the official subversives

by bofa xesjum

put that joke book away and let us get serious. good guys are hypocrites. the groundbreaking power lifter nodded perfunctorily. while the extraordinary revolutionary looked both ways. all privilege is indigenous, sergeant jones asserted confidently. revolutions are important, meaningless smith retorted. the authoritarian greeter looked askance. his name was dorian gray and he carefully straightened his blue and yellow tie. the ottoman empire was in decline. but extra brown, the extraordinary revolutionary, did not much care. dorian gray suppressed a green laugh. gus henry, the groundbreaking power lifter, chuckled heartily. because revolutions are important. they make the world go around. the subversive is the new normal. and all authority is a joke. genius is reactionary, anna explained patiently to jane. gus henry looked both ways when he reached the door. that is my final answer, he repeated as he exited the scene. i guess he still thinks revolutions are important, sergeant jones observed nonchalantly. suddenly all hell broke loose. and you can just guess what happened next. everybody kept looking both ways. but there were more ways than both. the official report was hailed as groundbreaking. especially by its producers. the subversive became the new norm. and as they say, that was all she wrote. until the next time. grand avenue was renamed subversive avenue. and a good time was had by all.

the last shot

by bofa xesjum

suddenly the shots stopped. it was said that the shooter’s name was albert brown. all the people on the street watched from their windows. a man appeared on the street. he was a strange man. he used to be the sheriff in the town. but he had gone on a long journey. to the ends of the earth and back. all very interesting, i am sure, but can we get on with it? when the strange man returned to civilization after his long journey, he found that times had changed extraordinarily. silence reigned over the land. the people were afraid. more shots rang out. the strange man kept walking down the street. he remembered the times that were long gone and even forgotten. he could hardly remember them, but had no desire that they return. he realized that the time was now. bang! albert brown moved away from the window. it was said that his name was albert brown, but it was not. well then, what was it? give me a minute here - it was charlie green. oh. is that final? yes. the strange man looked up at the windows where the townspeople were looking down at him. suddenly he produced his own gun. he fired a shot into the air. the last shot. listen up, you losers! he shouted. it is all over. my name is bob adams. bob adams, not charlie green. and i am taking over. you got that? the people moved away from their windows. silence reigned over the land once again. night fell. the moon rose over the trees and warehouses and body shops on the outskirts of town.

johnny and jackie, part 2

by bofa xesjum

part two of ?

jackie did not decide to hate johnny overnight. he had been encouraged to do so by colonel musgrave, and by ralph johnson, who was not what he seemed to be. johnny , on the other hand, suspected none of this. it started to rain. the circus was in town. sitting behind the wheel of his state police cruiser, eddie watched the big tent go up. no matter where he was, jackie was alone with his thoughts. ralph johnson observed jackie from under the brim of his straw hat. because that was the kind of guy ralph johnaon was. sometimes jackie forgot exactly why he hated johnny. raindrops ran down the window of the diner. mona starbuck remembered the last stranger who passed through town. the two strangers stopped and watched the circus tent go up. the first stranger - the original stranger - came up behind them. hatred can be a curious thing. sheriff john brown did nor care for circus people, especially clowns, was johnny really as good a person as all that? was sheriff john brown really as bad a person as all that? and what about mona starbuck? so far, nobody asked johnny what he thought the whole situation. or stagger lee, for that matter. what do you think? and what does eddie, sitting in his cruiser watching the circus tent go up in the rain, think? the two strangers nodded to each other and proceeded into town. colonel musgrave poured himself another stiff drink. mona starbuck got up and turned on her new television set.

johnny and jackie, part 1

by bofa xesjum

part one of ?

the stranger came down the road, and did not look left or right. jackie was the jealous type. and when the strangers came to town, jackie took notice. jackie hated johnny. and jackie did not like the looks of the strangers. rlaph johnson never harmed anybody. stagger lee had an understanding with sheriff john brown. sheriff john brown was a bad person. one of the worst. or so the strangers had been told. colonel musgrove poured himself a stiff drink. the strangers looked out the window as he dd so. mona starbuck remembered the last stranger who passed through town. stagger lee remembered him too. his name was ———————. eddie was in the state police. but then, jackie did not care for too many people. the stranger - the original stranger - walked into marie;s diner. sheriff john brown looked up from his cup of black coffee. jackie, who hated everybody, looked up from his slice of blueberry pie. outside, it started to rain. sheriff john brown hesitated - he had a date with stagger lee. sheriff john brown loved the rain. johnny was a good person. jackie hated johnny because he was a good person. eddie was on the way.

zeke (he, part 2)

by bofa xesjum

zeke quigley went his own way. but he blended in with the crowd. he knew they were waiting for him. but he kept on keeping on. he only wanted what was rightfully his. he patiently waited for his chance nobody got off telling him what to do. he stayed true to his dream. and stayed the course through thick and thin. but he kept his own counsel. and watched from the shadows. playing the game his own way. he knew the game was rigged. but all games are rigged. zeke had a dream. that kept him going as he walked the streets with the crowd. it was no joke. he knew someday he would meet someone. someone who would show him the way. the way out of the shadows. and into the sunlight. he was just like you and me and everybody else. he played a waiting game. he knew the dream would come true. he just wanted to live his own life. just like everybody else. almost everybody else. everybody except the ones who were trying to find him.

the promotion

by bofa xesjum

perhaps you might oblige us by stating exactly what it is that you want. i want my rights, and nothing more. very amusing. you know perfectly well that the committee has suspended all rights indefinitely. what do you feel inside, when you find yourself making such statements? take a break, tolliver. i will take over interrogating this stubborn citizen. tolliver quickly acceded to the inquisitor’s suggestion, and quitted the room. the inquisitor smiled at zero when they were left alone together. i feel obsolescent, the inquisitor remarked affably. this is not at all the way i was accustomed to doing things in the old days. no doubt it all seems a thousand years ago since we last met, zero replied. be that as it may, i have a proposition for you, the inquisitor continued in his most friendly manner. i have no choice but to listen. i want you to kill poor tolliver when he returns. i of course will not be present when you do the deed. what is the sense of that? and what am i to use as a weapon? what except your bare hands? you were always physically up to any task, though a mental weakling. i see your sense of the ridiculous has not deserted you. do you wish to be free to go or not? simply strangle or otherwise dispose of tolliver when he returns, and walk out of this room and out of the building. no one will stop you. tolliver, of course will raise a hue and cry if you attempt to leave without silencing him. very well. i agree. good. i see you have made strides in understanding how things work. the inquisitor got up and left without further ado. tolliver returned, with a leer on his face and a manila folder in his hand. the inquisitor offered to free me if i killed you, zero greeted him. did he now? he has curious ways of amusing himself. tolliver seated himself at the table and opened the folder. i believe we had got as far as your acceptance into the guards. just so. and my first promotion. something new has come up, which surpasses all understanding.

the alley

by bofa xesjum

a cat emerged from an alley. it took its time. it looked down the street. the street had no beginning and no end. frank, a drifter, approached the alley from which the cat had emerged. frank had been young once. but not recently. frank had been something of a joker in his day. he had teamed up with a girl named lillian. i remember them well - well, maybe not so well as all that. there were thousands like them thronging the avenues and boulevards after the invasion. they were all born under the same bad sign. so they danced the night away. some people remember those times with a sad smile. myself, i do not happen to be one of them. in my opinion people like frank and lillian destroyed civilization and should be held accountable. but that is just my opinion. others may happen to think differently. i am starting to ramble. lillian had a husband named edward, who was old enough to be her father, and whom, of course, she hated. for my part, i do not think edward was a bad fellow, or deserved his fate. in his youth he had had dreams of greatness, like so many before him. where are they now, with all their dreams? the cat was a shade of dark gray. frank was wearing a brown hat and a blue suit, both the worse for wear. he did not look good in black, much as he wished to do so. do you have any questions? i am always at your service.

banana

by bofa xesjum

so you have emerged victorious, my friend, from your struggle with your longtime adversary. the khan observed with a cultivated smile which fooled no one. i took advantage of his ill-advised impetuosity, omar responded with a humble, yet slightly frosty air. what futile exercises in sophistry they are both indulging in, margaret reflected with her face a mask of hauteur. a turtle crawled across the ballroom floor toward the assembled group. outside on the savanna an elephant brayed loudly, causing penelope to shudder theatrically, but nobody paid her any mind. the hacienda had been under siege for quite some time, the turtle reflected absently. johnny walker, uncomfortable in his tight fitting waiter’s uniform, wished he were back in pocatello idaho.. a gorilla stepped up to the microphone on the podium and asked for quiet, as he had an important announcement to make. but as the announcement was only about the zoning regulations, the assembled guests quickly tuned him out. no one wins in these encounters, as we have seen so often before in the history of civilization. just ask constable o’rourke, the next time you see him sampling an apple from the gypsy’s stall. or sometimes it might be a banana, if the mood strikes him. the orchestra kept up a steady flow of soothing music, but few of the guests seemed inclined to dance. mulligan, seated in the corner to the left of the front door facing the bandstand, kept his own counsel, as always.