More in Heaven and Earth II

I wanted to write about Halloween for you. Give you guys some kind of spooky story or sumthin' to make you guys question whether or not the things that go bump in the night are just the moans and groans of a house or if there really might be sumthin' lurkin' in the dark waitin' to grab you and suck you into that black void. Halloween is the appropriate time for such things.

I got nuthin.

Best I had to scare you with was a story about strange lights in the middle of the night witnessed by myself and my girlfriend. Red would've seen it had she not been passed out next to us. I'll tell you just to tell you but I feel it's not particularly worthy of you so I'll see if I can tell you sumthin' else of interest after.

One night, after we came to my girlfriend's house after a party or bar or sumthin' to that effect we went to lay down. She claims the place is haunted. I never really saw anything happen in there. Though it is the kinda place you get an eerie feelin' in the middle of the night about. Her sister had recently moved out of the room we all decided to stay in so all there was to sleep on were two mattresses side by side on the floor. Red had had a bit to drink and it was late anyway so she passed right out. June and I stayed up and talked for a while.

Just as we began to doze off we were reawakened by these strange blue lights. They came from nowhere. I checked our cellphones thinkin' maybe we got a call or the light from them was reflectin' off of sumthin' to create the lights. Mine was off and hers wasn't lit up. I looked to the window to see if light was comin' in from the street or some other source, no such luck. Not even any kind of reflective surface like a mirror left in the room to blame the lights on. My girlfriend was panicked. I wasn't doin' much better. I never left the mattress, worried I might somehow agitate the lights. I merely scanned the room for an answer. My girlfriend was frightened and lookin' for an answer. I told her not to worry, that it had to be an illusion. There had to be some reasonable explanation that I wasn't seein'. I never did find one and after what felt like ages the lights went away.

There may be a reasonable explanation for weird blue lights hovering above us and as bright as a cellphone in a dark room but I don't know it. My girlfriend went to sleep and so did I. We were fine the next mornin'. But creeped out more than I had been in a long while.

A better story my brother told me a while back was concernin' to members of his church. A man and his wife. They had had a discussion with a friend or heard in a sermon that there is a way to call a spirit to your home. You ask to know who the spirit is and it has to tell you. Some rule or guideline somewhere. I'm not positive of the details of exactly how one conjures a spirit/demon/devil to you home. Unless you call me and tell me there's gonna be beer.

Well the wife and the husband were in separate rooms, watchin' separate T.V.'s, and watchin' separate shows. The wife is bored so she calls out to the anything that's listenin' usin' a spiritual dog whistle of sorts. Well there's a small rumble through the house and the lights flicker a bit. The husband hears a knock at the front door near where he is and his hair begins to stand on end. He takes a peak through the door's spyglass and sees no one, so he's suspicious.

"Who's there?", the husband asks.

A gravely voice answers, "Let me in."

"Uh, no."

The voice with no body continues, "Someone's calling for me."

"Honey,..." The husband rushes to the back room where his wife is. He asks her if she did anything. She says no. "Are you sure?"

"I didn't do anything. Why?", the wife asks.

"'Cause some...thing is at the door."

"Oh.." She explains the foolish thing she did that she didn't think would work. Eventually, they called their Representative of Heaven or whatever you call a head of a Pentecostal church. He got into contact with some folks that cleanse houses of malicious spirits. The only thing that saved the couple, accordin' to those guys, is that the house had been cleansed and sealed through some sort of prayer when they moved in. Had there been a weak spot the two would've been in trouble.

The blue lights thing happened to me. I'll verify that I don't know what it was other than scary. The couple, I don't know 'em, my brother does, and he told me this story. He believed it. Good enough for me to think sumthin' odd happened to those people. Watch your asses boys and girls, maybe a mysterious light or voice or shadowy figure is waitin' for you.

Cowboy

Whatever happened to the cowboys? The guys that did hard work and were proud of it? The guys that were rough and couldn't be changed? The guys that were hairy and ugly and dirty 'cause that's what a man is?

I see a buncha guys in this world and damn if they ain't the prettiest buncha girls I ever seen. I know guys that shave their chest, wax their eyebrows, trim the hair on their legs, and complain about razor bumps in places I didn't wanna know nuthin' about. Yet they still have the hierarchy between 'em as far as who's manliest and who's the toughest. Just a buncha girls.

I'm sorry if you like your men well groomed and prissy. I won't ever be that. I get regular haircuts and take regular baths, you know? I'm no slob but damn, what happened to the boys that grew up wantin' to be cowboys? Somewhere along the way they started gettin' pedicures and manicures. There's always been those pretty boy types I suppose. And of course there are those gay guys that keep themselves well groomed, some might call that girly. It seems to me more and more that a man, a real meat eatin', beer drinkin', cigar smokin', tire changin', door openin' Man is gettin' harder and harder to find.

Instead, you got theses spray-tanned, muscleheads that spend more time workin' on their looks than workin'. And the guys that never did much more than coast through life on daddy's money. How 'bout diggin' a ditch or learnin' a trade?

I've been workin' since I was 12. Dad took me out on jobs and I had to earn my keep same as anybody else. I learned to install faucets and commodes. I dug trenches for septic tanks. I spent my summers in Texas attics changin' out water heaters.

Dad taught me how to change the brakes on my first car along with the oil and tires. I learned how to be responsible with it. I've been given a lot of great information on bein' a man from the best man I know. It's where a boy should learn that stuff.

Maybe my dad was a lot better than most dads. He was never one to really go in for trends or worry about much more than payin' bills and bein' where he was needed. Bein' pretty or super fit didn't really come up on his radar. (Is it black? Does it fit? Not frilly? I'll wear it.)

There aren't many real men left and it seems they're dyin' fast. Society wants you to be in touch with your feelin's and sensitive and proper and pretty. Look, if my dad can be a good man, if he can pay his bills, be there for me, be a good dad without ever seemin' less than a man I don't see why I can't.

I'm just like him in so many ways. I know we've got our differences and some are more manly and others are are prolly more effeminate. I am slower to be angry than he is. To some this has been seen as a fear of fightin'. Sometimes I wonder if it is but I've been in a few scuffles. I know I can handle myself. But I won't just clobber a bum for bein' a bum.



Many times though I just find myself in situations where I'm thinkin' what the hell am I doin'? Watchin' Jersey Shore on a Thursday night? Teen Mom on Tuesday? Goin' to take pictures with a bunny in a pumpkin' patch with my girlfriend? I wanna say fuck all that bullshit.

That's not what a man does. I don't give a damn about those shows or bein' cute. But it's what you do when you got a woman. It's what you do when you gotta family.

Dad drove us to school. He gave us advice. He played with us. He is easily offended. He damn near cried when Mom dumped his chicken pot pies on a plate for him. (They're properly served in those lil tin things they come in, you know?) He has mommy issues. But he also never changed diapers. He drank more beer than was healthy for him. He smoked more cigarettes than he should've. He got into fights with people and later on thought, "Oh, maybe they were right. Oh well. Shoulda been more polite about it." He was always gruff and tough as nails. He stood his ground and no one could ever tell him he was a sissy or what to do or that he couldn't do anything he wanted to do.

And maybe those few things are all it takes to be that cowboy I always wanted to be. I can watch some dumb shows or enjoy the company of an adorable rabbit. I can be nice to my girl. I can play with lil kids. I can do whatever the hell I please I just gotta walk with my head held high and not take shit off no fools.

Garner

Pressed for time, nuthin witty to say, hope you enjoy the story.




David listened to his stomach growl as he wandered down a dirt road just outside of a small town called Garner, Iowa. He had hoped to find a conveniently free meal but found himself in trouble instead. Small towns like Garner are usually filled with wholesome people with wholesome values. Thus the sixteen-year-old thief was ushered out of the town.


“All I wanted was a little food. Jeez, you’d have thought I was tryin’ to rob a bank or somethin’. Maybe I’ll head south a ways where people are a bit more hospitable.” David grumbled to himself. He had been on his own for close to a year now. He left his father’s dirt farm in the hopes of making a better life for himself.


The young Tennessean, David Brown, grew up on his father’s farm which would have been well enough for most any young man had it not been for the drought. A lot of the countryside had experienced the same sort of phenomenon. David’s father insisted on staying in Tennessee but David felt he had to choose between staying home and starving or seeing the country and starving. So he opted to see the great nation he lived in and all of the poverty it could hold in it.
1936 isn’t the best time to see the nation in all her glory but with hope in his heart David set out on his own. He tried to find work for himself doing most anything he could but the depression was on and anyone that had a job was doing their best to keep it and anyone that didn’t have work was trying to find it. Eventually he swallowed his pride to be able to swallow something edible. David hated the idea of stealing especially since he was raised as a good proper Christian by his mother but it was that or starve.


“Garner, Iowa and its residents don’t enjoy the company of thieves.” said the rough old officer as he dragged the young man to the edge of the town. “I don’t want to see you in this town again, son. We’ve got honest hardworking folks that live here and we don’t need sinners like you.”
David picked himself up from the ground and dusted himself off and without a word to the well-fed man with the pistol walked away. He kept walking until he came across an intersection with a decent shade tree and nice pond that may hopefully contain some tasty fish.


The shade was cast by a black walnut tree that had stood its ground here for more than a century. David hoped to eat some of its offerings but came to find the walnuts had already matured. As he had learned from his parents, black walnut trees hand out a nut that when fully developed has an unpleasant taste and is more trouble than it’s worth to get to through a hard shell. David still had a piece of string with a hook that he could easily catch himself dinner with provided there were fish to be caught.


David walked around the tree to get closer to the pond and discovered that he was not alone. Sitting in a swing that hung from the tree was a young woman. David and the lady had startled each other. David laughed at himself, “Oh--Hello ma’am.”


“Hello.” The blonde-haired blue-eyed woman answered coyly. David could see she had been crying. She used her kerchief to dry her tears.


“Excuse me miss but is everything alright?” David asked as he unraveled his fishing line.

“Yes. Everything is just fine, thank you.” She was obviously lying.

David asked again, “Are you sure ma’am? I’m no doctor or nothin’ but it looks to me your eyes are leaking or you seem to be upset over somethin’. If you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine but I’m gonna be here a while so I’ll just keep askin’. My momma taught me we should care about every livin’ creature on God’s green earth especially people. I can see you got some problems and if you’ll let me I’d be more than happy to lend an ear.” The woman sat quietly.

“Okay. My name is David in case you care to address me.”

David walked over to the woman and offered his hand. “I’m Lorna.” She took his hand and shook it.

“Pleased to meet you miss Lorna. Now what is it that has you all worked up?” The young man casts his line into the pond.

“Well Mr. David it just happens that I found out I was to be expecting a baby soon.” Lorna begins to swing herself lightly.

“Well that’s good news congratulations!” He smiles at her.

“Oh no it’s not especially for me.” She explains. “I am neither wed nor expecting to be. All of Garner would laugh at me and call me a whore if they knew. I can’t have this baby.”

“What about the baby’s pa? Where is he?” David took a seat on the grass.

Lorna almost burst into tears. “He-he was beaten to death not more than a week ago.”

“Beaten to death?” David asked with disbelief.

“Yes. He was accused of taking Mr. Henry’s horse. So Mr. Henry’s sons dragged him out of his bed in the middle of the night and beat him with shovels in a cornfield where he was found dead the next day. He didn’t even take the nag! Those Henry boys just wanted an excuse to hurt an innocent black man.” Lorna reveals.

“The father of your baby is a black man? If your pa is anything like mine then he won’t like that at all.” David recasts his line.

Lorna agrees. “My daddy just doesn’t understand that Paul was a good, good man. He was gentle and caring. He was a hard worker and always treated me kindly. I treated him the same way and one day we realized we had fallen in love. It’s not common especially around these parts but I couldn’t help how I felt about him. I’ve lost everything. I just want to leave this place and never come back. I want to just roam and see the country and find a perfect place for me in it.”
David thinks before responding. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. I’ve been wandering around for the better part of a year now and I know one thing for sure: This is no life for an expecting mother. I’m having a hard time trying to take care of myself there’s no way I could handle a baby and this. I sleep in fields, I have to steal my food, and people can be just plain uncharitable sometimes. Don’t you think you could just go and talk to your dad and explain how all of this happened? He’s got to be a reasonable man. He doesn’t want you to live on the street.”
David walks over to Lorna to comfort her but she reaches into her handbag and pulls out a pistol. “Whoa! Easy there Lorna there’s no call for that. You’ll just get someone hurt.”

“My daddy has already heard all about his grandchild and has decided that he doesn’t want anything to do with my baby. He doesn’t want anything to do with harlot daughter either.” Lorna doesn’t want to listen. She knows the town she grew up in would never let her live in peace with her baby. She loved Paul more than she ever thought possible. She’s desperate to leave her small town and head to someplace better. “I just want to go somewhere that I can live without someone talking behind my back about the things I’ve done. I want to be in a place that I can be happy with my baby. I want to be somewhere perfect.”

David holds his hands up in plain sight for fear of the pistol. “Now I can’t think of but one place like that and it ain’t here on this world. As long as you have neighbors they’ll talk about you and sometimes it’ll be bad but that’s just people. Everyone wants something better for themselves but not everyone gets it and that makes people bitter. Bitter people try to bring everyone around them down to build themselves up.”

“As long as you’re unmarried and have a mixed baby your neighbors are gonna talk. They’re gonna snicker and laugh but to Hell with them. If you don’t regret what you done then why should you worry on what other folks are sayin’?” Lorna puts the gun down.

“Come on, now I can walk you back to that town and I’ll go with you to talk to your pa and we can talk to him all about the Henry boys and Paul and he’ll have to get used to the idea of his grandbaby because like it or not that little fella’s on his way.” David rolls up his fishing line still listening to his stomach rumbling. “Maybe you could even get me an invitation to supper.”

Lorna chuckles half-heartedly. “You know David you are a nice young man. Despite living like you do and the way people have not shown you kindness you still remain hopeful. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.”

“Thanks, Miss Lorna. Now come on so we can sort all of this out.” David offers his hand to her and she accepts his help to her feet. He starts to walk in front of her and she knocks him over the head with the revolver she had in her handbag.

“I came out here to join Paul, David. I was ready to when you walked up. Thanks for trying but I don’t want to live in a place where people aren’t good to each other. My baby and I can find that perfect place. This gun will get us there as fast as possible.” Lorna tucks the gun under her chin and squeezes the trigger. She falls lifeless to the ground.