Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Queer Kid and Slug Take Road Trip


On Sunday morning (July 16), Fosco began his One-way Transcontinental Road Trip Extravaganza. From Michigan to California--all on Interstate 80 (which shadows the Union Pacific Railroad).

BUT HE IS NOT ALONE!

Fosco's carriage is crowded with entities (although none of them actually currently living), including:


  • A UC Santa Cruz banana slug named Wlad (see above picture). While Fosco provides witty observations about the countryside, Wlad will mostly provide secretions.
  • The immense geologic knowledge of essayist John McPhee, contained in his four books collected as Annals of the Former World. In these books, McPhee explores the geology of America along Interstate 80. Much of this drive will pass as a conversation between Fosco and McPhee.
  • The fictional shades of Humbert Humbert and his Lolita. As the ur-chronicler of the American Road Trip, Humbert will be present with Fosco at each outpost of Americana. And although Fosco has neither access to a sexually precocious pre-teen nor the inclination to fondle one, Lo will still haunt the drive as a reminder of the erotic energies that the open road can foment.
  • And, of course, the final phantom guest in the carriage is... you. And, as a reader separated from Fosco by distance and time, this blog becomes the record of our trip together...

"I am thinking of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets, the refuge of art. And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my Lolita."


So please check back here for Fosco's progress. You might also read some informative facts about our American Nation!

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