Did I hear you right? blinking rapidly

Something in your ah eye  eyes

   No.

       I hear you right?

I got a hole in my sole

Yes, that was it wasn’t it?

Yah

So . . are you saying . . . perhaps you changed your mind to something you say you haven’t . . haven’t the capacity to believe.

My mind Mynd  Pull back baby

                                   Don want ya fallin headfirst into the oven like Raisin Sweettooth

   Who?

shrugging Rosina Leckermaul Gingerbread excuse me because youre definitely not Gingerbread Hag  Anya know how much I enjoy gingerbread

                            Yours is awesome  he winked

she stammeredface got rosy

                                What?

complexion went well with her auburn hair freckles green eyes

Baba Yaga

             At once enigmatic ambiguous a witch a sweet old lady

she hadnt words

her mouth fell open

Better shut tha or Ill put it to use baby

   What the hell.

                      Can’t you just sa . .

. . Say Ive been sayin

                         Youre a sharp cookie  Thought one of those woud have landed

Yeahwell . . they didn’t.

Lets try this tact

                   Hansel and Gretel

A witch?

Which isnt to say bitch

                          I took ya off your legitimate heartfelt course Sole baby not S O U L  I concur love concurring with you

if perplexed had a face and she were a she shed look something like her yet nowhere near as goodlookin

Not S O U L.

No

     My shoe an shoemakers for all intent and purposes are extinct in America so walkin I remind myself of Burroughs  Junkie  Naked Lunch  cut-ups

His dogs last pair

                     You remember our cut-ups preceding our naked lunches

she blushed

Ill never forget em Not the pieces the nake . .

. . Would you stop?

If you like

   You set me up?

I woudnt have thought so Despite ambiguous my sole is the only sole Id consider

                                                                                      We know youre a good Baba Yaga

A witch?

Yah

      Have I been able to salvage my good standings despite takin you out an around the corner

   Yes.

          But please don’t do it again.

Ill try  I cant promise

If you’ll try. If you’ll try.

I will

       Lunch

he watched her bunch her fists

1331,  Monday,  12  2. 24

1945,  Monday

Brian Hyland  Gypsy Woman  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFemSWksmGk

. . . I think it was called knob and coil.

   Really

               Thas awfully sexual knob coiled

Jesus.

          How you get from early electrification to sex is beyond me.

Weel muthafucker I cant begin to guess whatype of sex you have but mine tends to be electrifyin

                                                                                                      Mornin noon or night everythings wetcant help but get shocked or crispy at the edges

Oh man.

           Maybe I can get you off sex for a brief moment, I might have mistaken what it was called.

he went to his everready smartphone because he wasnt anwas impatient to find out

for him all bets were off he was cuntent with coiled knobs redglowing cinnamonelectricity the visuals kept comin an comin an comin

                 how the fuckin guy cant put his phone down an imagine was beyond him  seemed not only coudnt he muster nightdreams but daydreams also

                                            PUT THE PHONE AWAY but he didnt say  

I was wrong. Knob and tube.

I prefer the prior

he ignored him read “Knob and tube wiring, usually abbreviated to K and T . .”

. . Why abbreviate why an acronym  I had electric sex with Katie Get it  Letter K letter T

   You wanna hear this or not?

Weel  You want to read it so read   Suppose Ill be smarter for it 

Thank you. “Usually abbreviated to K and T . .”

. . Cant leave well enough alone huh

No. Not when it’s lowhanging fruit.

You said it not me Youre all about lowhanging fruit continue

a tick appeared at the corner of his mouth

he let it tick out before he began again

                                           “Usually abbreviated K and T, is a form of electrical system that was in common use prior to about Nineteenfifty. K and T gets its name from the knobs and tubes used to run electrical cables through a house . .”

. . Or outside it Santa Cruz California

   “Run electrical cables through a house. In a K and T system, the wires run through a series of porcelain cylinders – the tubes – in the floor joists.”

   Now we know

I corrected myself.

However your correction has not averted the taste of female flesh in my mouth or lessen the tumescence Ive a hankerin for

      Im sure youll excuse me  Theres someone I need to call 

Lend me your phone woudya

Callin K T 

1409,  day-between-2-Ts,  7  2. 24

1231,  Monday,  12  2. 24

Beegees  Lonely Days  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa2_CL-2ZI4

Bob Dylan  Buckets of Rain  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGsOmKZXDvo

https://www.thespruce.com/how-old-is-your-wiring-1152880

That’s not funny.

                   he was trying to talk over his buddy insane laughterwhen he went there itd be awhile before hed be back

      That’s not funny.

                         buddy had tears in his eyes

literally was trying to catch his breath

That’s not funny.

buddy spatout It is sucked air

                             Oh  but it is

It’s only funny to you because it’s about me.

Wooo sucked air

                 Yare a funny guy Ought to be able sucked air  laugh at yourself 

wentoff on another tear

When you can stop, we can talk. he crossed his arms over his chest

 

 

wiped the tears out of his eyes laughter downgrading to stuffedchortles

   Now?

A sec           Now wooo

                                Okay  I think Im done    No promises Thawas hilarious if youd have seen your face myGawd   Oh myGawd

                           Too thinskinned dude

I’m not . .

. . You are

I think if the shoe were on the other foot . .

. . But it woudnt be When I coudnt play the game to the level of competitiveness I wanted I walked

                                                                                                         An since fuckinup my shoulder surgery shots are wayoff  I wont shoot hoops either

You refuse to watch it on television.

I do right there with baseball  zip interest

                                              Hell As it stands I watch only pro football highlights muster enough stomach to tolerate an entire Super Bowl  An occasional hockey game

That’s you. You do you . .

. . An you do you  Evenif its halfass you

I’m . .

. . Don protest halfass Admittedly you don have a jumper a fadeaway

Don’t go there.

   he was trying like a sonofabitch to suppress his laughter as it began gurglinchurnin inside

I said . . . don’t go there.

Bro  Cant help myself

                        Youre a selfdescribed he choked an again   choked SELFDESCRIBED LIMPER

he went off on another tear

That’s not funny.

313preferred,  day-between-2-Ts,  7  2. 24

1103,  Monday,  12  2. 24

The Pretenders  Forever Young  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2kgvxivr8Q

I was thinkingWhat?

   had sprung his eyes widetilted his head Thas got to hurt

Are you shitting me?

No

     Not one of your strong suits Thinkinpuzzlin requires immersion slivers of cognition thawoud lacerate your admitted don want to work tha hard I can only do one thing at a time which have grown worse over the time Ive known you

     Truth be known

And your cogniti . .

. . Exceeds yours

                    But Im more than amiablewilling to give it time  Im younger than you by three years Theres time to match you

Whawere ya thinkin

   I don’t know if I want to share now.

You don know questioning

                               Or yadon know admission

Jesus. What’s with you?

So quick to take defense cant take a barb

                                                 Whas with you

You attacked.

   Thas got to hurt

                     Miss the facial head gesturesgymnastics tha preceded the remark

Fuckin thinskinned

                     But

Truth be known I know tha Yare easy to bug

                                                    Whawere you thinking  You recall

See.   See.

No

You push me off my mark on some tangent, confuse, frustrate me . .

. . Anwha you were thinkin goes out of your head

Kinda.

         I’ll recall.

   I got time

I’ll remember.

   We were discussing  Arduously

YES.

      Discussing. Heated.

Im not heated

Well ya got me heated.

Yare easy to heat

                    Wha

I remember.

 

I thought you were going to say something.

Im listening

             Woud hate to throw you off track again

Discussing. You said arduously. We were arguing, having an argument. I thoughtwas thinking, wondering, how many people would take the word argument as a fight rather than a debate.

You did

But not usually.

No

We usually have an argument . .

. . Discourse

Yes.

     What percent of people have discourse about . . about . . . cerebral things . . Jesus . that sounds haughty.

Im not sure were cerebral.

Science. Mathematics. Politics. Physics.

Were fond of them

                    People discuss enjoy wha theyre fond of Football Basketball Entertainment  Were entertaining ourselves

Whether they call it arguing an argument or not isnt a descriptor some demarcation

I . . . I think it is.

I disagree

353preferred,  Day-between-2-Ts,  7  2. 24

1201,  Super Bowl Sunday,  11  2. 24

was it was a good thing that the town librarians knew who he was

                                                                        by name first  last

he made a point of knowing theirsbut they wore badges he preferred calling people by namewas good at it they stuck in his brain like darts in a dartboard some perhaps hazy at the periphery but nice groupings inside the triple ring and bullseyes

there was some confusion with his patron account

                                                     patron

made one throw out their chest  pride

libraries deserve more patronage than they receive

                                                     hed point out National Ignorance  fiftythree percent of American adults ages sixteen to seventythree read at a fifth grade levelFIFTH GRADE

                                                                                 how old is a child in fifth

teneleven years old

                    TEN ELEVEN years oldCHRISTSSAKES

as far as he was concerned vocabulary writing mechanics theyre damn near illiterate

                                                                                               HALF OF AMERICA

he didnt even want to get started with their ability to regard history current events civics politics

                                                                                                     could they even use a dictionary or want to an encyclopedia or want to if a betting man an he wasnt hed lay money that those hampered individuals were content to do what theyre told to do

                                                        without question but how could they fifth graders lineup when they are told to

   it was good librarians knew his name

1510,  Saturday,  10  2. 24

1054,  Sunday,  11  2. 24

he must have forgot who he was talking to

                                                A good host    Thaswha you said

Yes.

   Woud you like to withdraw tha

Why would I do that?

In regard to our science backgrounds

Hosting, what does that have to do with science?

Im tossin you a bone

A bone?

          I don’t follow.

Thas unfortunate

                   Your blinders are on tightpulled down hard see neither left nor right up or down damn near blind

So if you woud please repeat yourself so I understand I understood you correctly

You know what I said.

Clarification  Accurancy

                           Im sure I did I want to be deliberate

Alright. Fine.

                What I said was I hope I am a good host. I enjoy her company. I enjoy her attention.

he nodded Thank you

                          I appreciate you repeating yourself Thaswha I heard

   You’re welcome.

                      What about science?

Science he stroked his chin

                             nodded thoughtfully  I think   I think Im gonna leave tha morsel to you to consider ifya want

Id bet you wont But thas up to you

I got to get going

                   Lemme know if we can have coffee next week My dance card is wide open as usual

   You’re not going to say.

Give it a thought

                  Send me a text next week Be cool   Ill seeya

Next week.

he stood tookup his empty paper cup and walking past the recycle receptacle gave it a little backhand flip Two points

from his canvasbag slung over his shoulder he took out a book  Other Minds The Octopus the Sea and the Deep Origins of Consciousness

                    science

host

parasite

Ahweel to himself before he began reading  He may believe hes in a symbiotic relationship

1919,  Monday,  5  2. 24

1850,  Saturday,  10  2. 24

https://www.google.com/search?q=host+--+parasite&rlz=1C1ILPI_enUS778US778&oq=host+--+parasite&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTUyNThqMGoxNagCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:33f551db,vid:g09BQes-B7E,st:0

   Muthafucker

                     buddy was unable to resist trying to irritate him with acronyms

long ago he learned to meet horseshit with his best corpseface  unflinching   blowflies crawling over it

he repeated himself evidently his corpsefeign wasnt gooddidnt convince him he was deaddeaf

                                                                                                         W W J D

what were they talkin about just prior

                                         he was a little high  helped him fake death 

   yes

buddys undying hardon for a woman he was seeing that dealt him a sheaf which hed describe as dealkillers  that he candidly refused to acknowledge

                                     I don’t know that.   You an idiot

he gave idiocy a face

buddy was defending her in his wildest dreams he hoped he was being facetious defending how she replied to difficult interfaces with others

                      W W J D

Youre really crediting her

Come on, smart, a step back, she’s able to step away, buy herself time . . allow herself uncontended breathing room.

To the situation you described   

   Yes.

No

     She sentient  She ought to know without taking a step back a breath  I cant imagine in her experience she hasnt contended with similar parallel applicable circumstances something shes handled prior  Ought to be on the tip of her tongue

        Or like yourself  forgetful

Faulty long term memory

Do you have to insult her?

You have to use some bizarre acronym shes madeup or assumedshared with you  that for reasons know only to yourself you use despite knowing Im utterly uninterested

                                                            Wannasay  I aint guessin

W. W. J. D. 

              What would Jesus do?  

She know Jesus

afternoon,  2sday,  30  1. 24

1355,  Saturday,  10  2. 24

Rodrigo Rodriguez  Come Back  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zgXDsBYmXU

Pensees  Dreaveler  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHhfgEx0ous 

he rarely dumbfounded him

they rarely agreed

made for a good friendship

. . . well of course he said  you know the five languages of love.

I do not

kneejerk reaction happened on his kisser looked uncomfortable

                                                             What do you mean you don’t. You read more than anyone I know.

This some selfhelp book you read

The Five Love Languages. It was the rage . .

. . For who  Idiots

What do you mean idiots?

Whadoes an idiot mean to youya read it

                                             Ya learn something you didnt know   Needed affirmation

We, my wife and I read it.

Whose idea

Whose idea?

You a mynabird  Speak

I don’t remember.

Thas safe

            You do have moments of intellect

Jesus. You on the rag?

No

   Do you want to know what they are?

You want to tell me he made a thing of slouching in his chaircrossing his arms over his chest

                                                                                             Speak

If you don . .

. . But you want to  So please

You’re acting like you know them already.

I do  Ive been in love however I have no need of labels  I just did them

What are they?

Theyre your languages

   Alright.

Thank you

In no particular order .  . acts of service . .

. . Curious your first  Excuse my interruption

he glared

he expected it

Acts of service. Words of affirmation. Physical touch. Gifts. Quality time spent together.

he clapped an clapped an clapped an clapped was irritating

                                                                You needed a book to tell you tha

Do you agree?

I agree might be one for the books

                                      I like how they came out rote  Were they an oath

What do you mean?

Is your wife able to recite them without hesitation as you just did

I’m sure she can.

When did this book of love come out

If I remember correctly . . . the Nineties.

Who wrote it 

I don’t remember his name.

You remember it was a man

Yes I do.

You remember his background  A psychologist

He wasn’t a psychologist.

What was he

I believe . . a minister . Baptist.

So he was a psychologist  He ministered administered

                                                             Learned of and attended to others needs

An he wasnt a priest so he could marry an probably was

I don’t know.

You didnt vet the man before you read his book

The book was well-received . .

. . You didnt vet him

                        Why woudya do tha

If I recommended a book to you . .

. . I woudnt necessarily read it

                                  Anya can bet your sweet ass Id find out who the author waswha his credentials were

he stammered

                  It was a good book.

A good selfhelp book I don read em

                                       Im beyond instruction have no need for teachers  If I don know something I have ample resources to learn

As long as you found sustenance good for you

   Sustenance?  that irritated him

Yah

1219,  2sday,  16  1. 24

1151,  Reggaefriday,  9  2. 24

Stick Figure  (feat. Collie Buddz)  Showdown  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEkhxMt2YtM

majority of his life

                     the people he loved most he had long distance relationships with

because he left

they stayed

                 he had a hard time believing they stayed

could understand his parents

their youth was during a different time a different world

his mothers parents were immigrants his fathers parents parents immigrated

they were steeped in Old World

                                  steeped

in profession of Family

                         traveled by car never left the United States

growingup he was steeped alike

but by the time he exited the teabag he was had been depleted  smelled tasted like hot water

he left to replenish himself

he had to admit

                      he did an excellent job

he visited

           but

he knew when he left that the people he loved most hed have long distance relationships with

the house phone rang

he put down his pen no distractions

                                      Hey Maw Yes  Good evening   How are you

                                                                                           Excuse me  So not to forget babe

I love you

 

1838,  Thursday,  8  2. 24

Korantemaa  By the time you’ve finished your coffee  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mj5JrBxwqA