No, this post is not about rape, per se.  Other than to say I read another blog post about dolphin sex and free-falling from an airplane not long ago.  And not so long after that my friend, Peter, mentioned that Dolphins have a reputation for raping each other.  This caught my attention, so I did some digging and indeed it was confirmed in numerous articles, which also mentioned they will rape humans too, if given the chance.  I'm not sure that's really funny, but it makes me smile.  Dolphins are also descendants of wolves, apparently, and after having left the water, returned to it again.  This might explain yet another of the less-savory facts about dolphins: on occasion, they like to kill baby animals and toss them about for sport.  Which makes for another morbid, but humorous image.  Two dophins smiling and squealing as they play volleyball with a dead seal pup.  Gruesome.  Also funny.  I suppose my point is that dolphins, while it is still true they are cute and cuddly and skilled swimmers and rescuers of men and ships lost at sea, are also - shall we say - not exactly perfect adherents to their Disney-esque ideal.

So, anyway.  The Fourth of July!  

The posse headed down to Rockaway beach to play in the sun and water.  Nesha (our resident dance goddess) taught me how to do turns and splits and aeriels.  She stood on my shoulders and dove off into the waves.  At one point I was doing an underwater hand-stand and a wave caught my legs above the surface and knocked me off my balance.  My nose hit the sea bed below me.  Yes, it hurt.

"Excuse me, sir, you're bleeding!"  A very kind and concerned and bucksome Dominican woman swam over to me.  

"I know.  I can't do anything about that.  But thanks!"  

Later, Peter and Han and I stood in our circle in the water, entertaining Nesha with details of our new, soon-to-be world famous bubble-gum death metal band, DOLPHINS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

"We'll kill your babies and toss them around.  We'll kill your babies and toss them around.  Abalone death!  Abalone death!  Abalone death!"  I invented those genius lyrics right there standing in the ocean whilst Nesha rooted us on and Han wailed on an imaginary guitar and Peter made serious guttural grunting noises.  I've since explained to Peter (who, of course needed no schooling on this fact - as he IS a dolphin brother!) that 'abolone death' is essentially synonymous with the Klingon "kapla!"  (If you don't know - look it up.)

We surfed on the tide and lay in the sun.  Then we gathered our things and took the train back uptown for burgers and shakes which we ate at the base of the statue at Columbus Circle.  Then we rode farther uptown and watched from a bridge at Riverbank Park as they set off the fireworks.

It was a great day.  

Peter is leaving us to head off to lawschool so we're trying to cram in as much fun as possible before then.  A couple of nights before our beach day, all of us met at Bryant Park for an outdoor viewing of WIZARD OF OZ.

"I'm in it for the money," Peter tells me about lawschool.  "I've done idealism and now I want cash!"  Peter's morbid sense of humor clicks with mine without any need for explanation.  And, as long as we're on the idea of cash and OZ, I heard once that The WIZARD OF OZ is realy about returning to the gold standard.  What do you think of that idea?  Peter is following his golden road to legal plenty.

"Abalone death!  Abalone death!  Abalone death!"  This is my wish for him and all my dolphin brothers and sisters.

As to our beloved land, "Happy Birthday, USA!"  I love our country;  really I do.  I hope we can keep it.  "Abalone Death!" to you as well.

I realize this post is a bit half-baked.  I could mention a scene from Murakami's KAFKA ON THE SHORE as a clue.  In it, the protagonist, Kafka, has to smash a slimy, slug-like object with a stone in order to proceed on his journey.  

Here's another tidbit that I think goes nicely, if unevenly, with all of this.  It's a Dietrich Bonhoeffer quote I like a lot.  "The final obstacle to true Christian community is the inability to be sinners together."

Abalone Death!