trash man

they were having too much fun  shots and beers smoking cigars admiring the colourful Chinese lanterns dancing on wire on the evening breeze

his brothers wife cried from inside the housefrom the kitchen window WOULD YOU TWO KEEP IT DOWN? YOU’RE DISTURBING THE NEIGHBORS.

he beat his brother to the draw Don think so they aint yelling at us from their homes

Jesus, man.  he chuckled   Would you leave her alone, I gotta live with her.

Yah I dont

   STANLEY.   DID YOU TAKE THE TRASH OUT BEFORE YOUR BROTHER SHOWED UP?

NO Fuck. Trash day tomorrow.

Ill help

Nah, that’s okay, ain’t much since the kids moved out.

She cant take it out

That’s my job; been my job since we first moved in together.

You didnt hand it off to the boys when they got old enough

My job; she said her children weren’t going to be raised to do menial jobs.

Menial like making dinner washing clothes so on so forth

It’s my job.

Okay man I cant help

NAH. No thanks.

                   he got up from the picnic table bench took a drag off the Arturo Fuente exhaled sipped the Redbreast took a pull from his beer he cleared his throat

                                                 You know what she hoping for?

Ive got an idea

An idea, that’s fun; wanna share?You tell me yours I’ll tell you mine.

Not as fun as Showing the neighbourhood girls when we were young

Who knows! What’s your idea?

I was thinking along the lines that yare set out with the trash   Anafter the trashmen leave yare still there

GODDAMMIT, exactly what I was thinking.

Brothers Close  Grew up together

Yeah, we’re disgusting.

Whawe disgusting

What makes the world go round.

                                      At least . . what makes my world go round and round.

Wheels on the bus

Exactly.  Be right back.

                        Don’t let my cigar go out.

he watched him walk up towards the house bend over stand again an pull up on his trousers bend over roll a couple of cans out from under the backsteps out of the way unseen  effortlessly   practised

                                                                                           he pushed one ahead and dragged the other on the narrow walk that lead beside the garage and out into the alley

                                                                                             something his boys didnt do for their father because their mother forbade it 

he puffed his cigar 

                    he was a good B O B   beast of burden he deserved a good cigar a good whiskey a good beer their lavish rawsometimes obscene good humour many times over the years people within earshot got up from where they were sitting and left

                    snobbitchysneers smeared on their face

Life muthafuckers  its a comedy club

                                       Ifya cant take a joke ya never should have come in

MY CIGAR?

Smouldering like your soul cunt  I listen to you

                                                   I also freshened your whiskey

afternoon,  Twosday,  16  11. 21

1227,  Sunday,  28  11. 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sya0wEfu-Nk

 

he loved talking with his brother

they didnt do it often enough

talking was going to have to do because the motherfucker wouldnt write

not letters

not emales

his brothers popcorn ceiling disabused him that his hand was busted  fingers inarticulate

You know what a popcorn ceiling is, right?

Yes he said its a coarse texturing to finish off drywall similar to texturing a true plaster wall applied over wood lath sprayed on with a hopper gun held eighteen inches off  Im told it deadens noise

To a T, you described my bedroom ceiling. My wifes never been happy about it. In fact three, four years ago she told me she wanted it removed.

The ceiling bothered her that much

It bothered her that much.

It bother you

No. When I go to bed, turn off the lights, I can’t see it, she can’t see it, but she knew it was there.

Has she slept better since

You know, I haven’t asked her.

Have you slept better since

I sleep, I could care less what kind of ceiling is over me.

You ah  push back 

                     he knew his brother wasnt aggressiveconfrontational

Kinda.

Whas  kinda

he laughed gayly

                   I asked her if she wouldn’t wait a while longer. I hadn’t finished it yet.

their conversation collapsed in riotous laughter that ran ridiculously long

                                                                               he wiped tears from his eyes his brothers wife was humourless  his brother was a scream

when they could speak again his brother said Now that I’m not working anymore I’m thinking of doing standup comedy. What do you think?

Yare fucking hilariousYES Popcorn ceiling part of your bi . .

. . Hell yeah, thought I’d simulate how it’s done.

Complete with sound effects

Sound effects and faces, man, I practice faces when my wife isn’t looking, when she turns her back on me saying You’re ridiculous.

afternoon,  Twosday,  16  11. 21

1029,  Sunday,  28  11. 21

Iron Butterfly  Most Anything You Want  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QZdITJX6I0

 

on a large sheet of paper he randomly slopped thin redpaint with a broad brush

                                                                                      then    he stoodup an stoodback

he slowly walked around the table looking at it

he was silent a long time

he sighed You did it because the mind will lead somewhere

                                                                 It is a frame of mind art is a frame of mind

he was gropingtryin to assess his

Wha to make   make  of this asymmetric Rorschach

the paint viscous like ink

the dribblings SPLASHesNO no

                                lashes       kinetic violence                      Im guilty

sympathetically Pray tell of what? 

     Wha

                  Nothing specificnothing in mind  nothing to put my finger on     Just how Im feeling

Then if I may, might the painting be at an end?    Done.

Thas not how I work

Maybe your work is done.

                             Maybe . . you’ve captured what you truly meant. You mixed the paint, troubled yourself getting it quite right, taped the page down, turned the paper . . you selected the brush from among many after fingeringweighin them, you practised manymany times how you might throw . which hand.

I believe you have startled yourself.

There is nothing more to be done; nothing more than where, the frame, angle, height, lighting.

 

Who was he to argue with himself

1753,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  17  1. 21

1102,  Saturday,  27  11. 21

     the moons comeup  looks like a glasssauce full of cheddar

2333,  ReggaeFriday,  26  11. 21

 

he was reallyreally really  tempted   to sell dog flesh to Chinese Vietnamese Thai restaurants in town

when he moved into his rental house neighbourhood dogs were few and far between 

he had cats

they scratched

that was a bitch

but they didnt barkyammerYAMMER SHUT YER FUCKIN MOUTHS unending  somehow their owners didnt hear them

      couldbe that dogs were their white noisetheir first line of defense  backedup with unseen firearms 

                                                                                                             maybe why he had become proficient with a bow an arrow knives  hatchets   spears  

if he was in a fight he preferred bareknuckles  closeup  bloodmist exitbreaths in his face   eyelights going out

it was cowardly killing from afar

                                 annow he lived in a country that relished murder from above by bloodless drones  no risks run anwouldnt run any risks until another country declared their right to extrajudicial killings

                                                                                                        sayhmm  China  say Russia  say alliedlovers against the America Way

                                                          though perhaps if they chilled their heels heldoff threefour years maybejust maybe theyd have asswipe companions an wont have to deliberate for then this country would have gone batshit  autocratic   have handpicked their petty loyal oligarchs

then hed be selling long pig flesh to Chinese Vietnamese Thai joints in town

2112 & concluding 2131,  ReggaeFriday,  26  11. 21

The Buoys  Timothy  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXn0uIF60iU

 

he was temptedhe was teerribly tempted

                                               but hed stand by what he understood longest    a redheaded whore

pute russe looked more attractive it rolled off the tongue nicer  best thing about it was if someone wasnt familiar with Frenchspoke it likely they wouldnt know what the hell you meant

                                                                      an ofcourse the best thing about Americans he learned it in grade school if you dont know what something is you keep your hand down because you want to act that you knew  not ask   not seem ignorant 

                                           he was the kid at the front of the class handup perhaps waving it more enthusiastically than he should  he didnt have eyes in the back of his head like his motherlike all the mothers in the neighbourhood to see if another kid raised their hand  he had only to watch his teachers eyes they werent looking around the classroom they were fixed on him an by this time word was around among his classmates that he was willing to take the bullet allow them to feel to maintain their superiority  DUMB FUCKS

                                                                               he couldnt wait till gym or on the recess playground to humiliate them

    a red-headed whore 

                            ofcourse everyone knew the whores name                              Tim

by junior high he flunked twice

1151,  Sunday,  21  11. 21

1501,  ReggaeFriday,  26  11. 21

 

he hadnt had a chance to share his dream with her she starred

                                                                       Whadidya say

Queer, isn’t it?

                I said colonized.

Your mother said that

Yes, she prefers I colonize, become the version she wants me to be, that version agreeable to the gaze of men, Boomers, the version America wants.

Colonised  I cant say Ive ever considered the word in that sense application

                                                                                    Very queer I dreamed of you last night

her breathe caught You dreamed of me?

                                        You rarely dream of people you know.

  Very rare   Could be why Im comfortable among strangers

A ah . . a good dream I hope . my that was stupid . . you describes dreams, frustrate the hell out of me, only as dreams, not dreams or nightmares, good or bad . .  just dreams.

Yes  You know me too well

                               I dreamed you as I know youas you are  crossbreed darker complexion long black hair wideeyes  your broad Indian nose which I love dearly   But I also dreamed of you as lightcomplected pale eyes  butch blonde hair

               Yawere arguing with yourself

Arguing?

Vehemently

What were we arguing about?

I didnt listen  You know Im not one to interlope

                                                 An now take into account  I dreamed overnight an this morning you mention your mother wishing you colonised  Thats wild

You really have no idea what we were arguing about?

No but you both strongly insisted I weigh in Fat chance I was coming between you

                                                                                        I said you were intelligent youd figure it out  Last thing anyone needs are opinions

Look at you being so very yourself even as you dream.

                                                         And yet because I know you can dream lucidly . . you could have changed the dream, changed whatever its outcome.

I didnt stick around  not one to poke my nose into anyones business

                                                                         I am dumbfounded however then not   by your mothers preference you colonise

1803,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  24  11. 21

1222,  ReggaeFriday,  26  11. 21

 the Shining City on the Hill aint pearly white     John Winthrop  a Puritan  

              gotta ask Wha City

                                               definitely asking Wha Hill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j44G9NyC5hY

                                                                                         1613,  ReggaeFriday,  26  11. 21

HARDEN the democracy  there are no citiesnot hills without democracy

didnt seem like anyone was home 

he climbed the black picket wrought iron fence and walking across the wide lawn towards the flatstone apron that ranaround the swimming pool he reminisced of bygone times  its accompanying hilarity

the pool was empty

                   drydead leaves scattered on the bottom  its blue walls faded

he wondered how long had it been unused

its emptiness shook himtook him by surprise it took the wind out of his sails he had come to swim

he hoppedup on the divingboard walked to the end and sat down crosslegged

                                                                                  this pool for three summers while he was a teenager was where theyhe and his buddies boys and girls kicked off all the swimming pools that followed on those particular nightsthose riotous galavants

                                             it was his idea   he wanted to recreate John Cheevers The Swimmer

   

their happy roving band was usually between fivesix ten tops it was hard to get ten naked teenagers into the water before being found out 

                Scott a buddy who worked as a caddie at the Country Club casually mentioned his surprise that club members owned swimming pools  he and Scott swam at public pools or the Y

                                                                                  Can you imagine how cool that would be, swimming in your own pool?

I cant No he shook his head

I can’t either. Something else, ain’t it? 

Yes it is Theyre fortunate  I cant imagine

                                           his imagination took that as a challenge  it summonsed Burt Lancaster Ohman Scott have you ever seen or read Cheevers The Swimmer   

his Who? was quick a snarl

                            Cheever? was as pungent No. You know if school didn’t assignment it I ain’t reading it.

I just thought . .

. . You didn’t think, Joe, no, you always have your nose in some book or another, I ain’t like you; you know that.

Yes I know that I wasnthe wasnt apologising  I didnt mean anything by it Just listen hear me out

In this book a man Ned lives in an highend community after swimming and drinks at his Country Club he decideshes adamant  hes going to swim home The story proceeds as Ned goes from one neighbours pool to the next along the way Its fascinating

                           Whadaya think

Think?  Think about what?

We could do thatnot necessarily swim home  jump fences swim fourfive pools through parts of town As a lark Skinny dip Bring some girls along

Itd be a kick

 

there was outrage which was crippled an fell to goodnatured laughter naked fit teenagers swimmingsplashing running off as the lights went up and the owners came out yelling  first time he heard the word inimitable said

                                                                                                            a womans voice

they fled

only a few times the cops were called  but they dressed were on foot hid up in trees

cops  no one  looks up

1022,  ReggaeFriday,  19  11. 21

1104,  ReggaeFriday,  26  11. 21

Christina Yantzou & JAB  Empty Courtyard  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8hf-J9AFow 

 

maybe if Burns kept his mouth shut his vehicle wouldnt have failed him this morning  “The best laid plans o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley. askew/awry”

                                    hadnt thought of himself as a gang but his disappointmenthis failure was thrashing him asif he was more than one person

                                        Take yer best shottake yer best shot the wheels came off the ride

the last time the wheels came off his ride he found himself just off Technology Drive Ironic he had a hard-on spite for things technological which wasnt to say he didnt have some appreciation a sliver

                                                                                              his daughter Anielaher boyfriend collected his ass off the side of the road Technology Drive was not lost of them

                                                                                   they howledHOWLEDpulled no punches which he was game for had it happened to either them hedve HOWLED one has an opportunity to laugh take itTAKE ITNEVER LET IT GO Life “. . . best laid plans” is too short not to take pleasuretake humour wherever one finds it     

Thanksgiving was Anielas holiday she floweredshe OWNED it coming through her front door she greeted you with an enormous smileenormous DIMPLES hugged an kissed you slathered you with LOVE

                                                                                        then enthusiastically reminded you that on the dining table was a homemade card with your name on it all the cards were different  an on them you were to write what you were thankful for

she bound them

the folder was laid beside the centerpiece

everyone could read what they had been thankful for over the years since she conceived of it

think hard

             think realeyes why you are thankful grateful   Life isnt as long a ride we fool ourselves to believe tomorrow may not come

1242,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  24  11. 21

Bigheaded Todd and the Monster  Bittersweet  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXV8oyIsvpE

 

Trippin the light fantastic

                            Awcomon now   truth be known

Awright awright . . . truth be known   tryptophanin the light fantastic                                                                                                               

 

 

Happy turkey day

back in a few   1022,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  24  11. 21

 

if he had anything going for him in his corner he was observant to a T  to the nth degree

only time his head wasnt on a swivel was when he read as he walked

                                                                           One of these days, man, you’re gonna get your ass mowed down.

Nah Got peripheral got ears

                              Anover these many years Ive developed sonar I am aware a type of observant

he told himselfconfided that

                            anwhat he eventually learned was now innate

one of his best attributes was to look up

people owned eyelevel

                         but not a couple feet above  that was nada

tried and true

he discovered that as a boy hide n seek

                                           usually played out of doors however the few times they were allowed to play insidein basements he hid in plain sight an wasnt found

                                                           he didnt hide in laundry deep sinks not under the tool bench behind the wood and metal toolboxes not in dryers he hid on top the cast iron plumbing just under the roughsawn floor joists  when he wasnt found at games end whoever was IT cried Alle, alle, auch sind frei, frei, frei. lotsa German families in the neighbourhood maybe they dictated thats how it went when the game was over he didnt question it kinda musical  just rolled off the tongue

when they played outdoors he wasnt found

                                              he climbed into the trees like a little monkey

  up

    hiding in plain sight the other kids didnt look up   kids grow into a-dolts

walking and reading his antenna firedhis head came up out of the book

                                                                          Wha he said outloud

nothing was immediately apparent

but there was something

he panned eyelevel

                     then by degrees he ticked it up until he scanned the skylineBAM 

perhaps a halfmile as the crow or hawk or whatever bird turns one on flies a redwood was driving a corkscrewed limb into the belly of the caeruleanblue sky the scene floppedone-eightied in his eyes they were always damn playful anhe imagined a chubby gorgeousblue bottle being uncorked an from it flowed wonderful creatures humours  salves salvations  bequeathed if one were so disposed

in his case it was all left to him

                                 he had a diamondhard time imagining anyone other than he noticing the pointed redtinged corkscrew protruding into the sky between the leafy live oaks digger pine boughs which madeup the reefs and crowns of the skyline

1234,  ReggaeFriday,  12  11. 21

337 preferred or 1537,  Monday – President Kennedy assassinated,  22  11. 21

 

whas life

to each his own

his was a fluid origami foldingunfolding lived to dreams an dreamed to life   

when he discussed Life capital L he did not distinguish between them

                                                                       his experiences were codifiedwere simply MEMORY long rich deep memories  it didnt matter to him if circumstances he faced were blacknblue redblooded live daydream dream hypnagogic or hypnopompic  he kept them in the same stone well  dipped into it greedily sipped savoured

the other eveningmorning he read the words over and over reading them he eventually heard them recited by an unknown voice then in his  then other voices women menhe wasnt able to distinguish them either despite listening intensely usually he dreamed of strangers

“You were so busy watching where you were going you didn’t see where you were.”  declarative   accusative

perhaps   . . where you had been.

it seemedbecause it was looped he must have read itheard it at least onehunred times as he slept “busy watching” was the Present the act of lookingmoving forward not prescient however disregarding what retreated in the rearview mirror he was taught to drive in high school by a strict teacher learned in hectic Chicago traffic who was obsessed with where his students eyes were  Mirrors, dammit, you have three! Check them every five seconds!

                                                                                        he remembered on two occasions the instructor had the driver stop the car and get out  You can walk back to school. Find another teacher, we’re through.

    mirrors

                they are there for a reason

lessons learned

0757,  Sunday,  21  11. 21

241,  Monday,  22  11. 21

Nucleus  Alleycat  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0S2nF-IJno

 

he nearly spitinterrupting their conversation Mack wanted to know what happened to the woman he was recently dating Mack forgot her name  he wasnt going to remind him

                                                                 Im not seeing her Im not fond of clingy women

Clingy? She was dropdead gorgeous.

No matter clingys a dealbreaker

What’s clingy?

You an assholeya know wha it is

                                   he paddled the air with the back of his hand Go off woudya baby I need some room to breathe                    

I like a woman’s attention; I would have liked hers.

he snorted

            Lemme put it this way If a womans beautiful intelligent she gives wonderful blow jobs but clingy   Adios

his face flushed What are you talking about?

                                              Those attributes but clingy, you kicked her to the curb?          

Adios Thas the size of it

You’re nuts. If she was the three, I wouldn’t mind clingy.

Noya wouldnt  Not really

Mack was enthused

                      Really.

Yaknow wha I can write a single word that would change your mind so youd understand me

A word?

One word

You’re on.

            I don’t think you can dissuade me.

he took a napkin from the dispenser on the lunch counter Look off to the side a moment woudya

he could have saved his breath  their waitress a young goodlooking woman had returnedwas behind the counter again  far end

he wrote gave Mack a chuck to the shoulder with the back of his hand  Thats it

reluctantly Mack slowly swiveled his stool left

                                               the waitress had leaned forwardput her elbow to the counter to read somethingtop of her garment gaped open handsome cleavage What? he looked down at the napkin

You remember what happens to the male

AwJesus.

Good  Yaremember

                     The male anglerfish has to find a female fast shes enormous  several males can can attach  Slowly   whahappens

Slowly his body is absorb by the female and he is reduced to and functions as nothing more than a gonad.

Right  Dealbreaker

1447,  Saturday,  20  11. 21

1012,  Monday,  22  11. 21

https://www.wired.com/2013/11/absurd-creature-of-the-week-anglerfish/