Post by Joey on Jul 19, 2018 16:53:31 GMT -5
The scene is Pueblo New Mexico. This city has grown over the years. It used to be a speck on the map. Now its become a bit of a tourist attraction. We see Jude sitting in a diner on the outskirts of town. It is called New Town Diner. Apparently Pueblo simply means Town. How quaint, don't you think?
It is 9:15am on Thursday July 19th.
Jude is sitting by the far wall, in a tiny table. Away from the windows away from prying eyes. He has some wheat toast on a small plate with some butter on it, still uneaten. He has a glass of soda to his right. 3 ice cubes trying to stay afloat.
Jude is wearing blue jeans, black shoes, a black polo shirt. He stirs the glass of soda with his straw and takes a sip, the sugary soda a nice taste. After a few minutes a waitress shows up and mentions he has yet to touch his toast, would he like something else instead.
“Perhaps, the toast is fine, but I think I should really eat some breakfast, could I get the number 2 please.”
“Sure hun, how would you like those eggs?”
“Over easy please”
“Easy is what we do best, it’ll be out in a few minutes”
“Thank you.”
I take a bite of my toast. And for the first time in over a day I find that I have an appetite. That is a good thing. My mind wanders a bit towards the upcoming ppv. Back to Reality. Always sounded like a rip off from the movie Back to the Future. But that is neither here nor there.
After a few minutes the waitress comes over and puts my eggs and bacon and hash browns on my table, puts some Tabasco sauce there with me and then refills my Pepsi. I will be sure to leave her a nice tip, she is a superb waitress.
She asks if I need anything else, and I say no thank you, everything is perfect, she smiles something genuine and walks away. I push Glenn out of my mind for a few moments. Its feeding time. I carefully place the correct amount of salt and pepper on my eggs and hash-brown, and if you must ask the correct amount is three salt shakes on the eggs, 4 pepper shakes on the eggs. One salt shake for the hash-browns and 2 pepper shakes for the hash-browns. I grabs the Tabasco sauce and unscrew the top and put 5 drops of it on each egg, and 2 drops on the hash browns. And I am done. The only utensil I need is a fork. I start to cut up the eggs and putting bits of cut up sausage and bacon. I greedily eat my breakfast, putting some ketchup on the hash-browns as well.
Less than 10 minutes later I am all done, the plate is clean except for a bit of yolk. Toast is gone as well.
The waitress refills my soda and say “My my you were a hungry boy weren't you?”
I reply “yes maam”.
She says “Anything else you'd like hun?”
I think it over for a moment and say “No thanks, I’ll take the check now, just gonna finish my soda.”
She brings out a notepad from her apron and says “Whenever you’re ready, there ain't no hurry here or in this town and smiles again and then walks away.
I think knowing her would have been quite the thing back in her day. She’s pushing 60 now. But you cant hide her smile. I will remember her as the smiling woman. And remember her and this meal quite fondly. After all, what else do we have if not memories?
The meal and soda is 8.25. I put down a 20 dollar bill, because she deserves it.
I walk away. But as I do, I hear the waitress start to clean up my table and as she spots her tip I can hear her say “my goodness, thank you sir! God bless you” she says as I am walking out. It was almost a perfect day until she ruined it without the god thing. Oh well, nothing is perfect.
I start a walk down the sidewalk on Olmitos Ave. Not sure where I am going yet but it will get to me. Pueblo is an old town, lots of places to go. Lots of memories to dig up. Now I can think about Glenn.
Glenn has been on a trip himself. Father and husband. He’s had his share of loss as well. He’s grown a lot. I am proud of him. Such a voyage. I knew him when he was a child, now he’s no longer just a man. I've known you half your life, and you have known me. We are friends to an extent but we’ve grown apart. Different lives. Different experiences. You have grown in all aspects, loved and lost. And Glenn my friend as you get older you will lose even more, till one day you are the one that is lost and mourned.
Earlier you remember I said she had earned her tip. Indeed she did. We all get what we earn. Always. Karma makes sure of that. So the question now has to be what have you and I earned? Ghosts of shadow pasts? Nevermore. Sorry I was never quite as poetic with my words as you and Shadow. Try as I did. Though its not for lack of trying.
A part of me thinks god punished me 3 years ago. And I have come to accept that. God took my father first, took my mother next, and left my brother for last. Left me as I always was...alone. And I am alone. No blood left. One woman who I fear to love. One city that I fear to leave. And right now honestly I feel like I am just waiting to die. I am 42. And death isn't too far away. I know how I die already. I have known for quite some time. It will not be by my own hand. I am stronger than that. No, I think God and karma have to even things out. Long ago I lost part of my pinky finger in a car accident, when its quite evident all of me should have been taken. And so that is how I will die.
One day I will be driving along and all of sudden my world will be encompassed in smoke and dust and steel and I will enter that grand sleep. And that will be it. And a few people will mourn me. Jack or Emerson will post a message on SFT and that will be the end of me. Almost as if I had never been alive.
Glenn do you want to know how you pass? I had a dream, more like a nightmare. And I saw how you go as well. I will tell you if you ask of it me. But be sure that is what you want.
I find myself back on Olmitos St. Walking down a long street with few to none businesses. At the end of street I come upon a bookstore. An antique bookstore. It is now 10am. I turn the handle of the door with my left hand and push the door and enter the bookstore.
I leave the next part of this story for another day.
...fade….to…..darkness…...
It is 9:15am on Thursday July 19th.
Jude is sitting by the far wall, in a tiny table. Away from the windows away from prying eyes. He has some wheat toast on a small plate with some butter on it, still uneaten. He has a glass of soda to his right. 3 ice cubes trying to stay afloat.
Jude is wearing blue jeans, black shoes, a black polo shirt. He stirs the glass of soda with his straw and takes a sip, the sugary soda a nice taste. After a few minutes a waitress shows up and mentions he has yet to touch his toast, would he like something else instead.
“Perhaps, the toast is fine, but I think I should really eat some breakfast, could I get the number 2 please.”
“Sure hun, how would you like those eggs?”
“Over easy please”
“Easy is what we do best, it’ll be out in a few minutes”
“Thank you.”
I take a bite of my toast. And for the first time in over a day I find that I have an appetite. That is a good thing. My mind wanders a bit towards the upcoming ppv. Back to Reality. Always sounded like a rip off from the movie Back to the Future. But that is neither here nor there.
After a few minutes the waitress comes over and puts my eggs and bacon and hash browns on my table, puts some Tabasco sauce there with me and then refills my Pepsi. I will be sure to leave her a nice tip, she is a superb waitress.
She asks if I need anything else, and I say no thank you, everything is perfect, she smiles something genuine and walks away. I push Glenn out of my mind for a few moments. Its feeding time. I carefully place the correct amount of salt and pepper on my eggs and hash-brown, and if you must ask the correct amount is three salt shakes on the eggs, 4 pepper shakes on the eggs. One salt shake for the hash-browns and 2 pepper shakes for the hash-browns. I grabs the Tabasco sauce and unscrew the top and put 5 drops of it on each egg, and 2 drops on the hash browns. And I am done. The only utensil I need is a fork. I start to cut up the eggs and putting bits of cut up sausage and bacon. I greedily eat my breakfast, putting some ketchup on the hash-browns as well.
Less than 10 minutes later I am all done, the plate is clean except for a bit of yolk. Toast is gone as well.
The waitress refills my soda and say “My my you were a hungry boy weren't you?”
I reply “yes maam”.
She says “Anything else you'd like hun?”
I think it over for a moment and say “No thanks, I’ll take the check now, just gonna finish my soda.”
She brings out a notepad from her apron and says “Whenever you’re ready, there ain't no hurry here or in this town and smiles again and then walks away.
I think knowing her would have been quite the thing back in her day. She’s pushing 60 now. But you cant hide her smile. I will remember her as the smiling woman. And remember her and this meal quite fondly. After all, what else do we have if not memories?
The meal and soda is 8.25. I put down a 20 dollar bill, because she deserves it.
I walk away. But as I do, I hear the waitress start to clean up my table and as she spots her tip I can hear her say “my goodness, thank you sir! God bless you” she says as I am walking out. It was almost a perfect day until she ruined it without the god thing. Oh well, nothing is perfect.
I start a walk down the sidewalk on Olmitos Ave. Not sure where I am going yet but it will get to me. Pueblo is an old town, lots of places to go. Lots of memories to dig up. Now I can think about Glenn.
Glenn has been on a trip himself. Father and husband. He’s had his share of loss as well. He’s grown a lot. I am proud of him. Such a voyage. I knew him when he was a child, now he’s no longer just a man. I've known you half your life, and you have known me. We are friends to an extent but we’ve grown apart. Different lives. Different experiences. You have grown in all aspects, loved and lost. And Glenn my friend as you get older you will lose even more, till one day you are the one that is lost and mourned.
Earlier you remember I said she had earned her tip. Indeed she did. We all get what we earn. Always. Karma makes sure of that. So the question now has to be what have you and I earned? Ghosts of shadow pasts? Nevermore. Sorry I was never quite as poetic with my words as you and Shadow. Try as I did. Though its not for lack of trying.
A part of me thinks god punished me 3 years ago. And I have come to accept that. God took my father first, took my mother next, and left my brother for last. Left me as I always was...alone. And I am alone. No blood left. One woman who I fear to love. One city that I fear to leave. And right now honestly I feel like I am just waiting to die. I am 42. And death isn't too far away. I know how I die already. I have known for quite some time. It will not be by my own hand. I am stronger than that. No, I think God and karma have to even things out. Long ago I lost part of my pinky finger in a car accident, when its quite evident all of me should have been taken. And so that is how I will die.
One day I will be driving along and all of sudden my world will be encompassed in smoke and dust and steel and I will enter that grand sleep. And that will be it. And a few people will mourn me. Jack or Emerson will post a message on SFT and that will be the end of me. Almost as if I had never been alive.
Glenn do you want to know how you pass? I had a dream, more like a nightmare. And I saw how you go as well. I will tell you if you ask of it me. But be sure that is what you want.
I find myself back on Olmitos St. Walking down a long street with few to none businesses. At the end of street I come upon a bookstore. An antique bookstore. It is now 10am. I turn the handle of the door with my left hand and push the door and enter the bookstore.
I leave the next part of this story for another day.
...fade….to…..darkness…...
