los veranos, pero todo el ao principalmente (yo tena diez aos aquel entonces, Miguel tena nueve aos). A veces era temprano por las maanas y yo lanzaba piedras en su ventana para despertarlo, pero Miguel nunca se despertaba tan fcil. Ah no, no era tan simple, l dorma como una vieja roca, similar a un anciano que se queda dormido y necesita un puetazo a la cabeza para despertarlo, o dos o tres; en general, Miguel nunca tena un tiempo difcil para dormir seguro. l tena una cama cerca de una ventana, y ellos tenan una habitacin de apartamento, es decir, haba dos camas a un lado de la habitacin, una cuerda que divide a Miguel de sus padres, y una manta usada como un divisor. As, Miguel dorma al lado derecho de la manta, y sus padres unos pies ms lejos, ms all de la manta, contra la pared. Haba una pequea cocina separada, con una mesa de esquina, el espacio para sentarse dos personas, una en cada esquina. Y en la habitacin principal haba un viejo sof, un cenicero levantado, y un televisor blanco y negro.
Como estuve a punto de decir: pero en aquel entonces tampoco yo tena un tiempo dificultoso para dormir, supongo, con toda la energa que nosotros tenamos l y yo, dormamos bien cuand o venia la noche; s, ah, s, ejercamos nuestra energa en nuestras aventuras diarias, era esto una maravilla donde encontrbamos todo aquel vigor en primer lugar.
De cualquier modo Y poda-despus de que haber lanzado la piedra-Yo me imagino, yo quizs debera lanzar otra piedra; si lanzar otra piedra, pero yo siempre estaba un poco temeroso, yo podra romper la ventana - en consecuencia, me dije: Vaya: Plan B 1 - s de verdad, y es lo que hice, la mayor parte de las veces. Y entonces yo iba a travs de la puerta delante del edificio, suba las tres escaleras a prisa, precipitndome por los vestbulos, abra unas puertas ms en el camino, entonces la luz persegua el oscuro camino-. (Haba un olor plido, como olor de humedad en el edificio, como si tuviesen libros mojados de una poca lejana dentro de all durante cien aos y as, y cuando ellos se haban secado, ellos haban olvidado algo; el olor me molesta, todava, de algn modo me fui aclimatando a esto- de alguna forma ; di go, casi me hice inconsciente a este proceso de aclimatacin - como fue posible, no s, o quizs lo s, es decir, alguien que puede trabajar en un matadero, como hice algunos aos ms tarde, y no oler el ptrido de esto, se ha aclimatado al mximo: entonces es creble. Entonces yo poda abrir la ventana al final del vestbulo, en el tercer piso, cerca al apartamento de Miguel, pasando por alto el basurero. All, all a su derecha haba una repisa, una fuerte, no fuerte, una amplia y pesada clase de repisa, no demasiado inquietante, y entonces yo me trepaba sobre ello, donde estaba la ventana de Miguel, y la cabeza de Miguel estaba usualmente por la ventana; o bajo sus cubiertas, y yo normalmente poda decir su forma, as l no estuviera en la cama, l estara en la cocina o el cuarto de bao en el vestbulo y yo esperaba hasta que l volviera al apartamento.
Despus de unos tropiezos sobre la ventana, Miguel normalmente despertaba, daba una mirada encima un par de veces para ver si era yo (quin ms), frotando sus ojos, miraba sorprendido y abra la ventana (las pocas veces que l no lo hizo, su padre o madre decan, tu compinche en la maldita ventana otra vez, no puede l usar la puerta por providenciabien! ) y l se vesta, y nosotros nos escapbamos hacia el salvaje azul all otra vez: que era realmente algn lugar, cualquier lugar en alguna parte de la ciudad de Saint Pal, Minnesota. Y en consecuencia esto es como era: ambos ramos tan impacientes, y esperando ser adolescentes. Y luego cuando nosotros fuimos, bien, esto es otra historia.
Escrito 2002/revisado 8/2005
Poet/Author Dennis Siluk, see his website for books and travels at: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com or go to http://www.amazon.com
Author:: Dennis Siluk
Keywords:: Sketch
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