Power Failure Albany Ramada Inn Silo Still Life, Summer 1973
alan catlin
First the power fails and their is no
air conditioning, no lights. no music for
the wedding squeezed inisde the main
dining room, sweating in their tuxedos and
suits! long wilted dresses losing their press
long past high noon in August. Outside the
hotel kitchen door they are cooking 210 Cornish
hens wrapped in aluminum foil over a makeshift
grill, poking the black mounds of charcoal
turning white with the pointed ends of aluminum
beach umbrella poles. Inside, lounge patrons
stand, hushed, looking down where he who has
fallen lies turning blue, outside, on the brick
front steps, others stand, checking their watches,
waiting, watching the late afternoon traffic on
Western Avenue.
