Daycare in lehigh acres: THE Top 10 Daycares in Lehigh Acres, FL
THE Top 10 Daycares in Lehigh Acres, FL
Daycares in Lehigh Acres, FL
Melissa’s House
521 McKinley Ave., Lehigh Acres, FL 33972
Starting at $130/wk
Description:
I offer quality home child care. I have raised five of my own children and have provided child care for over 25 years. I have many references available. I provide nutritious meals and snacks, games, learningactivities and crafts. I do offer a preschool program at an addition $10 per week. Children are kept busy and entertained, not sitting in front of a TV all day. Outside activities and playtime are included in the schedule each day and swimming is also offered. I offer personable child care in a small group setting. My family and I moved to Florida in July of 2020 because my husband took a position as a high school counselor. We moved here from a small Amish community in Northern Indiana where we had raised our five children. I chose to continue my childcare business as I love working with children of all ages and providing a safe loving environment in which children can feel at home. When I was a young mother 30 years ago, I remember the struggle of finding good quality child care…that is why I started my own child care home. Over the years the the children and their families were like family to me. Its not just a ‘job” for me, it is about helping families in any way I can….
Description:
Amelia Garibaldi Family Day Care Home is a child care and learning facility that has been serving the community of Lehigh Acres, Florida since 2008. It provides quality care and education in a safe andstimulating environment conducive to children’s growth and development. The center provides children with educational activities and age-appropriate learning materials that stimulate the children’s curiosity, imagination, creativity and natural learning ability….
Description:
Your child will LOVE attending Smith Home Preschool! We offer a Creative Curriculum based daily schedule filled with lots of creative fun play throughout the day. Within our schedule we also have a daily musiccurriculum.
You preschooler will have fun piano lessons and other fun music lessons daily. Music is an amazing tool that helps children learn new thinking skills.
The children will also learn about gardening during outdoor play time. As we grow flowers and vegetables, they will develop new skills and learn about science and nature from growing their own food. They will learn about planting, plant care, learn where food comes from, develop a love of nature, self confidence and best of all, we can eat what we grow.
Our Daily Schedule Includes:
Breakfast, lunch and snacks provided.
Circle Time: The children are brought together for Letter of the Day with custom made letter play aprons, Music and Movement (Songs, Piano, Other Musical Instruments), Weather Chart, Story Time, Owl’s Brain Quest Time, and an introduction to the morning learning center activity.
Choice Time and Learning Center Activity (twice per day)
More Story Time (2 stories are read per day)
Outdoor Play (twice per day)
Rest and Quiet Time (2 hours, The children who choose not to nap can do a quiet activity)
And Art and Creative Time
Outdoor Play Activities:
We have a large fenced in yard with new playground equipment and a 20′ screened in porch with fun ride on toys and other activities.
Your child will LOVE outdoor time!
Your child’s enrollment includes, breakfast, lunch, 2 snacks per day, a nap mat, and 2 custom made nap mat bed sheets. Your child can choose the themed fabric for their nap mat.
Your Child’s Preschool Lead Teacher is Ms. Kim. I have over 20 years experience in working with young children and I have an Associates in Education from the University of Phoenix. I am first aid and CPR trained. I am also a mom to a high functioning autism and ADHD child and am familiar with the autism spectrum and their special education needs. I love Creative Curriculum and I also study and use many other preschool education books such as Literacy Beginnings, Science is Simple, Starting With Stories and many other books that help make all preschool lessons fun.
My preschool hours are from 6:30 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday.
I offer affordable rates and I offer a sibling discount….
Description:
Diane Tome Family Daycare is a child care establishment that provides a responsive child care for families living in Lehigh Acres near 1113 Truman Ave.
Their child center ensures that they comply with therigorous child care regulations set by the state of Florida….
Description:
Janet Calvo Day Care Home is a home-based childcare facility that serves the community of Lehigh Acres FL. It offers a loving and nurturing environment where children are free to explore and discover theirunique personalities. It provides age-appropriate activities that encourage children to develop social skills and intellectual abilities. The home center promotes active learning through play-based and child-initiated activities….
Description:
Language Learners LLC is a day care establishment on 1544 Canal St, Lehigh Acres, FL that maintains a loving, caring, and cheerful facility. Their child care center ensures that their students are comfortablewhile learning each and every time….
Little Hands Daycare
803 Willow Dr # 803, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936
Costimate: $134/wk
Description:
Little Hands in Lehigh Acres, Florida seeks to provide a nurturing, high quality, safe and fun learning environment that is fit for the child’s overall growth and development.
It is a Child Care provider thatcan accommodate a certain number of children….
Description:
Two By Two Preschool and Daycare LLC is an educational facility that serves the community of Lehigh Acres FL. It offers a comprehensive early childhood program and provides age-appropriate activities thatfoster holistic development among children. The school aims to strengthen the educational foundation and life skills of children through its variety of programs….
Description:
Community Children’s Center in Lehigh Acres, Florida seeks to provide a nurturing, high quality, safe and fun learning environment that is fit for the child’s overall growth and development. It is a Child Careprovider that can accommodate up to 168 children….
Description:
Smith Home Preschool is an educational facility that serves the community of Lehigh Acres FL. It offers a comprehensive early childhood program in an environment where children are free to explore and discovertheir unique personalities.
The school provides activities that foster holistic development among children and promotes balanced learning by integrating recreational activities with academics….
Crossroads Preschool
1430 Homestead Rd N, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936
Costimate: $135/wk
Description:
Crossroads Preschool emphasizes a balance of intellectual and social development for students to learn and function independently throughout their lives. They prepare an engaging curriculum for a small group ofchildren. The school provides them with the skills necessary to succeed in elementary school and beyond….
Description:
Lehigh Childcare Center is devoted to providing a caring community known for providing quality early educational programs to a diverse population. The center prepares children for a lifetime of learning throughactively involving them in meaningful experiences….
Description:
Wiggin’s Family Child Care is a childcare facility and licensed to accommodate up to six children.
The facility is open Mondays through Fridays, serving infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age childrenfrom 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM….
Description:
The Brilliant Start LLC is a child care center that focuses on their students’ learning needs more than anything else. Their center at 3607 9th St Sw, Lehigh Acres, FL keeps their activity areas clean, bright,and organized that aids with their students’ cognitive and motor development….
Description:
Lehigh Acres Christian Academy is a Christian-based preschool, designed to provide an environment for the child to grow and develop into what God has intended. Their goal is to nurture children’s enthusiasmabout learning and assist them in reaching their full potential; ultimately leading to successful entry into kindergarten….
Description:
Learning Village Preschool supports the whole child’s overall growth and development in all aspects in a state-licensed and stimulating environment. This state-licensed child care organization situated inLehigh Acres, FL offers enriching curriculum and age-appropriate educational programs.
They nurture preschool students with respect, values, and love with a maximum capacity of 70 children….
Showing 1 – 16 of 16
Daycare Resources
FAQs for finding daycares in Lehigh Acres
In 2023 what type of daycare can I find near me in Lehigh Acres, FL?
There are a variety of daycares in Lehigh Acres, FL providing full time and part-time care. Some daycares are facility-based and some are in-home daycares operated out of a person’s home. They can also vary in the degree of education and curriculum they offer. Additionally, some daycares offer bilingual programs for parents that want to immerse their children in multiple languages.
How can I find a daycare near me in Lehigh Acres, FL?
If you are looking for daycare options near you, start several months in advance of when you need care for your child. Care.com has 229 in Lehigh Acres, FL as of February 2023 and you can filter daycares by distance from Lehigh Acres or your zip code.
From there, you can then compare daycare rates, parent reviews, view their specific services, see their hours of operation and contact them through the website for further information or to request an appointment.
What questions should I ask a daycare provider before signing up?
As you visit daycare facilities in Lehigh Acres, FL, you should ask the providers what their hours are so you can be prepared to adjust your schedule for drop-off and pick-up. Ask what items you are responsible for bringing for your child and what items you may be required to provide that will be shared among other children or the daycare staff. Also, make sure to check directly with the business for information about their local licensing and credentials in Lehigh Acres, FL.
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
./images/profile_bg1.gif” rowspan=”2″ align=”left” valign=”top”>
./images/profile_bg3.gif” align=”left” valign=”top”>
./images/profile_bg0.gif” colspan=”2″ align=”left” valign=”center”>
./images/profile_bg2.gif” align=”left” valign=”center”>
..
./images/profile_bg1.gif” rowspan=”2″ align=”left” valign=”top”>
gif” align=”left” valign=”top”>
gif” colspan=”2″ align=”left” valign=”center”>
gif” align=”left” valign=”center”>
./images/profile_bg0.gif” colspan=”2″ align=”left” valign=”center”>
./images/profile_bg2.gif” align=”left” valign=”center”>Prose : Soviet classical prose : BLACK GOLD : Vladimir Vysotsky : read online
BLACK GOLD
LONG RANGE
Without these wheels, we’re like birds without wings.
More than a potion has bewitched us
A couple hundred horsepower
And, probably, evil spirits.
They say all the ends of the earth
We are loomed with big money.
Kilometers in rubles,
nine0005 They say they stay with us.
The final destination will whip our souls.
We turn off the motors and flat on the ground.
Let them talk – we are driving
We are chasing a long ruble,
Yes, that too, but that’s not the point.
We have either straight roads or highway loops.
Eh, if only we had a few drivers!
I do not hope that everyone will endure
Won’t get off on uneven ground.
But I swear on a ramp – those whom we will take
nine0005 For two voyages to our galley,
Let’s bring to the divine form
And, of course, in the driver’s faith.
And we, three-axle, heavy on the rise
Both figuratively and literally.
Usually you need to desperately,
And forever running out of time!
It is understandable – a distant flight.
On a long-distance flight, the seat is either a table or a lounger,
A partner is considered a brother.
We wake up on bends,
In the other world, almost, right slope. nine0003
On wheels our house, table and shelter behind the wheel
This must be taken into account in the estimates.
We make settlements with each other
Common sleep in roadside ditches.
We rest in peace when we lie on it,
Half a day under the belly we tell something.
We do not walk on the dew
All our axles, tons all
A wet highway is bent into an arc.
All small fry overtake us, and slightly
Of course, overtaking is offensive to us.
nine0005 But we look down on them,
Otherwise you can’t get out of the cab.
Leapfrog of days, nights, then rays, then shadows…
But during the night hours of the transition
Standing in front of us without signal lights
Chauffeur’s dashing freedom.
Sit and warm yourself, chatting as if in a saddle,
Without long-haul flights, there is no life on earth.
Who put an end to himself,
Who got behind the wheel, as if under arrest,
He is not capable of a long-haul flight. nine0003
ROAD HISTORY
I came out tall and face
(Thanks to mother and father),
I’m in harmony with people – I didn’t urge, I didn’t push,
I didn’t bend my back – I walked straight,
And he didn’t blow in his mustache, and he lived as he lived,
And he helped his head with his own hands.
Road, and “MAZ” is on the way,
Which is up to his ears bogged down.
It’s dark in the cockpit, the partner is silent for the third hour.
Even if he shouted, it takes evil:
Back 500, forward 500,
nine0005 And he’s teeth “Saber Dance” knocking.
We both knew about the route,
That this “MAZ” is waiting at the construction site,
And our business – sat down, went – night, midnight!
And it must be so – on New Year’s Eve,
Back 500, forward 500,
We signal in vain, a blizzard, and there is no one to help.
“Turn off the engine,” he says,
Let this “MAZ” burn with fire!
Like, you see for yourself that there is nothing more to catch,
Wherever you look – around 500,
nine0005 And by the night, for sure, it will bring,
It will make it so level that there is no need to bury it!
“I answer, ‘Don’t be snarky!’
And he is for the wrench
And he looks like a wolf, he is generally cool.
And what is he – around 500,
And who will outlive whom,
That one will prove that he was right when they are pinned down.
He was more than my relatives,
He ate from the palm of my hand.
And then he looks into his eyes, and a chill runs down his back.
nine0005 And what is he – around 500,
And who will sort it out afterwards,
That he forgot who I am to him and who he is to me.
And he went somewhere sideways.
I let go, and lay down myself,
I had a dream about our cheerful turnover:
What if again around 500,
I am looking for a way out of the gate,
But it is not there, there is only an entrance, and that is not the same one.
The end is simple – the tractor came,
And there was a cable, and there was a doctor,
And “MAZ” got where it should be,
nine0005 And he came – all shaking,
And here again a distant flight…
I don’t remember evil, I’ll take it again.
BLACK GOLD
Not space – meters of soil above me!
Here in the mine there is no time for festive processions.
But we also own extraterrestrial
And the most earthly of professions.
Any of us – well, why not a sorcerer?!
From the underworld up coal with a sword.
We will take away the fuel from the devils
They will have nothing to heat their boilers with! nine0003
Exploded, stacked, chipped
Black reliable gold.
Yes, we ourselves are like devils in the dust.
But our train will not leave empty.
We torment the womb of mother earth,
But it’s warmer and more reliable on earth.
Here are the trolleys, amusing the soul,
Speeding by like in a chase movie.
And a joke: “Give the country coal!”
We feel on our own palms.
Exploded, stacked, chipped
nine0005 Black reliable gold.
Funneled fields
Don’t forget – and look back in anger!
But us, blessed land,
Forgive me for digging in the womb.
Don’t be afraid to get lost in the dark
And choke on dust – you are not alone!
Forward and deep! We’ll be on the shield!
We dug these labyrinths ourselves.
Exploded, stacked, chipped
Black reliable gold.
“OUR FEDIA HAS BEEN CONNECTED WITH THE EARTH FROM CHILDHOOD…”
Our Fedya has been connected with the earth since childhood,
Home dragged and crushed stone and granite.
Once he brought home such
That mom and dad cried bitterly.
Fedya was very motivated as a student
Raise archeology to the shield,
He brought this to the institute,
That we all around wept bitterly.
He brought it back from practice
Two rusty exhibits
And claimed that it was an ancient treasure.
nine0005 Then one day in an ellipse
Found false teeth
The size of a moonshine still.
Diploma wrote about ancient shrines,
About the Scythians, about the pagan gods,
At the same time, he swore in Latin,
That these Scythians writhed in their graves.
He ancient buildings
Frantically searched
And often shouted in a wild voice,
That there is still a path yet,
Where will you meet Pithecanthropus,
nine0005 And he hit himself in the chest.
He decided to end his single life
And he began to fight for family life.
I said I will find such a wife
You will cry out of envy.
He climbed all corners
Was in Europe and in Asia,
And soon unearthed his ideal,
But the ideal could not bind
In the archeology of two lines,
And Fedya buried it again.
TYUMENSKAYA OIL
One stranger from the party of geologists
nine0005 He said to me, pouring out the dirt from his boot:
“God sent boobies on our heads!
Where does the oil come from when there is taiga all around?!
How much money – in the abyss!.
.
It would be better for a thousand of those
Build a kindergarten not on the shore!
You won’t find anything in Tyumen,
You are driving money into the swamp!”
And I send dispatches to the center from Tyumen:
“Things are going, everything is more or less!
Like, we are digging the ground, but so far many have an opinion
nine0005 What is less “more” for you, and more “less”.
And my backpack
One third empty,
And what about oil?
– Let there be oil!
Long gone are the discoveries of the epidemic,
And with the fever of searching – the struggle.
And they gave a conclusion at the academy:
“In Tyumen with oil – a full pipe!”
There is no god of oil here – I will move.
Since there is no god, there is no king.
But only in my gut and nose I feel,
nine0005 What’s under me is not dead ground.
And I send dispatches to the center from Tyumen:
“Things are going, everything is more or less.”
They answer me that they have an opinion
What is less “more” with us, and more “less”.
Empty backpack
Finished the food.
And what about oil?
– Let there be oil!
And the oil went, we, roaming through the swamps,
Not half a liter won the argument!
Tyumen, Siberia, Khanty-Mansiysk land
nine0005 Seen through with oil from open pores.
Sailor, with whom so much quarreled,
I don’t remember from which ship,
Mixed everything up and shouted in fright:
“Earth! Look, brothers, earth!”
And I send dispatches to the center from Tyumen:
“Things are going, everything is more or less.”
They did not believe me, and the opinion remained
What is less “more” with us, and more “less”.
But sign given:
“Drill here!”
nine0005 And what about oil?
– Let there be oil!
And the fountain spouted and scattered sparks.
In their light I saw God,
Bare to the waist, with two canisters
Took a cold shower from oil.
And the earth came to life, and I remember at night
In that land of dancing people.
I am happy that, having exceeded my authority,
We took the risk and opened her veins.
And I send dispatches to the center from Tyumen:
nine0005 “Things are going, everything is more or less.”
What away doubts that there is a deposit,
What more “more” we have and less “less”.
This is how I learned:
God of oil is,
And he said:
“Let there be oil!”
I did not knock on the door with dispatches,
But the canisters hit the target, in color.
One brought under the doors of distrust,
Brought another into the high office.
I reported a change of position:
nine0005 The lord of darkness and aphids renounced himself,
I personally renounced yesterday
And became the oil kings!
SONG ABOUT SAILORS
Twenty thousand horses are squeezed into cars,
And the herds wheeze, bitching, below.
Before our eyes, the ropes are thinning from the effort,
From myself to the pier squeezing out a tear.
And commands are short, evil
Winter wind blows into darkness:
“Ends overboard!”, “Give the bow!”
And “Tugboat, earn some money for the stern!” nine0003
Captain, smiling a little,
All, they say, right, well done,
Freed from the earth,
Ordered to cut the ends.
Only the eyes turn back again,
Strongly holds the earth, everything is so, and not so.
Why the lines do not converge for too long,
Why is the beacon blinking too fast?
All right, end of all questions,
In addition to watchmen, everyone should have a rest.
But the cabins are empty – sailors
nine0005 You have to get used to that freedom.
Captain, smiling a little,
Said only: “well done!”
Freed from the earth,
Not easy to cut ends.
Twenty days’ journey, the boats are drying up,
This morning the last albatross left behind.
If only there was a storm! Or better, in the radio room
Stunned radio operator received someone’s SOS.
So it is: Three – a month in a trough,
The whale tore apart the yacht.
nine0005 What are you thanking us for?
Thank you for this emergency.
Captain, smiling a little,
Threw only: “Well done”,
To those who, parting with life,
Didn’t want to cut the ends.
And again there will be Fiji, and the port of Curacao,
And the devil in the mortar, and God knows what,
And the most beautiful in the world
Milforsaun Fjord,
The one where I have not set foot, but
You will be moored in Tahiti
nine0005 And scroll through my song,
Through the biggest amplifier
I’ll sing about you in Tahiti.
The master will say, smiling,
Me and the song: “Well done!”
So, remaining on land,
I fasten the ends everywhere.
And again he advances, as if in a ring,
A lonely shadow of a ship across the water.
Sailors are tense, springs are loosened,
“Halfboard to port!” – and in the past the earth.
LONG JUMP
It’s good that there was no sound behind the roar,
What with his shame was one on one …
I hesitated near the open hatch
And I forgot to fasten my carabiner.
The instructor helped me – and a knee kick
Go beyond this weakness.
For our usual
“Be braver, son!”
I accepted his sleepy scolding.
And cut off my cry,
And burned my cheeks
Cold sharp razor
nine0005 Upstreams.
And the sound back to my liver
Driven again while inhaling
Cheerful, carefree
Air currents.
I fell into their skillful, tenacious hands.
They crush me, they throw me, they do what they want.
And willingly I do crazy tricks
I do everything jokingly.
Is there any reason in this fall,
I’ll find out later, but for now
Then the earthly horizon fell in my face,
nine0005 Then clouds shied away.
And cut off my cry,
And they shaved their cheeks
Cold sharp razor
Upstreams.
And the blood was driven into my liver,
Resilient and cruel,
Invisible counters
Air currents.
An unprecedented jump from the depths of the stratosphere.
On the signal “Go!” I stepped into nowhere.
Behind the invisible shadow of the faceless chimera,
Free fall, let’s go! nine0003
I will break through the airy cotton-wool darkness,
Although the conditions of the fall are not the same,
You can’t even fall freely, because
That we do not fall in the void.
And cut off my cry,
And they shaved their cheeks
Cold sharp razor
Upstreams.
I’m wearing shoulder bags,
Meet, hands on hips,
Straight, flawless
Air currents.
The wind oozes into the ears and whispers obscenely:
nine0005 “Don’t pull on the ring, lightness will come soon!”
Three hundred meters to the ground, now it will be too late.
..
The wind is lying, definitely lying.
Slings tear me up, dome shot… stop!
And how those minutes didn’t exist.
No free falls from heights, but
There is freedom to open the parachute.
And cut off my cry,
And they shaved their cheeks,
At the throat with an old razor
Streams are already scurrying about.
nine0005 And they burn fires like candles to me,
I landed in shock,
Soulless and eternal
Air currents.
And I pulled the ring on one inspiration,
As a shirt from the collar or check.
It was in a random, free fall
Eighteen short seconds.
And now I’m ugly, a hunchback on both sides,
Saving silk in every hump.
I am focused on the goal, and I am in love, in love
nine0005 In a protracted, non-random jump.
They cool my cheeks
And open the eyelids.
Flows executed
Caring for a person.
I gaze up sadly,
There the stars are lonely,
I drink horizontal
Air currents.
COLD
Cold, cold…
From familiar places
Others call us cities,
Be it Minsk, be it Brest…
Cold, cold…
Not for nothing, not without reason
From native poplars
Harsh places beckon us,
It seems to be more fun there.
Not for nothing, not without reason …
No matter how warm we are at home,
Always missing
New meetings for us and new friends,
As if trouble is with us,
As if it’s warmer with us.
Whatever happens to us
Good sometimes
We are returning home.
Where is our star?
nine0005 Maybe here… maybe there…
“WHO IS A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OLDER TO US.
..”
Whoever is a quarter of a century older than us, that
Already saw nearness and distance.
They were lucky – and blood, and smoke, and sweat
They sniffed, drank, saw.
And they rode in cars, not warm,
At construction sites, at the fronts and at the workers’ faculty.
They walked among people on earth
And bayonet hard attacks.
But echelon time has passed.
nine0005 We’re riding in reserved seats, telling jokes.
We did not go – drafts naked,
In desperation, they did not fall on bunkers.
And yet the tradition lives on,
Not all vertices and obstacles were taken.
Isn’t that why every summer
We go to our student construction teams.
Sand in eyes, clothes and teeth.
We are on the road against the wind,
On Divnogorsk stone pillars
We break our spines and character.
nine0003
We bend to three deaths, well,
Such a wind. Only, friend, you know
But nothing can bend us after,
But you won’t break us on the plain.
ROPE WALKER
He didn’t come out in rank or height.
Not for fame, not for pay,
In my own unusual way,
He walked over the platform throughout his life
On the rope, on the rope,
Tight as a nerve!
Look! Here he goes without insurance!
nine0005 Slightly to the right slope – will fall. Lost!
Slightly to the left of the slope – still can not be saved!
But for some reason he really needs to pass
Four quarters of the way!
And the rays knocked him off his stride,
And pricked like laurels,
The pipe burst like two.
Shouts of “Bravo!” he was stunned
And timpani, and timpani
Like a butt on the head!
Look! Here he goes without insurance!
Slightly to the left of the slope – will fall.
Lost!
nine0005 Slightly to the right of the slope – still can not be saved!
But calmly. He has to pass
Already three-quarters of the way!
Ah! How creepy… how brave. How cute!
Fight with death three minutes!
Opening mouths in anticipation,
They looked dejectedly from the stalls…
“Lilliputians, midgets!” –
It seemed to him from above.
Look! Here he goes without insurance!
Slightly to the right slope – will fall. Lost!
nine0005 Slightly to the left of the slope – still can not be saved!
But calmly. He has to pass
Only two quarters of the way!
He laughed at mortal glory,
But I only wanted to be the first.
Try to kill this!
Not by wire over the arena,
And along the nerves, along the nerves, along the nerves
He walked to the drum roll!
Look! Here he goes without insurance!
Slightly to the left of the slope – will fall.
Lost!
nine0005 Slightly to the right of the slope – still can not be saved!
But – freeze! He has to pass
No more than a quarter of the way!
The trainer shouted. And the beasts
They put their paws on a stretcher…
But the sentence is simple and severe:
He was sure or confused
But into sawdust, but into sawdust
He shed vexation and blood!
And today another one is walking along the tightrope.
Thin cord under the leg. It will fall, it will fall.
nine0005 Tilt to the right, left – still can’t be saved…
But for some reason he also needs to pass
Four quarters of the way!
Robert Campbell – The Wizard of Hollywood
– And not to offer your services as a volunteer?
Now that was a full-blown question.
– No.
– So what do you need?
– Your patient died today. nine0003
– Two people died.
– His name was Keni Goch. “AIDS,” she said. – Quite right.
– Did you know him? – Not.
– So what do you need?
– I was asked by a friend.
– Isn’t it the one who was here when he died?
Again, this was hardly a question. She’s the type, Whistler thought, who doesn’t ask any questions. She knows about almost everything in the world in advance. And he is not looking for answers, but for confirmation of his own opinion. nine0003
– He is the best.
– Ran out of here as if scalded. He left no name, no home address, no phone number.
– He got scared.
– We need to find him. It’s bad when a person walks the streets who is afraid to take an AIDS test.
– I am here partly for this reason.
– What did he tell you?
– Only that Kenya Goch splattered him all over with blood when he vomited before he died.
– Didn’t he say anything to Kenya before he vomited and died? nine0003
– Does it matter? She shook her head.
– The last words of a dying man. Everyone is interested to know what he said before his death. One will ask for ham on rye bread. He doesn’t even have a stomach left, but he still asks for ham. Another will say: “Baby, then exactly at five in Hollywood Park, right at the entrance.”
– Hallucination?
– A horse named Baby, that’s what he was interested in, as it turned out. But anyway, it sounds like the last sorry. And advice: bet on this Baby, you won’t miss. nine0003
– Did you bet? She smiled wryly.
– Well, under the circumstances, you know. I put a hundred dollars at a bookmaker I know. That is, in fact, he works in a morgue, and taking bets is his hobby.
– Well, how is the little one?
– I would like to say that she came last in her race. But it actually got worse.
– In what sense is it worse?
– She came second.
– Indeed, even worse. And they both laughed. nine0003
“So tell your friend that he doesn’t really have anything to worry about, but it’s better to find out for sure…” She paused.
-Would you like to get coffee? In the meantime, I’ll tell you about the implied risk.
– I would like to eat. May I invite you somewhere?
– Would you like to treat me to lunch?
She grinned and immediately looked like a Pumpkin Head on Halloween day.
She looks funny, Whistler thought.
“The food here is good,” she said, “but for a change. However, no frills. I will not ruin you, no matter how much you have in your wallet. nine0003
– Well, there is always a credit card in reserve.
– I’d better put on a jacket.
– It’s warm outside.
– But don’t walk around the street like this.
She raised her finger to her lips, urging him to wait a minute, and walked through the hall like a dashing school band drummer.
Of course, I had to wait much more than a minute.
She came out to him in a peach-colored cotton jacket and white slacks. However, she did not take off her tie with the hospice emblem. She changed into peach sandals with low heels.
nine0003
– If you decide to treat me to lunch, then I should know your name.
Everyone calls me Whistler.
– That’s not a real name, is it?
– But I respond to him.
– Like a rock star, right? Prince? Madonna? Okay, whatever you want. How do you earn your daily bread?
– People like me are called private bloodhounds.
– Well, I won’t call you that. She smiled playfully.
– Will you call me?
– I don’t know myself, but not a bloodhound. It’s not so much rude as old-fashioned. nine0003
– Here I am. Old fashioned, period.
They left the building. She took Whistler’s arm in hers and tried to match his stride.
“You can walk,” she said. – Near here. Hey, look, slow down. Your legs are like stilts.
– What is your name?
– Mary. Mary Bucket. Bad name. Rhymes with “fak it”, you know. Can you imagine how I was teased in junior high?
– And in the seniors?
– Well, when I was older, I already knew how to stand up for myself.
Small spool but precious. nine0003
“Just wanted to say the same thing,” Whistler remarked.
– You are not afraid of me, are you? she suddenly asked.
– Not too much.
Whistler couldn’t understand what exactly she was referring to.
– That’s good. And I don’t want to intimidate you.
Chapter Seven
Kilroy was speeding west down winding Sunset Boulevard in a small red two-seat Mazda—what other car would you want a non-first professor who is constantly underpaid to drive around in? A red-haired man who can expose his head to the wind and turn his own face into a mask – one of the many masks he has to put on? And in what other car would you drive around Westwood Boulevard, racing and on a par with students, pretending to be one of them, pretending to be a young man who had no other worries than to drink something and fuck someone? Except in a black Chevy’65 with a convertible top and red leather seats, with a curly blond wig pulled over his head.
Or a beat-up Bentley, a classic Sunderbird, a Corvette or a 3/4 life-size replica of the famous cord. He owned all of these cars, too. They were in a barn on a hillside on the ten acres of land that the patron had given him. Ten acres and a house with outbuildings, a belated reward for long service, beaten out of the patron when he was experienced and strong enough to impose his will on a decrepit, utterly decrepit old man. nine0003
He collected cars. He also collected rare books on ancient religions and engravings depicting torture. All this was securely locked in the house where he spent weekends, holidays and vacations.
The household was run by a worker named Sultan who lived in the house. He looked to be in his twenties, although in fact he might have been much younger. He had the swarthy body and bleached white hair of a hard-working beach goer or a hard-working cowboy roaming the meadows without a hat, but his eyes were like those of a drugged city addict. But he never went to the sea and never rode, and he was in the city no more than once a year.
He lived on ten acres, trying not to step a step from there. nine0003
Few neighbors – because the place was deserted – and the village merchants believed that the Sultan did not have all the houses. True, he behaved affably, but he practically never spoke, and he always looked like he was daydreaming.
Of course he was a simpleton, either from birth or through drug abuse, a viral disease, or some other misfortune. It is not in vain that a person pays for everything that is given to him – in one way or another, °However, he pays without fail. nine0003
For a week, Kilroy lived in Westwood in the humblest (and most austere) manner, and retired to Agoura for the weekend, often not alone.
It was a bad morning, irritatingly bad, his weekly seminar on the early religions, with the main emphasis on the so-called la vecchia – an ancient faith from which the druid developed only a few millennia later – drew even fewer participants than usual, and even a few people present listened to the professor so inattentively that they might as well jump out of the windows where they stared endlessly and go in search of adventures that young hot blood craved.
nine0003
As Kilroy pulled up to the freeway in San Diego, he thought about the traffic he was going to get into beyond Will Rogers State Park, so he turned onto the Pacific Highway over the public beach in Santa Monica. Although this road – through the colony of Malibu and beyond – was incredibly long.
He returned to the northbound freeway, moved from there to the Ventura freeway, and raced west again, deciding to drive through Agoura, drop into his country house, and then take 23rd Road southwest past Sherwood Lake, drive two or three miles to the Pacific Highway, and there you can easily fit into the traffic on the Trancas and on the southern beaches. nine0003
At one o’clock in the afternoon he drove over gravel to his country house.
The Sultan came out of the shade and asked who it was. Seeing Kilroy, he waved languidly at him and went back to his business.
Kilroy watched him go and then went into the house to change.
Chapter Eight
The diner that Mary Bucket brought Whistler to was a bit like herself: ingenuous, but pretty, inexpensive, but also expensive, neat and open, no omissions and secrets, devoid of both laziness and fussiness – In a word, everything here was worth the money.