cheeseburger soup
by Murphy Clamrod
I'm starting to see the connections here
most of my stories start with beer
so I'll set this one rolling with
the talk I had with the dude
behind the counter
"Are these things really eight ninety nine?"
"Sure are."
"Got any cold?"
"Check down there"
old milwaukee..natie ice..mgd..
mgd..
mgd..
"No man, ain't seein' any...
mind if I check in the coolah?"
"well, ah, nobodies suposs.."
"yeah, yeah I'll just be a second."
it wasn't any colder in that box
than it was under the street lights
I grabbed
two of the last three
eighteen
packs of pabst blue ribbon
gave dude a twenty told
him to keep the change &
try to have a greatday
I'd been here a few times in the past
four-story conversion w/a smokestack
where guests needed to be buzzz'd in
luckily for me
she knew
the right
buttons
to
push
Two strangers
standing on
the 3rd
floor
brick
timbers
couches
music&incense
thick fragrance
of apprehension
who was I
I was looking
at the art
created
from
spent
pharmaceutical
containers
I sat in the armless chair
set to the side both 18pks
ripped into one offering the
first to the host he asked if
I wanted to put them in the
fridge I explained that they
were already cold and opened
mine the other stranger fridged
the beer while I took my coat off
Her & I would sit at the bar
or with wine and tell tales
to each other about
then & now & how
we'd want it to be
if we had the say
& she'd say from
time to time that
she had this
friend that
I just had
to meet
I pleaded with the barkeep @
the bowling bar to stock some
blue ribbon...
he complied
Obama been sworn in bout a month
it was cold in New England
I was huddled tight to the door
when the owners son unlocked it
he smiled at me though the glass
as wind blown
snow blew all
around
I stepped inside
he said "hey man,
we don't open for
like twenty more
minutes!"
I stomped the snow from my boots
on the carpet and assured him that
I would wait right there till he was
ready to sell me a cup of coffee
or a shot of jagermeister It was a Thursday
cheeseburger soup
at the soda shoppe
I would have to hike
the length of lake
winnisquam if I
wanted some so
I suited up &
headed out bout 9:30
it snowed last night
so the road between
here and where I was
headed would be banked
just about high enough
to get a hitch-hiker killed
so I stuck my feet in wool
socks & plastic bags and
headed straight for the tracks..
might add an hour or two but i'd
be alive
I arrived around 12:30
we'd text'd so she knew
to meet me for a bowl on
her lunch break
we decided we'd go
watch the bowlers
giving me a reason
to stay in-town
she went back to work till five
I started looking for an open bar
we were all
sitting
around
telling
the this'
the that's
laughing
drinking
getting to
know one
another
he was cool
she was right
the other
stranger
was strange
and the
tension
quickly
shifted
to him
but
no one said
anything
The host asked
what I did for
a living
I explained
that I'd listed
Bullshit Artist
on my myspace
handed him a beer
and asked the same
we talked about the
same people we grew-up with
same friends we cut our teeth with
same parties we'd attended yet
never met
so I was busy telling the other-haves
to lots of tales
time stood still
in that four
story brick
monster along
the merrimack
where you need
to be buzzzzed in
The owners son gave me
a strange look
I was standing
red faced
he waved
his arm
saying
he'd
put
on
a
pot
I
offered
that he
not bother
that a beer
might be better
they had a half dozen or so
pool tables so I got a rack
and knock'd balls as he got
ready for thirsty Thursdays
one buzzard
then another
two buzzards
at once start
to stumble in
it seems with
every shot a new
someone was bellied up
by five I was feeling good
about my pool game and she
came in just full of smile
we broke twice
before making
a break for
the bowling ally
it was a
20 minute
ride but
worth it
we pulled in when her phone rang
she hung up and asked if I'd mind
meeting her friend who I had to meet
"sure."
what I didn't know was he lived 20 minutes
in the other direction from where we were
shooting pool
she wouldn't let me drink in the car
she said it wasn't far
she claimed we'd get beer
before we got there
I
got
thirsty
The night was far from young
we'd done spun every tale
we'd cared to tell and I
was coming down quick
The host dug into this crate
that had seen some good times
he pulled out a journal
he pulled out an empty moleskine
handed it to me
told me to fill it
I laughed
told him he'd better
keep it that I wasn't
one for writing
stuff down
he insisted
I'm not rude
so I accepted
and headed off
having met HJF
