one day, two plane crashes

At a diner near an airport with a poet and Gideon. It was nighttime. Loud noises came from the sky. I looked out the window and saw a horizontal formation of commercial airplanes, flying very low to the ground and close together. Seemed very dangerous and I wondered if they were running out of gas. Maybe they were trying to land one at a time. A few minutes later the same formation passed overhead again. One plane fell and landed on its belly in a nearby parking lot. It seemed OK at first, then burst into flames. I called 911 and spoke to a dispatcher. I asked if they'd heard about the crash yet. Calmly he said yes, then asked about a problem I had last week with the back of my computer. I must have called 911 for help with that too. I said my problem was fixed and asked again if he was sure they knew about the plane crash. Then I heard the sirens.

* * *

Gideon and I went into an elderly care home to deliver a priority mail package. Inside were three poetry books. The recipient was my mother who apparently now lived there. At first, nobody was in the office and I was unsure where to leave the package. Then a man who worked there pointed to a shelf that said the "Burnside Review." There was a discussion with my aunt and another employee about bookshelves, different styles, painting them dark colors. They didn't like the current bookshelves, they thought they looked upside down. I think they wanted something more traditional. I told them where I got my shelves but recommended that they pay less at get them at Target. Although the bookshelves I had were a lot like the ones they were trying to replace.

Another employee gave Gideon a certificate to commemorate the death of an old woman. He said it was important to keep track of this and to also note his height. Gideon was 4'2 or 50".

My grandfather was there now. We talked about Donnie Darko. I wondered if he would like the movie soundtrack, I thought he might. He asked if I thought he'd like the movie. I told him that he would, but he wouldn't admit to liking it and would stick out his tongue and give it a big thumbs down, like he always did. Secretly he would enjoy it. I explained the movie was about physics and time travel in a pseudo-science way and that he'd have to suspend his disbelief.

Now I was in the movie. It was the middle of the day and I stood in a field. Gretchen Ross stood here too, her face and hair were covered in frost and ice that began to melt, like she had just woken from a cold sleep. Plane and helicopter parts fell from the sky. People ran everywhere for cover. For a moment I stood under a tree, then realized it wouldn't protect me. Part of a helicopter fell, inside was the body of a man and a dog--then another dog that somehow survived jumped out. Two smaller planes with grabby hooks caught two pieces of the falling debris and dropped them safely.

I looked down the dirt road, wondered if the plane engine crashed though Donnie Darko's bedroom yet, killing him and setting time right.