butterfly

Each time she leaves a place that has become her home and lands somewhere new it is a release from the constraints of the person she had become. Each time, the release is a little greater – Papillon escaping from Devil’s Island, being protected and cared for the first time by lepers before landing in an idyllic life of fishing for pearls and enjoying the pleasures of two wives; the ninth and last time throwing himself on a raft of coconuts into the ocean as it pounds onto the rocks of the island of the Devil — a leap that leads him incredibly to a Venezuelan identity card, refuting the citizenship of his homeland, securing his freedom, finally.

"The Chinese discovered the drop of water that falls on your head. The French discovered silence." Papillon

red lights and the plains of Jamaica

I have a place to live in Boston — actually, it’s in Jamaica Plain, which, unlike, say, the Sunset District of San Francisco, seems to be a separate entity rather than part of the city itself. When my family or those of my friends who haven’t given up on trying to correspond with me send me mail, the address won’t say "Boston", even though I’ll be just a 10 or 15 minute "T" (metro train system) ride from downtown Beantown. "Jamaica Plain" sounds pretty cool, though.

The old red light district of Boston was called the Combat Zone, so named for the soldiers and sailors who swarmed from the ports to "enjoy the pleasure of a weekend pass". But thanks to pressure from the citizenry to effect zoning changes, the realm of red neon has faded to grey. Can a city consider itself a major international city without a red light district?

Would Sydney be Sydney without Kings Cross? Paris without the Bois de Boulogne? San Francisco without Broadway or the Castro (something for everyone)? And, as for Frankfurt…

One of my closest friends was a dancer in a "peep" show club for seven years — a job where no man touched her and the income from which put her through university. A job where all the staff stayed long-term because they were treated well, and where the edge of competition was blunted by hourly wages and tips shared equally — which allowed for close friendships to be formed and to flourish. A job that demolished fear of males — a job that paradoxically instilled unshakable self-confidence.