The Beggar's Diary, 27.08.2007.- A employee of the SPM07 comes by the FYAL and sits down at Filch's table, ready to dish out some real gossip: a dildo has been found at Guillaume Bijl's sculpture.
"Right."
Now, that IS something. He drinks his coffee and they say goodbye.
Nobody seems to be waiting for him at the Spiekerhof.
On the Bergstrasse he sees a blond mannequin sitting motionless at a table: a commercial ad for the bakery.
She is positioned about 50 meters from Filch's official point No. 06.
He goes to order some coffee at the bakery. While he waits, an old man walks by the doll, lays his hand on her shoulder and says: "So, Francesca, how are you today? Still not talking to an old man like me?"
"Sir, I hope you don't mind if I sit next to Francesca to drink my coffee?"
"Be my guest"
And Filch sits next to the blond plastic girl, absolutely determined to make a fool of himself. He tries to pass her off as his girlfriend.
Someone from the bakery comes over to his table and smiles politely, clearly not understanding. Filch The Beggar explains his loneliness at the Spiekerhof and how cursed he is being No.06. She understands and gives him the coffee and a delicious cake for free.
"If you want, you can stay until we make sandwiches, at noon."
The waiter of the Grosse Kiepenkerl walks up to inform Filch that Angeli is his girlfriend. Angeli?
"Well, man, I am not going to get into a fight because of a mannequin. And, by the way, her name is Francesca."
"Yes, plastic is not worth it. It was just a joke, Filch."
People passing by on the street shout different things at him:
"Viel spaß!!"
"Nicht die Frau anmachen."
"Schöne Freundin."
A woman comes up to him and points to the doll:
"She's a sculpture."
Well thanks, I hadn't noticed.
"I am a sculpture too," replies Filch.
"That's a match." She laughs out loud.
Filch is suddenly reminded of an eighties movie called Mannequin, in which a man falls in love with a doll like Francesca. Filch, inspired, quickly improvises a romantic scene between the two sculptures, himself and Francesca:
Filch: Maybe … it's late.
You know, I'll be honest with you.
I had a really great time tonight and uh ...
I'd really love to kiss you, but
I think that if I kiss you,
we'll end up kissing on the couch,
and if we end up kissing on the couch,
chances are we'll kiss in the bedroom, and, and if we kiss in the bedroom, then,
you know, that's, well, that's the part I always rush into, I ... I just don't think it's a good idea to rush into spending the night together.
Francesca: I wanna spend the night together.
Filch: I have no problem with that!
Oh, god, what a silly thing to do. The waiter comes out again and says he’s always welcome. It’s good for the bakery that people stop by to look at him.
A group of children pass by and a boy says: “Tag, liebe Frau.” He thinks, perhaps, if no one is watching, she comes to life, and nobody can prove the contrary! "Ha," thinks Filch, "this sounds like Wittgenstein." — and also like Toy Story, Filch.
It is now almost 1pm and, for the first time, he feels like staying at the Spiekerhof. However, there is still the plan to save The Thread, and that needs his attention.
His plan (it's secret, remember, so he cannot say anything about it) keeps him busy for the next hour. Then, satisfied, he decides to go for a swim.
On the way, he meets Carlos from Ecuador. He proudly shows his "The Beggar's Aria No. 1" CD. Carlos is not impressed. Indeed, he’s disappointed. "You should always use a photo! It’s good for sales!" Carlos promises to make a photo for the cover, if Filch wants it. A color copy costs 98 cents, he can put three on one A4 sheet. "You do the math,” he says.
Filch does.
"You can ask for 10 Euro for each CD."
"But there’s only one song in the CD!"
"Ah, promo ... I see. That’s difficult ... I cannot sell that for 10 Euro."
Truth is, Filch has already lost interest in the CD. But, who knows, maybe with a new cover, designed especially by Carlos, from Ecuador, that might change. But right now he has other things to worry about. The president (mind you, The President!!) is coming on Wednesday.
He needs to talk to his contacts at the Landesmuseum to make sure The President has the chance to see Filch.
He goes to see the film of Deimantas Narkevicius. He thinks of the statue of Marx and wonders why the people of Chemnitz did not want it to leave the city. Filch wants to tell the people of the former Karl Marx Stadt that it is always good to leave something empty, to feel that empty space in the city. "Emptiness, that's a good concept for public space." And now an idea concerning his own "mortality" takes shape in his mind. He must convince the Art Committee, responsible for deciding which sculpture to buy for Muenster, to pick him. You may think this is pure idleness, but for him it means much more than that: it means survival, the chance to die of old age, like everybody else, to be a real boy, like Pinocchio. He already knows the Committee is scheduled to meet on 6 September.
(Filch, I must say something here. This is sheer vanity. You make no sense if you live past September 30. It is not Pinocchio you must aspire to, but Roy Batty, from Blade Runner. Philip K. Dick knew that only the awareness of his approaching end made him interesting, made him truly human.)
But first a good swim at the Stadtbad Mitte, where he pays 3 euro to get in. At the entrance there is a big sign asking: “Kennen Sie Ihren Körperfettwert?” Filch checks his fat and decides he can be seen half naked. He has all his equipment with him, so he’s prepared. Once properly dressed, he asks two women to take a picture with his 06-tag. They do so with full enthusiasm, and tell him where to sit and stand. Filch is in no position to resist: he’s wearing swimtrousers! He even has to go to the jumpboard, where they will film him jumping in. “Ok, here we go”, he thinks. Of course he forgot all about his 06-tag joining him in the water. After the “swimming fun”, he takes his shower he has been waiting for and holds his tag under the hair drier. As he leaves the building, he realizes he’s close to Martin Boyce’s sculpture. He decides to end the day up there. Here he can think what to do with the Art Committee. Perhaps write them a letter?
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