he looked up from his book as he
sat waiting on his flight at the airport
to his leftabove him The Weather
Channel broadcasted Dorian he
caught the tailend of whatever it was that scrolled across the bottom of the
screen “ . . can create a lot of missouri.”
Ohbrutha missouri Really
but on second
thought he stopped rolling his eyes sneaking in the backdoor was a memory of his
parents taking the family southwest on a car trip to look at property a possibly investment
while his parents were taken
around by a real estate agent for an investment firm lakeside property he and his brother walked down to the lake from
the cabin provided for their family
they ran into some of
the local boys who took exception to them they talked funny
We talk funny? they were from Chicago You listening to the words coming out of your mouths? his younger brother was an agent
provocateur
his father told him when he was
even younger if a fight seemed imminent “Throw the first punch; lotsa fight are
won by one punch.”
fortunately his brother was as crazy as he wasthey were only a year apart he knew
hed have his back
too bad he didnt have more arms
although he did have the advantage
of surprise
two on five was a stretch
maybe some adults would converge
and separate them
the adults took their sweet
fucking time
they probably recognised he and
his brother werent from around there
despite the split lips black eyes
bruises more of them went to the ground and more often than they did
they had an older cousin who was
obsessed with boxing
Jimmy knocked them both around
his parents basement
but he also knocked some skills
into them too
Jimmy would have been pleased
their parents werent
they left the next morning their parents said it wasnt going take two days
for them to realise the lots were over-priced
nice of them that they hung their
reasons for departing on the investment company
as they rolled out of development
past the lake he and his brother couldnt resistseemingly spontaneouslyrolling their windows down HEY! and flipped off a couple of the battered local boyshe wanted
to bellow FUCK YOU! but he was within striking distance of both his mother and father
he used restraint
it was an awful tether that he often slipped when he was on his own
“ . . can create a lot of missouri.”
missouri
misery
same ball park
he didnt feel any particular missouri about it figured it was more for the boys who werent out playing as they left
he felt noses
give way
0637, Twoday,
27 8. 19
1339, Thursday,
12 9. 19
