plague doctor

a retrovirus retropost. :)

the swine flu is coming to kill us all, you know. i was wandering the wastelands, a place that i haven't explored much, but where i feel a bit at home, because it reminds me so much of the ranch. this latest pandemic originated in mexico, and so its effects are being felt on the border.

it's also much on my mind, since i remember the stories my grandfather told of the last great influenza, of 1917, of the burning bodies of the dead, and his little sister who died.

with these cheerful thoughts, i'd just gone and bought the aztec outfit from nomine and was fiddling around, and started to think plague doctor.....i forgot i had this extraordinary skinny puppy mask, a replica of one worn by ogre in real life. i had removed the ears because they were sticking out of the hat. it was so interesting to me how it seemed to go together. the blood seemed so fitting too--my earliest memories of the ranch are of butchering animals, of torn flesh dripping blood, and hacked up body parts lying around the kitchen in a scene of casual carnage.

i chose the hat too because it carries tarot cards in the brim. this one has the devil card, which generally means materiality, being bound or trapped, and also more or less temptation and things having to do with the body.

as i wandered the wastes in this get up, i was mentally transported to the sands of the desert, the bleakness and relentless sun in the deep blue sky of the ranch.

there one must go with a head covering and longsleeves, pants, and boots in summer, to protect against the horrid sun and heat, which sometimes touches 11oF, and also the rattlesnakes, ants, killer bees, and other nasty critters that can kill you. i particularly was reminded by the bones on the coat, of the bleached bones of the unfortunates who die crossing, and whose bodies are quickly devoured by animals till there is nothing left but shiny white bones. this has happened occasionally, the most famous example being the poor nearsighted priest, who was riding to a mission in the late 18th century, who became lost, and died of exposure. his bleached bones were found in his tattered cassock. because the desert is funny like that--the flesh is eaten but the clothes stay preserved.

influenza juana wears:

skinny puppy mask by M&F masks
Aztec outfit and Rabid skin by Nomine
Gothic Cowboy hat by Ken Daini
Standard boots by Urban Dare
Brown jeans by Canimal

wandering the wastelands, and in falcon, at least in spirit......................................