As Sam looked down the drag he knew nothing had changed on the streets he used to wander. He got his duffle bag unstuck from the overhead rack and slung it over his shoulder and made his way off the hot and smelly Greyhound bus. Of course no one was there to meet Sam, no one knew he was coming home today, back to Paradise county. As the bus pulled away mixing up soot and diesel fumes Sam checked his watch, 12:30, he headed down the street, past the five and dime to the bar. As he waited in the doorway for his pupils to adjust to the darkness from the noon day sun Sam thought to himself, nothing had changed in 3 years, a tour of duty. No one was in the bar. Sam remembered that today was the 28th and the relief checks didn't come in
mail until the end of the month. It seemed like no one worked in Paradise since
the Peabody coal mine closed. Like the locals say, "Paradise ain't "What do you want sailor?" a question
that woke Sam from his daydream. Sam sat down on the tall bar stool as Maureen changed the station on the radio, she said the song just drove her insane. Sam took a long sip from the long necked bottle and sighed, "Living in the land of sky blue waters, that sure hits the spot after that bus ride, all the way from Paducah." Sam walked back to door stoop and dragged his blue USN issue duffle bag over by his old bar stool and gave it a pat and a wink. He climbed back on his perch and his foot fell asleep as he swallowed his candy before he took a sip of many of the cold beer. Stay tuned........same Prine time........same Prine channel. |
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