ATDTDA (17): Fickle Creek (462.21)

Mon Sep 3 18:30:52 CDT 2007

Well,  I think the name "Fickle Creek" certainly suits the place. 
First clue that this is not for reals (in some sense of the term) is 
that Frank hits the pass at the summit.  Now what kind of pass goes 
over the summit?  Or - conversely,  what kind of summit is it that 
needs a pass?   (Nochecitas music here  - twilight zone)  But it's 
just one more line to cross,  I guess,  another case of  borderline.

And right near this little "Fickle Creek" town  is the Hotel 
Noctambulo  (night walker / sleepwalker)  which is full of insomniacs 
and motorcycle buffs (a club)  and "cowboy poets"  (again) and a few 
odd inventors working on projects.   Also in residence is a creepo 
named  Zoltan,  a Zorro-like vampire who steers clear of crosses and 
mirrors and who has "spells."

So down the stairs comes Stray who is apparently now some kind of 
married  - or at least  'it almost seems as though'  she is,   what 
with the "line of well-wishers" to bid her "adios."    Hubby/lover is 
a motorcycle buff whose name is Vang Feely which sounds  creepy like 
another  vampire.   I think this Nochecitas  (twilight zone)  area is 
one of dim light where things are not necessarily what they seem to 
be - .   Stray is certainly not what Frank was romantically imagining 
back in .

  "Fickle Creek" is a very appropriate and imo, sympathetic,  name for 
a little river of life (?) town.  (sorry - had to do it)

Fickle:  erratic:  liable to sudden unpredictable change; "erratic 
behavior"; "fickle weather"; "mercurial twists of temperament"; "a 
quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly 
fragile the next."  

(This is Stray and Zoltan for sure, maybe some others there.)

Creek:  body of water that's smaller than a river but bigger than a 
brook.  It has a current.  It may dry up - especially in New Mexico.

And somehow I'm put in mind of ...

Hotel California  (Eagles)

  On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'this could be heaven or this could be hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the hotel california
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the hotel california
Any time of year, you can find it here

Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the captain,
'please bring me my wine'
He said, 'we haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the hotel california
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the hotel california
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'we are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'relax,' said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!

***
Bekah
(maybe more in a sec)

At 1:02 PM -0700 9/3/07, Mark Kohut wrote:
>Sometimes a cigar, etc......
>
>let's not overlook the word "fickle"!!...esp in this chapter.
>
>Tim Strzechowski <dedalus204 at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
>Truth be told, this one gave me some difficulty. The Pynchon Wiki 
>doesn't offer any information on this, and I could not locate a 
>"Fickle Creek" in New Mexico. Anyone have better info on this?? Any 
>New Mexicans out there?
>
>Ne'ertheless, it's apparently known for its eggs (i.e., in North 
>Carolina, not New Mexico):
>
>
>"Standing in front of the Weaver Street Market egg case, I ruminated 
>on the varieties of eggs -- from the lowest-priced traditional white 
>eggs from conventionally raised, confined chickens at Latta's Egg 
>Ranch to the most costly speckled, variegated eggs from free-range 
>chickens raised outdoors on bugs and corn at Fickle Creek Farms.
>For the past 10 years I've mostly eaten from the middle of the road: 
>moderately expensive cage-free eggs from Latta's. That's my 
>compromise between price, cruelty and ostensibly gastronomic 
>quality." [...]
>
>http://www.chapelhillnews.com/108/story/6046.html
>
>http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/435306.html
>
>
>
>
>Be a better Globetrotter. 
><http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48254/*http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/_ylc=X3oDMTI5MGx2aThyBF9TAzIxMTU1MDAzNTIEX3MDMzk2NTQ1MTAzBHNlYwNCQUJwaWxsYXJfTklfMzYwBHNsawNQcm9kdWN0X3F1ZXN0aW9uX3BhZ2U-?link=list&sid=396545469>Get 
>better travel answers from someone who knows.
>Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.
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