The store advertised it had the BEST
DARN MELONS to be found ANYWHERE!
he bit he loved melons he hadnt had a good one in some time
although to be fair
he was thrown
since when did
Marketing hobble itself with propriety BEST DARN
Comon wouldnt they let
it rip
BEST DAMN MELONS to be found ANYWHERE!
as it was he would have to drive
nearly thirty miles out of his way to appease his nieces
who apparently
were suckers more than himself for the best darn melons anywhere
little slaves to advertising
they saw it on the back page of the
newspaper he hadnt gotten around to yet as he read to their jaws chomping at their cold breakfast cereal and the
clattering of their spoons at their bowls
sometimes that noise got the best
of people
but growing in a household of
eleven one put such noises out of their heads
banishing them to a pile
culled at the distant horizon named
Utterly Insignificant
You hear what you want to
hear thats how clever he was
their harmonized shriek however gathered up his attention all at once
he folded the newspaper in half
backwards towards them
a
trick he thought was necessary to growing up because his father relentlessly
and impatiently did it to him his What now? he refused to bring forward as all children
make mental notes as they grow up affirm
in their deepest darkest recesses all those things they not only resented
but detested
the tinkering that was their right as adults and when exhibited before their parents and not questioned by their parents but rather accused
the tinkering that was their right as adults and when exhibited before their parents and not questioned by their parents but rather accused
Thats not
how you were raised
as their heading out the door was effectively curtailed by smart snarls and tangles woven in their hair
allowed you to fire
back without even bothering to look up
at them not bothering to fold a
newspaper in half to eye with ridicule
Youre right It wasnt
-- Grrls
What
he called them grrls because the
grr suited his purpose
he treated them as if they were sexless
time
was plenty before the tyranny of pedagogy marketing and all the worthless
friends they would have to endure before setting them aside in favor of the few
exceptional friends later
-- MELONS! was their chorus
their
topknots still crazy from sleep and now slipping oddly over their ears and in
their faces like loose lopsided caps
When the hell did they learn to
read
Yeah maybe the oldest but why was the youngest also touting MELONS!
to be fair hed admit it they had evolved vocabularies most children the grrls knew didnt know what they were talking about
he remembered taking the eldest
for a walk when she was little
they headed up into a boxed
canyon off Malibu and took in the queer-looking California houses which seemed
to grow organically -- or not
-- inside the steep walls at
either side of the alley
really couldnt call it a road and carved
or relieved into the hillsides were backyard switch-backs that lead up to stone
Buddhas delicious art forms and artefact
walking hand-in-hand she asked
what kind of tree it was that overhung the alley
enthralled he was looking to the
right
she to the left
he
said loquat
she said no persimmon
I think
What
he
then looked down into her face and found she was pointing high to the left
Really What kind of two-plus kid knows what a
persimmon is
he
didnt know persimmons or loquats even existed until his Twenties when he
finally escaped his nee clutches of the Midwest
I think youre wrong oncle and what was with that business thats a loquat she said pointing up to the right where he had
been looking
Youre right little grrl
Thank you I thought I was
MELONS!
he flipped the newspaper and laid
eyes on a truly splendid advertisement
melons were
everywhere that could be artfully and skillfully included among its brief text
and alluring fonts
it seemed to him
he ought to be screaming like they
were
they looked absolutely delectable
-- CAN WE GO?
-- Can we go
What kind of oncle do you take me
for
-- YEEAAHH
-- Did you two have a fitful night
or dream of playing rolling down grassy hills
or being chased by monsters he askedas their heading out the door was effectively curtailed by smart snarls and tangles woven in their hair
he knew they had sensitive scalps
and was gently working them out with their hairbrushes
-- No the eldest answered for them while she tried hard fitfully to remain patient
her
hair was already unpleated while the little one tried to decide what she was
going to wear for the day despite the few things that were packed for their
overnight with him
the little one squirmed in his
lap uttering scarcely discernable Ouch
ouch ouches
-- No bad dreams Good
Fun dreams
-- I dont know We were asleep
-- Me
I
dreamt of tying knots all night long
I really liked doing it because somebody else was going to have to untie them
Ouch ouch
ouches
-- You did not
-- I did
-- Did not
-- Did
-- Youdidnot oncle
-- No
I
didnt
But I wish I did
Ouch ouch
ouches
late evening before
bed, Saturday, 21 2.
15
1833, Monday,
23 2. 15
