A Glibertarians Exclusive: Sweetheart, Part II
Marshalltown, Iowa, July 1933
Saturday afternoon, and once again Paul found his rolling pace taking him – slowly – to the billiard parlor. He planned a late lunch, of course, and probably a beer or two (Praise be to President Roosevelt, Paul reminded himself, ‘cause 3.2 hosspiss is better than no beer at all), but mostly, he was going to see Maggie.
As usual, the same two men were seated on the parlor’s front step, enjoying the summer sunshine. “Harry,” Paul greeted them. “Jack.”
“Hey, Paul,” Harry said. “You’re a newspaper fella. Think this here amendment will pass? Be nice to have a whiskey again – legal, that is.” He grinned.
“I think it will. People are gonna have their booze, no two ways about it. Prohibition just made it go underground. Gave people like Al Capone and Joe Kennedy a chance to make a fortune.”
“Reckon you’re right,” Jack said. “Hope so, anyway.”
Paul nodded and went inside. Maggie called to him from behind the bar, a wide smile on her face. “Hi there, Paul. Was wondering if you’d be in today.”
“Same as most Saturdays,” Paul smiled. He took a seat at the bar. “I’ll have a beer. What’s the special today?”
“Pork tenderloin sandwich, and potato salad.”
“Sounds good.”
Maggie smiled at him again and went to call his order back to the kitchen.
Paul sat quietly for a while, listening to the click-click of the billiard balls, and the murmured conversation around the inevitable poker game at the back table. He thought about getting in the game for a while but shook his head. He had other things on his mind today.
Finally, Maggie had a moment with no one demanding her attention. She walked back behind the bar, lit a cigarette, and smiled at Paul.
“Say, Maggie,” Paul said, suddenly a little nervous. Shit, I faced German machine guns. Don’t know why this should give me the sweats, but it does.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I was wondering… Well, I got an automobile. Ain’t much, just an ’18 Hudson, but it’s comfortable enough. Was wondering, since tomorrow’s Sunday and all, if you’d like to go for a ride with me. Maybe a picnic? I know a nice spot, just south of Grundy Center, a little park with a crick running through it. Pretty place.”
Maggie’s smile faded a little. “Grundy Center,” she said. “That’s up towards Waterloo, isn’t it?”
“Not so much. Good, oh, forty miles away.”
Maggie took a long pull on her cigarette. Her smile came back. “That ought to be all right, then. Sure. I’d like that. Can you pick me up, oh, ten o’clock?”
“I can do that.”
“Here,” Maggie said. She guddled around under the bar, came up with a note pad, and wrote on it. “Here’s where I’m staying. And since you’re driving at all, you’ll let me bring the lunch, is that all right?”
“Better than all right,” Paul grinned. “My cooking ain’t nothing to write home about.”
Just then a bell sounded. The cook shouted: “Maggie! Order up!”
Maggie got Pauls’ pork sandwich and potato salad, set them in front of him. “Ask you something?”
“Sure,” Paul said.
“You ain’t asked a girl out in a while, have you? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did, but a fella your age usually isn’t nervous about it, and, well, I noticed, is all.”
“Well, yeah,” Paul admitted. “See, when I finally got back from France, from the war, well, there was a gal I’d been seeing before I left.” Red hair, like you. Nice smile, like you. But…
“Ended bad?” Maggie guessed.
“You might say that. See, when I got back… Well, you’ve noticed the cane, right?”
“I knew you were Over There. Figured you got hurt some kind of way.”
Paul tapped his left leg with a big fist. The leg didn’t sound like flesh, more like furniture. “Stopped a German bullet with my leg. Smashed the bone. They took it off above the knee. Leg’s mostly wood, steel and leather, now. My gal, I looked her up when I got back, but she wanted a whole man. Told me so, flat out. Kind of soured me on the whole thing for a while.” Fifteen years is a hell of a lot longer than ‘a while.’
“Paul,” Maggie said, “That’s her loss. A man ain’t just his leg. That’s just part of who you are, now, and I kind of like who you are.” She reached out and patted his hand, the first time she had touched him. “And who knows? Maybe it’s my gain.”
Paul grinned widely and took a mammoth bite of his sandwich.
Later, walking back to his room, a thought occurred to him. Why is Maggie spooked about going up by Waterloo? She sure didn’t act like she wanted to go up that way at all. Could she be in some kind of trouble up here? Old boyfriend giving her problems?
He walked on for a while, slow as always, rolling each stride to lock the knee joint in place. I suppose if there’s anything to it, I’ll find out in due time. And if I can help her deal with it, I will. Be nice, having a gal in my life again. Not gonna let anyone else mess it up, that’s for sure.
Later that evening, the billiard parlor was empty. The cook had gone home. The parlor’s owner, an old German in his seventies, came in to count the cash and take it to his house, where he had a stout safe. “Very good take today,” he said, his accent thick as sausage. “Ve t’ink, Greta and I, we make good hire with you. Customers like you. Men like you. And me… War over fifteen years, Germans still not popular around here. I been here since 1880, people know me, but still, German. Better you be tending bar than me. Anyway.” He winked. “Glad you came along.”
“Thank you, Mr. Schmidt,” Maggie said. She smiled. The complement gave her a warm feeling. “If you don’t need my help with anything, I’ll be going on home.”
“Jah,” Schmidt nodded. “Just fine. You go on home. Have a nice Sunday tomorrow. See you, two o’clock Monday, jah?”
“I’ll be here.”
She walked back to her tiny, rented cottage, through the quiet evening. Tomorrow should be fun, she thought as she walked. Paul’s such a nice man. Town knows him. Steady job doesn’t hurt.
But I must stay away from Waterloo. I can’t let him find me. I should have gone farther away, but I don’t know how I could have. Maybe got to Des Moines? But he has people in Des Moines. Cedar Rapids? Does he have anyone in Cedar Rapids? I just don’t know.
She picked up her pace out of nervousness. Her two-inch heels tapped out a defiant signal on the sidewalk. I hope I’m not dragging Paul into this mess. Please, God, just let me live in peace. Maybe I can make a life here. Maybe with Paul. He’s a good man.
Please let me not get dragged back into all that. Please, please don’t let Grandfather find out where I am. He wouldn’t think it’s good enough. I don’t want to disappear again. Marshalltown ain’t much, but it’s good. I’m good here. I want to stay.
***
You know, I once knew a woman who looked like you.
She wanted a whole man, not just a half.
She used to call me sweet daddy when I was only a child.
You kind of remind me of her when you laugh.
In order to deal in this game, got to make the queen disappear.
It’s done with a flick of the wrist.
What’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?
She’s worried about Grandfather taking her and being disapproving? Well, I guess we know where Susan Foreman ended up (after a regeneration or two, it seems)….
More seriously — good read as usual, Animal. Paul already asked the questions that popped into my head, so all I can do now is (like him) wait and see what turns up. Here’s hoping these two crazy kids find a way to make it work… they seem like good people.
I missed last week, so I got to read both back to back.
I really like this one (as usual). I’m curious who she ran away from.
Thanks, Animal!
My guess is Trey Dunham.
More complicated than Mojo!
It ends in a final duel, after which Paul gets a replacement donor leg from Bad Ex-Boyfriend.
Given all the Prohibition / Capone / mob references — this kept coming to mind if he needed to go up towards Waterloo.
I could go for a pork tenderloin sandwich. And potato salad.
That leg ain’t the only wood that Paul’s gonna be swinging.
Unless he meets his Waterloo.
This history book on the shelf — is always repeating itself?
“Not to be easy, but that’s all you’re missing down there, right!”
Good story. I like the bar owner.
Nazi!
Too soon?
Holy shit!
Stay safe, Richard!
Wasn’t that part of the secret history of Vermont?
This will be used as evidence of climate disaster, even though it won’t break the 1927 record.
This weather event is unprecedented since the last time it happened.
Apparently it was way worse last time, but hey…
I was thinking of going 1992 flood.
How did i get “going” when i meant “the”?
Sugarfree material in the news today.
Joe has a bad temper
https://www.axios.com/2023/07/10/biden-temper-us-president
He got lost in the UK and another old man had to help him.
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1678392720551804934
Then he flew to Lithuania and got lost again.
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1678441966621663234?s=20
When you’re looking to get rid of someone, it’s a bit impolite to refer to them as “Old Yeller” in public.
They’re hinting to the Secret Service that it is time for him to visit that farm upstate….
I’m just not convinced that Kammie is out of the running.
That’s Mrs President to you.
The cocaine charges are still pending.
“That hat, I must sniff it!”
“Some Biden aides think the president would be better off occasionally displaying his temper in public as a way to assuage voter concerns that the 80-year-old president is disengaged and too old for the office.”
He has done this. And it doesn’t assuage anything.
Look fat, don’t be a lying dog-faced pony soldier!
+1 push-up contest
Red hair, like you. Nice smile, like you.
Please, please don’t let Grandfather find out where I am. He wouldn’t think it’s good enough.
So, Maggie is Finnegan?
I was having similar feelings.
As long as Maggie is neither Finkle nor Einhorn. I don’t think Paul would be into that.
I can’t imagine driving an old Hudson with one gamby leg will be that easy. The clutches and brakes on those were likely very heavy.
It didn’t say that he had a lead foot.
A 1918 Hudson apparently had an accelerator pedal, but still had a throttle and spark advance on the steering wheel, which probably would have made it easier for one leg driving (clutch or brake).
What’s Aleppo?
No word on whodunnit.
Dead thread:
Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.” on July 10, 2023 at 10:54 am
“Setting aside any thoughts on big pharma, one of the issues with this, and a big reason for that, is calling itself birth control. They are hormons, nothing more or less, and should simply be refered to as that. My wife has them, even with my vasectomy, for reasons stemming from perimenopause. If someone is using them for reasons other than birth control, don’t call them birth control! ‘Cause they aren’t for that reason at that point”
Very true, colloquialisms are useful until they obscure.
Now we’re just quibbling over semantics.
“Hormone replacement therapy” is a specific thing, i.e., replacement of estrogen in menopausal/postmenopausal women.
“Hormone therapy” encapsulates a whole range of things, not usually including the reproductive system.
“Birth control” is a specific combination of hormones designed primarily to interrupt/suppress the menstrual cycle in some way so as to avoid conception. That these particular pills are used ALSO for other things is irrelevant. Sure, it’s not a useful term for people who are taking them for purposes other than birth control, but “hormone therapy” is worse.
Then there are hormones like the ones my daughter takes that are not necessarily for birth control, but can be maybe possibly (not the right formulation for most), but to treat other conditions of the reproductive system. There is no catch phrase for this.
I mean, y’all dudes can quibble over the nomenclature all you want, but if its primary purpose is birth control, there you go.
Lastly, as I said before, there are risk/benefit tradeoffs of any medicine anybody takes. If you take a med, I have to assume you’ve weighed the risks and benefits and decided it’s okay for you to take. I personally wouldn’t take statins, ever, and I’m on the fence about high blood pressure medication. I didn’t let my kid get the HPV vax until she was 16 or thereabouts. No, I’m not letting you pump that shit into my 9yo. I take a bunch of medication for anxiety, depression, and ADHD. They have improved my life immeasurably, so my high blood pressure side effect is worth it. I don’t take aspirin or ibuprofen because I’ve had ulcers in the past and don’t want them again.
So to say, “birth control is a bad idea and it’s gonna come back to bite us in the butt,” well, okay. Or it may not. But you can say that about all the drugs I take, you take, everybody takes.
There are a lot of drugs given to people to prolong their lives and it affects the economy in detrimental ways, but I don’t hear y’all talking about that part. Just female hormones. Which you all don’t take.
I seem to recall some spirited discussion about testosterone supplements.
+1 offlabel use
Another decision I made was not to take hormone replacement therapy. There were a myriad of reasons for this, but one of them was that it increases the risk of cardiac problems, and my family history is rife with cardiac problems, so I didn’t want to give them a boost. I have increased my chances of developing osteoporosis worse and faster. I’ve chosen this risk.
My mother is 80 and still on HRT, and she can’t stop or she’ll have the menopausal symptoms she doesn’t want to go through. But she doesn’t have a risk of cardiac problems and she has a great risk of osteoporosis (her bones are as stiff as well cooked spaghetti noodles), so she stays on them because it fights off those effects.
Risk/benefit. They’re available. I’m going to use them to make my life better in the ways I most need to.
I’m not trying to play semantics, just in the context of that particular discussion it was silly to call hormones ‘birth control’
I don’t take any drugs (besides alcohol). I’m very lame, and I’m generally against most medical interventions. I don’t even take pain killers etc. So yeah, I’m against doing any drugs at all unless absolutely necessary… Partly because I don’t believe that all of the costs are being disclosed to people, and sometimes all the costs aren’t known- e.g. ulcers from pain killers, or something such as changes in sexual preference when it comes to birth control pills.
You’re right that everything has a cost benefit analysis associated with it. I was only lamenting that what I believe to be lower cost solutions to some problems aren’t being recommended by doctors before doing things like hormone therapy, ablation or removal of the uterus- all which often don’t solve the problem.
I’m curious (i.e., I’m not being a bitch with this question): What are some lower cost solutions to a) hormone therapy, b) ablation, and c) removal of the uterus?
I don’t like taking meds either, but you know what is even worse – suffering from something that a medication can ameliorate. I’ve taken pills to prevent gout for years now because my body does a crap job on disposing purines.
hormons
Slutty people riding around on bikes doing missionary work… and positions?
Or… prostitutes in magic underwear?
Yes
Media hack delusional take of the day: https://twitter.com/mtomasky/status/1678421627590135816
The first problem is assuming he’s a good family man.
Good family men always ignore their grandchild.
I would believe the Bidens are “Family” men… cut from the same cloth as Fredo, granted… but Family.
Next you’re going to tell me he’s not actually serving the public?
That’s an incredibly imaginative piece.
‘In sum: We live now in a political culture where the party that is trying to uphold some standards and values gets judged and punished because it sometimes falls short of those standards and values, while the party that makes no effort along those lines gets away with everything because no one expects any better of it in the first place’
In his mind he thinks this is describing the Democrats as the party that has and uphold standards… Meanwhile he’s absolutely willing to let Biden off the hook for any and everything, because he imagines that trump might also have a drugged up corrupt son who bangs hookers and sires illegitimate children. Yes, it’s the Democrats who have standards. Also, Biden’s temper is a sign of vigor and not dementia. Those damn Republicans and their double standards
“Biden has made a greater effort than any president in decades to shift wealth from the top to the middle class and working poor. ”
Given that wording and no supporting evidence, I’m guessing things have gotten much worse in terms of income and wealth gap.
To be fair, how many other presidents have taken a personal interest in a crack addict? To the point where the crackhead made millions?
From smoking crack to painting so whack.
The hunter Biden story
I’m amazed they can type with their heads nuzzled so firmly in Biden’s lap.
That guy is an idiot. All I have to do is read in enough to see that he acknowledges that Biden has the lowest approval rating on economy of anyone, short of Satan, yet Biden has done “so much” to shift wealth down to poor and middle class. We the people just don’t get it. Fucking maroon.
If it weren’t for misinformation, Biden would have the best approval rating ever.
It’s really perfect – not hiding the disdain at all. What’s pathetic is the people that don’t realize he’s talking down to them.
Tomasky isn’t delusional, he’s a liar.
Also a sack of shit.
Joe has a bad temper
Will he snuff himself if he doesn’t get what he wants?
*crosses fingers*
Are you saying he should have “gender affirming care”? It’s never too late.
Being yelled at by the president has become an internal initiation ceremony in this White House, aides say — if Biden doesn’t yell at you, it could be a sign he doesn’t respect you.
——-
“If there is something that’s not in the brief, he’s going to find it,” he said. “It’s not to embarrass people, it’s because he wants to get to the right decision. Most people who have worked for him like the fact that he challenges them and gets them to a better decision.”
He squelches dissent. Always the mark of a great leader.
Ok, there it is. I didn’t read the whole thing, so I thought they were subtly priming us for him being pushed out. They’re saying he’s the smartest person in the room, the sharpest tack in the box, and it’s a shame he controls his temper so well that people don’t realize what a great mind he has.
Always the mark of a great leader.
You know who else squelched dissent?
Tito?
“If there is something that’s not in the brief, he’s going to find it.” I doubt the guy can even find his own ass, and that’s in his briefs, assuming he doesn’t go commando.
Smacks of Obama’s I’m the smartest guy in the room ethos.
At least Obama knew where the room was, who was in it, and why they were there.
My God, I love it when they accidentally tell the truth.
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1678463754894188550
That dude will be calling Hillary’s suicided hotline soon.
Enjoying the story! Hoping for the wooden leg jokes to start soon.
I would rather be set afire and tossed into an industrial shredder
Me too, Dave.
Have no doubt, my wife will book a cruise on it. I have been exposed to so many horrors.
Bleh.
I could be convinced to do one of the small, luxe ones like Silversea or Windstar but no way in hell would I want to be stuck on that monstrosity.
I think one of those Rhine river cruises would be fun.
Those interest me as well.
Belmond is doing river cruises now – I’d expect those to be enjoyable swanky. https://www.belmond.com/boats
My parents did one and love it. Much less tackiness and more western civilization.
You couldn’t pay me enough to go out on that thing. Nope.
I’m open to it. Does it have a red light district?
Funny that wasn’t in Dante’s vision.
I wouldn’t mind seeing an engineering overview of the thing… rather wondering just how deep they run the keel to keep her from capsizing in heavy seas… because boy does that look top heavy as hell.
It just screams catastrophe.
They compare the size to the Titanic. Probably not a good idea to mention that other boat.
Titanic marketing worked for Oceangate for a while.
My thoughts too – I bet it bobs like a cork in heavy seas.
A modern Vasa?
I was thinking Poseidon Adventure — but Vasa certainly works. Or Mary Rose. Hopefully not as many brass cannons on the thing.
Bill Burr would sink random cruse ships.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Rg8TWtu3o
Welp.
I was wrong.
Pretty gross, even for Politico.
Dear God, what a load of sycophantic trash. I just don’t get politician worship.
Speaking of Dante and the circles of hell.
This. I need to prepared, maybe shriven, before setting eyes on that.
Oh, FFS. This one party state can barely be machined into keeping his sorry ass. Are they trying to start an International U-Haul company so they can jack up the domestic prices on a national level instead of just state?
All the star power of people running what could easily be the most successful state in the union, but isn’t.
But in their minds it is and by some margin too.
You know who else squelched dissent?
Torquemada?
Adam Schiff? Much like PPP with the Pope…
John Adams?
That guy? You couldn’t Torquemada anything.
Al Gross?
I notice the hive mind is joyously trumpeting the overnight success of Zuckerberg’s twatter knockoff.
Too bad, Elon. You’ll just have to make do with the right wing crackpots.
My wife and I were just talking about this yesterday.
What If This Travel Chaos Is Deliberate?
It definitely seems to be getting worse.
Fuck. Wrong link.
Second attempt.
Remember when flying was a pleasure and you never worried about rebooking roulette or being stranded at some strange airport wondering if you can manage to sleep in a chair for the night? That was only a few years ago.
I really don’t remember a time like that.
Me neither. It’s always been awful.
I used to travel a lot and I absolutely remember that.
Even in 2020 I took a bunch of trips (on mostly empty planes) and it was fantastic. The planes were clean and the employees were happy to see you.
That took a hard turn in 2021.
I don’t think it’s deliberate, but I doubt the zealots in the various branches of government are too broken up about it.
Service in many industries has just gone to crap in the last few years. The airlines are just one example of it.
I agree. This has been true of the Disney parks for a while now. They figured people were coming anyway, so cut corners and squeeze as much money out of them as possible. But I read last week the parks are finally taking a big hit.
Yeah, that was a shortsighted strategy destined to backfire. Eisner tried the same thing in the early 2000’s, and pretty much ruined the parks for a while.
They have remained ruined. I visited around 2021 and it was just as crappy as it was in 2010. Food service was one step below a high-school cafeteria, rides hadn’t been added in years. If anything rides will go away because muh racism. Fuck that place. Go next door to Universal Studios and have a good time for the money.
They are adding new rides, the problem is they are spacing them out so people will want to keep coming back every year. But at that price, one ride isn’t going to do it.
The food started taking a hit at least 10 years ago. It used to be almost every little restaurant had its own unique dishes. Then the standardized and every place has the same chicken nuggets and burgers.
What the fucking fuck? NATO is just the enforcement arm of Davos now.
Literally talking about putting armed Nazi Ukrainian thugs on the streets of France. Maybe your town after that.
What could possibly go wrong?
I can’t imaginoit?
I refuse to believe that is true.
It’s literally on NATO’s website otherwise I wouldn’t believe it either. Maybe they got hacked by crazy Russians?
Not sure nato.ws is the official site. .ws is for Western Samoa.
nato.int is the official site.
As if KEEV is doing so well it can spare the assholes.
I find that hard to believe.
Here’s something else you might find hard to believe.
Of course if you are a DEFENSIVE alliance – you are defending against some one or another. Who exactly would that be now, since it was the USSR and Warsaw Pact originally.
Wait, I know. NATO is going to finally be used to seal off the cross-Mediterranean human trafficking?
You mean used to
seal offprotect the cross-Mediterranean human trafficking.That’s obviously nonsense but the other website appears to be some kind of copycat website that has the appearance of this actual website and I don’t think even NATO are stupid enough to turn actual Neonazis loose in France. That website is out of Samoa.
*Tinfoil hat crinkles, breathes like a living thing
What if it was published there to hide it?
I believe the fragrant one may be correct…
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news.htm
No such ‘news’ story available there.
Service in many industries has just gone to crap in the last few years. The airlines are just one example of it.
Just wait. Joe and Mayor Pete will roll the airlines into Amtrak.
Meanwhile, over at TOS
I honestly think someone over there just straight up gets off by shitting in the readership’s collective mouth.
What readership?
I guess that’s the benefit of so much Koch. You really don’t need any actual customers.
“technically true” the horror
Eh, they did ask him a lot of those questions. I also think RFK sucks and doesn’t deserve much of the good press he’s getting from the right.
He is good on one/two issues (lockdowns/vaccines) , but is disastrously bad otherwise, which is worth pointing out.
Tulsi Gabbard.
Correct.
Also, dudes be thirsty.
Good chapter of a good story, Animal. The curiosity of Waterloo is interesting, looks like Little Miss Maggie has grown to like Ol’ Paul.
Some of us remember being a teenager (and beyond) afraid to ask for a date, the fear of being turned down kept some chaste longer than we wanted.