[Newspoetry] The Amazing Dream Dimension Movie 2000: Scene 28 (not news, but...)

[Maiko Covington]

	I was counting up some cash to deposit in the bank for the Living 
Wage Campaign (small bills, unmarked!), when all of a sudden due to 
circumstances beyond my control I was with Ben and someone else (Aunt Barb?) 
walking/running along the side of a road covered with snow and slush (in 
Chicago?) on the way to an Art Museum, which we were to visit before 
attending some other event scheduled for the afternoon. I'd had to pay for 
other amusements we had done in the morning, but I got into the Art
Museum for FREE, since it turned out I had a year's membership, as evidenced 
by the stamp on my hand. I'd gotten the membership a few months earlier when 
I'd stopped by the museum on the way to yet some other Important Event, 
possibly my sister's wedding. At any rate, the Art Museum was HUGE, a
big modern all-open space with metal girder roof and no internal supports, 
kinda like McCormick place, but overlooking the lake (or was it an ocean?) 
and floor to ceiling several-stories high glass walls on all sides, 
overlooking water as far as the eye can see, to the point of vertigo, 
nothing but solid dark blue water, far below. (N.B: this tends to be a theme 
in these things...) Perhaps the building was on a cliff? It rather reminded 
me of the inside of Narita Airport, that same girdered ceiling and glass wall,
split level inside so that there were some stairs up to a 
coffeehouse/restaurant overlooking the main floor, and up there was a bride, 
in full regalia, having a tantrum about something or other before her own 
wedding that afternoon. 

	Back on the main floor, it seemed that most of the museum was taken up
with items for sale, specifically wearable art - the exhibit was mainly on 
textiles, and one could buy sweaters, and huge shirts made of various and 
sundry thick papers, mainly off-white, some of them having muted patterns in 
greyish colors. The shirts were arrayed in metal "page flipping" frames, rather
like posters. Ben was particularly interested in the pattern on a sweater 
with a red stripe on it, but it was absolutely huge. Did it remind me of 
George Washington, the muted colors? No. While I was giving my opinion, a 
slight whine and movement (would you like cheese with that?) out the corner 
of my eye caught my attention. 

	A pig was flying toward the window outside, soaring over the water. 
It was fairly large, and not live - rather, it was a large pink stylized 
piggy bank, with little black dot eyes, no mouth, aiming right at the window. 
I held my breath, and watched the pig crash through the window to the 
collective gasp of the people gathered on the floor. However, "crash" was for 
the most part a sound effect - the pig came through the window, broke it, 
some shards fell, but the entire window didn't fall - only the small piece 
where the pig flew through was knocked away. The pig continued on in a 
straight line, passing high up in the room, and crashed out the window on the 
other side of the room in similar fashion. 

	Sighs of relief went up from the crowd, and people resumed their 
shopping, wondering aloud what the pig had been, some sort of freak accident 
good gracious don't let that happen again, at least the window didn't fall 
can you even IMAGINE? ...and the whine resumed. 

	The pig was back, retracing its earlier path. It flew in the out hole, 
back into the room, but this time trailing a long banner grasped in its 
mouth, the sort of banner you might see trailing from planes over the stadium 
on football Saturdays. It was white, plastic, flapping, proclaiming 
"Buy Now, Macy's All Day Sale, 70% Off." It flew across the room, steady speed,
staying on course, right out the in hole and out over the water, where it 
disappeared to a microscopic pink dot, at which point the crowd came alive, 
this time with enthusiastic gushing, wow, that was the best ad campaign I've 
ever SEEN, Marge, did you see it? Flying? The font on the sign, the graceful 
flight, what firm was responsible, really, this is a new AGE, can you even 
IMAGINE? 

		Maiko "squeeeeal!" Covington