Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain

By Adrien LeVon Montgomery

     The novel "Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain" is a work of ("['Adult']-Literary")-fiction by the author Adrien L. Montgomery. The novel presents the profile of an individual residing in the "Minneapolis"-urbanzone in the years 2003 and 2004. The work presents a dramatic tale of a

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dynamographx
• Release date: Mar 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781087880907

Adrien LeVon Montgomery

Adrien L. Montgomery is a novelist currently residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain" is the first novel in the category of ("['Adult']-Literary")-fiction which the author's chosen to release for readers around the world to enjoy as a volume offering to consumers a dramatic tale featuring a protagonist who strives to complete all aspects in a "Philosophical Perspective on Self-Enlightenment" which the character of record trusts will guarantee he manages to personally attain a higher level of "Spiritual Knowledge" in the world which he inhabits.

Book preview

The Reader is to Begin Listening Here

Hello, Dear Reader! …

I’m Adrien L. Montgomery, the author of the novel ScriptographUE One [The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes (Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’)]. I want to use this opportunity to speak to you about the particular book project which I’m, hereby, offering to readers. I do humbly ask that you now take the time to review this statement prior to reading the novel itself. (This statement of mine might serve to open the eyes of any reader desiring to know of the specific intentions I had in mind in choosing to create this particular narrative project for readers.)

This particular book, ScriptographUE One [The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes (Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’)], is, in fact, a novel. Permit me to take a moment here to explain to you what I believe a work of writing must be in order to, in fact, qualify as a novel, that is.

A novel is a fictional literary project which consists of a series of incidents (or, events) which presents a feature character (i.e., a protagonist) and the trials (or, struggles) which he undergoes before coming to discover a particular truth about human nature, societal behavior, historical patterns, or his own psychological structuring, etc., etc. What the character learns upon completion of a personal odyssey could, in fact, relate to any phenomenon which he’d been aware of prior to his journey’s start, e.g.’s, his feelings of affection for a specific romantic partner or his devotion to a particular religion, etc., etc. In either such case, the trial the protagonist undergoes over the course of the novel’s dramatic scope merely serves to let him view the particular phenomenon with cleaner eyes and a clearer sight. I.e., he views his particular affection for the specific partner in question with even more gratitude, or he sees devotion to his specific religion as even more of a necessity in the particular world which he just so happens to inhabit.

In the case of ScriptographUE One [The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes (Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’)], this actual type of fictional account can be made reference to as being an adult urban contemporary novel. The project is an adult piece due to the fact that the narrative focuses on an adult protagonist who allows the reader to view him and his surroundings from a perspective which he actually uses himself. The book is, in fact, an urban story due to the fact that the incidents and circumstances which do appear in the text transpire against the backdrop of urban (or, metropolitan) environments. This fictional work is, also, a contemporary novel due to the fact that the character’s life occurs in a contemporary time period--i.e., one which is almost coincident with the one which exists today (or, rather, one which is almost coincident with the one existing at the particular moment of the book’s original publication [i.e., 2019 (… and afterwards, in subsequent editions)], that is).

I must confess that the novel’s subject material consists of actions on the part of the protagonist, Ariq Zarkahn Shoretempel (which, phonetically, would appear in sound as … air-ick zahr-kuhn shor-temp-uhl), which, of course, would amount to felony-level criminal offenses occurring against a particular series of adult females. The character, of course, might, in fact, qualify as a predator or, using an archaic term, as a fiend, regarding his anti-societal sexual habits. The character, Ariq Zarkahn Shoretempel, without question, permits himself to commit felony-level criminal offenses against objecting females (all of whom range in physical maturity from their early- to mid-twenties, that is) throughout the book’s text (… pursuing this particular pattern of behavior quite remorselessly), I’m afraid to state here.

The protagonist’s first name, Ariq, is an anagram for the word Iraq, an arid country found in the southwestern region of the Asian continent (i.e., terrestrial landmass, that is) in between the tip of the Arabian peninsula and the Persian Gulf. Ariq was born on May 10, 1977, long prior to either the first Gulf War (Jan. to Feb. of 1991) or the War in Iraq (Mar., 2003 – Dec., 2011). Ariq’s second (or middle) name, Zarkahn, is the combination of two separate imperial titles that together form one particular word for the protagonist’s esteem. First, the first syllable, Zar, is the phonetical re-spelling of the Russian term Czar, the old designation for the sovereign (or, monarch) of the Russian Empire. The old term Czar is the Russian-language spelling (albeit in the Roman alphabet) of Caesar, the term designating the ruler of the Roman Empire (27 B.C. to A.D. 476). The middle name’s second syllable, kahn, is the phonetical re-spelling of the term Khan, a title designating the ruler of the Mongol Empire, a land domain that did so flourish throughout the face of Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe over a period beginning in A.D. 1206 and continuing until the late 1300’s. The most prominent rulers of the Mongol Empire (in separate eras) were known as Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, the secondary name (i.e., Khan) designating the family name (or dynastic name) of those who were sovereign over the landmass of the Empire of the Mongols. I use a phonetic, English-language variance on the two old terms to form the protagonist’s middle (or second) name, Zarkahn. The fact that two old imperial titles were made use of in order to create the protagonist’s middle name denotes the fact that I did foresee in Ariq an eagerness to tyrannize an entire subsection of humanity. In Ariq’s case, of course, that subsection of humankind would be 1) the particular females which he commits sexcrime-assaults against over the course of the narrative, and 2) the totality of the female gender which he constantly maligns as a sector of the human population over the course of the dramatic scenario’s text.

The protagonist’s last name, Shoretempel, merely denotes the image of a sanctuary or an official site of prayer which rests upon a shoreline or a coastal stretch of land. The particular structure of an actual religious temple would, to Ariq, denote a zone of inner peace, of course, a psychological state which the protagonist desires to attain in life at some point or another as a reward for satisfactorily completing a successful quest for true human self-enlightenment which he pursues through conducting the variety of antisocial actions which he commits over the course of the dramatic scenario’s text against a variety of adult females.

Despite the nature of the protagonist’s criminal acts, I do not, through this specific project, desire to promote misogynistic views towards or promote sexual abuse of any females, i.e., women or girls, to any extent whatsoever. I’m not presenting this type of material content to readers in order to encourage antisocial individuals to emulate the offenses which the protagonist chooses to commit throughout the text of this narrative-project. I am merely offering to readers the opportunity to witness a certain aspect of human behavior that exists at the extreme end of the spectrum which displays well-known human criminal traits.

I do, hereby, state my actual objection to the pattern of antisocial behavior which the protagonist pursues against females during the course of the particular dramatic text which this book will present to you, dear readers. I do understand that the crimes which the character permits himself to commit are deliberate acts which would be particularly objectionable and disturbing to women choosing to read this particular work of ([‘Adult’]-Literary)-fiction.

Despite the book’s material content, I am not attempting to intentionally upset any female who may decide to review this particular fictional project. I am in no way demonstrating any support of (or agreement with) the protagonist’s decision to pursue sexual offenses against non-consenting females during the course of the novel’s narrative material. I must, here, admit that I personally find acts along the lines of those which the character commits to be both socially reprehensible and morally savage in discussion.

I can admit to you, the readers, that I put in a very significant amount of labor in order to complete this particular work of literature for the benefit of readers everywhere. I did commit myself to working in order to produce a final version of the manuscript for this particular book project (quite diligently, that is) over a work schedule totaling an actual 20 years in length (i.e., Dec. 16, 2003 to Dec. 19, 2023)! I can assure you, I did make sure the quality level of the text would be of the highest order known prior to the manuscript’s publication, knowing this would be my first novel-project actually put into print and my first chance to present a work of mine to the readers deciding to purchase this particular volume of fiction.

I do believe that I did manage to achieve my goals regarding the text’s overall level of quality and accessibility to readers at large. The novel isn’t one which the average adult book-buyer would find too cumbersome to work his way through, however. I do trust you, the readers, will see for yourselves, as you review the text on hand, that I did manage to create a novel which is completely sound both in its approach and results and, at the same time, coherent and amusing to a degree that guarantees the adult reader will find an adequate amount of delight with the material it offers.

I am, at this point, happy to say that I could not find a higher level of satisfaction with the edition which I have made available to one and all with the specific presentation of the work which I do offer to you, here, my friends. I did desire that the edition’s production elements be quite high, as did I so desire the text’s level of quality to be solid as well, and I have, in fact, taken the steps that were necessary to ensure that this is, in fact, the very case indeed. The volume itself is excellent in its design and lends credence to the assertion that ScriptographUE One (The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes [Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’]) is a highly exceptional work of ([‘Adult’]-Literary)-Fiction!

I must confess, here, that I’ve had a lifelong interest in creating fictional works, e.g.’s, short stories, long fiction, poems, etc. I believe my interest in writing creatively began at the age of 10! I believe I was twelve years old at the time in which I did decide that I would prefer to eventually become a novelist in life! With the release of this book, ScriptographUE One (The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes [Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’]), I finally did manage to make that particular childhood dream become a reality! I believe, through creative writing, I can share with the readers a particularly unique viewpoint on the nature of humanity, the particular truths concerning societal issues in the US (and elsewhere) today, and the psychology of the contemporary individual which the reader of this work can gain both informational awareness and spiritual enrichment from upon reviewing the text of the project.

I do believe an author’s purpose in writing a good novel nowadays would be to present the reader with a certain overview on the nature of the Universe which will serve to enlighten the reading audience to a particular degree, permitting him to understand why Earth rotates in the particular manner in which she does, in fact, actually rotate. If you do choose to read the following narrative-project, I’m certain you will walk away from the experience wanting to review it again, if only to see if you gain even more in the way of enlightenment regarding the various aspects of human individual behavior which I chose to place on exhibit over the course of the narrative text which the book itself includes.

If you, the readers, allow yourselves to review this particular creative writing project of mine, I trust you, just possibly, might never view the Universe or the World (or even yourselves, that is) in the same way again. A novel, such as ScriptographUE One (The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes [Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’]), exists to help its readers see themselves, their world, and, perhaps, even their ultimate purposes in life in a clearer and brighter light.

I’m certain that once you’ve read ScriptographUE One (The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes [Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’]), you’ll find the book to be a work of literature which you will treasure and choose to return to over the course of a lifetime. The book’s material content offers to its readers much in the way of insight, drama, emotion, and individual character, I do trust. You’ll probably review the novel’s entire text again with the hope of finding certain elements in it which you did happen to accidentally overlook during your first reading of the book.

I, the author, Adrien L. Montgomery, do want, here, to take this moment to thank you for selecting to purchase this particular volume, ScriptographUE One (The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes [Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’]), my first novel to actually receive a public release, that is, I should again remind you. (I do, hereby, say the following words in the sincerest of tones to one and all who choose to read the following work: Thank you very much, dear readers and friends.)

I will acknowledge, at this particular point in time, that I am currently at work on, yet, another fictional project which will become available to you at some time in the not so distant future, dear friends. If you find you enjoy this novel, I’m certain you’ll want to read the work succeeding it, another book which will be just as spiritually and intellectually rewarding to the adult who chooses to guide himself through its generous allowance of pages.

However, it is my sincerest desire that you do receive satisfaction from the work at hand, ScriptographUE One (The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes [Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’]), dear readers. The novel is a literary project which you will, in one instance, perhaps, find troubling, and will, at another point, find to be a very inspiring perspective on the ultimate purpose of individual human behavior. Hence, I do believe you will enjoy reading this particular work of fiction and I do, hereby, with this statement, present it to you, dear readers.

Adrien L. Montgomery

Author

--."ScriptographUE One (The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes [Book I: ‘Tasting

Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’])"

Minneapolis, Minnesota (U.S.A.)

Date: SUN., Sep. 29, 2019

Attention! Attention! … Remain Silent While the Author Speaks!

I do believe and trust the following bytes of guidance I, hereby, present to you might serve to assist the reader in his particular understanding of the actual approach which I’m using in designing both the specific narrative and the particular protagonist which this work of fiction presents to people the world over. To put it simply, the focus, in this particular work, is, of course (and, perhaps, unfortunately), upon the human individual (rather than upon the human community) and upon the particular system of values the individual might formulate over the course of a lifetime in order, 1) to survive in, and, 2) to attempt to gain spiritual enrichment from the living community surrounding him. Perhaps you, too, the individual reader, will gain insights which will benefit you to one extent or another in life if you decide to review the following statements which I’ve chosen to present on these pages prior to your decision to read the novel’s actual narrative-text.

I.

"The most important reward a human can receive in this world is the one particular space in which he’s certain to uncover and enjoy an unrelenting peace."

… Adrien’s Brief Byte of Knowledge

II.

"The division line existing between ‘Heaven’ and ‘Hell’ can have the breadth to it of a human hair’s width!"

… Adrien’s Brief Byte of Knowledge

III.

"Whatever it might be that you do treasure most sincerely in this particular world, you—‘O Human!’—can be certain of one rule: ‘Society’ will condemn any attempts on your part to earnestly attain it!"

… Adrien’s Brief Byte of Knowledge

IV.

"Regardless of the path which ‘Fate’ has drawn for you to initialize and travel, do not resist for a single minute its particular direction or distance: avoiding the road already set out for you in this world will only guarantee that you find doors, though cleanly open in earlier points, to be completely shut."

… Adrien’s Brief Byte of Knowledge

A Note on the Sequences Using Superscript-type Appearing

Throughout the Project’s Text

Throughout the text of the narrative-project which I’m presenting to the reading audience with this particular book-publication, I must, here, note there are ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes which appear in a superscript-format of print which occur throughout the text of the following manuscript-project….

E.g., …

(Page Text Appearing in Regular Type)[([‘initials’]-combination)-code in superior-type format]

The ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes appear throughout the text of the manuscript-project in order to emulate (or, appear in place of) official product-registration markings (e.g.’s, TM, SM, R, C), in an attempt to designate the particular product in question as having an official-level of recognition and legitimate registration, as if the product itself of record is real.

The ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes which appear throughout the text as facsimile product-registration markings to denote products appearing in an occasional use over the course of the manuscript-project make use of the following alphabetic sequences in order to emulate official product-registration markings which appear upon genuine corporate properties in the actual market of consumer-goods:

01)AI:

--.an ([‘initials’]-combination)-code representing the term artificial imprint

02)ISS:

--.an ([‘initials’]-combination)-code representing the term illegitimate superscript

03)UE

--.an ([‘initials’]-combination)-code representing the term unidentifiable exponent

04)ESU

--.an ([‘initials’]-combination)-code representing the term encoding sequence unknown

05)STF

--.an ([‘initials’]-combination)-code representing the term superior type-facing

06)SLTF:

--.an ([‘initials’]-combination)-code representing the term superior-level type-facing

Again, you will see the ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes appearing in the preceding list throughout the text of the book-publication project which I’m presenting to you with this particular manuscript-project, which appear in order to, again, illegitimately (i.e., falsely) designate the name of the particular product in question with official product-registration markings in order to denote the particular item in question as a real product with legitimate registration and official recognition as a property for sale in the commercial marketplace.

The products which do appear with the particular ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes in superscript-type formatting print next to them are not products having any official-level of registration or any genuine level of recognition as actual corporate properties appearing in the commercial market for sale to and use by average consumers.

The products which do appear with the particular ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes in superscript-type formatting print next to them in the text of the following manuscript-project are not genuine corporate properties for sale to and possible use by consumers in the public market of trade, yet, are fictitious properties made up for merely theatrical use in the narrative-text which this particular publication presents.

I.e., the products which do appear with the particular ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes in superscript-type formatting print next to them in the text of the following manuscript-project are not to be seen as legitimate corporate properties for sale to and potential use by the public in the commercial market of consumer goods, yet merely appear as ornamental fixtures existing merely to illegitimately (i.e., falsely) designate the particular products in question as official corporate properties having legitimate product-registration status and recognition as real consumer goods.

I’m using this particular precursory note on the ([‘initials’]-combination)-sequences appearing in the text of the narrative-project which you’re about to read in order to explain the actual purpose for their inclusion in this particular publication, in hopes of clarifying for the reading audience what, in fact, the particular alphabetic codes themselves actually stand for, to permit the reader to review the following narrative-project without allowing the ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes themselves to become an obstructive element in any way.

With this particular statement I do hope to clarify for the reading audience the particular purpose I had in mind behind the use of the ( [‘initials’]-combination)-codes in this particular project (i.e., denoting illegitimate products as genuine corporate properties having official product-registration status in the actual consumer-goods marketplace), in order to ensure the ([‘initials’]-combination)-codes themselves which do appear throughout the following text do not become a hindrance or interference for the reader as he attempts to enjoy the following work of fiction at his leisure.

Adrien L. Montgomery

Author

--.ScriptographUE One (The ‘Shadowslasher’ Volumes [Book I: ‘Tasting Droplets of the Unforgettable Rain’])

Minneapolis, Minnesota (U.S.A.)

Date: TUE., Oct. 01, 2019

A Brief Acknowledgement Regarding the Variety of Typeface-Designs Appearing in Print Throughout the Text of the Narrative Project …

In the text of the narrative-project, I’ve made use of a variety of differing Font-styles (i.e., Typeface-designs) with which to present the text of the manuscript-content itself to any in the reading audience selecting to review the particular work of fiction which I do, hereby, present to all choosing to accept it.

The number of differing Font-styles which the narrative-project makes use of over the course of its body of text-material is no higher than what you’d most likely find appearing in the typical volume of creative (or, fictional) writing.

I’m selecting, here, to permit the readers to exactly review what particular Font-styles I’ve chosen to make use of in this particular presentation of fiction, that the readers might be aware of the specific Typeface-designs which do appear in print over the course of the narrative-project.

I’ve also chosen to present the name of the Font-style (i.e., once again, the Typeface-design) itself in the list appearing below with text written in print which appears in the particular Font-style which the name of the Typeface-design itself indicates.

E.g., the name of the particular Font-style appearing in the listing of Typeface-designs I’ve put together below (e.g., Tahoma) actually appears in print in text (in the list) which uses the Tahoma Font-style itself.

Again, dear readers, the variety of differing Font-styles appearing in print throughout the text of the manuscript-project appear in name in the following listing of Typeface-designs in print which utilizes the particular Font-style which the name itself indicates.

The following listing of Font-styles which appear in print throughout the text of the manuscript-project lists the specific Typeface-designs in alphabetical order in accordance with the name of the Font-style itself, i.e., the initial letter of the particular Typeface-design determines its actual ranking in the list of Font-styles which appear in print throughout the following manuscript-project.

What follows is a complete listing of the various Typeface-designs (i.e., Font-styles) which appear throughout the text of the ensuing narrative-project which I do, hereby, present to any readers selecting to review the specific volume of fiction on hand:

Bodoni MT Black

Lucida Sans

The total number of differing Font-styles (i.e., Typeface-designs) which appear in print throughout the text of the specific narrative-project on hand: 02.00

And the ‘Dedication’ Goes to …

I, the author, do, hereby, choose to dedicate the following work of fiction to readers of any location who believe themselves ready to review a narrative volume which presents to its audience an unrelentingly truthful perspective on the human individual’s quest--as destructive as it might, perhaps, be--for a higher level of enlightenment in this world …

Adrien L. Montgomery

-------------------------<<<>>>-------------------------

It’s Just a Word or Two to Begin with, I Guess …

(Prologue)

You witness storms which are starting and ending abruptly across the Earth’s fresh soils and waters. One spasm rupturing the globe’s usual climatic pattern seems identical to the outburst that it’s soon to replace. Both the animals and the humans fail to notice the unique energy of any one particular seizure that occurs in the high tides of air which overrun the world’s salty surfaces. But, perhaps, if the motion of a butterfly’s wing creates a current which you noisily inhale, on one morning, you’ll awake and you’ll hear drops of ancient rain falling--in numbers heretofore unseen--to the ground!

Adrien L. Montgomery

A Particular Dialogue-Script Excerpt to Only So Noticeably Appear Just

Prior to the Opening of the Series of Sectional Units

Dialogue-Script Excerpt:

"… I believe no authentic hero could tolerate a ritualistic abuser of females. These men belong in the coldest dungeon known in all human history, eating bread that’s no longer good and drinking water that’s out of the feeding trough the horses drink from. Such men are horrible threats to the honor and spirit I believe are crucial to guaranteeing the continuance of both human rights and humanity itself…."

Erich-Elisa Reinmaier

a.k.a., Gustavo De Santa Andrea

(In the Feature Motion-Picture)

Running on the Burning Embers of One Belief

(1998)

--------------------------------<<>>--------------------------------

"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the

Opening of the Series of Sectional Units …"

--------------------------------<<>>--------------------------------

Tasting Droplets of the

Unforgettable Rain

By

Adrien L. Montgomery

Cycle 01:

If the Jester Wears the Robe and Crown ... If the King Wears the Fool’s Motley Suit.

UTA Directive I:

Attention! Attention! … All Rail-Transit Guests ... Your ‘RailbusAI’-System Vehicle’s Operator Is Speaking: Welcome ... And, ‘All Passengers Aboard’! Repeat, All Rail-Transit Guests ... Your ‘RailbusAI’-System Vehicle’s Operator Is Speaking: Welcome ... And, ‘All Passengers Aboard’! ...

(UTA: Urban Transit Authority)

--------------------<<<>>>--------------------

The following statement consists of actual words appearing on an audioclip-sample of Ariq Shoretempel’s voice in a recording made by an examining therapist during an approximately up-to-date psycho-diagnostic interviewing session with the subject (i.e., Ariq):

Interviewing Specialist:

Dr. Deckster Trillingband, M.D., Ph.D.

(Rehabilitative/Preventative Psychotherapist)

Date of Diagnostic Session: Sunday, August 31 of 2003

"I suspect that I’d find such a house to be almost unsurpassable in comfort. ... One in ‘Gamington Farms’, a tranquil neighborhood in ‘Red Seasons County’ (again, the lower section of the twin-county ‘Eastern Slopes’ region)…. One with a view of both the Bay’s large pool of saltwater and the high-rise architectural honeycombs on exhibit in northeastern San Francisco."

Interview’s Subject: Ariq Zarkahn Shoretempel

Notable Traits:

(>26 Years Old<)

(>African-American<)

(>Male<)

(>Software Designer<)

(>Berkeley Resident<)

--------------------<<<>>>--------------------

Calendar Date: WED., Oct. 01, 2003

----------<<>>----------

I’m sitting in a Reign of FoolsESU pizza restaurant at the east end of University Avenue in central-eastern Berkeley, California. In the back left corner of the store, there’s a TV set that’s up on a displaying shelf, and it’s running a Spanish-language program that’s part of the Mexican government’s Pirate TV assault on California, I do here reckon. Y’know, I never knew this store had any Hispanic employees. But, at least one of them must be, I s’pose, because of the Beaner broadcast I’m now having to unmercifully watch. (… Ha! Ha! Ha!)

There are two African-American teenagers splitting a pizza at a table in the restaurant’s dining area. Hey! one of the teens says, looking towards the TV screen. It’s on the Mexican channole! The boy’s friend tells him to quiet himself. (... Chill!) I ain’t gunna watch this ‘Mexi-TV’ crap! the first teen, the teenage TV critic, says to the employee standing behind the sales counter. Change the station! ... Hey! Change the station!

The employee, a Tahitian-islands type (a Son of the Pacific, I s’pose) lifts up a channel-switcher from a shelf under the sales-counter and points it towards the television set. He switches the broadcasting monitor to RadioNationAI (a cable network which airs music videos on a 24/7 basis, essentially), which is airing a documentary on a particular Hip-Hop artist (a Rapumentary, it is, I’m assuming). The two African-American teens merely return to swapping opinions with each other while enjoying abrupt (and all but feral) mouthfuls of food, that is.

But, the boy who chose to complain about the Mexi-VisionSTF broadcast is himself sporting an Afro--circa 1974! (Trust me, if he ever wants a haircut, he’ll have to find a handy sheep-shearing instrument and a shepherd who’s in love with his job. [‘… Ha! Ha! Ha!’])

Suddenly, a Chinese employee walks into the store through the venue’s rear-entry doors. He wearily drops a pizza-delivery case on the sales-counter and rests his weight against the counter’s rail, obviously recoiling from a rather difficult ( ‘Pizza-Man’ to the Rescue)-runabout. He glares at a table of two African-American females who’re sitting near the store’s front window sharing a large pizza that’s still in its delivery carton. The pair of women curiously pick at toppings before nibbling at the pizza’s oven-fresh sourdough bread-sections. I look up at the room’s rear wall and see a sign on it that posts the words 30 MINUTE LIMIT AT TABLES. Maybe the Chinaman saw the girls occupying the table when he first left to make the Fresh Pizza-deliveries. The Oriental hurriedly rushes over to the guest-seating booth which I’m innocently sitting in at the moment. Ah, what numbah are you waiting fohr? the Asiatic pizzaroom employee asks me.

I look at the sales receipt I’m holding and examine the handsize peel of paper for a pick-up number, but cannot readily determine which of the slip’s number codes is the actual order number itself. I just hand him the receipt slip for inspection. Ah, number ‘51’. It’ll be about ten minutes, the pizza house’s Eastern employee reports.

The Chinaman quickly returns himself to the restaurant’s kitchen deck and starts apportioning various toppings to a large plate of dough before the particular order’s put into the oven for baking. I’m guessing the Chinaman’s dim mood might be due to the fact that the store’s dining area is strictly being made use of by an African-American clientele at this point in time ... strictly, that is. I’m actually referring to 1), the two black teens at the table feasting on pizza like carnivores, 2), the two African-American women sitting at a table near the restaurant’s front window, and, then, there is, of course, 3), i.e., me, the lone diner who’s sitting at one of the booths against the store’s western wall. (Yes ... I’ll take a table for one, please …)

If the Chinaman doesn’t like what he’s witnessing in the pizza parlor right now, he’s probably glad he isn’t working the Noontime-shift. I’m, at this point, recalling the sight of Cedar Creek High School students as they walk the main routes to and from their academic campus during their school’s lunchbreak-period. I can see them carrying paper soda cups with the Reign of FoolsESU-emblem appearing in ink across them while they make the great trek back to their afternoon classrooms. F.Y.I., Cedar Creek High School is an inner city-school, which has a student population that is primarily African-American. Hence, a possible reason for Chairman Mao to sidestep the store’s bustling lunch-hour crowd.

Three homeless men enter the restaurant from the sidewalk just outside the foodvending-outlet. One of them, a Caucasian, limps over to my booth with a walking cane and seats himself on the bench opposite to mine. Yo! he says to me, in overt mockery of the individual he sees, I must here note. I stare at the vagrant, so as to make him aware of his blatant intrusiveness at the moment in question. He remains at the table with a boyish gleam upon his aging, weather-beaten face. I point my nose towards the open floor of the restaurant, telling him to quickly make himself scarce. He rolls his eyes as if to say I’m as predictable as every other real person who has the misfortune of coming into close contact with the specific derelict choosing to park himself in front of me on the occasion. He struggles out of the booth and