Vignettes Of Someone's Someone
1
"It hurts here more than there some days, and other days, it hurts there more than here.
"Damn doctor says it's the arthritis. Bit of an idiot that one. Reminds me o' my cousin Leo. Not an ounce of caring in that man. Watched him die, ya know.
"Didn't much care for him. He didn't get out of Grade 4 for all I know. Not a bright fellow. Not a caring bone in his body. Full of hate after he came back from the war. Turned his mind over, I guess. Mean SOB.
"He hated me. Wouldn't let me take care of him, ya know. Served him right. Served him right. I cried for weeks afterwards."
2
"Yeah, I'm a little rusty these days, but I could sure play hockey in my day.
"Oh yeah, I could skate and I had one mean slapshot.
"Can't say I have a favourite team anymore. I used to like the Leafs, but, well, when Davey Keon quit, so did I.
"No, I don't like those Habs. Montreal bums. A bunch of Frenchies, eh? No, never liked them at all.
"Heard of that new guy? What's his name? I forget names. Never much good at remembering anything anymore.
"Was it Gretzky? Yeah, that was the guy. Dwayne Gretzky. Good with his stick that one. I think he scored a pile of goals, eh?
"No, I don't see much hockey anymore. They took it off the television, I think.
"Seems like everything good is disappearing, eh?"
3
"Can you keep a secret?
"No, really, can you keep a real secret.
"OK, I guess it will be all right to tell you.
"Well, in 1966, I was a hippie. And I fell in love with a man five years younger than me.
"No, you don't understand. I had a baby.
"Well, it doesn't matter if it was a boy or a girl because I never saw it. They took it away from me.
"Huh?
"Oh, I'm sure I don't know who took it. Might have been the Communists. Lots of Communists in those days, living on dirty communes in the bush.
"Never had another baby after that one. No, never did. Not for lack of trying.
"The priest used to say having babies is God's will, and if I really wanted another baby, I should pray and all.
"I think the gonorrhea might have had something to do with it."
4
"I wouldn't hang around here too late, right?
"Well, you didn't hear it from me, right? But there's dinner and Bingo, and then this place becomes a chicken ranch, right? And there's a lot of clucking going on, right?
"Take old lady Pogolskie, right? She's been around the barn a few times, I can tell you that, right?
"Yeah, well, not for me, right? I got morals, and I was married for 32 years. Lost my wife to cancer, right? I'm not going to disgrace her memory.
"Course, if you got some of that Vianiagara stuff, I might borrow a few, right?"
1
"Damn doctor says it's the arthritis. Bit of an idiot that one. Reminds me o' my cousin Leo. Not an ounce of caring in that man. Watched him die, ya know.
"Didn't much care for him. He didn't get out of Grade 4 for all I know. Not a bright fellow. Not a caring bone in his body. Full of hate after he came back from the war. Turned his mind over, I guess. Mean SOB.
"He hated me. Wouldn't let me take care of him, ya know. Served him right. Served him right. I cried for weeks afterwards."
2
"Oh yeah, I could skate and I had one mean slapshot.
"Can't say I have a favourite team anymore. I used to like the Leafs, but, well, when Davey Keon quit, so did I.
"No, I don't like those Habs. Montreal bums. A bunch of Frenchies, eh? No, never liked them at all.
"Heard of that new guy? What's his name? I forget names. Never much good at remembering anything anymore.
"Was it Gretzky? Yeah, that was the guy. Dwayne Gretzky. Good with his stick that one. I think he scored a pile of goals, eh?
"No, I don't see much hockey anymore. They took it off the television, I think.
"Seems like everything good is disappearing, eh?"
3
"No, really, can you keep a real secret.
"OK, I guess it will be all right to tell you.
"Well, in 1966, I was a hippie. And I fell in love with a man five years younger than me.
"No, you don't understand. I had a baby.
"Well, it doesn't matter if it was a boy or a girl because I never saw it. They took it away from me.
"Huh?
"Oh, I'm sure I don't know who took it. Might have been the Communists. Lots of Communists in those days, living on dirty communes in the bush.
"Never had another baby after that one. No, never did. Not for lack of trying.
"The priest used to say having babies is God's will, and if I really wanted another baby, I should pray and all.
"I think the gonorrhea might have had something to do with it."
4
"Well, you didn't hear it from me, right? But there's dinner and Bingo, and then this place becomes a chicken ranch, right? And there's a lot of clucking going on, right?
"Take old lady Pogolskie, right? She's been around the barn a few times, I can tell you that, right?
"Yeah, well, not for me, right? I got morals, and I was married for 32 years. Lost my wife to cancer, right? I'm not going to disgrace her memory.
"Course, if you got some of that Vianiagara stuff, I might borrow a few, right?"
