75.
“You’ll stare at the rat piss streaming down the gutter,” he said. “Won’t ya?” —Bart, at last, felt the weight of the night press down— “Before raisin’ another eye to me…”
Several Brief Exchanges & Proclamations
ME: You're right, Nate. * NATE: I've been right before. --- DICK: What do ya know, Howie? † ME: Not much. You? DICK: Less. --- Pop hoists himself out of my car and into the February night. He proclaims, "It's cold out here." I nod. Pop shuffles over to the house, unlocks the door, and enters. He proclaims, "It's warm in here." I nod. --- BETTY: Howie, what do you put in the trashcan to make it smell so good? ME: Trash. I put in trash. BETTY: But it smells so good. ME: Perhaps you should move next to a landfill, Betty. --- Whilst strolling the trail… POP: The sun is hot today. ME: We'd be in trouble were it not. --- Whenever Pop says he's going up to "wash" his teeth, he means he's going to brush them. Late 2003, Early 2004 * [Nate was Pop’s youngest brother.] † [Dick was a semi-retired CPA in Pop’s old accounting firm.]