Dennis Hollingsworth

Kiko Noguera

Kiko, action figure.
He could be a secret agent, better than the Bronson guy, a better 007:

***

Secret Agent Noguera snorkeling off the Costa Brava, collecting lapas for an afternoon bar-b-que, when his "In Like Flint" watch silently taps his arm. He surfaces and pulls a ball pen sized tube and launches a U.A.V. with the pull of a trigger. The device flies toward a passing cruise ship and navigates toward an unsavory charcter lounging on the pool deck. As it closes, it fires a mosquito sized dart that impales itself lustily into the pulsing temple vein of the unsavory character, disgorging cargo. Nano bots begin their swim toward the neocortex as progress of the operation flickers in Kiko's mask and snorkel head's up display.

He flips another lapa over and stuffs the delicious shellfish into his bag amidst the hammer of exploding Mediterranean surf on Catalnan rock.

On this day, Kiko took me with him on a client meeting. A local building owner had built a huge retaining wall on his property -badly- and he asked Kiko for some advice. As all architectural clients are worldwide, they are susceptible to good news and abhor bad news. As I used to tell what few archtiectural clients I've ever had: "It's going to cost twice as much as you can imagine and it will task you, it will take you to the extremes of emotion and through pain you will uncover strata of patience that you have never known... but... afterwards, it will be the best thing you've every done."

THAT"S why I've had only a few and to such little effect (so far).

This time, Kiko needed some back up, and I'm the ringer, the "architect". Let's forget that I am registered to practice in California, not Spain. I'm the architect. Like Tarantino's "Mechanic" in Pulp Fiction (Harvey Kietel, what an actor!): "I fix things." I get to tell the client what he doesn't want to hear.

This time;

"You've got to tear it down and build it right."

He didn't want to do it.
Default to a lame less preferable solution.

"If you support a crumbling wall with buttresses, you'll need a network of cross beams and more buttresses... and the buttresses will have to be BIG."

He didn't want to build too many buttresses.

"Build as many until it hurts, then build more."

So it went.

So it goes.