Sunday, September 24, 2006

Righteous Restitution?

“Good morn’in Mr. Laurence, ah trust ya had a pleasant trip ta Washington. Did ya get ta meet some a the fellas around here yet?”

“Ah did, an ah want’cha ta know ah’m not do’in this thing fer mahself. No sir, ah’m do’in it fer every one a us in this here proud nation a ours. No dang fool like Senor Chavez is gonna call mah preseedent the devil an get away with it... not while ah’m around.”

“Good, good. Ah’m happy we’re on the same page here Mr. Laurence. An ah’m glad ta know yer ready ta serve yer country. This here’s God’s country, an it’s up ta good people like you an me ta preeserve it, ya got me?”

“Ah got’cha. But they’s jus one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“How do I get mah deer rifle all the way ta Venezuela without go’in noticed an all. It’s gonna be a little hard ta hide, know what ah mean?”

“Don’t you worry ‘bout that. Everthing’s set up an wait’in for ya. You’ll see what ah mean when ya get there. Nah, you have a good trip,” remarked the president, as he patted Mr. Laurence on the back and saw him to the impressive, solid wood paneled door of the Oval Office. But just as the heavy door opened, a large man dressed in a dark suit and sunglasses appeared out of nowhere and took Mr. Laurence by the arm. “Yawl have a safe trip, an don’t you worry ‘bout a thing. Yer in good hands nah, ya hear?” poor sap, muttered the president under his breath. If he only knew...


Taking a clandestine flight out of Washington D.C., Mr. Laurence and his escort were in Venezuela in no time, and coincidentally, Mr. Hugo Chavez was just about to address the people of Caracas with a speech in which he promised to keep them abreast of situations both at home and abroad. So with little time to waste, the secret service man led Mr. Laurence to the rooftop of an apartment building - roughly a thousand yards from where Hugo Chavez intended to speak - and briefly outlined how to use the state-of-the-art equipment which had already been neatly set up and prepared for him.

“Looks more like a computer game then a rifle,” remarked Mr. Laurence. “But I’ll give ‘er a whirl ah guess. Ya say this here’s the trigger ‘er what?” he added, pointing to the mechanism mounted just beneath some of the weapon’s impressive gadgetry and electronics.

“Yes Mr. Laurence, that is the trigger, as we discussed.”

“An all ah gotta do is line ‘im up in this here green t.v., is that right?”

“That is correct sir.”

“But ah sure as hell woulda felt more comfortable with mah deer rifle. Gosh, ah wish they’d a let me brung it.”

“Let me show you something sir,” remarked the well dressed agent, as he reached into his pocket and brought out a single shell - one of many which lay waiting dormant, and stored neatly inside the brand new automatic rifle.
“Jesus, Mary an Joseph!” exclaimed Mr. Laurence. “Is it a rifle ‘er a canon? That thing’ll take down a charg’in elephant. Must be three an a half inches long! No wonder. Well alrighty then, let’s git the show on the road.”

“Now remember Mr. Laurence, all you’ve got to do is wait for your shot, the gun will do practically everything else. In fact, it will even tell you when to press the trigger after the target has been locked in.”

“Well ah’ll be a monkey’s uncle. If that don’t beat all. Okay then, ah guess ah’m good ta go.”

“Very well then Mr. Laurence. I’ll be waiting for you just inside, and as we planned, a taxi will be waiting to take us both back to the airport. We’ll be stateside before anyone knows we were even here.”

“Trust me. Ah got everything under control,” replied the well meaning, patriotic Mr. Laurence. “This won’t take long at all. Ah kin hit the eye outta a turkey at a hun’red yards without all’a this here new fangled stuff. Looks like a cake walk ta me.”

“Fine then,” answered the secret service employee. “I’ll be waiting.” But as the agent turned, opened the rooftop door of the apartment building, walked down the hall to his waiting cab and began the trip back to the Caracas airport, all that he could think was; whatta maroon. Meanwhile, thoughts of restitution stirred inside the mind of our hero... “There he is,” muttered the rooftop shooter, getting ready to take his shot. “Call mah preseedent a devil will ya!? Talk ‘bout yer brimstone, ah kin smell it from here! Judge not Senor Hugo, lest ye be judged...” Blam!

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Truth Or Consequences?

“Hey Mary, you’re home. I didn’t even realize you came in. I’m concentrating really hard on this new story.”

“You haven’t written one in a while, have you? What’cha been up to?”

“Ohh, nuth’in much. Just look’in for an agent.”

“Ya mean like 007, or what? What good’s he gonna do you? You’re not the same suit size are you?”

“Probably not, but that’s not the kind of agent I’m looking for anyway.”

“Alright, I give up. What kind are you looking for. Are we selling the house or what? Just let me know quickly, I’ve gotta get back to work.”

“A literary agent.”

“A what?”

“You heard me, a literary agent.”

“You’re kidding me. For what?”

“For the last book I wrote, that’s what.Ticket To Happiness or the Self-Indulgent Truth?”

“Ya mean you’re really gonna try an sell that thing? I thought this was just some kinda writing jag you’ve been on. Are you serious?”

“Of course I’m serious. Serious as I’ll ever be, anyway.”

“So?” asked my wife, with eyes that could rip the self-esteem off a writer as any grizzly bear might swipe the bark from a tree. “You get any replies or what? Make it quick, I gotta get back ta work.”

“Yeah... well, I did get a few. I suppose you could call them replies anyway. One guy told me ta stop the cutesy language and learn real English.”

“So, did you learn anything from that?”

“Yeah, I learned how ta spell; Get Fucked Asshole!

“Now that was constructive,” answered Mary. “Were there any other responses?”

“Yeah, there were some.”

“So tell me. C’mon, I’ve gotta get going.”

“Ohh, some other guy said he’d get back to me.”

“Did he say when?”

“He did, as a matter of fact. He said, ‘when hell freezes.’”

“Oh, well... that doesn’t sound very promising either, does it?”

“No, I guess not, but I just can’t stop writing now. Not when I’m hot. Not when I’ve finally got the ball rolling. All I need is just a little bit of luck and everything’ll change, you’ll see. It’ll all turn around an the world’ll be my oyster, you’ll see.”

“Okay, you keep me posted now, I’ve gotta get back. Let me know if you get any more replies.”

“I will Mary. Don’t you worry, I’m gonna make you proud you married me.”

“Alright,” said my charming mate, as she walked through the threshold of our door. “Hang in there, and good luck!”

Super, I thought to myself. She’s gone, now I can think. Let’s see... where was I? How about a story about a literary agent who meets with an untimely death, accidentally falls into a wood chipper and becomes fish food? Now where did I put that guy’s address? It’s here somewhere. I know I’ll find it if I just keep looking...