Ekayani

From her rather shy demeanor you might never have guessed that Ekayani is actually something of a superhero, sometimes even to her own amazement. Let me recall one particular adventure for you. Years ago , back in the winter of 1999, Ekayani stopped by the Kruth family estate in the splendiforous suburbs of New Jersey to pay a visit to my old, ailing mother. As it was the maids day off I was in the kitchen heating up some leftover red beans and rice , while my mom dozed in her favorite chair, in front of the television set.

Meanwhike, Ekayani sat on the living room sofa, looking radiant in white. My brother Steven was their too, talking with her. They were really hitting it off, getting kind of flirty. I started becoming jealous--annoyed that she liked my brother so much. She was laughing loudly at his jokes. You know that laugh of hers. Then Steven started to sell her some jewelry.
She sat close to him trying on all kinds of sparkly bracelets. The phone rang. It was for him, so he excused himself and went into the other room to take the call. Then I returned to the kitchen to check on the beans and rice that had started to burn.
As usual Steven's array of gadgetry was spread out of all over the coffee table beside the couch. Ekayani picked up the cell phone and his pistol and walked out on the veranda and closed door. She began having a heated conversation in French with somebody on the cell phone and started punctuating her words by firing the pistol in the air. Little did she realize that our neighbors private helicopter was trying to take off at that very moment and she was firing directly at them! Suddenly they fired shots back at her. She began to realize what was happening and returned the volley, bring the chopper down through the towering maple trees, into our backyard. The neighbors, as we had always suspected, were drug smugglers, and the cops soon showed up to arrest them and congratulate Ekayani. As far as I know that was just a typical day for her!

Recently Ekayani called to ask if I would scribe the liner notes for long awaited new album. "Of course!" I told her. So I scrounged up some coloured chalk from the bottom drawer of my desk to scribble a few words on the slabs of our fair city's sidewalk, which I would then snap a picture of with my digital camera as I precariously hung out my apartment window by one hand. Then brimming with pride, I'd email the finished piece to Ek and our myself an ice cold miller.
But each time I'd turn my back to go inside some careless pedestrian would saunter across my delicate strophes, smearing a letter here or a word there. I wound up standing out there for neaarly an hour yelling at those stupid clods to watch out where they stepped, when suddenly it began to rain! It seemed certain that the rain would wash away my ode to Ekayani, and a moment later my lightning fast inspiration would be lost forever. The she suddenly appeared, swooping down out of nowhere, radiant in a yellow raincoat, to read those illuminated verses over my shoulder.
Althought the rain would wash it all away as quickly as I could write, Ekayani, aspiring superhero that she is, remembered the whole thing perfectly, word for word. So the next time you see here, just ask her to recite the wonderful poem I wrote to commemorate this album. It was totally brilliant. Really!
-John Kruth
New York City
Spring 2004