the only time the intersection a
T intersection was busy was during the school year and then particularly only afternoons
when school buses loitered and car traffic burgeoned
the property at the top of the T West Mall was the junior high school its
track and exercise field were behind a sevenfoot chainlinked fence
west of Ysabel the street that
ran into the T and a stop sign was the playground and exercise field for the
Fine Arts Academy it too was behind a
tall chainlinked fence Security
yaknow how comforting to grow up confined
held behind fences schooled in a compound similar to jail east
of Ysabel was the towns old Printery Building it had been renovated what was
the printing floor now housed an acousticallyhoned auditorium for performing
arts
behind the Printery ran a creek
at street corners around the school
complexes adult crossing guards were posted school childrenrather young teenagers
evidently were either not adept at crossing streets by themselves he had been a patrol boypatrol boys
then were responsible for helping elementary school children across busy streets
or these children had to have rides home
however like their
school incarceration they may have also been groomed not to walk anywhere
to avoid the hot mess of the schools
letting out one could take a left onto West Mall off Ysabel theyd cross over a concrete bridge spanning the creek the bridge was erected in 1910 metal commemorative plaques at either end of the
bridge vouched for the fact he often went
out of his way while walking to cross it very pastoral branches of trees
older than the community arched over the creek throwing shade on its raw cutaways
grassy banks and tangled thickets
school was out
Christmas vacation
kids wouldnt return until January
7
maybe sooner if it hadnt been for
the fenceworks denying them access to the schoolgrounds the seven basketball
courts the wide open playing fields otherwise
they might have returned to play it
seemed cruel to him they were denied to enjoy playing out of doors
but maybe they dont need the out
of doors why be outside if computers smartphones
handheld devises simulate play play insideno
skinned knees or bangs or bruisesplay programmed imaginations rather than exerting or exercising their
own
just another confinement another compound another jail
evidently school children are groomed not to play
interfacing is safer
today there may have been
something to that there were no latent
echoes of teeming children falling from the spotty boughs of trees swaying in a
cool breeze on Ysabel
he was walking to the
library
hed cross the West Mall bridge maybe it took him ten minutes longer but ten
minutes is an inexpensive pleasure
at the corner where hed cross
leftodd usually he jaywalked he saw a blackskinned banana peel sprawled on the sidewalk
that was odd foodfruit the children rarely threw onto the
ground maybe empty sandwichbags usually candy and gum wrappers they were too
lazy to pocket until they got home more frequently
stapled assignment pages though rarely
food which is why it probably drew his
attention
he looked around for a trash
can
there were trash cans inside the fenced
schoolgrounds inaccessible
Well he thought at least the peel was organic itd rot
he went to kick it off the
sidewalk into the grass by the fence but stopped the blackskinned banana peel it was a mauled dead rat mired with dirt
gravel
he stooped tenderly he picked it up gently he laid it in the long grass around the base of a metal fence post
the grass at the base of the
fence wasnt edged
he figured itd be peaceful
considering the violence of its death
he knew no children would be
around to disturb it
text, 1339,
Sunday, 23 12. 18
1140, Friday,
28 12. 18
The Smashing Pumpkins Rat in a Cage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8BjKQkym8w
