his hands felt like clay

no fine manipulations

they hadnt felt like that since he was a boy uncoordinated using fat pencils as he learned to print in Elementary school

the broken glass in his wrists

not since he punched redhead Timothy(never Tim) Gardner in the face and broke his wrist

Timothy was a fat kid a bully a couple of years older than him when he stepped in for his friend Bobby who was afflicted at birth with polio and who wasnt a threat to anyone  Ever  a sitting duck for his visible infirmities

he broke Timothys jaw

his utterly absent parents  Timothy was the youngest of four clods  threatened to sue

but when several teachers who were on the playground late to breaking them up slower than he reacting to Timothys provocation  when they attested to what they saw and Bobbys torn shirt his pants ripped at the knees his knees bloodied by the graveled blacktop

their silence was cinched

he wasnt a masochist                                

although he loved contact sports

a small boy the bigger kids made a point of punishing him but marveled they couldnt make him give up and that he excelled(running for his life)

maybe he was

but when he healed from this transgression this sorted inflammation he had a sneaking suspicion he was going to miss the glass-pain

it was a strange thought to confess

he was a thoughtful boy

he had ample time to be thoughtful all the time he convalesced from broken bones and other batteries

his parents pleaded Look before you leap

he retaliated he never had time to consider leaping or not

his leaps were demanded

not leaping meant someone else often lesser than he were going to pay the price through no fault of their own

things then turned on the avarice of bigger kids who fervently felt their due and were going to get away scot-free with their shit

he was there to make sure they wouldnt

he exposed at the cost of their brazen attacks someone who dared to stand up to them and they inadvertently fixed and became symbols to him of authority who thought nothing of using their perceived power to make others cower

for every action there was a reaction

chemistry taught him that

physics taught him that

and despite never being very good at either class he did inculcate their lesson

his family doctor urged him that he was smarter than that(where his parents “failed”) but reconsidered when he told him I only did what was right Youre not trying to tell me Im wrong

No  Just  his doctor said

Just more broken bones and wounds he asked

No  Just

under his breath his doctor muttered Altruistic

it didnt sound like his doctor had any medicine to give him to cure it 

       

     

1303,  Monday,  8  8. 16

playmates

the writing was going real well  real well

his characters were having a ball seeing if he could keep up with them their antics banter snide remarks crude innuendo   their fascinating  always fascinating evolution

more often than not they stood him on his head

giving him the end of it all at the beginning or dropping his riveted attention in the middle of the mire like a gold coin dismissed with a casual flip of the wrist into a steaming heap of dogshit

steaming without the benefit of cold atmosphere

Whasdat smell Whasdat smell they taunted

JaysusChrist he hawked

You want we shaddup

You can Youve given me plenty to spin Better yetI gotta take a leak  Ill gag ya truss yous up with some sweet new knots Ive learned

     

Ah    hush     hush  Unless yawant daddy to punish ya

they sat wideeyed

Whad got into him

Uhh   oh  Nice try   Aah uh  not too tight     just tight enough

glassyeyed like cold fish  tame as Teddy bears  buttoneyes stitched firm not Made in China  stuffed on sweets and childrens dreams he put them away cleave-gagged without worry of stuffing  he was the only one to hear them   There    he liked how they looked

he put his pen down

flexed the stiffness from his hand

theyd been playing hard for better than an hour

his beer was gone  thin webs of dried head etching the pint glass

a local pub

their double IPA sensational

it was called a double IPA

they didnt have a need to christen it any more than say what it was

they had a son

frankly he had wondered if they were going to name him son or kid

no  Huckleberry

he happened to meet them walking one afternoon carrying him in their arms

he met the babe

there wasnt a need to christen him any more than say who he was

Huckleberry was a perfect fit

like double IPA

leaving his writing strewn across the concrete high top Parsons table his screw-type woodseated stool askew he made for the head

he caught the barmaids eye tipped his head if she would please freshen his beer

she smiled over her lowcut blouse ample bosomed and tipped her head in return

it was nice to inaudibly communicate

there was something to be said(it goes without saying) for signing

in the hall outside the bathrooms a guy was briefly unaware of his entrance as he studied himself in a long sideways mirror

he interrupted his love affair asking him if they were forming a line Its the afternoon for Gawdssakes

the guy shook off his reverie and lust(he was sitting in pub with an attractive redhead(no small task)) and said the mens room was locked  Someones inside

The womens room is open You were here first

I aint using the womens room

Its a mirror image of the mens room he said and he helped himself to it

he washed his hands dried them on a paper towel and played a simple layup off the wall above the gunmetal gray waste pail for two

exiting the womens room the guy in the hall wasnt paying rapt attention to himself in the mirror obviously his uncomfortable bladder several minutes more full

he said Yours for the taking

the guy said You wont tell anyone(as if there was someone he would – hmm maybe the redhead)

he replied I wont breathe a word of it unless you dont put the toilet seat down and wash your hands

the guy went to give him an eyeroll on both accounts

Or Ill say as much to your friend in the bar  She may be the next to use the womens room

his eyeballs froze

in their glaze he saw the guys inspired reflection from out of the mirror he troubled when he entered the hall  he seemed by his own estimation a considerable catch a real dandy

he tipped his head fishing for an acknowledgement

as the guy moseyed up the hall towards the womens room he nodded in agreement

inaudibly communication  theres something to be said for it(it goes without saying)

returning to the bar the barmaid was bent over handsomely collecting his empty pint and replacing it with a fresh one

she looked up

he eyed her double scoops and smiled  Seems I have impeccable timing

she laughed  Impeccable  Theres other words one might use

Careful  Im a wordsmith  I might trouble you for what words your thinking

Wordsmith  Then I can assume you have an ample(she subtly tossed her chest ) imagination

I doI do  Seems to swell at precocious times like this

she laughed again

Well then I should say Im pleased to help as I can

Youre extremely helpful Thank you

Oh youre very welcome

she readily piqued his imagination

his characters twisted in their bondage huffed behind their gags their Teddy bear eyes bulging

another cold beer

the redhead was leaning forward over her cellfone exposing more cleavage than perhaps shed like

he took a sip sighed

                 Let the games begin

he picked up his pen and unbound his playmates 

     

            

1750,  Sunday,  7 8. 16

1016,  Monday,  8  8. 16