The lineman hung on the telephone pole, supported by a belt, and fiddled with some wires. Lately all the poles had these grubs on them and inevitably he’d have to smush some just to get the wiring right. Today was no exception. If anything there were even more grubs, mostly getting smushed or falling down to the sidewalk. That’s why he brought gloves. He’d had a few of these grubs get one his skin once and they ate little chunks out of the back of his hand.
Ralphie stood in front of the canvas, poised with the paintbrush, looking ridiculous. “That’s not how you fucking do it,” John shouted over from the couch. “Well, how do you do it then, you show me,” Ralphie answered. But he went on and dabbed a little white shine to the top of the guy’s bald head in the picture.
Melna had a huge afro that barely fit in the car next to me. We drove up the street in silence. “That’s the one,” she said suddenly. I looked over and saw a few teenagers standing by a liquor store. They didn’t look wholesome but still, they were teenagers. She looked at me. “So stop the car!” she demanded. Continue reading