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| Lee Freidlander, From America By Car From Tess Kincaid's "Magpie Tales" |
On Sundays, Tess posts a photo she intends to be an illustration for a Magpie Tale. *Click Here* to see the other offerings
For reasons best left to mystery I often use the idea of robbing banks as examples of choices left open to me or others. I am not on the edge of anything but my own mortality. I do have a criminal mind. I am actually not nearly brave or foolish enough to actually live like this. I think.
Once, while headed southbound home, I saw a car headed northbound on a local freeway smack the guard rail square enough and hard enough to twist in the air and show me its underside while totally airborne across my path. It landed hard on the hood of the first car just yards in front of me. It bounced and then landed on the hood of a second car, bounced again and landed on the verge, skidding on its side into the berm and staying that way. It was driver's door down. The freeway was at dead stop of course.
It turned out that the driver, a woman had been clipped in the rear by a cop as they are wont to do, after a long run up the freeway from the US Bank in Oregon City where she had been passing bad payroll checks. This chase was the head end of a long investigation into a bogus check cashing ring. Yeah, eff em if they can't take a joke.
The woman was badly bruised is all but she had some other trouble quite soon. This freeway was totally shut down as a crime scene. It was afternoon drive time. We all had some trouble that day.
On The Run
I have to leave town
though I don't know where to go
and the money's spent.
I've asked you for gas
and you've shown me pocket moths.
So with nothing left
to do I'll rob banks
along the way. The cash they
keep now's just for me.
To Hell with them all
if they can't take a damn joke.
That's what I'll say
when they catch me flat
with my rusty gun, with my
shifty hopeless eyes.
written October 23, 2011 10:23 AM
'Pocket moths'? Yay, great alternative to saying 'skint'! ♥
ReplyDeletethe term I had always heard was joke em if they can't take a fructose (a sub for sugar besides splendida)
ReplyDeleteWell, the bar talk in this town is "eff em if they can't..." I decided to go lighter than that.
ReplyDeleteYeah, hard times make desperate people.
ReplyDeleteTerrific write.
I volunteer to be your 'Bonnie!'
ReplyDelete:D
ReplyDelete*smooch*
They got rather pissed at Bonnie and Clyde. I hope we don't end up like that.
Fascinating read! And no doubt very scary to see a car bouncing off others.
ReplyDeleteJamie
Good write. I particularly liked 'pocket moths'. What's a 'berm'?
ReplyDelete"Pocket moths" is a direct translation of American cartoons. "Empty pockets" are depicted turned inside out with a moth flying away indicating that a fair amount of time has passed since that pocket was last used.
ReplyDeleteA berm is an earthwork thus:
berm (bûrm)
n.
1.
a. A narrow ledge or shelf, as along the top or bottom of a slope.
b. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, & West Virginia: The shoulder of a road.
c. A raised bank or path, especially the bank of a canal opposite the towpath.
2. A nearly horizontal or landward-sloping portion of a beach, formed by the deposition of sediment by storm waves.
3. A mound or bank of earth, used especially as a barrier or to provide insulation.
4. The flat space between the edge of a ditch and the base of a fortification.
I used that term because the freeway was lowered for all crossroads to overpass, and the raw cut was built back to provide both level and sloped on and off ramps, hence technically are manmade berms.
Sounds like they were shooting an action thriller but hadn't notified anyone it was a movie. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt didn't feel like a movie when we had to retreat the wrong way out on an on ramp and then I had to take an overloaded road home. It took over three hours to get home that night on a commute that is rarely more than an hour.
ReplyDeletethe banks have taken or are about to take it from us anyway so you just may be the revolutionary we need...i think you need to go for the bar talk...ha...
ReplyDeleteWow! The pressure's on! Nicely done...
ReplyDeleteI love "pocket moths"...I've not heart that expression...nice...
ReplyDeletemake that "heard"...))
ReplyDeleteKind of impressive that no one was injured though. I think your take on the woman's thoughts kind of turned it into a movie anyway. I'd watch it from a screen, though, not live. :)
ReplyDeleteBrian! :D Join me. We'll have a great time...
ReplyDeleteTess, I made pocket moths up. As far as I know it was always a visual joke.
ReplyDeleteJoseph, how cool are you!! I didn't put the two together until after you said I could. Thinking that's how the woman thought...that delights me.
ReplyDeletelike the others 'pocket moths' did it for me too - loved it all actually
ReplyDeleteplayful and witty.
ReplyDeleteAs long as moth stay clear of my clothes, I'll live with them in my pockets! Haha!
ReplyDelete