Josh Saltzman

“Most blues are subtitled either no sense of wonder or no sense of scale.” -- Gastr Del Sol

He points upward, leading the eyes of the child to the spire of the Eiffel Tower. “It is in Paris,” he says, “and someday, perhaps we’ll see the real one.” The Tower is 1/3 scale, and next to it are 1/3 scale pyramids –- “Egypt” says the child -- a 1/3 scale Empire State Building, 1/3 scale Ziggurats.

There is a 1/3 scale Magic Kingdom, whose rides do not move, but at a 1/3 scale Wailing Wall, 1/3 scale Orthodox Jews sway in prayer. Flashes erupt as a tiny celebrity arrives at a 1/9 scale Chinese Theater in the 1/3 scale replica of the Hall of Replicas.

In the museum, the child must bow under the doorway to accompany him into a room of Impressionist paintings; he scratches his head in front of a small, badly painted Boating Party. “Maybe some day you’ll see the actual painting," he says, "which I hear is really something!” “Perhaps,” he adds “your real father will take you there.” There is silence, and he winces a little as the child grips his small, frail hand.