Mel C Thompson

Harbor Boulevard Mel C Thompson

Our protagonist hears from his friends in Costa Mesa that a kind of personality-cult leader is currently trendy among the higher social circles of Orange County. Because he views himself, despite his age, as an aspiring socialite, he insists on meeting the man who goes by the name Solomon Wedge. (The name is a hybrid of the Solomon of the Hebrew scriptures and the dangerous surfing spot off of Newport Beach called The Wedge.) Our socialite is not a believer in superstitions new or old, but agrees to a kind of initiation rite in order to be on the inside of all things Orange County. Although the initiation consists of merely walking the length of Harbor Boulevard over the course of a week or so, the protagonist is nonetheless too insecure and cowardly to endure the enterprise alone, and so he brings along an inscrutable friend who is never quoted directly, but only spoken about by our hero. In spite of this annoying limitation, the partner is a kind of force of nature, or perhaps an alter ego. The story is driven forward by stark personality divergences in the two traveling companions and by the fact that Solomon awaits them at the end of their quest. Whether what they encounter has nothing to do with Harbor Boulevard or everything to do with it, only the reader can decide. Like an empty container, perhaps the street has the potential to be filled with anything we put in it. The street in the story seems at least twice as long as the actual one is, but its true length is anyone's guess.