Jim McGillis

Silver Girl departed Wigwam Number 7, at the Cozy Cone Motel in Holbrook, Arizona. She walked toward the office of the Wigwam Motel, where she planned to meet with the Other. As soon as the door slammed behind her, Coney the Traffic Cone sidled up to the desk where Moabbey the Coyote sat. Ignoring Coney, he stared intently at the holographic computer screen before him.

Shaking from his point to his base, Coney blurted out, "Kokopelli is under arrest in Phoenix. What are we going to do?"

Moabbey turned to look at Coney, who was quaking like an Aspen tree. "Arrest?" said Moabbey, as if there must be more to this story than met the eye.

"Yes, arrest," exclaimed Coney. "He was at the airport, after making a campaign appearance. He is running for State Ancient Spirit, which is an elective office in Arizona".

"Who would arrest Kokopelli for exercising his rights as a native of Arizona?" asked Moabbey. "With his history in the state going back to Anasazi and Pre-Puebloan days, he is a natural for that position".

"It was Arizona State Governor Jan Brewer who arrested him. Honest, I have pictures to prove it", said Coney, as he handed an AP Wire photo to Moabbey.

Moabbey starred at the picture intently. "I cannot believe it", he finally said. "She is shaking her finger in Kokopelli's face. Has she no respect for the Spirit of the Ancients?"

"After passage of the Arizona SB1070 statute, all elected officials in the state are now sworn immigration officers. She arrested him on two counts. First, because he exists simultaneously in five dimensions, she accused him of being an illegal alien.

"Wait a minute, said Moabbey. "She cannot arrest Kokopelli as an illegal alien. He has lived in Arizona and the Four Corners for thousands of years. He is more of a native than she is, to be sure".

"It doesn't matter", said Coney. "She had Kokopelli locked up in Sheriff Joe's Maricopa County Jail for sixty days. If Sheriff Joe can force him to wear a pink prison uniform, it will cover his multicolor coat and he will lose all of his magical powers. Sheriff Joe has broken the spirit of many prisoners with gross colored food, degrading uniforms and loud Christmas carols played incessantly throughout his jail".

Coney rattled on, "She also arrested Kokopelli for violating Arizona's English Only Law. Anyone who runs for elected office in Arizona must read, write and speak English. Kokopelli is mute, so she arrested him for not speaking English. Apparently, that is perfectly legal".

Just then, there was a Fox News live bulletin on the TV in their wigwam. It was Geraldo Rivera reporting live from the Arizona State House in Phoenix. After adjusting the rabbit ears on the TV, they heard Geraldo say, "The Wall Street Journal says Kokopelli is guilty and that no trial is necessary. After all, he is not a U.S. citizen. Governor Jan Brewer has proposed that the Republican Elephant become the Arizona State Ancient Spirit, leaving Kokopelli in the dust bin of history. Both Fox News and the Wall Street Journal have pledged the full resources of their Sewer PAC. They are backing Governor Brewer all the way".

Moabbey starred again at Coney, and said, "You are going to have to save Kokopelli alone. I cannot appear in public. During the Republican presidential debate in Florida last night, Governor Mitt Romney blamed the entire illegal immigration problem on Coyotes. He said that Coyotes prey upon people and are not fit to be part of our society". Moabbey sighed, looked at Coney and said, "Coney, I am a coyote".

With that, Coney feinted, tipped over and lay motionless on the floor of the wigwam. As Moabbey rushed to tip Coney back onto his base, the door opened and there stood Silver Girl. Starring agape at the fallen cone and the coyote hovering over him, she exclaimed, "Omigod, what happened?"

To be continued...

As a diesel locomotive rumbled by outside, Moabbey the Coyote sat quietly in front of his old Power Mac G4 Cube. Staring intently at a place just above the Cube and then using sheer will, he attempted to view a holographic email message.

"This is frustrating", he muttered to himself. "When Steve Jobs personally designed this computer for the Millennium, just before Y2K, Apple Computer sold it without a display. I didn't have much money, so I gigaflopped its Velocity Engine and created my own 4-D chromatic-hypersphere display. It allows me to channel the message either visually or empathically, depending on my mood. My problem is that the 4G wireless network has not yet made it to Wigwam Village in Holbrook, Arizona".

"Maybe we can help", said a small voice atop the computer. While Moabbey had ranted on about technology, both Coney and Kokopelli had quietly climbed up on to the Mac G4 Cube.

"Wait", shouted Moabbey. "That's it... Just sit still on the Cube. The message is becoming clearer. OK, I have it downloaded. Now you two can move". Turning to the printer in their crowded wigwam, Moabbey retrieved a single sheet of paper. He flipped it face-up and began to read the message aloud.

"Hallo Moabbey,

Indeed your article about artist Constantino Proietto stimulated my interest. He was a real good friend of my family and I called him "Uncle Tino". My parents owned many of his beautiful paintings, for example the "Via Dolorosa" in Jerusalem from a phantastic perspective, and another of the "Montmartre" in Paris.

His main works were pictures with Italian motifs. Costantino, we called him "Tino", painted in the "Sixtinische Kapelle" (Sistine chapel) in Roma, as well. He copied Madonna-pictures with very high quality. For example the halo of the Madonna was in 24-carat gold. Once, when I had the measles, he painted a picture for me in dark colours, because bright light was not good during that disease.

In the 60's and 70's C. Proietto sold his large pictures in Germany for about 2000-3000 DM, which was a lot of money at that time. His date of death was in the middle of the 70's, I believe. I will find it exactly and send it to you. In addition, certainly my parents have pictures of him. His paintings are much more valuable than as indicated by recent auctions. I hope this may help you with your research. It would be nice to hear from you.

Kind regards from dear old Germany.

Yours, A.S."

Staring in disbelief, Moabbey realized that there was no return address on the message. Looking at Coney and Kokopelli, he said, "I think I told you move a bit too soon". As he finished his sentence, his words trailed off in despair. "When you two multidimensional characters sat on the Mac Cube, its AirPort wireless card brought in that holographic message all the way from Germany. When you jumped off of the Cube, the wireless died just as his address was coming across".

"I'm sorry to hear that, Moabbey", said Coney. "My cone-shape is a natural antennae and Kokopelli can access at least five dimensions, so far as I can tell. That combination of energies can attract almost anything nonphysical. However, when I'm around Kokopelli for too long, he gets bored with me and starts playing tricks". After reflecting on that thought for a moment, the little orange traffic cone blurted out, "Hey, Kokopelli; did you cut off the transmission before Moabbey received the return address?" Kokopelli just shrugged and blushed right through his coat of many colors.

Coney and Kokopelli receiving
the holographic email message.

"Coney, we can't blame Kokopelli. He likes to play his tricks, but my energetic misalignment truncated that message. As usual, I was impatient and cut it off too soon".

Stepping out from the shadows inside the wigwam, Sliver Girl brought her sparkling personality into the conversation. "Don't despair, Moabbey", she said. "It is the best C. Proietto lead we have received in months. Even if we do not know who sent it, we can publish it on the worldwide web and then see what it attracts".

While admiring her great beauty, Moabbey murmured, "You are brilliant, as always, my dear. Since we keep experiencing lapses in our 3-D time-space reality, perhaps you would be so kind as to contact the Other. Maybe he can get it out on the internet".

"My pleasure, Moabbey", she said. Unhooking the mouthpiece from the wall telephone, she spun the crank and then waited for the operator to answer at front desk of the Cozy Cone Motel.

Reverberating throughout the ferroconcrete wigwam, a loud voice soon crackled over the carbon-amplified earpiece. "Front Desk; how may I help you?"

"Hello. This is Silver Girl," she said with her characteristic self-confidence. "Would you be a dear and get a message out to the art world for us?"

"I'd be happy to, Silver Girl", the Other replied. "But only if you deliver that message in person".

"Let me slip into a more comfortable dimension, and then I'll be right over", she said seductively.

"I'll be waiting," said the Other, and then the telephone in Wigwam Number 7 went silent.

As you will recall, our Superheroes were on vacation at the Cozy Cone Motel in Holbrook, Arizona. Unexpectedly, the place was packed and they all had to stay in one teepee. By the second night, Moabbey was bored and started searching the internet for references to him and the other superheroes that he traveled with Silver Girl, Coney and Kokopelli. Pushing his chair back from an iPad resting on the little desk inside their ferroconcrete teepee, Moabbey stretched his limbs. Aloud, he said, "It looks like they are on to us. Some blogger at JamesMcGillis.com just published an article saying exactly where we are right now. I do not mind the recognition while on vacation, but when we leave here, we shall go incognito.

With that, Coney looked up and said, "So, you think that a coyote, a traffic cone, a girl from a mud flap and a multicolored proto-animal playing a flute can go undercover? That would take a Chief Joseph-sized blanket."

"OK, enough about that", said Moabbey. "This blogger, McGillis also wrote about an international art mystery that he is trying to solve. With a bit of luck, I think that we can help".

Putting both front paws together thoughtfully, Moabbey's eyes narrowed to slits. "This guy McGillis has an original oil painting from a twentieth century modern impressionist master. The Sicilian artist, Constantino Proietto was born in 1900. Other than ten or twelve signed original oil paintings worldwide, no one seems to know much about the artist. There are no pictures of him on the internet. His only online biography is five or six lines long, and does not mention his date of death. No family member has come forward to claim him as kin".

Opening his eyes wider now, Moabbey continued, "According to the McGillis article, a Danish artist of note, Carl Frederik Aagaard also painted the same scene from the same terrace as the original C Proietto painting, but in the nineteenth, not Proietto's twentieth century".

Silver Girl, who had been listening from the shadows of their Cozy Cone, now stepped into the light and dazzled them in reflected light. "I have plan, Moabbey", she said thoughtfully. "We could split up; two of us visiting the times of each artist. If we start at the same terrace on the Amalfi Coast, we have a good chance of catching both artists while painting: each within his own time, yet painting the same scene".

"That would be cool", said Coney. "Since each of us, in our own way, can transcend time and space, we could meet again with each other in the middle, half way between the times of each artist and compare notes". At that point, The Other stepped in and said, "Be careful. If you use an energy bridge without sufficient respect, you could create a time-warped mess".

At that point, Kokopelli twinkled his multicolored coat, stopping the conversation. "OK, we get it Koko", said Silver Girl. "We will be OK so long as we remember to respect the interests of all, that is".

20th Century Italian Artist
Constantino Proietto

By then, Moabbey had returned to his iPad. Looking down at the screen, he said, "If we want to solve this nineteenth and twentieth century art mystery before anyone else, we better hurry. I just Googled the terms, "C Proietto, and Constantino Proietto." On both the Web and at Google Images, Jim McGillis is already number-one in the search results for that artist. When I Google the nineteenth century master from Copenhagen's Golden Age, "Carl Frederik Aagaard", the Jim-McGillis-at-Live-Journal article is close to the top of the Web results. If we don’t hurry, the truth may be known before we even get to the Amalfi Coast".

"Wait", said Moabbey. "You aren't going to believe this. I just found an image of Constantino Proietto from a defunct free website. The image is there, but the website is gone. I guess they did not pay their bill".

"That's it", declared Silver Girl. "Coney, you're coming with me. We are going to be the Carl Frederik Aagaard team, visiting him in nineteenth century Italy. You two, Moabbey and Kokopelli, will drop in on Signore C Proietto in the late 1940s, as he stands upon that fabled terrace and paints the Amalfi Coast".

Just as Coney asked, "But when do we leave?" Kokopelli crinkled his nose, sneezed once and then, in a puff of light, they all departed Wigwam Village and Old-66, in Holbrook, Arizona.

As you may have guessed, Moabbey, Coney and Friends have been looking for adventure ever since Silver Girl joined the gang at the Moab Ranch Hideout. When the Other returned to Moab Ranch that night, he had solemn words for the group. Although he had pitched the unlikely group of superheroes to the executives at Atlantis Pictures, they sank the project before hearing the whole story.

Upon return to Moab Ranch, the Other explained to the group that no one believed that they existed, so why would anyone make a movie about them? Besides, if they did exist, what had they actually accomplished on this Earth to warrant a movie deal?

"Not much," said Moabbey, "But what do they expect from a coyote, a traffic cone, a mythical flute player and a metalized girl?"

The Other leveled his dark gaze on Moabbey, who hunched his shoulders and tried to slip into the background. "If you are real superheroes," the people at Atlantis Pictures told me, "you might want to get out there and save the world, or at least some significant part of it."

"Okey, dokey, Boss", said Moabbey as he faded into the background. That left Coney, Kokopelli and Silver Girl standing out front.

Shining in her trademark Silver Light, Silver Girl stepped forward. She smiled at the Other and said, "If we have to save the world just to prove our box office potential, shouldn't we take a vacation first? Don't forget, I was tacked to the mud flap of the Ugly Trucker for years. If Thelma & Louse hadn't blown that truck to kingdom come, I'd still be stuck there, driving back and forth across the country."

"So", replied the Other, "if I give you a little time off to play, you and your cohorts will buckle down and accomplish enough for me to get you a Hollywood contract?"

"Better yet", said Silver Girl with a smile, "I'll sneak into Pixar on the mud flap of a delivery truck and then pitch our script directly to them."

"Deal", said the Other.

"Wait just a gal darn minute, Silver Girl", said Coney. "I think you just committed us to an act of accomplishment in this life. I have made 'doing nothing' except standing still my life's work. I don't think I want to change and start taking action now."

"Ah, common, Coney", said Silver Girl, as she patted the top of his cone. "With me, you know it will be fun. Please?"

With that, Coney turned from bright orange, to bright red. Any direct attention from Silver Girl was enough to make his day, so even against all fears; he said a simple, "OK".

Turning her gaze to Kokopelli, she boldly asked, "Are you in?" Glowing with iridescence and lifting slowly off the ground, Kokopelli smiled his knowing smile and then bowed his head once toward Silver Girl.

"I'll take that as a 'Yes'. What about you, Moabbey? I see you lurking in the background.

"Ah, yes, my dear. Of course I would be happy to attend", said Moabbey, as he stepped forward into the light.

"Great, then it is settled. If we leave right now, we can make it to the Cozy Cone Motel in Holbrook, Arizona before dark. They just renovated the place, replacing the Pixar traffic cones with real concrete wigwams. You guys will love it. We can each have our own wigwam, if you like. Their advertisement says that you can listen to thirty minutes of live radio in your wigwam for only ten cents."

"Entertainment, too?" gasped Coney. "Let's get going." Therefore, they did visit the Cozy Cone Motel in Holbrook, and above are the pictures to prove it.

Email JimMcGillis

Near sundown, in early fall, Moabbey and Coney sat on the verandah at Moab Ranch. With their chair backs propped against the ranch house wall, they surveyed the scene. Throughout the day, nothing of consequence had happened. Now the cloudless sky turned to a color blue never seen on a computer screen. Riding the thermals, a red tail hawk silently circled above the Moab Rim.

Then, bringing its own cloud of dust, a Blue Thunderbird convertible roared out of nowhere, passed them by and was gone as quick as it came. Simultaneously, both of their wooden chairs tipped forward, clunking back to their four-legged positions. As the T-Bird passed, something, or someone flew out of the back seat, did a triple back flip and landed at their feet.

Silver Girl, before rescue by
Thelma & Lousie

As their eyes widened, the gold dust cleared enough for them both to see a form standing in front of them. To their amazement, it was a gorgeous, chrome-shiny girl. As the gold dust dissipated and settled around her, she ended her tumbling run on her feet. Her brown eyes flashed at Moabbey and Coney. Brushing brown curls away from her face, the girl focused all of her energy, and then asked, "Where am I?"

Realizing that they were talking to a woman, the pair rose to full attention. "Moab Ranch", Moabbey blurted out. "But, who are you?"

With a shy smile and a tear in one eye, she tilted her head to one side, and then looked up to say, "I am Silver Girl. I was a captive on a mean, ugly trucker's mud flaps for years. Then, two women ended my slavery by blowing up his rig. When it exploded, I flew off the truck and into the back seat of their T-Bird. Then, it was off to the races. Cops were chasing the women, calling their names with bullhorns. 'Thelma, Louse, stop or we'll shoot to kill'. Since they appeared to be goners, I jumped out, landing here in your pile of golden dust."

The Ugly Trucker's rig explodes.

Coney blurted to Moabbey, "This is just like in my dream. I haven't had a girl friend in years; then along comes this long-haired beauty, almost landing in my lap."

"Wait a minute. I didn't ask for a relationship with a cone-head like you, let alone a coyote who wears a bandana. Don't go getting any ideas, alright?"

Moabbey then stepped forward. Completing a sweeping bow, he said, "Please pardon my friend Coney's obtuseness. He has been standing out on Potash Road for so many years that he sometimes forgets his manners. Still, it is several leagues to town and if you would like to stay here at the ranch tonight, you are welcome to use the owner's suite.

"The Other is going to be sore at you for giving away his room," Coney muttered under his breath. By then, Moabbey was already escorting Silver Girl through the big front door of the ranch house. 

Once inside, the door shut against Coney's big ears and even bigger mouth. With an inquisitive look on his face, Moabbey asked, "How long were you held captive on the mud flap of that gasoline truck?"

Approaching the door to the owner's suite, Silver Girl stopped, and then turned back towards Moabbey. The silhouette of her ample figure reflected lamplight into Moabbey's eyes. After a long pause, she said, "It was nineteen years, to the day, when Thelma & Louise exacted revenge on my jailer. I wanted to thank them for saving me, but they were too busy evading the law."

"Why did you jump out here?" asked Moabbey.

Silver Girl jumps as Thelma & Louise
blow past Moab Ranch.

"I don't rightly know", said Silver Girl. "As we approached the ranch, something called for me to jump. I heard a voice in my head say, 'Don't worry; jump. You will be alright'. I took a leap of faith; and look at me now, about to bathe in a hot water, and then sleep in a bedroom fit for both a king and a queen. It may take a while, but things do work out, in the end".

"Some girls have all the luck", Moabbey said, closing the bedroom door behind her. Smiling to himself and scratchin his chin whiskers, Moabbey turned to walk away.

Back on the porch, Coney was ringing his hands and saying, "I blew it. I always blow it around beautiful women. Why can't I get it right?"

"You will", said Moabbey. "When the time is right and the relationship is right for each, you will know exactly what to say. Don't worry about it. There is always another day and there will always be another beautiful girl waiting to hear what you have to say. Only next time, say it to her, not to me."

"You got that right", said Coney, shaking his head from side to side. "Maybe I can start over with Silver Girl tomorrow, at breakfast."

Moabbey smiled his sly coyote smile, raised both eyebrows and then said, "It is your turn to cook, so plan on getting up early, before she awakens. If there is anything that our long-lost girl desires, it will include a ranch breakfast to celebrate her freedom", said Moabbey, turning towards his bunk for the night.

Smiling to himself, Coney said, "Bacon, eggs and hash browns; that is the way to a girl's heart. That, plus the aroma of fresh-ground Moab Java coffee wafting through the early morning air will have her in my arms before Noon. I just know it."