Catalina Islander winter 2013/spring 2014

http://www.thecatalinaislander.com/author/natalie-graham

articles in the Catalina Islander paper

Stamford Looks in

Stamford was standing in the bushes staring through the window at his empty living room. It looked good from here, so good that he spent a quarter of an hour admiring the silent room.
"Damn!" He cursed softly to himself. Than he extracted himself from the bushes and went inside.
Silence greeted him and he felt let down. Outside the living room had been an expression of contentment but inside, inside it was only empty space. Sure, there was a tasteful pottery barn couch and a subtle mix of both reproduction and antique furnishing, but, something was missing.
Stamford went back outside and stood in the bushes. Oh, yes! The  afternoon light was slanting and creating warm squares on the floor,  the entrance of the hallway coquettishly suggesting even deeper domestic contentment's.
"What am I missing?" Stamford asked allowed.
Just than the bushes rustled and he was joined by his massage therapist.
"Ready to release some toxins from your muscles?!" She cried.
"I guess so, go ahead and get set up. I am going to ask that you set up the table in front of this window." Stamford gestured at the window. " "After I see that you are all set up I will come in, make sure to set up right in front of the window so I can watch."
The massage therapist departed. Stamford hoped that watching her set up the massage table would deepen his enjoyment of his living room. If he saw equipment being set up occupying space, and than, and than walked in and began to use the equipment,maybe, there would be some type of payoff, emotionally speaking.
The massage therapist, for her part, effortlessly unfolded and draped the table. She set out towels. Than she turned, smiling, towards the large bay window.
The smile was not reciprocated by Stamford, he sighed, and made his way towards his double pine front door.
 Once inside he undressed quickly and lay on his stomach on the table as the massage therapist worked on his shoulders he tilted his head towards the bay window. Here in his tasteful living room with toxins escaping his muscles the leafy shrub looked enticing.
"That window, whatever side of it I am on, I long to be on the other side."
"Shh," responded the massage therapist. Soon Stamford slept.
*******************************************
The next morning found Stamford standing in the bushes, this time in the side yard, gazing at his bedroom.
"It looks good" Stamford said out loud. His next door neighbor joined him in the bushes.
"So Stamford, wanted to ask you, were you standing here early, like three in the morning."
"Probably" Stamford answered still gazing in the window.
"Yeah, well, its freaking my kids out, do you think...."
"Screw your kids, okay, your kids freak me out with their high pitched screeches and tiny hands, i didn't buy a house with a side yard to NOT stand in my fucking side yard."
"Rude, you are a rude man."
"I am a man standing on his own property minding my own business, you came into my side yard and told me how to live my life."
"I wasn't trying to tell you how to live your life, I was hoping if you knew that you were frightening my children you would confine your standing in your side yard to daylight......"
"I will confine nothing, good day to you sir."
The neighbor departed. Stamford stood in his side yard awhile, but,  the neighbor had stolen something from him, it wasn't fun anymore. He stretched and casually made his way into his house.
Once inside he grabbed the keys to his eggplant P.T cruiser and went for a drive. He felt dissatisfied, he craved a bit of distance from his house.He drove for several hours when he grew tiered he pulled into a days inn parking lot.
Stamford strolled into the office.
"yes, I need a room with a big window that I can stare through, I am going through something."
"of, course we can accommodate you, Sir, I have just the room for you."
"Indeed," cried Stamford he was deeply moved by the hotels receptionist.
"Do you have any baggage?" He asked.
"Not the kind you pack things in."
"I see, your room is up those stairs to the left, there is a balcony so you can  turn around and stare at the room through the slider.
******************************************************************


 Stamford's room was tops. There was a cement balcony with a large sliding glass door that he could stare through. Something about being able to slide the door open and step immediately inside was a deeply  satisfying experience.
"All windows should be sliding glass doors, even small windows could be tiny sliding glass doors!"
He stood around on the balcony looking back into the room for some time. It was so tidy and generic. What life was anticipated here? The compact wet bar,  the neat white blanket. The art! Oh the innocuous prints of plants and apples, nothing was upsetting or bold. His favorite thing was the narrow one drawer table/desk. Elegant in a pool of yellow light, erect in anticipation of the emails that would be sent and received there.
 The sun was sinking below the horizon.
The terror!
  On the balcony next store a young woman came outside.
"Would you like to have a drink with me" Stamford asked the young woman
"I am fifteen, I am here with my parents."
"So, no?" Stamford asked, the young girl sighed and stepped through the clear glass portal into the room she shared with her parnets.
Stamford slid open and closed the sliding glass door, so quiet on its runner it bothered no one.
And so the night passed.................................

Collection of Early short stories on kindle mostly written in Texas from the mudjob website

http://www.amazon.com/Have-Fun-Time-Natalie-Graham-ebook/dp/B00KB6WFHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400690702&sr=8-1&keywords=have+a+

EuroSexual

Eurosexual..... the word i invented for men who I can not tell if they are gay because they are from Europe

 I encounter this on cruise ship days at work when there is a huge influx of people and men will come into my work and be really friendly with me, it sort of feels like flirting, but there is something off about it, and I am not sure
Here is to you Eurosexual man asking me how I like living on the island and if we have the Pink t shirt in an extra large
thanks for injecting mystery into my work day

Sexy Asshole, a good name for a Perfume

Perfume called "Sexy Asshole...."

Camp Holler Blog/ tumbler/ Julio's plaything

http://hollerpresents.tumblr.com/post/82103460941/if-you-were-julios-plaything-you-would-be-home-by-now

link to Julio's plaything story on camp holler blog/ tumbler

Before the high five/ pre-high five medieval art

awkward moment before the high five was invented

Saying Yes to life.......but it is saying NO!!! 2 me

Ra since 5,000 B.C.........Ensuring the sun rises

he does so much for you........

http://www.egyptartsite.com/ra.html

Lets all remember to thank Ra or Re

Every night Ra or Re carries the sun through the under world and than makes sure it rises....without him the planet would go dark and life would dry up....  When you feel the life giving warmth of the sun remember who your daddy is

Calling colors what they are

When you think about it...................
 pink is really light red
grey is really light black
lavender is really light purple ( that one is already done, feel like I have heard people say light purple

so  pink has this feminine association but if dudes want to wear it.... it is a pretty color..... than they could say
"It is not pink, its a masculine light red" 

Downtown Avalon. March 29th motherfucker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

front street is teaming with transitory people
families renting houses in the flats
couples
bachelorette parties
dead cell phones and over priced
sundries



and there is a softness
in the sea air
and you can not know how it has driven me
my hole life
how deep...deep...
deeper than your everything
it lifts me up
and it is love
can you feel what I feel?
The summer is coming and
my soul is summers kingdom
it has been laying in wait
and now joy has arrived
feel me
feel it inside me if you want to
all you have to do is take it
do you have the guts?
nah...........................................................
the sea, the sea air it never ever leaves me
and to be without it is to be dead
everything is alive
every moment
every action
that is a truth

feel it
feel the night lay down on this little sea side town

and nothing can change me
i exist
I FUCKING EXIST
I want to scream into the future
I may be dead now, but



I WAS ALIVE!!!!!!!!

now i walk
up Sumenr Avenue for parliments
cut through tour plaza to buy
wine for the neighbor
Catalina Avenue
and i can see all the people who do and do not want me
and none of it matters
it wont be long now
it is almost time to swim
to be gleefully lost..........

New York, Chicago, Los Angles
all your filthy proud cities
looking down on the boredom of small town life
you know nothing
nothing of the simple peace that comes
from divine boredom

don’t condescend to me about culture

how much more alive are you than me?

on this island on this rock
i am wearing a blue dress and my shoes are only half on
after the Lobster Trap, I walk across the street
and there I am 

Pamela Downing

Thursday March 20th downtown
Pamela Downing refused to either confirm or deny if spring had, in fact, sprung

Link to story posted at everyday-genius

http://www.everyday-genius.com/2014/03/natalie-c-graham.html

Mortuary temple of Queen Hapshepsut

Look at this guy

Bougainvillea

always thought Bougainvillea would make a great name for a stripper

How to make misreable, fun/ opening scene of a movie

 The causation of the writing of an article about a local point of interest.
Or,
How to make miserable fun and handle shit at the same time.( wink wink the  things that really need to be handled....................)

Opening scene: a naked woman sitting on the  floor of an empty apartment. Next to her is a fish bowl with a over sized sickly looking koi fish, she glances at the bowl again and again as she mumbles softly into a cell phone. 

The scene is viewed silently no noise than all at once, sound, and the camera zooms in on her mouth and hears her voice which is low, she is arguing with some one about dates and times she whispers ferociously into the phone..

"yes, but you said it would be Wednesday....now its Thursday, you are  so insensitive"

the camera backs out and the sound goes off again and than comes back on and the sound of a  frenzied desperate swimming  overwhelms the ear. 

that sound stops and normal audio begins to roll, whatever the normal sound that movies make

The naked woman stands up and speaks,  tossing the cell phone aside she says

"well, now all my dreams are dead I might at well write the newspaper article."