he saw him around time to time always in townapproximate. POP. 27000
first time they methe introduced
himself was at an art show the watercolourists held a one-man show at the City
Public Library realist flowers landscapes no portraiture
the painters name
scratching his memorys scalp hmm David
seems to him it was David
since they met those many years
ago the artist acted if he didnt knowdidnt recognise him
that put him off
an artist a writerhe was a writer
were an observant lot no he
wasnt a flower or a patch of ground treeline seascape mountainscape escape
they
met
the artist chose not to acknowledge
him
if it was the simple matter of not
remembering his name manopen your
fucking mouth Ive had to apologiseIve
forgotten names no shame in forgetting a name he had but he hadnt qualms about admitting it whats to qualm hur
the watercolourist he didnt think hed fall back on the fact that
he didnt paint facesdidnt do portraits he wrote he perhaps had an eye for faces really a painter didnt have an eye for people
Naw the watercolourist shunned him shunned him as had politicians religious monkeys those
righteous buffoons he either challenged face-to-face or on the local
newspapers editorial page
it was a greasy Conservative town its upper crust consistently provided him
a bone to pick
often his wife told himreminded
him he ought to be more considerateought
to recognise that his children could be affectedsuffer fallout meant for him
Children
can be cruel she said
Fallout baby Theres no fallout having a different
view airing it in conversation or
published as an opinion piece Anif some kids got a bug up their ass to challenge
our girls he
held up his handsmotioned come an get it with his fingers Im confident they have the
wherewithal to rock ignorancestand on their own hindlegs Theyll hand them their sorry ass so they can
run back cryin to Mommie an Daddie anif
Mommie or Daddie really want their hands full they can contact me
Im in
the book
he passed on the artists left as
he unloaded his groceries from a shopping cart into the trunk of an old tan
BMW
he purposely passed him uncomfortably
close
the old man felt his presence and
looked up
he nodded to the artist
nothing
the old man waited for him to
walk past and when it was apparent he wasnt a threat to him he continued blandly
to unloading his cart
nothing
not
a noda word an acknowledgement one human being would provide another
nothing
he acted like he didnt know him
as he always acted as all the other towns Mickey Mouses actedpulled on him
not one of them knew him
they did
but this old towns ignorance ran
that waymaybe they thought they werent hurting his feelings
they may haveprobably thought
they were by the simple gesture of not acknowledging him
they werent
this old man weathered thin
he
was coming apart like an old paintbrush that hadnt been used in years
what a pity
utensils are made to be used
text, 1351,
Sunday, 23 12. 18
2314, Saturday,
29 12. 18
