OH This is so nice that you called
Nicewha the hell You say it as if I
never call
he could imagine his mother on the wall telephone
from above the kitchen counter beside the window that overlooked their backyard
it seemed an uncomfortable place
to talk on the phone tethered when just behind her to her leftthe livingroom an overstuffed chair ottoman side table a nice place to drop your fanny and talk
No You call Youre just never home when we callit goes to your message machineyou screen your calls
I screen my callsyes Youre not suggesting that while screening my
calls I refuse to pickup when you or Dad call
Well No Im
just saying when we call during the dayyou work nights our calls go to voicemail
You go
to voicemail
because Im not home
because Im not home
You just admitted to screening
your calls
When Im home
When Im not home telephone calls go to voicemail Because I am not home
You screen your calls
Yes I do
Itd be nice Maw to call and shoot
the shit(Dont swear You were raised
better than that) ah bullshit without being interrogated as a
child might
however then without your interrorgation youd have to
concede you were talking to me as an adult and I suppose why would you want to have a
level playing field converse with me as an equalYou are We Are after all After All my Your folks Parents
and what of the elders who Ive never metwho I dont know from Adam or Evenot to mention Lilith that feel due mydeserve my
respect
Immediate respect
My immediate respect
Sorry
What
rock did they crawl out from under
Two way street
Mutual
respect
he
was in grade school when he dropped that ineptthat hopeless steaming pile of
horseshit
Respect is earned
Its not tithes provided on the grounds the ugly gamut that you owe it to them because they were born before you
Thats inspired ignorance Just begs trouble
Sometimes I dont know where your
thinkingthis odd way of thinking comes
from
Its mine from being derided on
the basis of my youth My words werent
heard They werent listened to solely
because I was young
Have
the conversation
Fresh eyesnew eyes on old problems
Seems
to me that that perspective would have value
Would be worth the minute to listen rather than just dismiss out of
hand
You werent raisedwe didnt raise you that
way
No I learned that way
I
learned that way as a chick does when its pushed out its nest to make room for
the next hatchling the next hatchlingand the next
My younger brothers and sisters necessarily
needed helpyour help They were too young
then to make a go of it on their own
Thats how I came up Apparently and utterly without you being aware all these
years Which could be my fault because I could function and did function well
enough without the necessity of your attention
What do you expect me to say
Nothing Theres nothing to be said Thats how it was Water long gone under the bridge Im not bitter
I get a little angsty when you play your Thats-not-how-you-were-raised
card You wanna play that with the other
kids they let you treat them like
kids Have at it But not with me
Awright
What do you want me to say
sigh
I want to talk to you as an adult One
adult to another
Anif
you gotta just pretend Im a fucking stranger
You . .
. .
Yes Yes I was Save the fiction
I dont know where your father is(his mothers leverage)
he could see her looking out the window at the fresh mowed lawn the telephone cord stretched long its coils barely apparent
Hes outside fidgeting with something
He was cutting the lawnI thought
it was too wet I dont heard the mower though
Maybe hes tracking a wild hare
What
Tracking a wild hare
A rabbit
Or hes got a wild hair up his ass
What did you say
I said he might be tracking a
wild hare h-a-r-e or has a wild hair h-a-i-r
up his ass
thank gawd she laughed
Im
going to tell him you said so
It was clever You better
I work later this evening so please tell him if hed like to call back hell
have to reach me at the latest quarter to 7 your time
I will
Very good I love ya Maw
I love you too son
son
always to be the son
never a man
not in their eyes
odd concept
his daughters were women
1427, Friday,
18 8. 17
1405, Saturday,
19 8. 17
Cat Stevens Father and Son
