My Brother
Friday Nov. 29
The hill had never been on the street before. I had gone that way many times before, but this time suddenly, the car struggled up against gravity; a steep new hill had been put into Pico.
At the gast station a guy asked, "You sell you car? I like it to buy." I said no, and put the nozzle in the side of the truck and thought how I've been thinking of selling it. I said to the guy, "How much you think for this car? It doesn't run very well; overheat. Paint's peeling off. I paid four thousand for it almost two years ago." I lifted the hood for him, and we checked the oil. He said there was water in the oil. "Yup. That's me," I said, "always needing a new head gasket." He left. I got in the car to drive off, but it wouldn't start. Ha. I turned the key and nothing happened. I looked under the hood again. The battery connections are a little rusty. I got the jumper cables and asked a brother filling his van if he could give me a jump. He said sure. He popped his hood, but the battery was on the other side; the cables didn't reach. I went back to my car and tried it again. This time it started right up.
Now I'm at the dentist's office in Pasadena waiting to get my teeth cleaned. I read the interlude in Paradise, letters to and from Amory as he looks to the future, his transition from childhood to manhood complete.
I'm home now. I lay in bed and read the paper and watched Nebraska beat Colorado seventeen to twelve. Hosebag, Kayo, Walters, Truman and Liza, Getoff's brother, two English girls, and the Pepper are coming out tonight. What'll we do for fun? I have no idea. I would stay home and read and go to bed early and do a community service tomorrow.
My brother pissed me off yesterday. He called in the morning to say Jan had sent him her recipe for peanut stuffing and he was going to make it to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. He said the oven at his place didn't work; could he cook it here? No problem, I said. I went with Guatemalan Insanity to give him a lesson driving the stick in his VW thing. When we got back, I was locked out of the house. I climbed up onto the roof and went in through a window. Soon Shirelle came home. I said, "Where did you go? Did my brother come by?" She said, "He's the one that called and sent me to the store to get all this stuff." It was 12:00. I had planned on getting to my mom's by one, before the Cowboy/Redskin game started. The fucker kept us here two hours later than that, then up and bailed. "See you there." All the while he talked aboutt he clubs and parties and games and concerts he's been going to, but not a word about the hundred and fifty dollars he owes me. I said, "How bout that one-fitty you owe me. If I had that maybe I could go to some concerts and games." He said, "Oh, if your gonna be like that, I'll just go."
I asked Shirelle if he paid her for the shit she bought him at the store. "No," she said.
The hill had never been on the street before. I had gone that way many times before, but this time suddenly, the car struggled up against gravity; a steep new hill had been put into Pico.
At the gast station a guy asked, "You sell you car? I like it to buy." I said no, and put the nozzle in the side of the truck and thought how I've been thinking of selling it. I said to the guy, "How much you think for this car? It doesn't run very well; overheat. Paint's peeling off. I paid four thousand for it almost two years ago." I lifted the hood for him, and we checked the oil. He said there was water in the oil. "Yup. That's me," I said, "always needing a new head gasket." He left. I got in the car to drive off, but it wouldn't start. Ha. I turned the key and nothing happened. I looked under the hood again. The battery connections are a little rusty. I got the jumper cables and asked a brother filling his van if he could give me a jump. He said sure. He popped his hood, but the battery was on the other side; the cables didn't reach. I went back to my car and tried it again. This time it started right up.
Now I'm at the dentist's office in Pasadena waiting to get my teeth cleaned. I read the interlude in Paradise, letters to and from Amory as he looks to the future, his transition from childhood to manhood complete.
I'm home now. I lay in bed and read the paper and watched Nebraska beat Colorado seventeen to twelve. Hosebag, Kayo, Walters, Truman and Liza, Getoff's brother, two English girls, and the Pepper are coming out tonight. What'll we do for fun? I have no idea. I would stay home and read and go to bed early and do a community service tomorrow.
My brother pissed me off yesterday. He called in the morning to say Jan had sent him her recipe for peanut stuffing and he was going to make it to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. He said the oven at his place didn't work; could he cook it here? No problem, I said. I went with Guatemalan Insanity to give him a lesson driving the stick in his VW thing. When we got back, I was locked out of the house. I climbed up onto the roof and went in through a window. Soon Shirelle came home. I said, "Where did you go? Did my brother come by?" She said, "He's the one that called and sent me to the store to get all this stuff." It was 12:00. I had planned on getting to my mom's by one, before the Cowboy/Redskin game started. The fucker kept us here two hours later than that, then up and bailed. "See you there." All the while he talked aboutt he clubs and parties and games and concerts he's been going to, but not a word about the hundred and fifty dollars he owes me. I said, "How bout that one-fitty you owe me. If I had that maybe I could go to some concerts and games." He said, "Oh, if your gonna be like that, I'll just go."
I asked Shirelle if he paid her for the shit she bought him at the store. "No," she said.
posted by johnz at 11:50 AM
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