I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling wall and crushing ice. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees. I write award-winning operas. I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike baritone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets. I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy eveningwear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and won the weekend passes. I bat 400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield all in one day, and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I DO sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Paris, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of Physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my Bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I breed prize-winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling Bees at Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis. I let the dogs out.

But, I have not yet made the front page of Explore.

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Contact: brett.scarbeau [at] gmail.com

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    callmenaomi says:

    "what dare i now say about rico? what has not already been so beautifully conveyed, and in a language so rich and vivid that my own words are doomed to fall to the ground like so many fat summer raindrops into the cracked soil of drought, swallowed thirstily and immediately forgotten?

    nothing.

    as i strive to describe his courageous and tireless sojourn to self-improvement, the bitter sting of failure spreads through my very fabric: his unshakeable devotion to the meticulous study of the piano, which led him to practice long after the sun retired into the summer dusk, is utterly ineffable. indeed, the languid tones of his ode can still be heard echoing across that crystal lake . . . it pines and pines for the masterful stroke of his paddle, just as i long for the skill to paint this artist.

    alas, though the writer's effort be great, and the subject's worth beyond imagining, only one word rings true. it is a word that is breathed by the fire, by the trees, by the waters, by the wind. it is the word repeated in the footsteps of the wise and laughter of the young. it is the word that perfectly speaks of a man and a legend:

    rico."

    12th August, 2006

Name:
Brett Scarbeau
Joined:
March 2005
Currently:
Edmonton, Canada
I am:
Male