Timothy McSweeney's Header Image

- - - -

Now available for preorder:
The San Francisco Panorama
.

- - - -

T R A N S L A T E D
C H A T T E R ,
C I T Y   C A F E ,   K A N D A H A R ,
M A R C H   1 4 ,   2 0 0 3 .


BY ZEV BOROW


- - - -

Male Voice #1: "…the time has come. Now we will rise…"

Male Voice #2: "Yes, for we are hungry!"

Female Voice #1: "Well, I, for one, am famished…"

Male Voice #3: "And soon we shall feast!"

Male Voice #4: "…hey batter-batter-batter…"

Male Voice #1: "Yes, my brothers, and I know just what we shall eat!"

Female Voice #2: "Ooh, look at the…"

Male Voice #2: "Grouper?"

Male Voice #3: "No, the duck!"

Male Voice #4: "…sa-wing batter!"

Female Voice #1: "I don't know. Duck is so fatty, no?"

Male Voice #2: "Not the grouper?"

Female Voice #2: "The grouper does look nice."

Male Voice #3: "Yes, fat like our enemies, and stupid, and web-footed!"

Male Voice #2: "Web-footed?"

Female Voice #1: "I read that Jennifer Lopez is on some diet where she eats nothing but grouper."

Male Voice #3: "J–Lo mocks us!"

Male Voice #1: "But now it will be we who spin the web."

Female Voice #2: "…have you seen the size of her…"

Male Voice #2: "Did he say web-footed?"

Male Voice #4: "…we want a pitcher…"

Female Voice #1: "…good idea. I am completely parched."

Male Voice #4: "…not a belly-itcher…"

Male Voice #2: "Spiders spin webs, not ducks, right?"

Male Voice #3: "But is everything prepared?"

Male Voice #5: "The duck is prepared with a currant glaze and comes with a side dish of roasted carrots. My name is Steven, if you need anything…"

Male Voice #4: "…knock the cover off the ball there, Stevie!"

Male Voice #1: "So, we are ready!"

Female Voice #2: "Steven, we're ready."

Male Voice #4: "…give it a ride, Stevie, give it a ride!"

Male Voice #2: "But where will the duck come home to roost?"

Female Voice #1: "Florida! That's great. Where?"

Male Voice #2: "It is chickens that roost, yes? Not ducks."

Male Voice #1: "…where it is warm…"

Male Voice #4: "…fire away, Steve-o, fire away!"

Male Voice #3: "…they think they are safe there…"

Female Voice #2 "…Miami?"

Male Voice #2: "…we will strike!"

Male Voice #4: "…yer outta there!"

"Steven": "Alrighty, then. Does everybody know what they want?"

Male Voice #3: "Death to the infidels!"

Female Voice #1: "New shoes!"

Male Voice #2: "The duck."

Male Voice #1: "Yes, the duck."

[Maniacal laughter from males #1, 2, 3, and possibly
also #4]

Male Voice #4: "…man, I haven't been to a game since…"

Female Voice #1: "…last spring…"

Male Voice #1: "They will all perish…"

Male Voice #4: "…April of…"

Female Voice #2: "…West Palm?"

Male Voice # 3: "Let us pray for…"

Male Voice #4: "…Steeeeeeeeve!"

Male Voice #1: "…at exactly twelve noon…"

Male Voice #2: "…Boca, very nice…"

Male Voice # 2: "Are you going to finish that?"

Female Voice #1: "…trust me, it's to die for…"

"Steven": "I'm sorry, but we're out of the duck."

Male Voice #1: "…impossible!"

Female Voice #2: "…for God's sake…"

Male Voice #3: "…dirty bomb, please…"

"Steven": "I'll be back in a jiff."

Male Voce #2: "Yes, so it shall be the grouper!"

Male Voice #1: "Vengeance!"

Male Voice #2: "Web-footed!"

Female Voice #2: "Tampa!"

Male Voice #4: "…this place blows…"

Female Voice #1: "…from your mouth to God's ears."

 

 

OTHER McSWEENEY'S STORIES:
- - - -


An Interview with Parken Ward Brown, Age Two, on the Recent Visit of Local TV Weatherman Ben Gelber to His Preschool By Peter Ward Brown
Nome Dogfights By Susan Anderson
Free the Advanced Biological Weapon System: An Interview With Richard O'Barry By Brent Hoff
How These Stories End By Stephany Aulenback
An Interview With David Kirk, Tuba Player and Musicians' Spokesman, About the Houston Symphony Going on Strike, Conducted February 20, 2003 By Whitney Pastorek

- - - -

MAIN PAGE | ARCHIVES



Memories of Amanda Davis




Red dot denotes content that is new today.

Black dot denotes newish content.

McSWEENEY'S STORE

SUBSCRIBE TO:
McSWEENEY'S
THE BELIEVER
WHOLPHIN

FUTURE McSWEENEY'S BOOKS

THE AMANDA DAVIS HIGHWIRE FICTION AWARD

INVITE A McSWEENEY'S AUTHOR TO SPEAK IN YOUR TOWN OR COLLEGE

THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING

McSWEENEY'S MONTHLY MAILING LIST

BOOKSTORES WITH A McSWEENEY'S DISPLAY

McSWEENEY'S-RELATED EVENTS AND VARIOUS TOUR DATES

ORDER INQUIRIES AND ADDRESS CHANGES

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
FOR BOOKS
FOR THE QUARTERLY
FOR THE WEBSITE
FOR WHOLPHIN

McSWEENEY'S INTERNSHIPS

CONTACT US

- - - -

LETTERS TO McSWEENEY'S

LISTS

McSWEENEY'S RECOMMENDS

REVIEWS OF NEW FOOD

NEW WHOLPHIN FILM

DAN LIEBERT, VERBAL CARTOONIST

TEDDY WAYNE'S UNPOPULAR PROVERBS

NON-ESSENTIAL MNEMONICS

BITCHSLAP: A COLUMN ABOUT WOMEN AND FIGHTING

DISPATCHES FROM A GUY TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY
TO SELL A SONG IN NASHVILLE


GLOBAL WAR ON BEDBUGS: LETTERS FROM BEDBUG CITY

THE CONFLICTED EXISTENCE OF A FEMALE PORN WRITER

OH MY GAWD: A COLUMN ABOUT A TEENAGER NAVIGATING RELIGION

DISPATCHES FROM MANILA

DISPATCHES FROM AN INDIAN CASINO

THE CONVERGENCES CONTEST

CHRIS WHITE ANSWERS PROFOUND
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS


REPORTS FROM THE PINBALL SCENE

LETTERS FROM THE HELLBOX

NOTES FROM AN AMATEUR SPECTATOR
AT AMATEUR MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTS


B.R. COHEN'S DAYS AT THE MUSEUM

CONVERSATIONS AT A WARTIME CAFÉ

AND HERE'S THE KICKER:
MIKE SACKS'S CONVERSATIONS WITH HUMOR WRITERS


GRANT MUNROE'S CORPORATE FOLKTALES

SARAH WALKER SHOWS YOU HOW

DISPATCHES FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER
WHO IS TRYING TO GROW A MUSTACHE


DISPATCHES FROM A HANGDOG BANKRUPT

DISPATCHES FROM THE CAPITAL

DISPATCHES FROM INDIA

THE WINNER'S CIRCLE WITH ERIC FEEZELL

SEAN MICHAELS LISTENS TO MUSIC IN MONTREAL

SHORT IMAGINED MONOLOGUES

KIDS' LETTERS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

STAINED TEETH: A COLUMN ABOUT WINE

YOUR MONEY, YOUR JOB ... YOUR LIFE, WITH ALISON ROSEN

KEVIN DOLGIN TELLS YOU ABOUT PLACES YOU SHOULD GO IN EUROPE

ABOUT THE WILD THINGS

ABOUT THE CONVALESCENT

ABOUT FEVER CHART

ABOUT GOD SAYS NO

ABOUT ZEITOUN

LETTERS FROM AN EARTH BALL
TO, OR CONCERNING, SEAN HANNITY


E-MAILS SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FLAG-FOOTBALL TEAM


TRAVELING EUROPE IN STYLE WITH AUCKLAND DINGIROO,
DARK-AGE TOURIST AND CRITIC OF FOOD AND DRINK


JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG CORRESPONDENCES

INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL JOBS

FLIP: A COLUMN ABOUT SKATEBOARDING

OPEN LETTERS TO PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO RESPOND

DISPATCHES FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN

MICHAEL IAN BLACK IS A VERY FAMOUS CELEBRITY

DAN KENNEDY SOLVES YOUR PROBLEMS WITH PAPER

STEPHEN ELLIOTT'S POKER REPORT

- - - -

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL