April 17th, 2021
Odessa, Texas
"There died a myriad
And of the best, among them,
For an old bitch gone in the teeth,
For a botched civilisation".
So goes Ezra Pound’s poem Hugh Selwyn Mauberlay, a poem army veteran Steven Ortiz liked so much he made it his screen name. From what has thus far been gathered from his writings and activities since getting back from Afghanistan in 2016, Ortiz was searching for either meaning or community, or whatever passed for either online, but when he died screaming in a van outside Odessa, showering those who gave him a ride in blood and brain matter, he was definitely running from something.
H-Cell knows a few things. They know Ortiz went to visit two online friends in Globe, Arizona. They know they were called Zonnenrand and SHIELD MAIDEN. They know they talked about a ritual. They know Ortiz brought an armalite that saw action in Vietnam. They know he didn’t leave with it. They know something scared Ortiz real bad and that he was desperately trying to get back home to Birmingham. They know he didn’t make it far.
And they know that “Zonnenrand” just saw Ortiz’s telegram account come back online, and that he’s hoping his friend is okay.
Saturday, April 6, 2024 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
No comments:
Post a Comment