54 - 26. waiting for a train

by bofa xesjum

most things are not what they used to be before . the trains and buses, especially, do not run on time . walter gruck waited impatiently for the midnight train to downtown. walter gruck - that’s a funny name - go ahead and laugh. as a young man, walter always tried to do right. but he never got anywhere as the years went by. nobody paid any attention to him or invited hm anywhere.. if they did, he could not get there on time. walter found that the buses and trains were always late. and traffic on the streets and freeways - forget about it. well, you may ask, is that not true for everybody? but walter was not a philosopher - he took everything personally. on this particular night the temperature was falling somewhat dramatically. walter was alone on the platform, as he usually was. suddenly a figure appeared on the platform, strummng a guitar. it was walter’s old archnemesis, the angel of atrophied entropy. waiting for a train, it sang, waiting for a train. i wish i was anywhere but here, walter exclaimed furiously. i’m just waiting for a train, the angel crooned soothingly., the demon of discord appeared, wearing a plain green t-shirt. walter started to ask the demon if he was cold. no one is cold, the demon replied, only the flowers. and the flowers are black holes, the angel added sagely. walter woke up - on death row in arkansas state penitentiary. he never tried to make sense of his endless dreams. four hours until breakfast, he thought resignedly, and rolled over.

54 - 25. moonlight ride

by bofa xesjum

where did everybody go, t wondered, walking through the park. earlier that evening, it had been filled with roaring enthusiasts. now the full white moon, low in the sky, looked sad. t felt a curious vibration in the expectant night air. suddenly the night was lit with dozens of bright headlights. of blue patrol cars forming a grinning circle around t. one car, longer than the others, pulled up to t. its door opened, and chief john cooley brown clambered out. what are you all doing here? the chief thundered majestically. the demonstration is over, and the area is declared cleared. i am sorry, i think i must have fallen asleep in the middle of world war 5? the chief persisted. um - i heard noises, but i thought i was dreaming. enough of this pointless palavering - get yourself in the car. t did so, and the long blue limousine sped off. the other headlights switched off - the park reverted to darkness. in the cell at headquarters, t’s old friend u awaited. what are you doing here? t tentatively enquired of u. you mean you really do not know? u responded derisively. no, why do you not tell me, for heaven’s sake? we are to be transformed in the dawn’s early light. transformed into whar exactly? t persisted with dogged determination. if we knew that , would it then be a transformation ? and u began laughing hysterically, to beat the band. you there in cell 73, please keep the noise down. i aways knew it would end like his, t thought.

54 - 24. noodles in the afternoon

by bofa xesjum

excuse me, sir, are you the proprietor. of this establishment? no, madam, i serve here as a humble maintenance engineer. so where then is the proprietor, if i may ask? the regional manager has an office in san rafael, california, is there anyone here i can vent my displeasure on? i might be able to help - what is your complaint? that man beside the door eating noodles - he offends me. what is he doing that offends you besides eating noodles? it is the way he is eating the noodles - obviously. what offends you about the way he eats his noodles? he puts way too many in his mouth at once. how many ounces at a time is the correct amount? i do not know - i am not a licensed nutrirtionist. he has been eating noodles here for many long years. and no one has ever complained before, to my knowledge. and how all-encompassing is your knowledge, if i may ask? no, it is my turn to ask you a question. it had better be a relevant one - so proceed carefully. is this conversation between you and me being recorded? everything is recorded in the great book, my good fellow. is it being recorded for tik tok or something similar? i percieve that you are a troll and a smartypants. and you have not heard the last of this matter. the offended party got up from her chair and left. the man eating noodles shoveled in another massive forkfull. raindrops began to fall on the window of the diner.

54 - 23. the game

by bofa xesjum

the sun smiled gently down on a well-tended public park. an old man sat on a bench, staring into space. a much younger man approached him, with a polite smirk. excuse me, may i ask what you are looking at? a picture of trump triumphantly entering the kingdom of kingdoms. you are, then, a follower of the so-called maga movement. i beg your pardon, i do not quite understand you. are you not referring to the 45th and 47th american president? why no, i meant trump vii, renowned emperor of atlantis. and who might he have been? the young man asked. it is not who he might have been, but is. so the empire of atlantis is right now in existence? what is it to you if it is, eh? eh? i’m sorry, i was merely trying to improvise polite conversation. i am afraid you were doing nothing of the sort. what do you take me for? the young man implored. i know exactly what you are - a spy for mudlark! a man in a light brown trenchcoat approached the pair. are you zachary colin marchmont? he asked the young man. why yes i am - officer, if i am not mistaken? and you, sir, are you not mister john jacoby lassiter? i have the misfortune to be that most unhappy personage. your jigs are both up, gentlemen - please come with me. a grey sedan halted on the graveled path behind them. neither marchmont nor lassiter resisted - they knew the game. i never got to feed the poor ducks, lassiter lamented.

54 - 22. good times

by bofa xesjum

willie, xena, yeti, and zorina called themselves the four amigos. they met down by the old mill stream in delaware.. willie worked as an elevator repairman on the swing shift. xena was a free lance doppelganger on the wild side. yeti was a professional class clown for the highest bidder. zorina had difficulty explaining exactly what she did or said. they had good times together, after the sun went down. things went on in this way for weeks and months. in his previous life willie was a dentist in el paso. xena had been alternately a butterfly and a dive bomber. yeti had never known his grandfather or a free lunch. zorina had been a princess in fifteen different forgotten kingdoms. willie’s favorite movie was the bridge on the river kwai. xena’s favorite lipsticks were imported from singapore and were expensive. yeti went for long walks along sandy beaches and coutnry roads. zorina had them all beat when push came to shove. bluebeard ran the old mill stream wih a iron hand. he did not let anybody challenge him on his turf. not the amigos, the so-called authorities or any other losers. zorina’s mother did not approve of zorina’s three friends. she appealed to bluebeard to break up the merry band. and hired a hotshot lawyer, clarence wimble, to get serious. and a seasoned hitman, named blackie, to back hm up. bluebeard saw the writing on the wall and headed south. that is just the way that some people are. unfortunately. don’t worry about it - just try to do your best.

54 - 21. favorite

by bofa xesjum

what is your favorite animal, alice asked billy quite innocently. a cow, billy replied with , to alice, somewhat surprising promptitude. a cow is a very gentle animal, alice murmured approvingly. a cow grilled over an open fire, with a-1 sauce. i meant a live animal, that you can talk to. animals can not talk, billy responded with his characteristic certainty. they might lf you sincerely tried to talk to them. let us talk about something else, you are boring me. what is your favorite insect, or your favorite vanished civilization? why is it always favorite this, favorite that? billy asked. you know we have been instructed to talk about things, yes, so that we can learn to talk about things. is that a problem? what else are we to do? we could just wait until it is time for lunch. stafford and mister brown might not like that very much. who are duke and duchess here , we or mister brown? the door opened and stafford strode into the sun room. mister brown wishes to see both of you right now. but it is not even lunch time yet, billy protested. mister brown has never wanted us before lunch, alice added. mister brown wants to see you right now, stafford repeated. alice and billy followed stafford down to the blue.river. they got in the boat and stafford began rowing across , to the island where mister brown was waiting for them. i always very much enjoyed your company, billy, alice cried . a bird flew overhead as stafford pulled at the oars.

54 - 20. walking in the rain

by bofa xesjum

the storm will begin in twenty minutes and seventeen seconds. i can make it, murchison thought, i can do it. i can get to the center in fifteen minutes easy. he set out, swinging his short but muscular arms confidently. after eight minutes, the rain suddenly began to fall heavily. murchison looked around desperately for a cab or a bus. he was quickly soaked like laundry in a washing machine. the people at the center would have a good laugh. he knew their type - always ready with a heartless smile. along with their rolling eyeballs and obviously fake sympathetic noises. it was the story of his life, over and over. the rain fell harder, almost knocking hin off his feet. the street was now completely empty of people or vehicles. just murchison and the rain and wind and falling darkness. why, he wondered, was life so awful and so meaningless? why did his fellow humans consider him ridiculous and pathetic? < p> his phone came back on, interrupting his despairing interior monologue. the storm will continue for anther twenty-two minutes before ending. how do i know this forecast will be any better? i might as well just give up and go home. home to the loneliest room in the whole wide world. a long black town car appeared in his peripheral vision. it pulled up beside him and the window rolled down. the young woman behind the wheel had a cheerleader smile. hello, bob, my name is cambridge, i’m from the center. we thought you might like a ride in this weather.