On the very day learned about “ground scores,” I literally stumbled upon a weird looking skull. It wasn’t quite fully bleached; there was still gross head stuff on the top of the cranium. Since i’m no one’s forensic biologist, I could only assume that I had found a somewhat fresh chupacabra skull. The problem was that because of the gross head stuff, I was too afraid to pick it up and carry it somewhere to have it appraised. I figured a chupacabra skull could be worth a gazillion dollars and then I could retire and write all day about anything I want without worrying about a paycheck.
According to a resident at a homeless shelter where I counsel, a ground score is anything cool that you find on the ground while out for a walk or a bike ride. Sometimes, even a half smoked cigarette could count as a ground score. It all depends upon how much you need to smoke. Other types of ground scores could be: tools, coins, or maybe even a twenty dollar bill. As long as it was on the ground and of some value, it’s a legitimate ground score. He told me about it because as he and I walked on a small sidewalk within the facility grounds, he found a decent pair of boots. “Ground score,” he said when he gathered the boots and explained what he meant.
I may have well called out, “ground score” when I tripped onto the chupacabra skill. If I wasn’t so squeamish about gross things, I wouldn’t have left it on the ground. But it did get me to thinking that as a writer, i’ve also stumbled upon all kinds of another type of score.
The same day that my homeless friend taught me about ground scores, I also learned about liminal states. Basically, liminal means to be in an ambiguous middle stage. I learned the word in researching remote viewing exercises. While I don’t know if remote viewing (or “ESP”) is real, I do know that I’ve lived my life in various in-between states. I’ve lived in between languages and cultures and professions and this liminal state of being in which I’ve existed has created a very specific kind of mestizaje. i’ve mixed these liminal states into my writing and through my writing i’ve discovered a new type of score: the Liminal Score.
Just like a ground score, a liminal score is anything cool or of value that i’ve come across during my mestizaje way of being. I’ve learned about angels and demons and of the living and the dead. I have collected so many liminal scores that I sometimes feel like a hoarder who simply can’t account for everything he’s brought into this living space. Now, while I don’t have much of physical value to show for my countless liminal scores, they no less clutter mind my mind and spirit. These liminal scores have value, however, and I need to share them and release them from my cluttered headspace.
I left the chupacabra skull on the trail where I found it. Maybe the sun will finish bleaching the gross remaining head stuff off of the skull in a few days. Or maybe someone else will find it and not be grossed out. But I’m ok with someone finding their own ground score – it’s probably just a raccoon skull anyway.
