Permanent Vacation

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Father Christmas

My name is

Aloysious Christopher Parker

and, if I ever have a son,

he'll be Charles Christopher Parker.

Just like Charlie Parker.

The people I know just call me Allie,

and this is my story -- or part of it.

I don't expect it to explain all that much,

but what's a story anyway,

except one of those connect the dots drawings

that in the end forms a picture of something.

That's really all this is.

That's how things work for me.

I go from this place, this person

to that place or person.

And, you know,

it doesn't really make that much difference.

I've known all different kinds of people.

Hung out with them, lived with them,

watched them act things out in their own little ways.

And to me...

To me, those people I've

known are like a series of rooms,

just like all the places where I've spent time.

You walk in for the first time

curious about this new room --

the lamp, TV, whatever.

And then, after a while,

the newness is gone,

completely.

And then there's this kind of dread,

kind of creeping dread.

You probably don't even

know what I'm talking about.

But anyway

I guess the point of all this is that

after a while, something tells you,

some voice speaks to you,

and that's it. Time to split.

Go someplace else.

People are going to be basically the same.

Maybe use some different kind of refrigerator or toilet

or something.

But this thing tells you,

and you have to start to drift.

You may not even want to go,

but things will inform you.

So here I am now in a place where I don't

even understand their language.

But, you know, strangers are still always just strangers.

And the story, this part of

the story, well,

it's how I got from there to here.

Or maybe I should say from here to here.

Where have you been?

I haven't seen you since Thursday.

Walking.

Just walking around.

I can't seem to sleep at night.

Not in this city.

Doesn't seem like you sleep at all.

Well, I have my dreams while I'm awake.

You know, sometimes I think

I should just live fast

and die young.

And go in a 3-piece white

suit like Charlie Parker.

Not bad, huh?

She has dropped a roll of

paper from her breast.

A stranger picks it up,

shuts himself in his room all night,

and reads the manuscript,

which contains the following:

When she ventured out with her silk net

on the end of a russ,

chasing a wild, free hummingbird...

send me one and I, in return,

will wreath a garland

of violets, mint, and geraniums.

I was not present at the event

of which my daughter's

death was the result.

If I had been,

I would have defended that

angel at the cost of my blood.

Maldoror was passing with his bulldog.

He sees a young girl sleeping

in the shade of a plain tree.

At first, he took her for a rogue.

It is impossible to say which

came first to his mind --

the sight of this young girl

or the resolution which followed.

He undresses rapidly like a man

who knows what he is going to do.

He opens the angular claws of the

steel hydra;

and armed with a scalpel

of the same kind,

seeing that the green of the grass

had not yet disappeared beneath

all the blood which had been shed,

he prepares, without planning, to dig

his knife

courageously into the unfortunate child.

Wide and hoe, he pulls out

one after one...

... corpses sleep again in the shade.

Pig-snouted brutishness

covered him with its protective wings

and cast loving glances at him.

I'm tired of this book. You can have it.

I'm finished with it.

I'm tired of being alone.

Everyone is alone.

That's why I just drift, you know.

People think it's crazy.

But it's better to think that you're not

alone when, you know, you're drifting,

even though you are.

Instead of just knowing

that you're alone all the time.

Some people, you know, they

they can distract themselves with ambitions

and motivation to work, you know,

but it's not for me.

They think people like myself

are crazy.

Everyone does.

'cause of the way I live, you know.

I don't know. I guess you can say it's

reckless.

But it's the only way for me, you know.

My mother was like those kind of

people,

telling me it's bad to be like that.

And she ended up crazy herself,

you know --

after my father was gone.

But I don't care anymore, you know.

I don't want to think about it.

I know that when I get the feeling,

you know, the drift is going to take me.

I have this feeling...

inside my head that's been

haunting me for a long time.

Up until now.

Because I've decided to...

go visit someone I haven't seen in a long time.

I'm going to go back and see my mother.

I haven't seen her in over a year.

She's in an institution.

But first I'm going to go back to

where I was born,

the building that my mother

and father lived in.

It was blown up during the war.

I'm going to walk through the rubble there.

And just look at it one more time.

Look at how the building is all bombed out.

Walk through the rubble

of the building where I was born.

What are you talking about?

What war?

The building was blown up during the war.

Blown up by who?

The Chinese.

Incoming round!

What's the matter?

Hey, that's an enemy plane!

Get on the ground!

Take it easy, man.

They're not even planes;

they're choppers.

The Cong doesn't have choppers.

Come on, man. Take it easy.

Get up.

You see? Those are American.

You want a cigarette?

Yeah.

Hey, you want to hear a funny story?

The other day, I was walking over by, uh,

where I used to live, you know,

a long time ago.

And...right in front of my house

was this big car.

Really shiny.

You know, one of these old cars, two tone,

and very shiny car, lots of chrome, you know...

Really beautiful,

like a bubble car.

Very big and round, you known, like that.

It was the most beautiful car I ever saw.

And I wanted a car just like it.

It was really bad.

And then today, you know, I woke up,

and I couldn't believe it.

I walked out of my house,

where I live now,

and the same car -- I saw it.

The same exact car.

Wow, I really flipped, man.

It lit up like a bomb, this car,

you know.

It was so great.

Really like a "Batmobile."

Like a gangster car. Just like that.

It was bad.

So what do you say to that?

I live back there.

Oh, yeah? Humm. Some place to live.

Should get out of here, man.

Should get away from here --

go someplace different.

That's what I'm going to do.

Take it easy.

I'm going to get out of here, too.

Come on now. Don't be scared.

Let's go. Come on.

You can walk right. Come on.

Mrs. Parker's your mother? Um-hum.

This is the room. Thank you.

Mom, it's me,

Aloysious Christopher Parker.

Mom, it's me. Your son.

Mom, it's me, Allie.

I'm here to see you.

My son's here to see me.

How are you? Have you been alright?

Do you feel alright here?

I know who you are.

I know you are my son.

I know because the thighs aren't yours.

And they don't belong to you.

They were taken out

of your father's head.

Uh, mom, you're crazy.

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