Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20A | 20B | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25-26 | 27 | 28-29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35-36 | 37 | 38A | 38B | 38C | 38D | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42-43 | 44-45 | 46 | 47 | 48-49A | 49B | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57A | 57B | 58-59| 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68-69 | 70A | 70B | 71A | 71B | 72 | 73 | 74A | 74B | 75 | 76-77A | 77B | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85-87 | 88A | 88B | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94A | 94B | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98-99 | 100 | 101 | 102-103 | 104A | 104B | 105A | 105B
PART V
MIRACLES
106
THE VERY PRETTY young woman who strode through the front door of 1520 Main at midnight made Trey the happiest man in the world. Also the angriest.
“GODDAMMIT!” he bellowed, slamming his fist on his table.
Only a few people around him took notice, then went back to their good time. She looked up at him with equanimity, her eyebrow raised.
Uppity little—
“Well?” he roared. “Get up here and sit your cute little ass down!”
Her mouth pursed with derision to match her raised eyebrow.
“Please,” he drawled sarcastically.
She deftly squiggled her way through the packed house until she disappeared under the mezzanine, then reappeared at his table. She waited until he stood and pulled a chair out for her. He leaned toward her, but she caught his mouth with one finger. “Don’t kiss me. I am not in the mood.”
“Augh! I’m the one who should be pissed off! What’s up your ass?”
She sat gracefully. “That letter you wrote me last week. The one detailing all your current woes.”
“Yeah, so what. You’re my wife. I can do that.”
“Yes, and as your wife, I could hear how you really felt.”
“Married a fucking lawyer,” he grumbled.
“A lawyer is supposed to tell his client what to do, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” he sighed.
“And a smart client will do what his lawyer tells him to do no matter how much he hates it, won’t he?”
“Depends on how smart he thinks his lawyer is.”
“How much do you trust me?”
“More than I should,” he shot back, “if this is going somewhere I’m not going to like.”
“Come to Minneapolis. To stay.”
His brow wrinkled. “I … can’t, Sugar. I’ve got to figure out how to get a buyer for this place.”
“You aren’t going to.” She continued when his only response was shock. “I want you to walk away from it. Come to Minneapolis and we can be a family. We have enough money so you can go to college and medical school and we can live, all three of us. And even if we didn’t, I could take in sewing or even open a dressmaking business and support us. But we do.” She leaned toward him and whispered hotly, “Trey, we have forty-five thousand dollars. We could live the rest of our lives on that if we’re careful. Shoot, we could live on the interest when the banks start paying again. And then, once you’re out of medical school, you’ll be earning a living.”
“Doctors don’t make any money,” he snarled, enraged.
“You knew that before you started talking about being a doctor! Lawyers don’t make any money, either!”
“I am not walking away from this speak without getting something out of it. Marina! What the hell has gotten into your head?”
“Then I will divorce you, keep all the money I have in my possession, stay in Minneapolis, and rear our child.”
Now his jaw was on the table. “Divorce?”
“Me or 1520, Trey. I’ve asked you this from the beginning. Whom do you care more about? Your wife or the girl you got pregnant to win a bet?”
He gulped. He immediately saw what she was getting at, but he hadn’t wanted to admit that maybe … maybe she was right. Maybe the speak did mean more to him than …
“I ain’t giving you up.”
“Then give up the speak.”
“I … ”
“Can’t. I know.”
He watched in disbelief as she calmly collected her skirt about her and stood.
“I’m going back to my baby. Contact me when you decide if you’d rather have your wife—” She looked around derisively. “—or the mother of your child.”
107A
M A R C H 1 9 3 1
MARINA WAS SHOCKED when, three weeks after she’d gone back to her little apartment in Minneapolis, with not a word from Trey, she opened her door to see her very disheveled husband in the hallway.
His hair was a mess. His eyes were bloodshot. His suit was torn and bloody and filthy, with what looked like cigarette holes burned into his suitcoat. His shoulders sagged.
“Trey,” she breathed, leaning against the edge of the door, not knowing what to do.
“Dada!” Susanna squealed from inside the apartment, and she pumped her little legs to him. “Dada!”
He swung the baby up into his arms and gave her a big smack on the cheek. “How’s my little Button?”
“Oh, hello, Mr. Dunham,” came Ida’s voice from behind Marina. “You look … well.”
“Naw, I don’t, Ida.” His country accent was thick, but he was clearly exhausted. “Don’t be polite. You gonna let me in, Sugga?”
“Oh!” Marina bestirred herself. “Oh, yes, of course. I’m sorry. Here,” she said, scurrying to the sofa and plumping up pillows.
“Not gonna dirty the furniture. Not ours.”
With that, he plopped on the floor, then rolled to his back. He patted his chest. “C’mere, Button. Hop on.”
The baby didn’t hop on so much as crawl all over Trey like a mountain before settling into his chest and sticking her thumb in her mouth.
Marina sat cross-legged on the floor beside him. Ida joined her. “What— What happened to you?”
“I hate to tell you this, Sugar, but I just sold our souls to the devil.”
106-107A
If you don’t want to wait 2 years to get to the end, you can buy it here.
Donations can be made here, if you so desire.
He’s no Sicilian.
So it’s OK to go against him if death is on the line?
Ugh. That last sentence.
The Devil went down to Georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal.
I want you to walk away from it. Come to Minneapolis and we can be a family.
And if he does that, she’ll lose all attraction to him.
😉
I wasn’t in Mpls at that time but my brother was. 45K, at the time was a 20 year salary for a lot of people. Way more than the senior Fourscores were making.
Trey’s message is cryptic, I’ll have to wait another week but it’ll be worth it to find out what Trey has done.
Thank, Moj, a real hanger this week
It’s $910k in today’s money.
Oof, is that even enough to raise a family of three for decades anymore? I don’t think so.
I have no idea who these folks are, but they are being represented as Germans standing up to the thought police.
https://x.com/unblogd/status/1847383828249383181?s=19
Nice to see that there are a few others out there railing against the gale.
The Germans are starting to move in the right direction…. let us pray that they don’t once again overshoot their target in response to leftists ruining the country… yet again.
Pissing the night away.
He drinks a whiskey drink.
He drinks a vodka drink.
He drinks a lager drink.
He drinks a cider drink.
Oh, Danny-boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc
I get Nicked down / But I get up again 🎶
You ever watched another man dance the father/daughter dance with your daughter at her wedding? It’s not a great feeling. 🍻
Oh, I’m so sorry. The stepdad?
🏴☠️
Britcom The Good Life has a trigger warning at the beginning. Good lord, modern life is pussy.
OFFS whatever for? Too many wypipo?
Think it’s a line about imitating an Egyptian frieze. The next episode doesn’t have it.
Oh, brother.
I remember liking that show. Of course it was called “Good Neighbors” here.
Vyvyan hates The Good Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu44FTsE90Q
Morning, GT!
Good mornin, all you Temu Redstaters!
😂😅🍳☕
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eI9sOc7wbDo
🎶🎶
Temu ads are a step above softcore porn in some instances
Morning all.
I am getting shades of Hestia here. We will see.
On the Germans…I am not holding my breath.
I am still struck by the Erin Molan link in Ron’s stoic link yesterday
https://x.com/CherylWroteIt/status/1847188935950082452?s=19
Quite the stones on that Aussie chick. I didnt know Aussies were allowed to say such things.
Given the Aussie’s response to the cootie bug scam I am a bit surprised…but shouldn’t be.
I will again reference a study that I cannot cite because I cant find it. I will redouble my efforts to do so. From memory: across the board in all cultures studied 7% of the population is curious, cynical, questions what they are told, and dont pull punches. (It was published in Skeptical Inquirer sometime back in the ’90s ? These are the people that keep the spark alive but will forever be outnumbered by the herd animals.
Could we start some kind of cloning program and replicate them? Oh, yes we can. Let’s entitle our plan ‘Purge academia of the commies’. Anything that sprang from critical theory burned to ash, pissed on and cast into the sea.
I attempted to help find your study and used “naturally skeptical people population society” as key search words.
All articles returned were about climate change. Don’t tell me that search engines don’t weigh particular narratives differently. Especially when the terms of the search didn’t even mention a particular subject.
I remember when search engines actually listed results that matched your query. Fun times.
It doesn’t even have to be political now – they simply refuse to show the results that I ask for anymore.
Thank you. I got the same. I tried looking at Skeptical Enquirer’s site (I dont think the print magazine is a thing anymore) and was greeting with an invite to a conference where Neil DeGrasse Tyson is speaking. *facepalm*
Another great thing skin suited. We are sliding into a dark age.
Yeah, a lot of global warming propaganda. Approved progressive narratives. It makes me sick.
Morning. Unfunny people can’t recognize a joke
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4941847-fox-news-denies-trump-jokes-al-smith-dinner/
Good morning, OBE, Suthen, Sean, rhy, and TO’G!
uNfIt!!
“A source familiar with the situation….” <—- Indicates everything in the article is bullshit.
That is some weak, lame-ass shit.
'Ol Rush Limbaugh was fond of pointing out that the Republicans were just controlled opposition, that they did not oppose the leftist agenda they only wanted to slow it down. I think as news orgs go the rest of the media is full-on leftist, totalitarian runaway train and Fox is just trying to apply the brakes a bit. Fuck that, we need more Erin Molans and yes, more Tucker Carlsons.
Even when they are wrong at least they have the courage to call it as they see it.
Good morning, Boys and Girls,
Up and at ’em, ain’t no days off in the Game of Life. Everyone is a player!
Yes sir! Looks like finishing the patio below the deck this morning. More sand, more pavers and more rocks.
https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_health/dr-tuggs-unveils-gentlemans-lotion-the-ultimate-self-pleasure-lotion-for-men/article_a73ebfd6-1b5e-5d6c-92b0-d39c3aacac33.html
In this economy? No one has the extra money to toss around on such luxuries.
I seem to recall reading somewhere that in a bad economy, smaller luxuries paradoxically do better since people can no longer afford the more expensive luxuries.
I have no idea what this product’s price point is, since the press release doesn’t mention that.
(insert “$20, same as downtown” joke here)
It’s probably a batin’ switch type deal.
Oh, cum on
Of course its channel 69.
Does it come in a 50 gallon drum?
suh’ fam
whats goody yo
TALL WEEKEND CANS!
(Im still in the (216) having finished testing at the p00p plant at 21:30 last night….)
Good morning all!