The darkness of future past. A room above a convenience store. When the owl cries, the Indian dies. A vision, as distinguished from a dream.
We live inside a Dream.
Love triumphs over Evil.
Beware Creamed Corn
Donna Hayward (played by Lara Flynn Boyle) was Laura Palmer’s best friend. In her daytime role as the local Miss Perfect, Laura volunteered with Meals On Wheels, delivering prepared food to Twin Peaks residents unable to venture far from their own doorsteps for various reasons.
In her grief after Laura’s murder, Donna decides to sign up for Laura’s vacant spot in the program, hoping that she’ll uncover some potential clues to the identity of Laura’s killer along the way. One of the stops on Donna’s route brings her to the home of Mrs. Tremond, an elderly woman confined to her bed in a shabby room in a decrepit house. This scene occurs in Season 2, Episode 9, “Coma”, written by Mark Frost and David Lynch.
Donna knocks on the door and calls out for Mrs. Tremond. Mrs. Tremond is played by recognizable character actor Frances Bay, whose huge list of TV and film credits includes Matlock, Who’s The Boss, The X-Files, Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Planner and is most comically highlighted by her role as Mabel Choate, the senior citizen who is brazenly robbed of her loaf of coveted marble rye bread by Jerry in the 1996 episode of Seinfeld, “The Rye”.
But as soon as you hear Mrs. Tremond respond with a shout of “Enter!” and see Donna step into the grim front room, the deep dark tones of the music tell you this is no laughing matter. Donna sets the meal on a stack of old newspapers next to Mrs. Tremond’s bed, who starts coughing and seems unwell.
“Miss?” - interrupts a small boy in a tuxedo sitting in a chair across from the bed. Why is there a preteen boy wearing full formal wear sitting with his hands folded observing this exchange? Why does he look exactly like a ten year old version of David Lynch? Donna is surprised to realize he’s there and so are we. “Oh, hi!” Donna offers in a friendly tone.
The boy continues, “Sometimes things can happen just like this.” - and snaps his fingers. Donna turns back to Mrs. Tremond, who removes the metal heat lid to inspect the food and exclaims in frustration, “Creamed corn! Do you see creamed corn on that plate?”
Donna looks down and the camera follows to a close up of a plate containing white rice, a cooked chicken breast and a generous portion of gelatinous yellow creamed corn. Donna maintains her composure and answers, “Yes.”
Mrs. Tremond clarifies, “I requested no creamed corn...”, then repeats her first question, “Do you see creamed corn on that plate?”
Donna looks back down again but now the third of the dish that was heaped with creamed corn is completely empty, the rice and chicken untouched. Donna replies warily, “No...”, then turns to look at the tuxedo boy. The kid now suddenly grips a heap of the same creamed corn in his cupped hands.
Donna looks back and forth at the boy and the plate, growing increasingly agitated and afraid. The boy folds his now empty hands and sits silently.
Mrs. Tremond says “My grandson is studying magic.”
In Season One, Episode Two, "Zen, or the Skill To Catch a Killer", written by Mark Frost and David Lynch, Cooper has a disturbing dream while dozing at the Great Northern Hotel. Following flashes of Laura's mother, a crime scene and Laura's cold, gray corpse, the visions settle on a one-armed man with a mustache and salty gray beard sitting in a chair, who delivers this monologue directly to Cooper in a gravely, menacing voice:
"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see, one chance out between two worlds, fire walk with me. We… lived among the people. I think you say - 'convenience store', heh. We lived above it. Heh. I mean it like it is, like it sounds. I too have been touched by the devilish one. Tattoo, on the left shoulder. Oh, but when I saw the face of God, I was changed. I took the entire arm off. My name is Mike. His name is Bob."
The next day Cooper tells Sheriff Truman about his dream, and that they need to track down this one-armed man. Deputy Hawk finds him in the form of a traveling shoe salesman passing through town named Philip Gerard, played by Al Strobel. He brings a gritty realism to his scenes without the aid of special effects, as Strobel actually lost his arm in a tragic car wreck as a teenager.
We soon learn that Philip Gerard is possessed by an "inhabiting spirit" called Mike. Mike was friends with a more dangerous demon called Bob. They engaged in unspeakable acts together as a pair until Mike had a revelation of divine intervention, and dismembered his own arm because it bore the tattoo "Fire, Walk With Me", a textual welcome and invitation to evil. From then on Mike tries to work against Bob, with unclear results.
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces is a 2014 feature-length film comprised entirely of deleted and extended scenes from the prequel movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. One of these scenes shows the small man in the red suit from the Red Room giving a speech in a room with tattered broken windows. The ugly room is filled with strange people that are actually spirits. We are to believe that this is the room above the convenience store Mike referenced.
In this room the Man From Another Place (also known as "The Arm") sits at a green Formica table across from the terrifying figure of Bob. Beyond them along the wall sit three men in woodsy attire, with long beards and dirty clothes. On a couch sits Mrs. Tremond and her mini David Lynch grandson, the same characters from the creamed corn encounter with Donna Hayward. They all look anxious and grim and sit silently. Standing on a box behind the little man is another frightening presence, a taller man in an all-red suit with dark black hair and his face painted bright white. He has a freakishly long sharp white cone for a nose. He jumps off and back onto a box on the floor.
The Man From Another Place gives a cryptic speech about chrome and electricity in his backwards-forwards phonetic reversal style of speaking. He then smiles and gazes lovingly at a large bowl of lumpy, pale yellow creamed corn and says "Garmonbozia." There is no dictionary definition for Garmonbozia, it's a made-up word invented by Lynch and Frost.
In another scene from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the one-armed man Philip Gerard aka Mike sits on a chair, staring at Bob. The Man From Another Place aka the small man in the red suit aka The Arm puts his right hand on Mike's shoulder (where his arm is missing) and together they both say:
"Bob… I want all my… garmonbozia."
The on-screen subtitles show the text "(pain and sorrow)" following "garmonbozia", though neither character says the words.
In classic Greek mythology, the word "Ambrosia" refers to the food of the Gods. It has positive connotations, as food so pure, delicious and beyond our mortal menus that it sustains the immortal souls of the Gods.
Garmonbozia is pain and sorrow in the form of creamed corn. What is the meaning of creamed corn? Is it a symbol for something else?
Creamed corn is a symbol of human fear, pain and suffering that evil demons feed on and lust after.
Harbingers Of Death
Major Garland Briggs (played by Don S. Davis) is the father of Bobby Briggs, Laura Palmer's ex-boyfriend at the time of her death. He is an active and decorated member of the United States Air Force. He repeatedly states that the true nature of his work with the military is classified and very Top Secret. It is later revealed that he's a part of Project Blue Book, the real-life government research program on Unidentified Flying Objects.
In Season 2, Episode 2, "Coma", written by Harley Peyton, Major Briggs pays Agent Cooper an unexpected visit in his hotel room, where he tells Cooper he has a message for him. When Cooper asks who the message is from, Briggs explains:
"Now I'm not at liberty to reveal the nature of my work. This secrecy pains me from time to time. Any bureaucracy that functions in secret inevitably lends itself to corruption. But these rules I have pledged to uphold. I believe a pledge is sacred… but I may reveal this much.”
“Among my many tasks is the maintenance of deep space monitors aimed at galaxies beyond our own. We routinely receive various communications, space garbage to decode and examine (taking papers out of his briefcase). They look something like this (holding up large sheets of rectangular printer paper). It's radio waves and gibberish, Agent Cooper. Until Thursday night. Friday morning to be exact… the readout took us by surprise. Row after row of gibberish, and all of a sudden (pointing to rows of text on the paper) - "The Owls are not what they seem."
Cooper looks worried and asks "Why did you bring this to me?"
Briggs continues, "Because later in the morning (pointing to another row) - Cooper. Cooper. Cooper"
The owls are not what they seem. But what are they? It turns out that the sinister associations of evil and owls goes back hundreds, if not thousands of years before television was ever invented.
The same animals have different meanings in cultural symbolism all over the world. In Western culture, owls are often thought to symbolize wisdom and intelligence. This mirrors the beliefs in India and Hinduism that owls represent wisdom, good luck, wealth, prosperity and fortune.
That’s where the positive vibes end. Native American cultures unanimously view the owl as an omen of death and bad fortune. In legends of the Seminole and Apache tribes, owls are closely linked with ghosts, said to carry warning messages from the dead to the living.
To the Aztecs and Mayans, owls symbolize destruction and death, messengers sent from “the Place of Fright”. For the Hopi tribe of Arizona, owls represent sorcery and supernatural evil. The Ojibwe tribe of the Great Lakes region saw the owl as a symbol of evil and death. The Pueblo tribes of the Southwest saw owls as representatives of the Skeleton Man, their God of Death.
In China the owl is seen as an omen of evil. Modern Japan views owls as lucky, yet this contradicts the ancient Japanese belief that they were symbols of death. In Africa among the people of Kikuyu, Kenya’s largest ethnic group, owls signify death, misfortune and sickness.
A traditional saying in Mexico still used today goes “Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere”, which translates in English to “When the owl cries, the Indian dies.”
Love Triumphs Over Evil
Very bad things happen in Twin Peaks. Murder most foul. Local business leaders celebrate greed and corruption. People lie, cheat and steal from each other. All the darkest of humanity’s evils come out to play; adultery, deceit, assault, blackmail, treachery. Violence and loss of innocence. Formless demonic forces feed off the energy of all this pain and suffering. That may be as true in the fictional world of Twin Peaks as it is in our own.
Yet hope remains, an eternal flame in the darkness, sparking against the shadows. Redemption exists in the flawed but good-hearted people that push back against the forces of evil, tapping into the right and just side of the supernatural to fortify their resilience.
The soap-opera aspect of the series can sometimes be silly, but the interactions of the characters can also be touching and inspiring. Things can go both ways. Good people can turn bad but bad people can turn good. The possibilities are endless in the infinite unfolding of the human drama.
Some episodes and scenes are more enjoyable and memorable than others, but on the whole the writing is superb. There are several exchanges of dialogue that shine as testaments to the pure and good side of the human spirit. They can be genuinely moving if you’re in the right mood to listen with an open heart.
Albert’s Path
FBI agent Albert Rosenfield is a forensics specialist sent to Twin Peaks to assist Agent Cooper in the Laura Palmer case, per Cooper’s request. He is portrayed with gusto by memorable character actor Miguel Ferrer and spends most of his time on-screen stealing every scene he’s in by rudely mocking Sheriff Harry Truman (Michael Ontkean), Deputy Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz), the rest of the Sheriff’s Department and the townspeople in general. Albert is caustic and savage with his endless stream of put-downs and mockery, making him a very unlikeable character if not a sometimes funny source of deadpan comedy.
In Season 1, Episode 3, “Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer”, written by Harley Peyton, Cooper explains the significance of the locality to Albert, who has recently arrived in town and badly ruffled a few feathers.
“I have only been in Twin Peaks a short time, but in that time I have seen decency, honor and dignity. Murder is not a faceless event here, it is not a statistic to be tallied up at the end of the day. Laura Palmer’s death has affected each and every man, woman and child because life has meaning here, every life. That’s a way of living I thought had vanished from the Earth, but it hasn’t Albert, it’s right here in Twin Peaks.”
The tension caused by Albert’s unprovoked insults reaches a boiling point during an argument with Doctor Hayward over the autopsy procedures and a scuffle ensues, only to be quickly resolved by Sheriff Truman punching Albert’s lights out.
Cooper refuses to sign a formal report of the assault for Albert but also insists that Sheriff Truman make an apology. The simmering hatred between Truman and Albert cools off momentarily until another altercation erupts, but just when you think you know what’s going to happen the tone veers, a classic Lynch and Twin Peaks device.
In Season 2, Episode 3, “The Man Behind Glass”, written by Robert Engels, Cooper, Truman and Albert talk about some new evidence in one of the Sheriff Departments conference rooms. After a calm and insult-free exchange, the mood feels positive enough for Truman to sincerely ask Albert, “Anything we should be working on?”
Albert’s mean streak can’t resist to zing back, “Yeah. You might practice walking without dragging your knuckles on the floor.”
Truman grabs Albert by the tie, shakes him like a rag doll and reads him the riot act.
“Albert! Let’s talk about knuckles. The last time I knocked you down, I felt bad about it. The next time (gritting his teeth like a wolverine) is gonna be a real pleasure!”
Albert grabs a fistful of Truman’s shirt, stares him down and rasps back the most unexpected reply in the series.
“Now you listen to me! While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchet man in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you, Sheriff Truman.”
A Vision, Not A Dream
In Season 2, Episode 1, "May The Giant Be With You", written by Mark Frost and David Lynch, Major Briggs is eating at the Double R Diner with his son Bobby. He goes on to deliver one of the best, most fan-favorite speeches in the entire canon of Twin Peaks. He begins, "Bobby, may I share something with you?" Bobby says, "OK."
"A vision I had in my sleep last night. As distinguished from a dream, which is mere sorting and cataloging of the day's events by the subconscious. This was a vision, fresh and clear as a mountain stream. The mind revealing itself to itself."
"In my vision, I was on the veranda of a vast estate, a palazzo of some fantastic proportion. There seemed to emanate from it a light from within, this gleaming, radiant marble. I had known this place, I had in fact been born and raised there. This was my first return, a reunion with the deepest wellsprings of my being. Wandering about I noticed happily that the house had been immaculately maintained. There had been added a number of additional rooms, but in a way that blended so seamlessly with the original construction that one would never detect any difference."
"Returning to the house's grand foyer, there came a knock at the door. My son was standing there. He was happy and carefree, clearly living a life of deep harmony and joy. We embraced, a warm and loving embrace, nothing was held. We were, in this moment, one."
"My vision ended. I awoke with a tremendous feeling of optimism and confidence in you and your future. That was my vision of you. I'm so glad to have had this opportunity to share it with you. I wish you nothing but the very best in all things."
This steady and heartfelt performance by Don S. Davis is worth watching.
If you don’t have your guard up too high or your cynicism on full blast, these moments and the positive messages they convey just might bring a hopeful tear of joy to your eye.
That’s the magic of Twin Peaks. That magic is just as real in our so-called real world. There is and will be sadness, fear, suffering and pain, but that's not the end of the story. There is joy, healing, optimism, reconciliation, friendship, redemption and most of all, Love.
You just have to believe in it to see it.
Try to feel it. Live and breathe it. Be it.
Easy.