Chapter 15: where kandido meets V Rex that shows him the street artist life.

It's 1 am. Kandido is sitting on the broken sofa writing his daily
notes. V, alias Rex, enters with his folder of paintings under his arm
and sits in front of him.
" I'm tired to fight" he starts. " Today
two guys tried to thumb me. I don't even understand the reason. I'm
trying to be nice with everybody..."
V has beautiful smile. that helps him to sell his works. but his look sometimes is sad. he has wrinkles around his eyes like he has 10 years more: marks of a hard
life kandido thinks
" Let's have a beer!" Kandido proposes with a big smile. So the two starts to navigate through the empty streets looking for an open liquor store. After wandering for nearly an hour they find Ralph: 24h open supermarket.
They take few beers and walk back.
"you know, one month ago i was in SF. I was cryin every nights. None was interested in my works. I had problems with my girlfriend too... don't know why... i didn't
know what to do... i found a lift for LA and i took it... without any
ideas about... the girl that was driving, decided that the right place
for me was here.. she found hostel too... and here i am! here everything was the best... i sold many drawings... many people was interested in my works.. for tattoos, for lamps... they invited me over in parties to sell my stuff. the only problem is that here, in the hostel, none like me... they call me "the artist"... maybe they are envious because i starting having success... but they don't know... i slept on the street... some days i didn' eat properly... just now the situation turned...
I needed this beer, and talking with someone friendly. it7s my lucky
moment. tomorrow i have to go to a club and a women propose to give me
proper cloths... but you know sometimes i feel lonely.. i nee d to talk...
you know, kandido. look at the people on the street, look at young artists like me... we are pushed to bleed. we don't fit the system of of produce and consume so they oblige us to die on the street." he lighted a cigarette. "2 hours for a beer. it sounds crazy but I'm happy now"
The day after, after the sunset V come back at the hostel. since he was there everyday he went to see the sunset on the beach.. to meditate he says.
"hey man, you can't believe
what happened to me today. a woman, a palm reader, watched me in the
eyes and read my life. she explained me all the things are happening
and then she gave me a ticket for Florida... you know... i was planning to go there ... and she knew it." he showed to kandido a long ticket. 21 stops.long as a　toilet paper. "maybe there i can start something more concrete!"
"When do you go to the club?"
"the lady that was supposed to give me the cloths got sick... so i don't know"
"i can lend you a pair of pants and a sweater.. if you want. they are black. black as a crow... but they can fit you"
"am i asking too much... do you have a pair of socks?"
"take them. They are Ｉｎ　the back back!"
V tries on them. he wis looking cool. then he put his hat with the fresh yellow rose. "what do you think?"
"perfect you look a real artist now!" kandido replies laugthing!
the day after V proposes kandido to go with him in another club in Hollywood. "i got free entrances!"
"do you need some clothes?"
"it will be great, and what about you . you have 2 pairs of pants."
"hey man. I am italian. even dressed badly, i will always be fashionable by definition!"
The party is a R&B and rap. it was crazy like the musical video you can see on MTV by rappers. women nearly undress that shake all the things they have!! V is walking thorough
the rooms with his paintings on the arms and wearing a big smile. he is
looking like the girls on the pauses of a box match. "life is mad,
isn't it?"
"of course it is. that's the fun!" then, 2 hours to go back in the cold cold night. the man next to kandido has weirds marks his skin. a sickens "have you seen? leprosy." kandido whispers. "this sickness i always thought it belongs to only poor countries.."
"that's america, man. too many rich men and too many poor, really poor!"

the day after kandido leaves the hostel early, to take the airplane to tokyo.
before going to bed, he leaves under the V's bed, the pants, a　sweater and the Californian camouflage jacket given by ladybird. "i got too much with me. i hope he will be happy about."

Chapter 14: GP teaches Kandido courage and remind him the taste of italian coffee

Kandido is sitting at the table sipping his coffee: long and tasteless. GP enters and starts to make his coffee with an italian moca.
'sei italiano?' kandido asks. GP smiles: 'yes! i can't drink the coffee here. My mother send me the moca, but i can't find the right coffee. want some?'
'Certo!' kandido smiles too throwing away his coffee.

GP left italy few months before with no money and without speaking any english at all. 'if i manage to spend two dollars per day i can stay here other two month...
In the meantime i clean the hostel and they give me free food and a bed to sleep... so i can learn english.' GP has a generous smile so people is patient with him.
One night GP shows kandido few short movie he made in italy. 'I got dream: working in the motion picture industry. I would like editing movies'
His movies are good. They have a nice rhythm, very american, pleasant to watch.
'as soon i learn english i'll try to find a better job and a night course for editing. You know, here it's not easy. But in Italy i didn't have any chances. the area where i am from, my family is very close... it is difficult to do something different there!'
'i still don't understand much americans. They looks like their food: like their pizza or coffee. Human relations are like their coffee: pleasant, nice... you can drink many cups but they are not passionate nor strong like italian coffee. I like their pizza: a lot of topping, many flavours... but you miss the real taste. everything is mixed up... and too much... to much at the end you don't taste something but too many things... you lose the taste for simple things. And you know... this is crazy... when i prepare something for them... maybe something delicate... they put always on top a red hot spicy sauce from Thailand. THAT'S HIDES EVERYTHING!!! I love spicy food too but sometimes you should appreciate the composition of some delicate flavours... that's good cooking about!'
When kandido leaves GP hugs him. Kisses him. like areal italian mafioso.
"Good luck GP. you deserve it! you are a brave heart!"

Chapter 13: Hotel California. that's the placewhere young dreamers goes.

The Venice beach Hostel windows are in The Venetian style. Venice in italy! when you enter it looks like any other hostel: dormitory with ten beds, a small kitchen, and a living room with broken sofas. people instead is very colorful and young:
an old dutch woman, that has left his family for a month for travelling without money, trying to sell her watercolor paintings.she has bright eyes when she speaks. she light a cigarette and she says that cigarettes help focusing the attention but they close the heart to the beauty around. Now she is needing one. 'One a day is enough' Then there are few young writers, a man that want to produce movies and one who writes screenplays. Kandido meets also V and GP. V and GP merit a chapter each.
Hostel for dreamers should be written on the entrance door. kandido found his place.

Chapter 12: Where Kandido ends up to sleep with the homeless on the beach

'L.A. is dangerous' The old Philippine woman is telling to Kandido in the train. 'Everyday, somebody dies on the war between gangs. Africans, against Latinos. It is not safe at night there...'
Kandido listens carefully the old woman supporter of Bush. She found money and a house in US. Now she doesn't want to lose everything. She is scared about the Muslims. She want Bush to protect her and her family. Kandido this time doesn't speak. The old woman is nice with him. She offers a lot of chocolate and water. and when she smiles the eyes becomes really small.
Los Angeles is a wide city. Kandido doesn't like cities that can't be measured by his foot step. When he arrive he starts to walk towards downtown:　Broadway hides behind steel and glass buildings. But it's not the Broadway he imagined. famous for the theaters. It is a mexican road where even to find an American coffee is difficult.
He doesn't have left money, nor cigarettes, nor any ideas where to sleep. The only ones who speaks with him are the tramps on the road. They beg for money. and kandido talks with them. he is assailed by fears as soon the night black curtain falls.Few days before is was threatened by a man with a gun on the street. just for his empty wallet. that experience marked him. The voices of the girls resound in his mind "In US is very easy to find a gun". And they messed up with what the old woman said him in the morning. "In LA people kill for nothing!"
At the end he takes the bus for the only place he knows: Venice Beach. "It's better sleeping at the beach than here".

The Venice Beach he finds looks like Disneyland at night: worrying and scaring. Everything is empty and desolate. Only tramps stumbles around... Then he hears the beats of some drums. he starts to follow them. many drums are playing on the beach. an old man tells him that every sunday it is like that for the past 40 years... and every sunday he is there for playing his maracas. A flute chisels notes on the air. People is dancing around a small fire. Kandido feels safe. So he starts to look for a place where to sleep. The best ones are occupied by the tramps. On the road he found a paper bag with some left over croissants. "there is a heart in this place!"
At the and he finds a place next to a little concrete wall on the grass. The Dawn comes, scratching the dream crust from his eyes. he rises and he stretches: it was cold at night. the water sprinkles starts to water the grass. kandido smiles for the avoided shower. 'even the American coffee will taste good today'

Chapter 11: The dream on the bus

to be completed....
soon

Chapter 10: where kandido starts to have the feeling of being part of a great movie

(....sorry this post will be in italian.....)
Al Golden Gate park.
Un grosso ragazzo barbuto, con un cappellino nero chiede a Kandido se ha una cartina. "of course i've got it..." Risponde nel suo inglese smozzicato. Poi la montagna barbuta mormora qualcosa di incompresibile che kandido interpreta come un invito. Kandido ha voglia di comunicare. Di conoscere questi strani americani. e si siede volentieri. ogni sguardo e' buono per attaccare discorso. questo yeti arruffato inizia a parlare. non si presenta ne gliene frega niente del nome di kandido. intuisce che non e' americano ma non gliene importa piu' di tanto. "Hey man. io sono comunista, you know. facevo il programmatore poi ho deciso di voler cambiare il mondo e ora studio legge. you know man, che mio padre e' stato avvelenato da quello che gli americani scaricavano sulle foreste del vietnam. e' ritornato a casa ma poi si e' ammalato e dopo qualche anno e' morto. senza nessun aiuto da questa nazione. e cosi' io adesso vivo in uno squot. e studio per cambiare le regole... il comunismo... qui ci sono ricchi troppo ricchi e poveri troppo poveri..."
parla in continuazione, senza tregua non gli interessano ne domande ne interventi. Ogni tentativo di Kandido di dire la sua cade nel vuoto. Intanto il joint di pura erba e' finito. "i am stooooned, man..." e cosi' dicendo gli fa vedere sulla sua camera digitale il video che ha fatto entrando in autobus a SF. ogni tanto si vedeva la sua immagine riflessa sul vetro."cool man! questa citta' e' bella. guarda i ponti. questa citta' e' bella! e' unika in america!"
Poi passa una ragazzina sculettante. lui interpreta il suo sguardo e l'invita a fumare. Anche lei.. e' venuta da fuori per studiare a SF. e' impressionata che si possa fumare nel parco. non e' cosi' da dove viene lei. kandido non sopporta quel tipo di ragazze. cosi' se ne sta in silenzio ad ascoltare. Il gigante barbuto comunista inizia a raccontarle che fumare fa male. che per colpa del fumo gli e' venuta l'anemia. e poi una carenza polmonare e un giorno ha iniziato a starnutire cosi' forte che del sangue gli e' uscito dai polmoni e anche dei piccoli pezzi di carne. lo hanno trovato per terra in un bagno di sangue. ma era troppo tardi per salvarlo. gli hanno aperto le costole e strappato un pezzo di polmone... "i got a scar here... from here to here" diceva toccandosi il petto. "fumare fa male" la ragazza annuisce, appare dispiaciuta e con una scusa se ne va. " hey man, hai visto se l'he bevuta tutta! che ridere!"... poi e' arrivato un ragazzo con un cane. il ragazzo avevo 20 anni ma ne dimostrava 50. era tutto rugoso e la pelle era quella di un vecchio. aspira un tiro e se ne va. con il suo cane. soddisfatto.
Il comunista peloso rolla un'altra canna poi non contento blocca ogni passante chiedendo una pipetta. un piccolo uomo barbuto, con un cappello da elfo e l'aria spiritata annuisce. apre una sacca di tela che porta a tracolla e tira fuori l'occorrente. Inizia a raccontare che la prima volta che aveva fumato era stato al concerto di Santana 25 anni fa. poi zampetta. e saltella e racconta cose, di musica di quanto sia bella SF... kandido annuisce ma la sua testa e' gia' altrove. lui e' li al televisore. guarda come ha sempre guardato quello strano mondo americano. dallo schermo catodico. il suo compagno barbuto inizia a cantare una canzoncina sulla Mendocino's pie. Il luogo sulla costa claiforniana dove viene piantata di nascosto la marja. kandido si risveglia... "accidenti io li ci sono stato... e' dove abita il padre di Ladybird. in quella bellissima casa nella foresta di rewood trees. il padre di Ladybird... il pediatra che fuma weed... anche questa e' california".
L'elfo se ne va. fa troppo freddo all'ombra per lui. Arriva al suo posto un biondo ossigento e cotonato con tanto di cane biondo e cotonato. Si siede di fianco al barba-comunista e attacca discorso. cerca compagnia. kandido intanto e' invisibile. li, immobile, dall'altra parte dello schermo: nessuno lo puo' vedere. lui non fa parte del film. inizia a guardarsi in gioro e li riconosce tutti: il signor jefferson che si allene da solo a tennis per non fare brutte figure, gli studenti che corrono nel parco. i neri che fanno i duri e provano mosse di danza. ci sono tutti quei migliaia di personaggi con coi e' cresciuto da bambino. anche le ragazzine con i libri sotto il braccio che camminano nel campus, e i vecchietti e che fanno jogging... ci sono tutti in questo grande set cinematografico. l'orso della perestrojka, interrompe il delirio di kandido "hey man, quanti grammi?". "ops, forse non ci siamo capiti io non volevo comprare niente... sorry man!" "c'e' stato un problema di comunicazione..." Si alza e se ne va da due altri spacciatori, vestiti come cantanti heavy metal su skateboard. loro lo stavano aspettando. kandido capisce di non capire. "che succede?"
cosi' se ne sta la. seduto sulla panchina e prende coraggio. fra un po' tocca a lui andare sotto i riflettori. la camera riprendeva la strada di fronte. la luce e' perfetta. kandido prende la bici e con fare risoluto si incammina per entrare in scena..." ok ci sono... tranquillo tranquillo... cerca di sembrare naturale,non puoi sbagliare ne cadere..." kandido salta in bici e parte. si fa la sfilata. e poi si perde. vede una coppietta che cammina.. lui un nerd e lei carina che gli attraversano la strada. va a destra ... allarga e a destra ancora... percorso a spirale: la spirale si allarga e interseca prima o poi la strada che ti interessa... cosi' gli aveva insegnato quel saggio del Maestro Pangloss. mentre allaga la spirale vede ancora i due ragazzini e poi li vede ancora..." si vede che devono fare le comparse in piu' scene" si s[pega kandido. Poi sbaglia clamorosamente strada. la gente inizia a guardarlo con disapprovazione "accidenti, si vede che non so' ancora muovermi in questa citta' sono entrato per errore in qualche altro film". sbaglia ancora. la gente sembra infuriata con lui. lui alza le mani in gesto di scusa... "scusate sono nuovo". poi finalmente vede le bandiere arcobaleno. finalmete e' arrivato in un quartiere che conosce. Castro, il quartiere gay. Adesso respira sollevato, basta seguire i numeri delle strade in senso crescente fino ad arrivare alle 20Th street. "SF e' una citta' a prova di stupido, in qualsiasi condizione riesci a tornare a casa senza fare incidenti."
Appena entrato in casa il cane e il gatto gli sono addosso. kandido si nasconde sotto le coperte. non vuole piu' telecamere che gli rubino l'immagine "mi hanno gia' rubato le impronte digitali in america!" poi inizia a sognare che tutti gli americani sono stati attori. tutti hanno fatto una parte in un qualche film. come in un'altra vita. immagina Ladybird come eroina di un western, con la sua falcata da cowgirl."
Quando si risveglia racconta tutto alle sue amiche amerikane, Ladybird a alla Lady- doppia. " qui e' tutto come un film... finto...". " ti sbagli. loro hanno fatto i film con le nostre vite. adesso tutto il mondo ci vede e ci riconosce. le persone sono vere e' che tu le hai gia' viste in qualche film... come in un reality show che in america e' durato 80 anni".
Kandido si ricorda che per attaccare discorso l'orso di Palinkagrad cli aveva detto di averlo gia' visto in giro. " Chissa' in quale serial mi ha visto?" si domandava kandido. goose bump lungo la schiena!

Chapeter 9: where kandido experiments the acasual synchronization of the music he is listening and the landascape he is seeing

Kandido tries to explore the link between mood, feelings and perception.
he experiments if the particular mood a song can put him in can influence the way he see reality. So he took short movies keeping the soundtrack he was listening too.
here some example.

Chapeter 8:SF Skins. Where Kandido takes pictures of the messages of the city.

Kandido wonders."is this the way they communicate in SF? writing can be easier thna talking". He collected picture of skin drawings:
On the concrete on the sidewalks, on the wooden walls of the buildings, on people's flesh. tattoos, tags, murals are everywhere in SF and they reveal the soul of the community...

Chapter 7: where kandido learn how to make shopping is SF if you are poor.

Ladybird says to kandido: "the streets of SF are the best shopping place for free objects. i'll show you". out of the luxury sushi restaurant where they just came out, there are two big rubbish skips. Ladybird opens one and starts to pick up veggies from the inside. "this is till good, don't you think?" she says holding a beautiful red tomato. "oh my god! it is better than the ones i usually keep in my fridge!"
kandido jumped in too."it looks like wonderland. everything so good. why do they throw it away?". "a law..."
potatoes, onions, fresh lettuce, a mango... kandido starts to fill up his pocket with them...
on the road towards home there is the bag with the leftover from the coffee shops: slices of cakes and croissant... everything still fresh and good.
"...and that's just the beginning!" she smiles at him.
here it is the list of the things found on the road in few days:
- a pair of new socks ("exactly my size!" kandido delights)
- a wooden drawers as big and heavy as a coffin with the dead inside!
- a lamp from a coking stove (with a clock too!)
- a red cap ("perfect to look like an amerikan dude!")

and what about the electric toy piano that Aileen found? and the mattress along the streets and all the furniture pieces and mirrors...

In a place where objects reveal your richness... people tend to change them often so on the street it is easy to find many good things.
"i love San Francisco" screams kandido like a kid at Xmas!

Chapter 6: The shadowside of the street. where Kandido ends up hoping for a great revolution in US

"Follow me. I'll show you my favorite part of the town" Ladybird says to Kandido, looking at him with her transparent eyes. She brings him through demolished buildings and construction working areas. new buildings made of steel and glasses will rise there. A biker is training in a big empty area doings some circus exercises. standing on the bike, running on the back wheel, driving without hands and feet... "America is always surprising" Kandido smiles. then they arrive to a little channel where many floating houses are moored.
few little boats are sinking in the water like pirates relics. seaweeds are floating all around following the rhythm of the sea. Ladybird goes directly to a little boat house covered with animal skulls and horns.Inside Jack is living: an old man with sparkling eyes. "benvenuto italiano!" he says to Kandido.
Jack is a jazz player, a composer for trumpet. he belonged to the beautiful mad crew that made the 68 revolution, the revolutions that was suppose to change the world. Jack speaks about politics with hoarse voice but when he laughs all the house resound like a piano case. when they go away, Ladybird explains to kandido that everything is going to disappear eaten by the concrete. jack's floating island will be covered by new fashionable buildings.
- fade -out - black screen -
The Glide Methodist Church behind the Hilton Hotel.

a long and colorful queue of homeless is along the road. waiting for a warm meal. the sun is generous and heats them up, all layered covered like onions. men and women young and old. a whole humanity is there, screaming laughing crying.
- fade-out - black screen -
a tramp is staggering along the road. a long cigarette is hanging from his lips. the cloths are scummy and black. he gets closer to a window of a residential house, he squeezes hi eyes and he starts touching his long beard and fixing his hair with the hands. satisfied of the work he walks off smiling happily
- fade-out - black screen -
inside the homeless trolley there is everything: bags, blankets, clothes, a broom, some shoes, empty bottles, some books: tons of trash.

a tramp, big and hairy, is sitting in front of it. from inside a tin bin the head of a turtle pops out. a turtle can be a good companion. silent and it doesn't run away!
- fade-out - black screen -
something happened. an ambulance and two police patrols are there. a tramp crawling on his wheelchair is passing by, laughing and waving his arms crazily.as a miracle he stands, and starts pissing in front oif the police. nothing is better than a pee when you really need it. he gurgles.
- fade-out - black screen -
when you are busy surviving you are not aware of the others. people runs fast and nobody seems noticing all the things happening and dsappering. they don't notice them: the homeless. but they are everywhere. with their trolley full of trash that they use as houses. they are citizen of a nation that ignore them. but what can men do all alone? the Revolution should start from the hearts. from the consciousness of the others. the human empathy. you fight for someone when you become aware that the person next to you is part of your family, when you get aware that that person caught by the gearing of this system one day can be you! you lose your job and you can end up on the street.
the beautiful angels of Wim Wender are just beings that can feel other's thoughts. that makes them angels. when you hear other feelings and thoughts it is like open the heart eyes. and you becamoe an angel.
from there the Revolution should starts, from the the group consciousness, from the consciousness to belong to the same family.
Kandido starts wandering about all the people he sees everyday reading their political magazines and books on the table of the coffee shops. "rise the eyes from your book. i am here. try to talk with me. try to understand the person in front of you!" that's waht he would like to screem. but it is violence or it will be considered madness!
alone, everyone is condemned to loose. isolated person can only loose against the system. like in "battle royal" where everybody is busy fighting one against the other instead of joining their efforts to defeat the common enemy!
a young street artist once said to kandido: "they try to isolate us (the ones who don't fit in) in order to makes us weak and die at the streets borders! the gap is too wide open. it will be closed only by a violent revolution. again blood on the streets"
"... and what about the LOVE Revolution that started here...?"

Chapter 5: the sunny side of the street. where kandido finds colors, nice people and the warm of the music. the town where people smile

Every block in SF has its own coin laundry. when you're passing by you can smell it. kandido was glad of the smell that remind him home. people inside there, talk and read their magazines. it seem a sort of meeting place. so kandido took the decision that was time for washing his clothes (3 pants, 1 pair of trouser, a sweater and two pair of socks.)

a woman helps him with all the procedures: the washing pouder, the coin in the washing machine and then it's done. now you have to wait one hour. so kandido decided to have a coffee in the meantime. he found a little place full of colors with hundred of different coffee blends. he chooses the strongest one. an then he sited on a broken sofa in the corner. a young guy enters and starts playing a broken piano in the corner. he play for his pleasure: great.
"oh what a wonderful place, where people share his art for free!" time passes. one hour... one hour and half..."my god the washing!!!"
the machine terminated its cycle and it was waiting faithfully for him. he dries them and then walk off smiling. and people reply to his smile.
kandido wonders:"it will be good if men were like domino pieces and when hit one with a smile you make him smile too and then he makes another smile and so on till everybody will be smiling. i love this town where everybody is smiling and talks about politics"

Chapter 4: where kandido tries to decode the messages spreaded out in SF. But his mood changes what he sees.

San Francisco, 3 a.m.
the rain ticking on the roofs, the wind resounding in the bells hanging on the staircase. A dark shadow crosses the road on a bicycle. just a blue light that runs fast. the frying noise of the electrical cables and the roar of an airplane flying high.
where is the soul of this city? kandido wonders in pants outside the door. the cigarette burns quickly between the fingers. the cold night starts to crawls through his wet socks. so he start waving, rhythmically, like a preying monk. a circular movement, repetitive like a slow dance to the rhythm coming from outside world.
where is the soul of this city?
he looked all day long between his feet: reading the writings on the sidewalk. he took notes of all those messages. all kind of writings: mostly about love (asking, needing, offering..), then some about revolution (please shoot cops, impeach bush, anarchy etc.). here, the love revolution started in the '68. but every time he went in a a coffee shop or little restaurant he found only lonely people : everyone with his/her own magazine or book. everyone sited on his own table all alone or maybe communicating with the mobile with some far away. every so often they rose their eyes looking for something... but when he tried to communicate with an excuse they replied nicely but after they went back to their books.

the only one he had a talk with, was a Bolivian immigrate. she was dancing salsa and drinking margaritas. she was alone too in this big town and she stared to talk with kandido.
"aqui, todos ablan de dinero, nunca do amor. here they don't have passions. they are not pasionados como los latinos". she invited kandido to sleep at her place, but that night kandido had already where to sleep.
San Francisco show me your corazon! your soul! all day long he saw homeless wandering with their trolley full of trash and sleep on the corner of the streets in their scummy blankets.

it keeps on raining. all the roofs shines in the road lights. the noise of the brakes. a car stops and then goes.
when they were going back home they found in front of a coffee shop a bag full of leftover cakes. they are left there for the tramps. that was a love message too. very discreet but still a love message. there is a lot of love in this town, kandido thought, but it is like the grass between the concrete you see in the sidewalk.
good night SF, city of blind souls that try to meet each other. kandido waves his hand towards the light in the distance.
the candle he used for lighting the cigarette turns off for the wind: it was too fragile for such a night. someone cough in bed awaken by some bad nightmares.

Chapter 3: life like a movie? where Kandido enters in this great movie set called California and he dicovers how movies are deceiving, like dreams too

Scene 1: kandido and ladybird inside a car
the road runs endless in front of them. kandido has never saw a landscape so majestic and infinite like the desert.

In the morning they where in venice beach in LA. it was like being part of a movie. people muscling on the beach, black men rapping on the road, beautiful people skating or skateboarding. black people playing basket... everything reminded him a movie. and he was there.
but now he is in the desert. so different, another movie set: wild west one.
ladybird smiles looking at his surprised face.
"is it that surprising?"
"yes! for me it is. it always lived in my 14 inch TV screen. and now i can see it totally. movies are just few shots of the reality, they not represent it completely. but now i can see"

Scene 2: Trona village: the cemetery
Plastic flowers on the tombstones. every so often, few plastic toys, some empty whisky bottles. behind that a big white smoke column. a big mine industry on the background makes it. in town none hanging around. desolation. emptiness. relics of broken car on the road. relics of houses. relics of life.
"people still lives here, don't they?"
"they lives.... yeah maybe"




Scene 3: Nevada's glitters
Snow on the road side. not more than 3 hours before they where in the desert and now the landscape looks like the Alps: big pine trees, snow, mountains.
casinos along the road. lights and glitters.
"you know that here in Nevada we can get married in few minutes?"
"Cool, i always dreamed to get married in Nevada dressed like Elvis Presley."
"i'd like to dress like Elvis too"
"but you have hair on your chest!"
"i can shave some of yours and stick them on me"
"yeah it could be fun!"


Scene 4: Eldorado Saloon.
"what about spending the new year's eve getting drunk on the only pub of Eldorado?"
Two big billiard tables where in the middle of the room. few bikers, directly out from easy rider movie, are hanging there. tattooed, with long hair. a group is playing classical American rock songs. many people is dancing. Old fat women over sixty, big men, and a pretty blond girl red dressed like barbie at a party.
kandido and ladybird stand at the bar and start drinking whisky. on TV, behind the bartender football match is passing.
"we should go and see another place..."

Scene 5: new year's eve. Sacramento.
The pub has a long bar all across the room. few people is hanging drinking whisky. old people, people that didn't know where to go. few vets, a woman distributing paper hats,and trumpets. kandido and raven sit there and have few more drinks.
Midnight. the ritual kiss. some hugs. people is really friendly inised the pub, but you can't talk about politics, you can break the fragile snail shell they lives in. kandido missed this rule that night. the alcohol made him an idealistic philosopher, and shout against american wars.
"hey kandido, you shouldn't do that. people life is more important than ideas! be careful, don't break them..."


Scene 6: motorway to nowhere
On the radio the Wien new year's eve waltz. Strauss.
"in italy i used to listen to this concert every year. this is not possible! such a coincidence!"
"yeah, it is just a dream. you get from the reality the shots you prefer and you build up your own movie. this is called daydreaming, but can be called directing your own movie."
"and what 's gonna happen when i will wake up?"

Scene 7: inside the car, next to a little park
kandido feet are frozen. he can't feel them anymore. the position he was sleeping cut the blood circulation on the legs. now he can't sleep anymore.
"ahhhh. fucking cold reality!"