TAPE 33 - "Rita Comes To Visit"

This recovered tape opens with a critical musical analysis of Led Zeppelin (mistakenly called Heavy Blimps), accused of using “pots and pans” as instruments and expressing “a lot of love” — roughly 600 loves, by one count.

Rita, a long-anticipated seasonal force (or possibly a person), rolls into town early, knocking over Caleb in the process. Her arrival is announced by screaming, thuds, and a haunting playback from last Christmas.

The conversation wanders through town-wide blackouts, mismatched hot dog and hamburger buns from mysterious airdrops, and the difficulty of finding batteries in packs of three for flashlights that require two.

A casino is announced, featuring highly suspect versions of poker (“poke the girl beside you”) and something called Red Jack — which may or may not involve clapping.

Finally, wisdom is sought from the town owl, who unfortunately has been recently taxidermied. A musical number about green lollipops closes out the tape.

Key moments:

• “Dark outs” and makeshift flashlights
• Rita’s destructive descent
• Pseudo-poker rules involving physical poking
• Town owl’s posthumous silence
• Green lollipop confusion: is it apple... or just lollipop?

Send us a text

www.bootstuck.com