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literature
Ignoring Reality
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Literature Text
Glen sat on his porch watching the portable television perched on the rail, worn rocking chair squeaking rhythmically as he swayed. He silently thanked the Maker for the sun warming his bones, that it was not yet intense enough to raise the stink from the dumpster behind Sherry's Diner next door that would appear come August, and for the scantily-clad woman in the commercial he was staring at currently giving him an erection. His smile faded as the news came back from break. Reaching for the tobacco pouch in his hip pocket, his heel collided with the ribs of the dog sleeping at his feet.
"Sorry, boy."
The canine's reply was to lift its tail and fart. Scraps of the light brown shred sullied white fur as Glen worked. Lighting the cigarette, he winced at the grating sound of Myron Cope announcing the baseball scores.
"Who did he have to fuck to get on TV with that voice?"
Only the dog could hear him, and it did not rise from slumber. Glen looked up to see a young girl carrying a baby. She might have been eighteen, but more likely had only just gotten her driver's license. Her face was drawn tight, but this display of agonized thoughts elicited no sympathy from him.
Hussy, he thought. The kid probably wouldn't be alive if the Supreme Court hadn't repealed that Godless Roe v. Wade case three years ago.
"Awfully young to be a mom, ain't ya?"
She narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth at him, the sun prisming off a tear sliding down her left cheek. He turned back to the screen as she rounded the corner, heading for the back of the diner.
"Nothin back there but the trashbin. Maybe she works there, going in the back door? What's she do with the kid while she's workin? What do you think, boy?"
The dog craked an eye this time before sounding its answer. Chuckling, the old man flicked the cigarette but onto his lawn to lie among the bones of its predecessors. Tired, he pulled the brim of his cap over his eyes to rest until the news was over, never noticing the girl reappear,
empty-handed.
"Sorry, boy."
The canine's reply was to lift its tail and fart. Scraps of the light brown shred sullied white fur as Glen worked. Lighting the cigarette, he winced at the grating sound of Myron Cope announcing the baseball scores.
"Who did he have to fuck to get on TV with that voice?"
Only the dog could hear him, and it did not rise from slumber. Glen looked up to see a young girl carrying a baby. She might have been eighteen, but more likely had only just gotten her driver's license. Her face was drawn tight, but this display of agonized thoughts elicited no sympathy from him.
Hussy, he thought. The kid probably wouldn't be alive if the Supreme Court hadn't repealed that Godless Roe v. Wade case three years ago.
"Awfully young to be a mom, ain't ya?"
She narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth at him, the sun prisming off a tear sliding down her left cheek. He turned back to the screen as she rounded the corner, heading for the back of the diner.
"Nothin back there but the trashbin. Maybe she works there, going in the back door? What's she do with the kid while she's workin? What do you think, boy?"
The dog craked an eye this time before sounding its answer. Chuckling, the old man flicked the cigarette but onto his lawn to lie among the bones of its predecessors. Tired, he pulled the brim of his cap over his eyes to rest until the news was over, never noticing the girl reappear,
empty-handed.
This was a project from one of my fiction classes a while back. We had this story collection called "Sudden Stories" for the class, each story was 350 words or less, and the professor had us do one as an assignment. This was mine.
P.S. If you're not from around Pittsburgh, Myron Cope is a news sports anchor on local TV there, and his voice, well, imagine Ed from the Tonight Show with laryngitis and a clamp on his testicles, and you'll start to get an idea of what his voice sounds like.
P.S. If you're not from around Pittsburgh, Myron Cope is a news sports anchor on local TV there, and his voice, well, imagine Ed from the Tonight Show with laryngitis and a clamp on his testicles, and you'll start to get an idea of what his voice sounds like.
© 2006 - 2024 Garex
Comments5
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'The kid probably wouldn't be alive if the Supreme Court hadn't repealed that Godless Roe v. Wade case three years ago.'
I was trying to find reference to that line, but haven't found any information about any legal repeal of Roe vs. Wade. Granted, I just did a google search and checked wikipedia. Just curious about some of the background on the story. What year does it take place? Is it current?
This story is sad and disturbing, and that's what gives it such plausibillity. It is a sad world that we live in, and terrible things like that happen every day. I was looking at statistics, weird, the largest percentage of women who get abortions are un-wed between 25-29 years old, protestant and white women. The actual numbers is kinda disturbing. I've always been pro-choice, though I myself would choose to keep my child.
Shortening your story does sound like quite a challenge. But I must say that it does read at a rather good pace. Very concise and to the point. You don't need alot of words to convey a good story. It would be interesting to see the original 800 word version for comparison. You could submit it to your scraps if you still have the original file. So what was your grade? ;D