Monday, Nov. 26, 2001
“One day my brother Goose and I had treed a cat. It was barrels of
fun, until we heard mom yell from the backporch, 'Kids! Come in and
see!' Obviously we didn't know what she wanted us to see yet, but at
the time we were hugely excited, it could have been anything, like a
plate full of fresh cookies or the Kaiser's beard torn straight off
his face.
We were delighted to see it was a brand new radio my father had
bought! Everyone on the block had wanted a radio, even the people
who already had them, although they wanted new ones, and now we had
one!
My sister Stephanie, Goose, and I all gathered 'round the radio for
hours listening to The Lone Ranger, Little Orphan
Annie, The Shadow, and several racist radio shows I
probably shouldn't elaborate on. It was the most fun you could ever
imagine.
And when we weren't listening to the radio, we were talking about
the radio. Stephanie and I would talk about what we thought the
characters looked like, about the bright colors of the world the
radio people lived in, and what The Shadow did to keep his laundry
clean. Goose couldn't join in on account he had no imagination,
something he inherited from mom.
Sure, we were disappointed later when we found out the radio wasn't
even ever plugged in and it had been dad making all those voices we
had been listening to. We probably should have guessed since the
radio was so light, being hollow and having no electronic innards
like a working radio. Goose is still mad at dad, rest his soul, but
Stephanie and I say we still have our imaginations and memories, and
they can't take that away without highly expensive surgery.”
“Radio”
Milestones
the commune's scratch 'n sniff look at last year's office potluck
Opportunities
Pants a Capitalist
Free Virus Baggies
Take a Kitten, Please
the commune book selections
the commune's Bear in Rearview
the commune's Big Book of Duke
Faces of the commune
the commune 100: Leaders and Revolutionaries
the commune 100: Traitors and Noodledicks
FAQ Shwartz |
Site Map's Somewhere in the Glovebox |
Search In Vain |
Contract Ick
Privacy Police |
Terms of Gary Busey |
Reprints & Persimmons |
Press Eject Now
"First Kiss"
I remember quite clearly the first girl I ever kissed. I was very young and inexperienced, no older than 13. No younger than 13 either. In fact, I was 13.
"Penpal"
In my younger days I had a penpal named LeShandy. He was a boy roughly the same age and lived in a faraway place I had never heard of called Iceland.
"Penny Candy"
In my childhood there was a penny-candy store on the corner, run by a rail-thin
immigrant who was constantly in jail when the country was at war.
"Darby"
Uncle Trey had a dog that we all liked a lot, a dog by the name of Darby. He was a
small white dog with wiry hair, I think he was a Jack Russell terrier.
"Vase"
Mom had this vase given to her in Great Aunt Mable's will and she loved it
dearly. It sat on a wooden table in front of our picture window. I think it was from
Japan.
"Mr. Dingle"
I remember in my youth, I had made a mask out of rubber bands and construction
paper. It was a beautiful thing, glittering with sparkles I had glued around the eye
holes.