Collapsed Lexicon | Page 32

  On  the  far  side  of  the  parking  lot   the  entrance  to  monstrous     Diablo  Canyon  nuclear  power  plant.   Here  spent  rods  are  stored     in  suspended  hibernation.   The  plant  is  patently  dangerous     because  of  its  proximity   to  the  ominous  San  Andreas  fault   that  one  day  could  very  well  shake     and  crack  it  open  like  an  egg.     Next  on  the  agenda  Seal  Beach,   sunrinsed  and  glamorous,  hosting   trendy  mansions  that  rival  Malibu’s.     And  adjacent  Pismo  Beach,   once  famous  for  attracting   clam  diggers  galore   to  its  fertile  shores,   but  now  a  favored  venue   of  vacationers  and  hell  raisers.     The  Cool  Cat  Cafe  boasts   this  region’s  ultimate  clam  chowder.   Windsurfers  chase  bushwhacked  sails   on  the  beach  during  sudden  gusts.   Sunbathers  bake;  at  the  Chocolate  Shop   standing  room  only.  Past  sumptuous  Salt   Water  Taffy,  Pismo  Bowl,  Rafael’s  Tacos   and  Bombay  Fashion  Salon  I  galavant.   Enmeshed  in  this  miraculous  escape   32