crack - 13. how bill met william

by nick nelson

part 13 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

friday took out her phone and set it to record. why don’t you tell me how you met william wilson and formed this curious relationship with him? there is not much to tell. good, then this will not take long. i had a long day at the office. one client in particular had tried my patience and i had barely kept my temper and refrained from summoning security to remove them. so when the day was over i decided to go for a walk in the street to wind down, something i often do. how late in the day was this? was it night, or still daylight? it was night. it was very dark. was it raining? or windy? it was not raining. i do not recall that it was particularly windy. probably not many people in the treet. no, there usually are not. were you stopped and questioned by the police? two policepersons who i knew from my frequent walks stopped and said hello, and we talked about the coming social upheavals. do you want their names? probably not. go on. as i started home i heard - or felt - someone coming up behind me. i heard someone say, excuse me, mister, and i turned around and there was william. whom you did not know and never seen before? i did not “know” him. so far as i knew i had never seen him before. he was - and is - very ordinary looking. yes, he is. go on. he said, excuse me, mister, do you know where i can rent a room around here? did you think that was kind of odd? i thought it was a little odd. tio ask a stranger in the street like that. i asked him, a room for what? i thought he meant a room to run some sort of little business.. but he said, just a room to live in. so i asked him, why don’t you go to the housing department like everybody else? he said, i have my reasons. and i thought, why not? i have an extra room and i could use a few extra dollars if he does not make any trouble and he looks like he will not. you did not press him about not going to the housing department? no. i know from dealing with all kinds of people in my job that it is more common that people think. as a police officer, you must know that too. people fall through the cracks. they sleep on friends floors or couches , whatever. or on the parks or in alleys.. exactly. so you had an extra room? j yes, it was my room before my grandmother died. then i took her room because it has a nice view of the skyline and forgot about the one i had. interesting. friday made a note on her phone. to be continued

haiku 4

by horace p sternwall

twenty-seven cents a quarter and two pennies on the polished floor

in the woods

by rhoda penmrq

arthur c rode down highway 3 blip blop he came to a stop he leaned his bike against a tree because he wanted all creatures to be free he entered the woods because he had the goods he sat on a hollow log because he wished he were a dog he heard a leaf fall from above because he had never known love it started to rain he thought, here i am again i have been here before in ancient song and lore he looked up and saw a bear carrying an easy chair after the initial shock arthur and the bear had a serous talk

the road from the sky

by henry johnson

my name is henry johnson i fell out of the sky i landed in a tree high and dry i climbed down from the branches as the day grew cold and met a tiger on the highway with eyes of burning gold the tiger passed me by as if i did not exist i had not been eaten but also had not been kissed i turned and watched the tiger watched the tiger go it had seen better days but went on with the show next i met a prophet with a long beard and a book but he did not honor me with so much as a look i met tyrannosaurus rex playing a video game i tried to engage him in conversation he called me a vile name i met gilgamesh and hercules buddha and joan of arc the road went on forever and it started to get dark i finally came to my kingdom and sat upon my throne i made myself comfortable and turned to stone maidens danced before me and warriors shook their spears the stars looked down upon me for a billion years some day a bird will come along and carry me off in its claws i will be one day old again according to nature’s laws

fragment, part 2

by dog e relaford

part 2 of 2

click here to read part 1

where he had pitched hay as a lad and life had not been so bad but an inchoate longing had driven his carcass to the metropolis he wanted to wear a suit and tie and work in a building touching the sky and never again set foot in a barn thought barns had never done him any harm oblivious to mr frank’s panic peg, with a smile so sweet and satanic began, it gives me great joy to inform you i am leaving your employ i am in love with a boy named hal who would sweep off her feet any gal we will be married in two weeks and move to where our fortune he seeks almost too stunned to reply mr frank avoided peg’s eye and replied, as casually as he could so, are you traveling to hollywood? peg laughed to beat the band and waved her shapely hand what made you say such a thing? such strange thoughts up you bring no sooner had she uttered these words than a rumbling in the earth was heard peg’s dreams, and jonathon’s, and mr frank’s suddenly drew a blank - who was hal. anyway? he had ruined mr frank's day and jonathon’s too but what else could a poor boy do? end of part 2

fragment, part 1

by dog e relaford

part 1 of 2

jonathon jones was a regular guy with a song in his heart and a twinkle in his eye he had a wart on his foot and a tattoo on his arm and he didn’t mean no one no harm jonathon woke up at dawn and put his go to town clothes on on the first day of the rest of his life to ask peg brown to be his wife peg brown worked at the bank under the watchful eye of mr frank mr frank had a smiling face but in his brain strange currents raced deep in his dreams when he was alone he had marked peg brown for his own but he knew that peg would look askance at anything like a direct advance mr frank enjoyed his comfortable existence and yet with unrelenting persistence thoughts of murder and carnal obsession of his fevered brain took possession seeing peg brown on her cashier’s chair so young, so beautiful, so fair, mysterious as an odalisque put his uneventful life at risk may i speak to you for a moment, mr frank? peg asked one morning with an expression blank mr frank was seized with alarm and wished he was back on the farm part 2

everything

by nick nelson

william james (1842 - 1910) was walking down broadway on a sunny day in 1893 when he saw a man with a large head who looked like cornelius vanderbilt ii (1843 - 1899) but was not really corneliius vanderbilt ii standing on the corner talking to a man who looked like theodore herzl (1860 - 1904) but was not really theodore herzl the man who looked like corrnelius vanderbilt ii was weeping and saying over and over again i lost everything i lost everything william james had the distinct impression that the man who looked like cornelius vanderbilt ii was referring to losing everything in a fire in a boarding house although he did not actually refer either to a fire or to a boarding house through the years william james often suddenly recalled this encounter and found himself wondering what was the “everything” that the man who looked like cornelius vanderbillt ii had lost?

crack - 12. bill's job

by nick nelson

part 12 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

the great western education and entertainment company was not officially a department of control, but a “subcontractor” of it. it was hired to keep a database of persons who would be classified as “group c” in a situation control determined to be “priority 3”. 3 out of 6, with 6 being the most urgent priority and 1 the least urgent. all citizens were required to be classified by priority. the first classification was made at birth by an official department of control. the second classification was made at age twelve, also by control. a third and final classification by control was made at age thirty-three. all citizens were encouraged, though not required, to constantly seek “counseling” by “contracted” agencies like the great western education and entertainment company, which passed their information on to control, who might then use the information to readjust the clsssifications. most citizens were happy, if not eager, to do this, as they enjoyed talking about.themselves. the minority who never sought “counseling” were randomly checked up on by a police department created and staffed for that purpose. the whole purpose of the priority classification system was to determine the “necessity” of each group’s survival in the event of both forseen and unforseen emergencies. it was accepted that a tiny handful of people, like william wilson, might fall through the cracks. they were considered to be in group 1, the least “necessary” nobody expected that any such “emergencies” would ever arise. disasters and emergencies were often portrayed in movies and books , but in these the classification system was never mentioned. a hero or heroine always saved the day. the whole system , if it was thought about at all, was seen s a bureaucracy providing employment for people who wished to be employed. it amounted to the third largest bureaucracy under the control of control. “health and drugs”. was the second largest. the police were the largest. * friday shook her head. thank you. but that was a little too deep for me. let’s get back to serious business - our friend mr wilson. next

l-12 wakes up

by rhoda penmarq

l-12 woke up usually, when they woke up, a word flashed into their brain which would tell them what to do for the rest of the day and who they were for that day today the word was - orangutan l-12 was not sure what the word orangutan meant they got up and put their best face on and their running shoes in case they had to make a quick exit and went across the hall and tapped discreetly on the funny man’s door the funny man did not answer right away so l-12 tapped a little louder and a liitte louder and a little louder suddeny l-12 remembered what an orangutan was so they gave up tapping on the funny mans door and went back to the chinese embassy with the bag of acorns that they had forgotten the previous day now everything would be back in its proper place the way it was meant to be strawberry milkshake good one harry dementia private upside down

street of dreams

by nick nelson

long ago and down the way an unwise man was heard to say everything that happens, occurs the second time is usually worse albert one woke up at morn wondering why he had been born he lived next door to betty two who hair was brown and eyes were almost blue down the road lived carlos three whose pronouns were i and me further down was dora four who had the whole world to explore don’t tell it to frankie five whose dream was barely kept alive and in the mix still asleep, was dylan six eddie seven felt rotten he had almost been forgotten and helen eight was ready to fly right and get straight ibrahim nine was ready to shine but jessica ten hated men ken eleven dreamed of power even at this early hour laura twelve was still asleep but had a nine o’clock appointment to keep suddenly his phone rang and the world ended with a bang no one laughed and no one cried and the universe let it slide

the duke in the jungle

by nick nelson

the duke rode into the jungle on a horse made of tin with a box of chocolates under his arm and was never seen again the horse showed spirit and thew the duke off he awoke in a feather of moonbeams and heard a discreet cough what have we here? a smooth voice enquired he looks fairly respectable but his contract has expired i would like some refreshment the duke heard himself say bring me a cup of sparkling sunshine on my favorite silver tray not so fast, fellow the voice reproved you are my prisoner and must get in the groove you must put on this yellow bow tie and this suit of pepper and salt but whatever happens after this it will all be your own fault how has it come to this? the duke cried in despair all i wanted was to be free and all i wanted was my share the voice grew silent and the door clanged shut and the river went on running beside the little hut

apple banana

by nick nelson

apples are red bananas are yellow chistopher columbus was a stout fellow he sailed the ocean blue when the world was new and in a crowded space planted the flag of the white race grapes are purple grass is green daniel boone made the woods his scene he lived with his dog in a hollow log and did not trifle with his long rifle from mandalay to hindustan they said hercules was a mighty man tyrants trembled magicians dissembled emperors fled to the land of the dead samson and delilah sitting in a tree living life and reciting poetry sam woke up and son was gone golden horde on the horizon salome waved her silver fan holly wood, but genghis khan

indigenous meaningful

by nick nelson

indigenous what did you say? you heard me. it sounded like foaming i did not say anything which is it? first you say you heard me then you say you didn’t say anything - it has to be one or the other, it can not be both that is what they all say excuse me? fred wants the rent then pay him i paid him the whole thing last month - now it is your turn is that how it works? how else would it work? he did not do a good job this month - he does not deserve to get paid that is not how the system works oh, so now you are defending the system i deeply resent that. meaningful what did you say?