Down On Ferry Farm

Lately I have seen a lot of my family. Usually we just get together at major holidays but we’ve had a couple of recent outings. He’s Gone – my nephew signed up for the Army a few months ago. I’m sure I detailed the day my father and I spent waiting for him to be sworn in. My sister Dee suggested we all meet out at a restaurant and give him a big send-off. We didn’t really toast him or even talk to him that night. He sat at one end of the long table with his friends and the rest of us sat at the other end. We laughed and talked and ate food… which is really what we do when we’re all together anyhow. As we got up from the table to leave, that’s when everyone said their goodbyes. I knew that I would see him tomorrow when I dropped him off at the recruiters before he left for good. The next day as I drove him to the office building, I tried to impart some kind of wisdom on him, to try and tell him the secrets that would make it easier on him. The fact of the matter is: I don’t think he wa

I hung out with a couple of the women I used to work with. It was Leslie’s birthday so we celebrated. I was hoping to see some more people there but it was nice. We met at a sports bar and had a few drinks. We were joined by Leslie’s cousin. He was cool and laid back. We probably should have done the seating differently – it was like bridge partners talking to one another: me and Raquel were across from one another trying to have a discussion and Leslie and her cousin were yelling at each other over the table. It turned out another one of Leslie’s cousins was working at a bar nearby so we piled in my car and drove over there. We weren’t there very long before the women wanted to dance. When we were walking to my car we passed a little outdoor café (though it was too cold for anyone to actually sit outside) and Leslie reached over and swiped an ashtray off one of the tables. Somehow I ended up with it… it was clean. I took off my jacket and left it in the car (I didn’t want to “check it

Last Friday night Superman, Jared and I went to a Tiki Bar to see a band. Jared is a friend of Superman’s who was in from out of town. We went to see this particular band because Superman and I went to high school with one of the guys in the band. We reached the place when the band was already part way into their first set. They’re a dance band and there were some people dancing. I was glad to see the average age of the patrons was close to my age and not a bunch of twenty-somethings. So the time comes for the band to take a break. “Hey, we’ll be back in a few minutes” they announce. So Superman and I walk up to the small stage so we can reconnect with our old friend. First of all, he’s talking about 100 miles an hour. I don’t remember “Brad” being that tightly wound but it’s been a number of years since I saw him last. He swears he was only drinking water. We have a brief conversation whereby he can’t believe we showed up. A minute or two later and Superman and I are back at the table

“It’s a star”, she said. I have thought about stars. I have thought about stars when I get out of my car and the night air is clear. I have thought about stars when I am trying to sleep and I need to clear my mind. I have thought about stars. There’s a sort of dizzy feeling you get when you look up at the stars. Your eyes lose the horizon and, for a second, you don’t know where you are. Unless you are out in a remote field laying on your back and looking up at them. I wonder what those stars are doing now? “I’m a star”, she said. I have thought about stars. I have thought about certain stars. I have thought about stars when I get out of fancy cars. I see stars in my head getting out of luxury cars and walking down red carpets. I have thought about certain stars. Shooting stars have a power over people. I always think about where they are coming from and where they are going. I wonder what those stars are doing now? I get that dizzy feeling when I look up. “It’s a star”, she said. I hav