A Glibertarians Exclusive: Marilee – Part IV
Waverly, Iowa – May 1954
“Eight years,” Coy muttered as he drove his worn old ’32 Ford pickup down East Bremer Avenue in the little Iowa town of Waverly. “Eight years on a fishing boat, and now I’m looking for work in a damn grain elevator, of all things.” A newspaper ad from the night before had led Coy here; a Waterloo Courier abandoned in the cheap truck stop where Coy had eaten lunch.
“I was happy there, dammit.”
George Main had died of a stroke the month before while out on a fishing run. His wife Bonnie had sold the boat, generously paying not only the crew’s due wages and bonus but also a hundred dollars apiece to tide them over. Coy had headed back to New Orleans, intending to ask around about any other boats that needed help, but on walking past a police station, he saw a yellowing WANTED note with his name on it.
That’s me, sure as hell. Ain’t no picture but sure as hell my name, and I ain’t exactly kept it quiet. Time to move on.
So, move on he did, north through Arkansas, Missouri and at last Iowa.
By the time he got to the grain elevators a couple of miles east of town, the doors were closed. Friday afternoon, too, Coy groused to himself. Hell. I’ll come back Monday. Get a cheap motel room, I guess.
He found a dollar-a-night cheap-sleep on 4th Street SW. Paying for three nights in advance, he left the office, unlocked the room door, and tossed in his old Marine ruck and a cheap cardboard suitcase he had bought to hold the few extra possessions he had accumulated in the years of more or less settled life in Delacroix.
He stood for a moment, looking at the tiny room.
“Well, shit. Now I have me a weekend to kill in Waverly, By-God, Iowa.”
Fortunately, Coy was at least well-found, for the moment. His pay on the fishing boat wasn’t stellar but he was fed on the boat, there wasn’t much to do in Delacroix between trips. As a result, he had managed to put away a fair chunk of cash, most of which was in a small, locked box in his old Marine rucksack.
Good to have some cash stuffed away when you’re on the lam, he chuckled to himself. He had a twenty and two fives in his wallet, so he locked the room door and walked up 4th street to find some supper. A cheap greasy spoon on Bremer Avenue saw that need filled, so Coy walked on down the street looking for some entertainment.
A couple of small local watering holes proved uninteresting. The locals were unwilling to talk to a newcomer, and so Coy was treated to a lot of backs and a few grunted replies to questions and comments.
Back out on Bremer Avenue in the growing dark, Coy spotted a larger place about a block away. The neon sign of a girl above the door and the faint tones of music indicated what kind of place it was. Coy had some vague memories of a lucky evening in a New Orleans bar of similar style, and so headed that way, surprised to find such a place in this seeming bastion of Midwest conservatism.
He walked in, selected a table not too far from the stage, and ordered a beer. The forty-ish, hard-looking waitress brought him a can of Budweiser with the top freshly perforated, no glass.
Classy joint, Coy thought to himself. He shrugged and took a pull; at least the beer was cold. He leaned back in his chair, and in spite of the girl dancing on the stage, caught sight of the waitress working the other side of the place.
No, he thought. It can’t be.
He caught a glimpse of her profile as she passed under a dim light. Her hair glinted red; Coy fancied he saw a tint of green in her eyes.
Sure as hell, he told himself. Sure as I’m sitting here. That’s Marilee.
He took another drink of the beer. Suddenly realizing the can was empty – he didn’t remember draining it – he waved at the older waitress for another. He saw Marilee leave a table where two younger men sat and head back to the bar, a faint, false smile on her face. He felt all the old feeling.
How the hell is it we both come here, to this place? What are the odds of that?
I wonder if she’ll notice me. I wonder if she’ll recognize me. Should I say anything to her?
In a fit of indecisiveness, Coy stayed in his chair. He nursed several more beers, ordering another just often enough to avoid antagonizing his hard-faced waitress, and ignoring the gyrations of the girls on the stage. He sat through the evening, savoring the occasional glimpse of Marilee.
Eventually the patrons started leaving. Coy checked his watch, noting it was well after midnight. He hadn’t seen Marilee for a while; he reckoned she must have left for the evening. Suppose I may as well head out, too.
Then, the voice from behind his chair: “Coy? Coy McAlester? It is you, isn’t it?”
Coy’s heart leaped into his throat. He turned, and almost fell into a pair of green eyes. “Yeah,” he said softly. “It’s me. Hello, Marilee.”
Marilee pulled a chair away from a neighboring table and sat down. “I saw you a while ago, and I would have come said something sooner,” she said, “but we’re supposed to stay in our own section. I’m glad you stayed around.”
“So am I,” Coy managed. “It’s been a long time, Marilee. Fourteen years, as I reckon it. How are you? You don’t look a day older.”
“Oh, foosh,” Marilee waved the compliment away. “We’re both older, Coy. You look… well, you look different. You look like you’ve seen some hard times.”
There was the sudden flash back to Okinawa, to the Jap’s hate-twisted face, the stabbing bayonet. “Yeah,” Coy agreed, “you could say that.”
“What brings you to Waverly?” Marilee’s soft East Texas accent sounded somehow odd, after the evening spent listening to flat Midwestern speech.
“Looking for a job,” Coy answered. “I was down in Waterloo yesterday. Saw an ad for the grain elevator east of town, said they were looking for help. Didn’t make it to talk to anyone today, so now I’m waiting until Monday. What about you, Marilee? We’re a long way from Falfurrias.”
“Oh, you know what Falfurrias is like,” Marilee said. “I did like you said, Coy. I stayed in Fresno for a while, worked a couple of waitressing jobs, saved enough to buy an old car, and went on home after a while. But Jim’s parents were still there, and they set people to talking; the county prosecutor came around a few times asking about you, but there wasn’t any talk about me being there when you did… what you done. Bad talk travels fast in a small town, Coy. So, I left. During the war I came up here and worked in the Chamberlain’s plant in Waterloo, but when the war ended… Well, at least I know waitressing.”
They sat silently for a while, just looking at each other. “I’d sure like to see you some more,” Coy said at last. “Outside of this place, I mean.”
“I’m off now,” Marilee said. “I have an upstairs apartment just a few blocks from here. Walk me home?”
“Sure thing!”
Marilee smiled. Something caught her eye. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Coy, your shoe’s untied. How on earth do you manage to take care of yourself. Here, let me get it.”
As she bent down, Coy’s gaze fell on the open neck of her blouse. He felt himself flush, and looked up at the ceiling until Marilee was done.
“There,” she said, standing up and holding out her hand. “Let’s go.”
Coy took her hand, and they walked out together.
She was working in a topless place,
And I stopped in for a beer,
I just kept looking at the side of her face,
In the spotlight, so clear.
And later on, when the crowd thinned out,
I was just about to do the same,
She was standing there, in back of my chair,
Said to me “Tell me, don’t I know your name?”
I muttered something underneath my breath,
She studied the lines on my face,
I must admit, I felt a little uneasy,
When she bent down to tie the laces
Of my shoe.
Tangled up in blue.
Going OT right away, but re: Massie tweet in morning thread, there was a good response.
Why is the bill specifically covid vaccine? I think Ozy would prefer something else.
You know such legislation only gets proposed when there’s no hope of it passing.
The machinations behind the bill are opaque to me. I imagine it is that narrow due to the boatload of vaccines service members are already required to take. But that is just speculation on my part.
Yup, chance of it passing would go from nil to zilch if you added more vaccines in.
Or, you know, the recognition that non-service members have rights, too.
If the military is forcibly vaccinating civilians, I think you might have bigger problems…
Making a hell of a story out of the only Dylan song I like.
I can’t stand his voice, but somehow it works in this one.
Not even Lily, Rosemary, & The Jack Of Hearts? That is my favorite Dylan song – https://youtu.be/agdoeRpTfHg
Beautiful. Also my favorite part of the song.
Thanks, Animal!
Thanks, Animal! I sure do appreciate a brief respite from the daily grind, and I can’t wait for the next installment. OK, back to “work”, now.
I have to say, Animal, you do a great job of fleshing out a story we all have heard countless times into an interesting narrative. Keep up the good work.
I have to say this (and the previous effort, Isis) has been an interesting exercise. Keeping the story “between the lines,” as it were, adds something to the usual practice of just making up a story in my head. It’s a fun little experiment. I’m glad folks are enjoying it.
It’s a weekly adventure for me, Animal, with some familiar crumbs. Waiting, waiting, ’til next week. Thanks…
Both stories have been great.
I had never heard the song from the first one, but you put it together very well.
I hope he doesn’t lose her again, that would be painful,
I have stayed away fom reading all the lyrics, so the story is fresh for me, thanks Animal!
#metoo. I read the lyrics for the Isis story, and kinda wish I hadn’t.
Good stuff, Animal.
Damn, Animal, good stuff!
Special ordered some doors from home cheapo, one part of many that I thought was the wrong part was actually just half what I was supposed to get..
they had me return it instead of just ordering me the right stuff and now its all fucked up and god only knows when they’ll pull their ass out of their head and do the right thing. I thought Lowes sucked so I switched to El Cheapo, but now I know they both suck.
I went the opposite direction. Locally, at least. Home Despot was all in on Covid Theater from the beginning. Haven’t been back there in 18 months to see if they’ve pulled cranium from rectum yet. On the other hand, Lowe’s was pretty lackadaisical and I went in multiple times with no mask during times of “mask mandates” in the county and got friendly service. So even though I find Lowe’s a bit below Home Despot in terms ‘pro’ level construction supplies, they get my business exclusively now for such things.
I was going to order 2 storm doors from HD today, you guys are moving me towards Menard’s. Guess I’ll check Menard’s first then. Both are 30 miles away and a mile apart so no difference in distance.
I moved out of Wisconsin in 1994 and still have their damn theme song stuck in my head.
At least you know where to save big money.
I applied to work in their commercial production arm, never even got a ‘We decided to go with someone else’ from them. Fleet Farm 4 life I guess.
They stopped sponsoring the Packers’ radio broadcasts last season. I was disappointed.
The Alliss door jingle is annoying.
I find Lowe’s a bit below Home Despot in terms ‘pro’ level construction supplies, they get my business exclusively now for such things.
I’m not exclusive to Lowes, but I strongly prefer Lowes because of their lack of giving a shit about masks. That said, you’ve nailed one of their weaknesses. They’re the HGTV store, where you can get every piece of furniture and every appliance for your DIY remodel of your bathroom and kitchen. Home Depot is more likely to have that weird part for that situation you’re having.
For example, yesterday I went to Lowes first after running over the vegetable garden hose with the mower. First inclination was to just get a new 25 foot hose to replace the old 50 foot one and then not have to coil up half of it in the garden. If not that, I could just repair the hose using one of those brass repair kids. Turns out that they didn’t have any 25 foot hoses or any hose repair kits at Lowes. Headed over to the Home Despot across the street, and they were also out of 25 foot hoses, but I was able to easily find and buy a hose repair kit.
That, to me, highlights the core difference between Lowes and HD. Lowes caters to that new homeowner trying to fill their house with stuff they see on HGTV. HD still has that hardware store feel. That said, everything I’ve read points to Lowes being the better company of the two.
This is really powerful,
https://jeffreycarter.substack.com/p/comparing-and-contrasting-eras
Lookie here, a broken Clock,
https://pjmedia.com/columns/jack-dunphy/2021/08/29/lieutenant-byrd-speaks-but-shouldnt-have-n1474053
Is that our (as in former Reason commenter) Dunphy? I thought he was in Seattle?
No. I think there needs to be a disclaimer at this point whenever Jack Dunphy is linked.
Jack Dunphy is neither a surfer nor is he married to Morgan Fairchild. Totality of circus, HTH, smooches.
?
Also, missing: Byrd’s history of poor judgement.
In the last thread there was video about weathermen faking how windy it is on the Gulf Coast. Reminded me of this old gem. Journalisming!
hahahaahaha
But they’re serious people doing serious work!
Not the first time Weather Channel has hammed it up
https://youtu.be/ZyrRCx8-fZk
I was talking to my Mom and it went south in a hurry. First she was happy when I told her I took the shot because my work couldn’t afford the extra restrictions the government would put on my travel. Then she hesitated before saying my wife(no shot) and I were welcome at the big family vacation next summer, and followed with “We’ll just have to be careful around her”
She says Fauci is doing the best he can dealing with changing science, and I shouldn’t be so angry with the true science.
I asked if she was ok with proof of vaccine and she said “I shouldn’t have to be around them.” “They refuse to wear masks.” When I said “Masks don’t work.” She muttered “Jesus” like I had just said the earth was flat.
Then she hoped I would talk some sense into my wife, I kind of lost it and called her a COVID parakeet. She hung up on me.
I hate everything sometimes. Now my wife feels bad
*Continued, because I hit “post” for some reason.
Now my wife feels bad about the argument, and thinks she can explain to my mother why she’s not getting jabbed.
I think it’s a lost cause for now.
Sorry bud. That sucks.
Seconded. This is doing a wonderful job of dividing people.
We’ve had political discussions before, I swear after she talks I hear a chime and “This is CNN”.
She tells me I watch too much Fox News.(I haven’t watched any news since 2017, would rather be uninformed than misinformed)
I didn’t help, it was like a switch flipped the smug way she was talking about my wife.
They always got along great, I joked if we ever got divorced my mom would take my wife over me.
Like Tundra said, they are doing a great job dividing us.
We would take your wife over you, too. :-p
That’s fair
We’ve had political discussions before, I swear after she talks I hear a chime and “This is CNN”.
She tells me I watch too much Fox News.(I haven’t watched any news since 2017, would rather be uninformed than misinformed)
I didn’t help, it was like a switch flipped the smug way she was talking about my wife.
They always got along great, I joked if we ever got divorced my mom would take my wife over me.
Like Tundra said, they are doing a great job dividing us.
Plenty of information out there, if people are willing to look for it.
Like your real world chances of dying.
Or overall deaths.
This is a serious disease for some people. The fact that it was likely engineered is frightening. The response, though, has been so thoroughly bungled we will be seeing variants forever, not to mention the next frankenbug that gets loose.
It would be nice if western countries stopped collaborating with the CCP to produce them.
The squirrels, however, seem to prefer you.
That sucks. Not sure how you handle something like that. Prayers and maybe read a psalm or two, FWIW.
Cripes that’s rough to hear. Your wife shouldn’t feel bad. It doesn’t sound like she did anything wrong. I really couldn’t imagine having my Mum act like that toward me.
I can. MIL is gearing up for this exact convo, as goaded by the loons at NBC. Wife is dreading the day the other shoe drops and she has to tell MIL to drop it or lose visitation with the grandkids. MIL has made clear that she thinks unvaxxed people are idiots, but we haven’t made clear to her that we’re not getting the shot yet.
Thankfully my mom has respected me when i told her i didnt want to talk about it. Otherwise I’d be getting the CBS version from her every week.
haven’t made clear to her *yet* that we’re not getting the shot *ever*
Lucky. Mine is fed by NPR.
We just don’t discuss it.
Both my mom and my MIL got the shot. But, both seem to have sort of a mature, I don’t know…fatalism?…about it. They don’t seem to buy into the “masks and vaccines are how you know you’re a good person” schtick. It was a minor medical procedure and that was that.
My mom too. She wanted and got the shot because the grandkids were afraid they’d give it to her. But she’s just living her life.
We recently had to meet some hardcore left relatives at their house… my dad’s siblings/nephews/nieces. They let us know before hand that it’s not required to be masked but it’s strongly recommended.
We showed up maskless and they were all waiting in masks. My vaxxed father asked if they had been vaxxed, and then proceeded to ridicule them for wearing masks when they answered affirmative. He’s out of patient with the bullshit. If that cuts out the true believers from our lives, family or not, so be it.
I’m not making waves at work but am done elsewhere. Masks were required for my grandfather’s funeral. I told my dad that I’d wear but we’d walk out on the spot if the minister or any of his relatives tried to force their talismans of fear on my children. I’ll echo that your wife shouldn’t feel the least bit bad.
My Mom’s been dead for twelve years, and I’d like to think that she wouldn’t have fallen for this shit, but I really have no idea. I do know that, on several other occasions when she tried to treat me or the SU as a 12-year-old, she received a rapid and fulsome dressing-down by me in Full Righteous Indignation Mode.
(When I get going, the three University degrees, Master’s-level stats training and symbolic logic exposure, as well as the training for the ministry, all kick in at Warp 11 — the SU says that I could probably destroy cities when I’m on, and it only happens once every 15 years or so.)
Under.NO.Circumstances. would I allow her to do that shit. Family’s important, but to echo the one thing O’Bumbles once said that was actually worth spit (though he said it about the wrong thing), it ain’t a suicide pact. Pull your head out of your ass and grab a clue, family member, or we’re done.
Masks work almost as well as the flagellation stopped the black death. I’m sorry you have to deal with this.
So what you’re saying is I should start selling scourges?
I think we should bring back drawing sacred symbols on your wall to keep the demons away.
That and a little chicken blood, we’ll live forever.
“We’ll just have to be careful around her”.
I’m honestly at a loss as to how I’d react to that. I suspect “poorly” would be
somewhere in the description though.
I’m lucky I guess in that I mostly agree with my mom on things, and I suspect
she’s smart enough to not put me in a position of having to choose between
her and the grapefruit. I didn’t pick my relatives. I did pick the other one.
Hell, my mom is one of the anti-vaxx nutters who believes every bad thing she reads on shitty facebook memes, including that they are literally killing babies, like actively, to make the vax. All she does is talk behind people’s backs who’ve had the vax, she still treats them the same as everyone else.
Last night my wife was wondering if she would ever see her sisters again in this lifetime. They are both covid-crazy and we absolutely refuse to get the shot.
My mother who is actually a big Trumpster told me the other day—“ I heard Ron Kuby say something the other day that made a lot of sense. He said people not getting the vaccine are just like drunk drivers who put other people in danger.”
I said “ i love you ma but thats the dumbest thing ive heard in a long time. Dont say stupid things like that around me.”
I’ve said it again and I’ll say it before, I’m ambivalent about the vax. I just don’t care. You can die at any time from anything. I might have gotten it at some point if it didn’t inconvenience me too much. But how this has played out has put me on the no side out of principle.
That is why I got it back in April. I was ambivalent and when it was no effort, I got it.
Unless things change dramatically, I dont see me getting a booster.
The dumbest thing I ever heard
Good Gravy, that Streisand really has a face for radio.
Vaxxers laughing at anti-vaxxers.
https://gab.com/CrustyB/posts/106817960327825037
Just got word that L. Neil Smith died. Wonder what he had on Hillary?
Whoever he was, he was surely an ant-vaxxer and died of the vid, that’s the only way anyone can die anymore…except in Glorious Purpose in Afghanistan or from Climate Disaster.
Well, fuck.
*pours one out*
I’ve read a couple of his books. Good author and a loss to people who love liberty.
Bee Break!
Scandal As Newsom Campaign Produces Old Yearbook Photo Showing Larry Elder In Blackface
HAT: You have glorious hair
DonaldLarry.Seriously, what a beautiful head of hair.
The Hat and the Fro, a 70s buddy cop show. Airing right now, in my brain.
Oooooh. That would be groovy!
Solid!
What’s the word on the street?
Boxy Brown forever!
Relevant
With crusty Sgt Brylcreem at the station.
Good God. That ‘Fro’s probably got its own gravity well.
Excellent! I rather enjoyed To Prevent Their Kids From Being Socially Awkward And Weird, More Parents Opting To Homeschool one also.
LOL
That is the most amazing fro I have seen in years! It’s a perfect circle that challenges the corners of the photo. I wish he still had it.
News stations are running stupid “Can Oregon schools, governor impose COVID-19 vaccination mandates for students?” wire story. Gee, I wonder what the idiots who have been issuing barely legal or outright illegal orders for the past two years would say?
I wish our intrepid reporter Johnny Regurgitator would run a follow up story “Can Gov Shitstain be dragged out of Mahonia Hall and hanged from the nearest lamppost like her authoritarian soulmate Il Duce?”.
This is the danger with compulsory education, especially with homeschooling being under constant attack.
Many states still require homeschoolers to follow the same immunization requirements as those in public school. One of the major reasons we chose the religious exemption was because this option avoided needing to send the kids immunization records to the local board. That was pre-Covid but turned out to be a very good decision.
Good job. I sure wish I would have paid more attention to the vax thing when my kids were small. I’m not necessarily ant-vax, but I’m starting to feel sympathy for those who are.
^^ this. I wasn’t an anti-vaxxer by any stretch before this. In fact, I laughed when wife proposed an alternative vaccine schedule for the first kid. Now I’m the one with egg on my face. You can be assured that I’ll be researching everything from here on out and opting out of anything that isn’t addressing a sufficient risk.
Our kids are vaxed against everything important (MMR, polio, etc) on schedule, but we delayed some of the other vaccines until they were a bit older. Things like the hepatitis vaccine that was previously only recommended for mothers who were raging intravenous drug addicts.
We basically follow the 1987 schedule and then work in newer vaccines as the kids age.
I am not anti-vaxx because most vaxxes work, and dont kill in the process. This one is a bit too dangerous. I took the risk, but there is no need for my daughter to get it.
After kid #1 went through the schedule, I did what Semi did, spread out the schedule for the kid #2. Ain’t ant-vax but also like trashy…it gets less of a blind faith more than ever now. Not that it matters, cause we are not having any more chillins but advice for the kids if they choose to have their own.
Learned something new from watching a TV show, like teachers say you can’t, and confirmed it on Wikipedia, like teachers say you can’t. #Education.
East Germany, the original AntiFa.
Great stuff as usual Animal! Thanks.
Excellent Animal!