Chapter 4

Cold Showers

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TOCAYO
Part 1
Prologue
Playa Norte
Charly the American
A Catholic Education
Cold Showers
A Peruvian Name...
Tossing Armando...
Bob Cousey's Shorts
Inside Immaculada
Warming the Bench...
A Little Socrates...
Running From Lola
Ping Pong Politics
A Perfect Basketball Day
A Man Needs His Friends
A Pig In a Hole
Condors Over Ticlio
Wrestling in the Plaza
Handcuffs and Curfews
Rochabus
A Hero Hiding
Hitting A Brick Wall
Part 2

That Friday, after a full week of Coach Phil Rink's practices, I was too tired to care. How much more could anything hurt? Maybe that was the key to a peaceful death, I thought as I placed my soggy body under the dripping showerhead - lose your fear of pain. Just in case, I asked God to forgive my sins. Then I turned on the shower. An icy flash hit my head, covered my shoulders, and slid down my neck, back, butt, and legs. I took a single long, slow breath. Then another. Then I turned slowly and let the sleet hit my chest. As the liquid glacier streamed down the front of my hips and legs, I pretended to ignore it. I rubbed my body slowly, and stared through the icefall calving off the front of my head at visions of Antarctic icebergs floating in a frosty sea.

I knew, now. If I had been captured by the Spanish Inquisition and tortured, I would not have spoken. I would have died a hero. A silent hero.

Satisfied with myself, I shut off the water. The last of it dripped off my nose, wrists, elbows, and stunned penis into the drain. My penis was so stunned, in fact, that I grabbed it to make sure it was still alive. It was, after all, an important part of me. It was so important, that like most of my classmates, I had developed the habit of calling it by many different names. I normally use pinga, but pichula, pajaro, and verga roll off my tongue as often. When I need to behave with respect because adults are in the room, I use pene, an unpleasant term to be sure. After, I feel the need to shake my head so the sound falls out of my ears. Miembro is better for that purpose, but it can denote a lack of respect for the listening party. Este is best when I need to be indirect. I give assistance by inclining my head in the general direction of my penis, so there is no confusion as to what I'm refering to. I have heard the more poetic of my classmates employ culebra, manguera, rata, y fierrazo. Trozo is less specific, but satisfying to pronounce. A few of them, seized by a fit of false modesty to be sure, on rare occassion refer to it as el nabo, manicito, or perhaps un pequeño aporte. Those of us on a first name basis with our penis often employ esteban or the less common panchito. Of course, the best names are the most criollos, so when I want to immerse myself in the hearty stew of my country's culture, I take great satisfaction from growling about la huaraca, la morronga, la guasamaya, and la guasamandrapa, a spectacular term to be sure. Nevertheless, my personal favorite is a simple term, really, but dear to my heart. La trola.