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letra de volcanoes - charles curtis trio

we drove out to tempe, arizona
to ride the waves at big surf
big surf is the world’s largest, artificial wave facility
i am not the greatest surfer, but in california i had learned out a quick technique
i had a grasp of takeoff, and bottom turn
and i had once hung five
i would not have made it at makaha beach or waimea bay, but i felt i was ready for tempe
the construction was that of an oval-shaped, man-made lake with a high concrete wall towards one end
this wall has a commanding, and nearly awe-inspiring aura
and the vast volume of water bеhind this wall, untold thousands of gallons, is flushed under the wall through a long aparturе at the lake bottom by a gigantic plunger
the water rears up at the lakes surface, transformed into a breaker
the surfers and their colorful trunks, hunched over their little vessels, huddled in the shadow of the wall
they wait, in sublime antic-p-tion of the wave
which the administrators of big surf proper punctually every twenty minutes
we browsed about the concession stands where all sorts of beach devices are sold
we searched for the surf board rental stand
the beach front was crowded, and if the waves are artificial, well, the beach scene is every bit authentic
hyperactive children, iced chests, portable radios, filthy sand, umbrellas, blankets, teepees, tanning maidens, muscle men
i was disappointed that the real fiber glass surf boards, the stand-up type, were not available for rental
only the soft, foam boogie boards which are rode on your stomach
i was familiar with these through surfing periodicals
i stood before the rental agent as my friend fished for his wallet
thinking back to the old inflatable canvas rafts
as children, we had ridden our first waves on canvas rafts
before paddling out, i waited to watch one wave roll through
several of the surfers had wipe outs, and with the crowd and the splashing foam, the main impression was of a kind of ecstatic chaos
a wave, i thought, is surely one of natures most beautiful creations
i had a good ride, coming straight in ahead of the white water
pr-ne out, flat on the little raft, with my fingers over the front edge, elbows tucked in under my chest
you know, we made a detour via pensacola, florida to not miss out on it’s celebrated aquarium
the aquarium is built right out into the gulf coast waters of pensacola beach
the main fish tanks are below the ocean surface, and this has the advantage of providing a totally natural environment for the fishes
the above water portion resembles a modernistic pavilion like a flying saucer or a sp-ce station
you walk out over a long pier, for maybe fifty yards, to where the giant concrete disk, with tubular periphery, hovers over the placid green ocean
the pier is lined with kiosks, vending fish posters, sailors caps, seash-lls, instant seahorse pellets and envelopes, dioramas
inside we were struck by the coolness of air conditioning and the moody aquamarine lighting
immediately, we felt like fish
you can walk around the tubular corridor past small, subtly-illuminated tanks of goldfish, starfish, crabs, pr-ngs, miniature turtles, and other of the more decorative fish species
each of the lower levels is lit in it’s own distinctive lighting
the first in a bright, piercing green
the next, hot neon pink
third, an intense, bright blue
and at the bottom, deep purple
here at the lowest level is the collection which constitutes pensecola’s claim to marine biological importance
a selection of shark varieties, which surpasses those of the worlds first aquarium
here, the harmless whale shark dallies in his very own tank
the sand shark is representing the great white, the tiger, hammerhead, basking, blue-eyed thresher, dogfish, saw tooth, h-rned, and gray shark, as well as every other known variety
i found it hard to get used to the purple lights, though
also, my companion had just told me more or less her entire life story
i couldn’t concentrate on the sharks so we caught the next elevator back up to the hot pink level
this level seemed to have an emphasis on jellyfish and portuguese man o’ war
i let my mind wander
in the pink light it was easy to forget one was in an aquarium
one might have been in some undefined sphere in which many tentacled beings hovered in the green shadows
my companion, who’s blue jeans positively glowed in the pink light, seemed reflective too
she studied the jellyfish silently
the jellyfish studied her
now, we wanted to hit buchanan with its magnificent mini-golf course
it was said to be the largest, and most difficult in the world
a major tournament was underway, which we were lucky to still get tickets for
ticket holders were allowed to play on the course in the evenings after the pros were done
a sign at the entrance claimed this is the course where jack nicklaus got his start
the course is situated on a man-made mountain overlooking the freeway, which has been done up as a mock volcano
from the opening at the top, steam emerges every twenty minutes, and flashing lights just inside the opening simulate the flames of an eruption
rivulets leading down from the sun room and finding their way between pudding holes, and laid with florescent black lights, suggesting lava
best of all, at night, the multi-colored lamps illuminating the whole course, switch to strobes at the moment of eruption
each strobe is set to a slightly different frequency, and you get the feeling that the mini-golf course is taking off
and you with it
no doubt this makes for a brilliant view for night-time freeway travelers

spokane, washington was our next destination
we had run about the panorama movie theater on the grounds of the world expo ’74
we were interested in experiencing flight simulation, and the other true-to-life effects which it was famous for
they were known to show films of sp-ce travel, motorcycle stunts, hang gliding, sky diving, mountain climbing, skiers, hydrofoil races, helicopter rescue missions, surfers filmed from within the wave
the panorama theater is a huge orb built right into a preexisting hill
it looks ultra-modern
like a planetarium, it has rows of seats all the way around and the movie projector stands in the middle pointing up
each seat is equipped with a padded neck support, so that you can look up all the time
this film was called “to the limit” and it dealt with rock climbing
you got to feel what it was like to be perched on the sheer edge of yosemite’s el capitan
or to sleep hanging on the cliff on overnight climbs
we were familiarized with pitons, winches, joists, ropes, spikes, sticky substances for hand adhesion, the most effective footwear
and finally the actual climb commenced and the view to surrounding pinnacles against the dawn sky was majestic
the camera swung around and took in the drop to distant chasms
and again, the sheer rocks stretching up the blue
the climber was all alone
the music became sp-rs-r and sounds of scr-ping, hammering, grunts, and heavy breathing took its place
there were some close calls and finally, what everyone was waiting for, a loud scratch and free fall into the void
you would’ve thought the entire panorama theater was plunging towards the distant camp grounds
every spectator let out a scream, and my girlfriend had a nervous crying fit
it occurred to me that this was like simulated mass suicide
as we left, someone in the exit line was saying how real it was
the guy with her agreed, “just like real life”
i thought about this, i thought, i’m never going to climb a cliff or hang from a rope
in a way, for me, it was more real than real life, if you look at it in a certain way
outside, the sun seemed terribly bright
a little town in california, called solvang, is known as the world capital of pea soup
it is in the pretty coastal scenery in the north of santa barbara
you’ll know you’re there when you see a colossal statue, maybe fifty feet high, showing a roly-poly cook swinging a hammer over a pea
the pea itself is as large as a giant sized globe, and this indicates the proportions of the entire monolith
it is solvang’s tribute to pea soup, and next to it, nestled in the soft green hills of the coastal range, is the famous pea soup restaurant on which solvang’s reputation rests
in the lobby they have a pea soup store in which you can buy every conceivable product relating to pea soup, primarily the cans of the house brand pea soup
the hostess seated us
we each ordered a dish of pea soup with croutons and relaxed before driving onto other world capitals

- charles curtis trio

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