The city formerly known as Joyce did not like its previous appearance. Its classical architecture frustrated Joyce’s residents on a spectacular level. The modern part of the city annoyed Joyce’s residents also, so they hated that as well. They even disliked the roads. In the beginning they liked their city, but eventually they got used to it, then it grated on them and then they just couldn’t stand it. But they had nothing to replace it with, so for the longest time Joyce’s residents lived with Joyce’s visage which repulsed them to their very core.
Up until now. Recently a book circulated around Joyce which was written by Richard Brautigan called Trout Fishing In America. The residents of Joyce adored the book. In fact they adored the book so much that they wondered aloud: why don’t we reconstruct Joyce out of Trout Fishing In America? Afterall in the book there is a chapter, “Cleveland Wrecking Yard”, in which there was a trout stream for sale. So a team of delegates were sent on a mission to find this wrecking yard in the place known as Cleveland and to buy enough trout steam to rebuild a city in Trout Fishing In America. They were sent out with flatbed trucks.
In time the delegates found the wrecking yard. After driving for hours and passing cities, rivers, mountains and plains, they found Cleveland and its wrecking yard. They inquired about the trout stream and the man there said they had some new trout streams arrive recently. Enough trout stream to construct a city, the man said. The delegates bought all of the trout stream and loaded it on to their flatbed trucks. They also bought some waterfalls, some wild life, some trees and some insects. The trout came free with the stream.
The delegates came back to Joyce as hero’s. The deconstruction of Joyce began immediately. Joyce rid itself of its previous architecture and began replacing it with trout streams. Roads made of trout streams. Parks replaced with trout streams. A skyscraper constructed entirely out of streams containing trout. Once the streams were laid down and in place, the waterfalls were added, the wild life and insects were let loose and the trees were planted. Joyce marvelled at its work.
Granted Joyce wasn’t a useful city anymore. People can’t drive on trout streams and they can’t ride trains on trout streams either. Books get wet in trout streams and there’s nowhere to plug things in. Business deals don’t work in trout streams and money gets very wet in trout streams, making banks useless. Yet Joyce’s residents don’ t care. They now live in Trout Fishing In America and they could not be happier. In fact they love it so much that they got rid of the name Joyce and replaced it with Trout Fishing in America because now instead of hating the architecture they now all fish for trout. In fact they now refer to everything in Trout Fishing in America as Trout Fishing in America. And they love it so.
Tribute to Richard Brautigan and his amazing book Trout Fishing in America via an Invisible City.
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