Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

by, fiction, of, the, and, coffee, out, fried, chicken, online, home, rusty, barnes, site, no, longer, updated, as, 11, 25, hangin, at, git, go, poetry, jason, ryberg, wrong, kind, rain, steve, lambert, war, whips, it, in, public, tin, pedals, lucas, flatt, budweiser, blues, cecile, dixon, epiphany, larry, thacker, colonel, kurt, taylor, night, dick, clark, actually, died, john, sharp, two, poems, matthew, borczon, recent, comments, goodreads, meta, old,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (1622), and (900), ing (612), his (367), was (321), you (320), that (255), with (199), for (195), out (189), said (178), she (168), but (165), him (162), her (149), had (145), some (145), like (125), #colonel (117), thing (108), what (107), back (106), one (105), have (105), they (103), just (102), shuck (99), all (98), from (95), this (94), ter (94), about (92), down (90), lloyd (90), not (83), get (83), over (80), didn (79), want (77), tion (77), when (76), bill (74), there (73), doc (73), know (71), got (71), into (70), could (68), around (65), your (64), lit (64), now (63), two (63), off (62), right (62), con (62), tle (61), were (61), don (59), any (59), time (55), leon (55), man (54), before (51), been (51), head (50), who (50), where (50), say (50), lar (50), every (49), look (49), can (49), would (49), com (48), how (48), then (46), enid (46), hand (45), them (45), wal (44), more (43), way (41), thought (39), too (39), did (39), old (37), see (37), side (36), took (36), alamo (36), woman (35), kid (35), think (35), still (34), looked (34), rip (34), body (34), ting (34), dwayne (34), fuck (33), let (33), day (33), wasn (33), ple (33), talk (33), good (32), ten (32), even (32), big (32), here (32), are (31), line (31), fin (30), dead (30), wait (30), first (30), take (30), few (30), dis (30), through (29), real (29), oth (29), bet (29), shit (29), only (28), knew (28), put (28), bar (28), came (28), left (28), light (28), ble (28), after (27), told (27), dog (27), felt (27), night (26), son (26), front (26), their (26), ear (26), eyes (26), went (26), dark (26), set (26), beer (26), ain (26), truck (26), ask (25), times (25), walked (25), ment (25), feel (25), maybe (25), well (25), ange (25), home (24), long (24), heard (24), door (24), sat (24), make (24), next (24), show (24), hair (24), hard (24), mag (24), years (23), radio (23), watch (23), asked (23), away (23), much (23), pulled (22), per (22), found (22), ber (22), turned (22), open (22), red (22), stood (22), start (22), men (22), again (21), point (21), sure (21), peo (21), god (21), der (21), come (21), work (21), ram (21), ney (21), michaela (21), posted (20), war (20), bag (20), lot (20), enough (20), morn (20), anoth (20), nod (20), might (20), ers (20), sey (20), tar (20), gie (20), fig (19), while (19), yes (19), tell (19), days (19), offi (19), ner (19), hood (19), walk (19), self (19), ded (19), heal (19), kourt (19), deb (19), things (18), couldn (18), try (18), ever (18), last (18), tin (18), done (18), hands (18), lis (18), pos (18), face (18), called (18), help (18), low (18), until (18), fire (18), which (18), gui (18), bad (17), than (17), why (17), inter (17), car (17), call (17), white (17), pound (17), give (17), these (17), tions (17), going (17), being (17), small (17), ass (17), chair (17), wouldn (17), frankie (17), syd (17), rusty (16), bed (16), fer (16), along (16), hap (16), mind (16), three (16), ful (16), place (16), mir (16), ning (16), kind (16), damn (16), across (16), bie (16), august (15), mouth (15), leave (15), high (15), its (15), made (15), room (15), always (15), though (15), new (15), stopped (15), mar (15), loud (15), play (15), cle (15), ger (15), qui (15), five (15), hat (15), talked (15), gers (15), box (15), coun (15), healed (15), camp (15), est (14), friend (14), once (14), house (14), must (14), remem (14), ping (14), ous (14), cer (14), many (14), noth (14), ered (14), both (14), near (14), sec (14), punk (14), under (14), phone (14), held (14), turn (14), behind (14), mean (14), store (14), tried (14), past (14), saw (14), gave (14), tak (14), poor (14), migraines (14), fact (14), bled (14), smiled (14), riv (14), sher (14), may (13), june (13), has (13), moth (13), par (13), dri (13), top (13), shirt (13), gonna (13), ready (13), boy (13), sur (13), won (13), sto (13), sound (13), stand (13), row (13), whole (13), drink (13), hell (13), caught (13), part (13), grove (13), walter (13), iff (13), november (12), 2010 (12), 2012 (12), 2016 (12), poet (12), guess (12), nev (12), answer (12), same (12), love (12), pre (12), almost (12), cial (12), sug (12), fiction (12), sion (12), blue (12), stop (12), reached (12), slow (12), black (12), world (12), col (12), watched (12), short (12), ness (12), ago (12), gone (12), road (12), stage (12), ried (12), girl (12), cig (12), january (11), comment (11), writ (11), wife (11), used (11), tor (11), most (11), name (11), land (11), half (11), because (11), ver (11), cal (11), sun (11), opened (11), end (11), bus (11), shop (11), ish (11), stepped (11), tree (11), town (11), cool (11), air (11), find (11), prob (11), ured (11), free (11), far (11), rev (11), migraine (11), own (11), pick (11), fam (11), baby (11), run (11), rain (11), heli (11), copter (11), gott (11), 2009 (10), july (10), april (10), 2011 (10), blood (10), water (10), uncategorized (10), tweet (10), lat (10), sky (10), school (10), dick (10), our (10), mine (10), since (10), pock (10), win (10), fred (10), hot (10), fence (10), thir (10), ties (10), cov (10), ran (10), voice (10), eye (10), ser (10), alone (10), shoul (10), moment (10), need (10), laugh (10), cat (10), yelled (10), pain (10), val (10), suf (10), miss (10), erend (10), already (10), does (10), tal (10), idea (10), ben (10), tent (10), rette (10), parson (10), roof (10), evil (10), barnes (9), september (9), october (9), march (9), 2015 (9), 2018 (9), 2022 (9), will (9), threw (9), late (9), hour (9), hear (9), best (9), lying (9), care (9), inside (9), breath (9), ings (9), glanced (9), neck (9), cor (9), rose (9), began (9), third (9), chur (9), against (9), moved (9), foot (9), nose (9), bly (9), great (9), arm (9), doing (9), dered (9), bot (9), twen (9), onto (9), hav (9), dle (9), six (9), sta (9), thin (9), hit (9), sit (9), lay (9), mid (9), week (9), mat (9), burnt (9), noticed (9), lord (9), jesus (9), added (9), table (9), knows (9), ted (9), dad (9), ford (9), bis (9), cuit (9), fes (9), bradford (9), deputy (9), 2023 (8), books (8), able (8), four (8), cut (8), job (8), those (8), rea (8), ished (8), pull (8), fic (8), clark (8), final (8), word (8), pass (8), each (8), hadn (8), ets (8), south (8), appeared (8), lights (8), report (8), fan (8), read (8), between (8), toward (8), dance (8), close (8), ond (8), street (8), buy (8), pen (8), scis (8), stared (8), weren (8), cold (8), cof (8), fee (8), meet (8), giv (8), nal (8), dol (8), filled (8), keep (8), ate (8), dif (8), ent (8), age (8), life (8), dur (8), preach (8), ques (8), cause (8), case (8), wheel (8), prop (8), burn (8), edge (8), rolled (8), olé (8), cheat (8), stole (8), yet (8), brah (8), mans (8), lemon (8), doug (8), 2013 (7), 2014 (7), also (7), ure (7), tic (7), build (7), kurt (7), uni (7), vis (7), seat (7), spoke (7), wood (7), park (7), should (7), nobody (7), paper (7), touched (7), gle (7), very (7), kept (7), blind (7), clos (7), ros (7), sor (7), yeah (7), ies (7), chrysler (7), togeth (7), tened (7), step (7), sen (7), tat (7), sup (7), sighed (7), ror (7), star (7), pas (7), form (7), laughed (7), mama (7), sors (7), year (7), mit (7), soon (7), cus (7), seemed (7), atten (7), hurt (7), full (7), review (7), bud (7), doubt (7), injuries (7), spe (7), least (7), seri (7), mis (7), pay (7), christ (7), cousin (7), believe (7), today (7), larry (7), mule (7), raised (7), deep (7), din (7), bitch (7), led (7), kisanou (7), vich (7), quite (7), drunk (7), raf (7), fle (7), bil (7), december (6), february (6), gas (6), friends (6), kids (6), use (6), expe (6), drop (6), live (6), check (6), ern (6), tive (6), pur (6), dow (6), lead (6), gate (6), sway (6), round (6), sin (6), steel (6), hold (6), cam (6), era (6), hun (6), semi (6), cir (6), cles (6), ued (6), min (6), dropped (6), feet (6), less (6), straight (6), met (6), ized (6), lec (6), soft (6), ride (6), move (6), pro (6), passed (6), evening (6), exact (6), bur (6), worth (6), tance (6), bing (6), clock (6), chest (6), tick (6), seen (6), ring (6), hang (6), nice (6), grow (6), shift (6), ton (6), swung (6), guys (6), comes (6), respect (6), arms (6), jour (6), reach (6), helped (6), law (6), claim (6), doesn (6), dent (6), spir (6), mum (6), caused (6), sir (6), den (6), smile (6), tim (6), guy (6), hos (6), myself (6), true (6), fine (6), spot (6), pan (6), stu (6), fast (6), blow (6), dip (6), bas (6), grass (6), ture (6), dodge (6), slid (6), else (6), emp (6), meant (6), ditch (6), tail (6), spit (6), leaned (6), dou (6), instead (6), mas (6), steal (6), despite (6), tom (6), reck (6), dirt (6), juke (6), sah (6), wok (6), lee (6), fried (5), coffee (5), 2008 (5), reviews (5), ratings (5), avg (5), rating (5), poems (5), john (5), recent (5), bor (5), says (5), moon (5), sive (5), died (5), book (5), penis (5), enced (5), nar (5), rat (5), ball (5), tagged (5), suit (5), squint (5), leav (5), flash (5), closed (5), sounds (5), locked (5), heav (5), approached (5), lost (5), killed (5), safe (5), teeth (5), pave (5), garage (5), crime (5), shut (5), thick (5), bling (5), words (5), tight (5), fist (5), joint (5), exam (5), ones (5), utes (5), calm (5), heat (5), played (5), agreed (5), cou (5), tooed (5), hours (5), mon (5), fresh (5), tant (5), cell (5), fad (5), pri (5), tain (5), ries (5), fit (5), something (5), tled (5), comb (5), lucky (5), usu (5), grabbed (5), les (5), lin (5), hicks (5), months (5), med (5), such (5), either (5), shak (5), caus (5), lous (5), heart (5), clear (5), change (5), knocked (5), pened (5), tonight (5), wide (5), board (5), pret (5), sense (5), view (5), named (5), reg (5), teen (5), crowd (5), gives (5), roll (5), woke (5), cecile (5), write (5), fly (5), porch (5), grunt (5), cry (5), prize (5), picked (5), laid (5), del (5), pat (5), chuck (5), liked (5), lid (5), kicked (5), pork (5), shot (5), ridge (5), guitar (5), waved (5), lessons (5), learn (5), class (5), bik (5), tard (5), social (4), 2017 (4), 2020 (4), redneck (4), retired (4), belt (4), dreams (4), send (4), stay (4), piece (4), fix (4), tied (4), weight (4), block (4), plas (4), fect (4), telling (4), sharp (4), lives (4), fucked (4), nbc (4), crazy (4), sex (4), shout (4), hill (4), cers (4), tall (4), patrol (4), howl (4), spi (4), ther (4), doe (4), dean (4), song (4), rest (4), bless (4), hole (4), smelled (4), shook (4), fold (4), cars (4), alley (4), sirens (4), bark (4), slumped (4), scream (4), crack (4), shoot (4), barked (4), slammed (4), showed (4), cash (4), kill (4), boys (4), thoughts (4), news (4), patch (4), fat (4), respond (4), apart (4), stare (4), sides (4), dig (4), ging (4), yard (4), drove (4), dressed (4), port (4), warm (4), trash (4), gold (4), steps (4), longer (4), bright (4), ding (4), threat (4), women (4), coat (4), thank (4), beau (4), prod (4), eat (4), chat (4), vice (4), freddy (4), ery (4), yel (4), brick (4), pop (4), pulling (4), swing (4), sea (4), tow (4), ving (4), skin (4), curled (4), wear (4), wed (4), tank (4), shade (4), jack (4), trim (4), mer (4), gen (4), girls (4), zine (4), imag (4), hol (4), pressed (4), chin (4), gered (4), climbed (4), anything (4), worked (4), haven (4), pub (4), labor (4), site (4), guest (4), headaches (4), awful (4), cured (4), believed (4), bit (4), dence (4), fight (4), fur (4), plain (4), vehi (4), acci (4), whether (4), truth (4), missed (4), dam (4), young (4), cost (4), wrong (4), respon (4), whis (4), pered (4), dumb (4), pray (4), spark (4), tured (4), bust (4), begin (4), makes (4), bered (4), headache (4), tors (4), epiphany (4), nurs (4), bought (4), thor (4), ough (4), angry (4), minute (4), broth (4), sis (4), ters (4), okay (4), aware (4), haps (4), tars (4), popped (4), deal (4), wants (4), heads (4), rows (4), lies (4), ken (4), east (4), dixon (4), blues (4), chick (4), bal (4), stuck (4), reclin (4), liv (4), lots (4), fun (4), sleep (4), broad (4), gly (4), wig (4), hey (4), drank (4), slept (4), trail (4), smoke (4), pissed (4), eight (4), smell (4), rub (4), tapped (4), gut (4), mad (4), bumper (4), strong (4), upon (4), brown (4), bare (4), clouds (4), lowe (4), maggie (4), jam (4), cleared (4), onds (4), sober (4), worst (4), dream (4), grand (4), hon (4), beat (4), looks (4), field (4), break (4), pid (4), sev (4), speak (4), huh (4), peep (4), stum (4), ranger (4), folks (4), king (4), ketchup (4), drag (4), winked (4), author (4), frank (4), ical (4), office (4), match (4), mug (4), smok (4), chicken (3), online (3), 2019 (3), 2021 (3), issue (3), press (3), father (3), vet (3), giant (3), alive (3), fore (3), style (3), pushed (3), edi (3), spread (3), invi (3), pie (3), except (3), pho (3), blog (3), indi (3), includ (3), base (3), mfa (3), note (3), business (3), lean (3), wet (3), hats (3), thanks (3), ground (3), auto (3), scene (3), blast (3), crunch (3), slipped (3), sweat (3), rel (3), span (3), trem (3), singing (3), record (3), hoped (3), palm (3), panade (3), ria (3), blocks (3), twist (3), famil (3), tude (3), wore (3), func (3), none (3), bone (3), neigh (3), cast (3), cans (3), direc (3), rang (3), thanked (3), lars (3), clicked (3), lev (3), char (3), cook (3), counter (3), wrapped (3), pow (3), pink (3), dress (3), smooth (3), ders (3), impor (3), los (3), dish (3), faced (3), grey (3), walks (3), fill (3), glass (3), grown (3), paid (3), cart (3), lem (3), cheap (3), north (3), weath (3), estab (3), lish (3), places (3), lim (3), shouldn (3), poured (3), pers (3), fas (3), ide (3), vous (3), motor (3), church (3), touch (3), cure (3), drew (3), wall (3), rubbed (3), buzz (3), whined (3), mirror (3), ugly (3), thol (3), remind (3), choic (3), cape (3), ward (3), beyond (3), ined (3), gang (3), army (3), elec (3), ence (3), dom (3), mil (3), tary (3), dred (3), track (3), spill (3), ary (3), moun (3), mys (3), dial (3), stick (3), guilty (3), stunned (3), act (3), strange (3), ance (3), count (3), evi (3), obvi (3), tri (3), beside (3), liar (3), tough (3), sim (3), wing (3), wreck (3), means (3), charred (3), mirac (3), waves (3), hope (3), relief (3), sheep (3), prayer (3), legs (3), above (3), knees (3), course (3), fraud (3), plan (3), aged (3), sent (3), tru (3), attend (3), tice (3), pinned (3), piss (3), using (3), month (3), actu (3), attack (3), fort (3), sick (3), stant (3), fif (3), stuff (3), quit (3), goes (3), floor (3), gets (3), ronald (3), prised (3), rate (3), bro (3), guessed (3), slight (3), appalachian (3), bird (3), ahead (3), vol (3), diesel (3), crept (3), lips (3), leg (3), stock (3), grab (3), sneak (3), tugged (3), flat (3), bunch (3), shelf (3), swal (3), fixed (3), sweet (3), mess (3), draw (3), tend (3), lawn (3), jerked (3), lowed (3), cigarette (3), hus (3), chance (3), morning (3), gled (3), punch (3), ounce (3), kick (3), beans (3), loose (3), expect (3), grinned (3), lucas (3), pit (3), bounced (3), lip (3), prom (3), everyone (3), cow (3), appre (3), jeep (3), ought (3), broke (3), thumbs (3), ways (3), throat (3), elbow (3), clapped (3), dawn (3), fall (3), shrugged (3), angeline (3), fifty (3), please (3), admi (3), pal (3), farm (3), card (3), mic (3), mes (3), thun (3), gath (3), crossed (3), names (3), kevin (3), main (3), wan (3), rum (3), brought (3), pens (3), voic (3), cel (3), smol (3), bon (3), fires (3), fare (3), himself (3), bomb (3), tial (3), ling (3), coughed (3), snored (3), dumped (3), steve (3), hate (3), towards (3), brad (3), bent (3), likes (3), pack (3), cortez (3), trip (3), glas (3), debt (3), versions (3), hose (3), missing (3), sheriff (3), working (3), plau (3), other (3), poetry (3), jason (3), ryberg (3), git (3), stories (3), powered (2), wordpress (2), privacy (2), policy (2), 2024 (2), 2025 (2), search (2), comments (2), feed (2), log (2), gud (2), greatest (2), uncommon (2), denominator (2), magazine (2), normal (2), breaking (2), goodreads (2), brothers (2), dew (2), meth (2), fracking (2), wellsboro (2), older (2), posts (2), matthew (2), zon (2), sailor (2), puts (2), worry (2), chil (2), dren (2), afghanistan (2), miller (2), impres (2), ends (2), pul (2), leys (2), cement (2), works (2), ohio (2), address (2), spent (2), espe (2), gest (2), advil (2), plen (2), isn (2), taylor (2), cre (2), ative (2), nia (2), enjoy (2), tay (2), lor (2), die (2), charge (2), scraped (2), jogged (2), removed (2), nei (2), els (2), fil (2), unit (2), iden (2), units (2), alvara (2), area (2), doors (2), rushed (2), jumped (2), gun (2), pouch (2), cocked (2), whooped (2), eave (2), sing (2), force (2), meal (2), shined (2), shiny (2), large (2), howled (2), mov (2), hoodie (2), judge (2), knife (2), flipped (2), blade (2), inch (2), death (2), moments (2), ine (2), iar (2), soli (2), nowhere (2), bury (2), shad (2), dan (2), cit (2), whip (2), 911 (2), ened (2), hide (2), pocket (2), focused (2), keys (2), growled (2), nel (2), entered (2), hits (2), disc (2), trust (2), stores (2), sparkled (2), dows (2), shoes (2), slowed (2), rear (2), wave (2), wished (2), fool (2), purse (2), bat (2), money (2), plus (2), flashlight (2), posed (2), ordered (2), goods (2), nec (2), dust (2), bakery (2), rinse (2), ist (2), cas (2), swarmed (2), cin (2), advice (2), ware (2), lems (2), bak (2), hablas (2), espanol (2), mex (2), food (2), screen (2), vas (2), bags (2), green (2), noise (2), pair (2), brain (2), rob (2), chas (2), des (2), iza (2), fade (2), joints (2), musi (2), busi (2), tomers (2), appro (2), booth (2), bring (2), sig (2), clud (2), lows (2), shared (2), blank (2), sensed (2), clothes (2), ban (2), dages (2), burned (2), tips (2), rid (2), traf (2), chimed (2), igni (2), checked (2), sew (2), scratch (2), gray (2), colonels (2), clip (2), notice (2), tly (2), danc (2), pomade (2), slap (2), dude (2), relax (2), ease (2), scan (2), weeks (2), ster (2), argu (2), scum (2), alco (2), wars (2), sneer (2), knuck (2), buzzed (2), tric (2), blink (2), fought (2), urge (2), jun (2), drowned (2), ink (2), tone (2), reserves (2), club (2), roost (2), fled (2), amer (2), include (2), chap (2), tra (2), appalachia (2), earned (2), vir (2), lege (2), thacker (2), 560 (2), prayin (2), prayed (2), plead (2), gerd (2), due (2), neg (2), demeanor (2), court (2), vinced (2), exag (2), miracle (2), insur (2), 100 (2), 000 (2), lect (2), prove (2), chances (2), ala (2), rather (2), tiff (2), fered (2), learned (2), attor (2), grounds (2), idiots (2), client (2), inci (2), jury (2), grace (2), healing (2), blame (2), accept (2), gram (2), shocked (2), toy (2), changed (2), served (2), enve (2), lope (2), shock (2), sort (2), hall (2), excit (2), story (2), impos (2), crook (2), vices (2), def (2), nite (2), vic (2), zap (2), dic (2), envi (2), ron (2), cise (2), mal (2), accident (2), miles (2), prac (2), explained (2), fused (2), bashed (2), steer (2), replaced (2), ail (2), date (2), ridicu (2), rib (2), bons (2), neu (2), ses (2), chron (2), wor (2), game (2), music (2), sight (2), stroke (2), nap (2), grade (2), direct (2), jenk (2), ins (2), ladies (2), alright (2), takes (2), fish (2), runs (2), lic (2), casts (2), views (2), dio (2), hearts (2), scious (2), band (2), toss (2), packs (2), recall (2), impact (2), hint (2), ideas (2), budweiser (2), nurse (2), returned (2), hills (2), sand (2), grav (2), rush (2), jaw (2), ume (2), cole (2), sung (2), stacks (2), knock (2), lie (2), jeans (2), snor (2), smacked (2), stayed (2), tipped (2), cuss (2), tie (2), pussy (2), agree (2), unlike (2), object (2), growl (2), pris (2), tered (2), crotch (2), sol (2), wake (2), kin (2), tomer (2), forty (2), buck (2), assed (2), necked (2), pig (2), punched (2), num (2), answered (2), brats (2), zip (2), pact (2), neath (2), pill (2), tucked (2), bible (2), sip (2), extra (2), ital (2), ian (2), hung (2), poked (2), til (2), harm (2), laws (2), bea (2), preg (2), nant (2), bands (2), waist (2), fum (2), boot (2), engine (2), stag (2), adjust (2), adren (2), split (2), tear (2), danced (2), sum (2), tem (2), sack (2), gear (2), catch (2), armed (2), fuckin (2), vey (2), winch (2), quar (2), flopped (2), cum (2), floored (2), ped (2), flew (2), trou (2), mak (2), tinct (2), george (2), sang (2), sink (2), tomor (2), sheet (2), rock (2), liquor (2), weis (2), pedals (2), type (2), flatt (2), smithereens (2), fear (2), seem (2), spec (2), abid (2), rode (2), lone (2), ray (2), pled (2), theft (2), songs (2), glance (2), girlfriend (2), tops (2), design (2), embar (2), cried (2), feels (2), blew (2), fart (2), freck (2), fess (2), beamed (2), aunt (2), hoot (2), dregs (2), nah (2), below (2), chill (2), campers (2), wind (2), ley (2), woods (2), horse (2), coop (2), crawl (2), upright (2), rolling (2), camper (2), breeze (2), paced (2), ored (2), offered (2), mur (2), cheek (2), cerned (2), ghost (2), tale (2), souls (2), lest (2), selves (2), lose (2), alas (2), sal (2), sipped (2), parked (2), tur (2), drift (2), pitched (2), released (2), ges (2), tears (2), eyed (2), orange (2), delight (2), vari (2), aria (2), chi (2), britch (2), gling (2), clean (2), nope (2), save (2), sites (2), shops (2), crown (2), brim (2), straw (2), pard (2), irri (2), ater (2), pants (2), incubus (2), essen (2), dat (2), watered (2), mist (2), wiped (2), pli (2), cate (2), maged (2), rettes (2), wiener (2), rowed (2), brow (2), assert (2), trol (2), wink (2), hor (2), lap (2), west (2), lands (2), inlays (2), sparkling (2), built (2), nary (2), yemen (2), dome (2), mosque (2), whips (2), public (2), lambert (2), lam (2), bert (2), nov (2), birds (2), teens (2), sham (2), emrys (2), pinch (2), bull (2), inward (2)

Text of the page (random words):
labor days labor nights his mfa in poet ry and fic tion is earned from wet vir ginia wes leyan col lege vis it his web site at www lar ry dthack er com tweet posted in uncategorized leave a comment the colonel fiction by kurt taylor posted on september 8 2022 by rusty a hun dred times the colonel had walked into rip s bar ber shop and nobody had ever stared at him until now the colonel felt the tat tooed kid s eyes track ing him as he walked to the chair wear ing his army uniform the rip sat the colonel in the chair and fas tened the cape over the medals and pressed blue cloth haven t seen you in uni form in a while rip said he ruf fled the colonel s hair with his fin gers tak ing scis sors and a comb from the counter under the mirror reserves guys try ing to remem ber their best days the colonel said rip pulled the comb up the left side and worked the scis sors around the colonel s ear your best day you weren t even in uni form rip said nudg ing the colonel s head to the right these days the colonel said reserves is like a social club old roost ers drink ing cof fee and for get ting the pain the punk kid said some thing into his cell phone talk ing about some mil i tary freak just walk ing in the colonel didn t like that tone sneer ing as he said it while he looked the colonel in the eye the colonel rose and faced the tat tooed kid the ink was dark and fresh on the winged ser pents and snakes coil ing from his arms to his neck keep your mouth shut when i m in the shop the colonel said the kid had no reac tion respect the uni form the colonel thought the kid had the dead eyes of a boy who didn t care much about anything the army fought for your free dom and men died in far away jun gle swamps and drowned and sank in the mid dle of the pacific the kid didn t blink star ing at the colonel drugs the colonel fig ured some kind of indif fer ence that sep a rat ed youth from the tor tu ous process of grow ing up and he fought the urge to slap the kid but final ly got back in the chair rip put the cape back on trimmed the sides and lay ered a lit tle on the top even though there wasn t much hair up there rip put the scis sors away and switched on the elec tric clippers trim up that neck and a lit tle men thol after shave rip buzzed the colonel s neck and fin ished up with the comb and some tonic the colonel rose and slipped a twen ty into rip s hands and wait ed for the kid to go sit in the chair the kid lin gered but the colonel stood there the punk kid climbed into the chair the colonel stood to the side of the kid you want to talk about wars the punk said what kind gang wars one side of his mouth curled into an ugly sneer the colonel thought about hit ting him in the face knuck les on chin don t ever com pare a gang to the unit ed states army the colonel said the kid rose and moved toward the colonel stand ing right in front of him get near me again i fuck ing blast you the kid said come up when you re not look ing pop your crack er ass the colonel didn t respond well to threats nev er had and he said come on you scum and grabbed a pair of scis sors from the blue jar of alco hol and pressed the sharp point against the punk s tat tooed neck until rip yelled and grabbed his arm and made him drop the scissors for days after ward the con fronta tion kept the colonel up at night replay ing how the argu ment went beyond any thing he d imag ined it would be two weeks lat er the colonel sat in the bar ber chair under the cape ask ing rip for a new hair style rip clank ing scis sors in the ster il iz ing bath rip thumbed through a men s mag a zine found a pho to and showed it to the colonel the fuck is that the colonel said stab bing a fat fin ger at the picture some thin new dude s twen ty years old ain t a lot ta choic es with hair like you got one time i m try ing for a dif fer ent look and you flash some punk with a fade and a tat come on rip said let s go with the usu al lit tle talc and ton ic you as good as a sailor in hong kong scan ning the mag a zine pho tos con tour fades and too much pomade wasn t what the colonel had in mind he need ed a nod and a word from rip that every thing was cool his hair wasn t thin ning out too much not too bad colonel it ain t that thin seen less hair on thir ty year olds if he said some thing like that it would be good the colonel thought the colonel watched rip in the mir ror look ing him over rip say ing relax just ease on down nice trim and some men thol go down to freddy s and have a cold beer around five and i ll meet you for a drink you remind me of a bar ber i had in the philip pines the colonel said thought slap ping men thol on a dude solved everything rip didn t say any thing just smoothed the colonels hair with his hand like he was pet ting a cat the colonel said ah man didn t mean to sound like i don t respect you and your place come in get a good cut you lis ten to all my war sto ries and bullshit the colonel looked at him self in the mir ror age comes quietly you guys use pomade back in those days the colonel said any thing greasy we used it shit back then it was 57 chevys and girls tak ing it all down town dean mar tin on the box singing sway i d be danc ing and get ting lucky it s dif fer ent now i m dif fer ent now you don t want to notice the lit tle things that are hap pen ing to you it was hard for him to think that way and he didn t want to say it out loud he knew rip knew it too but rip s job was to make men feel good with out lying to them with out expos ing too much about what he knew gen tly let ting on where the thin patch es were and if you had a big mole on the back of the neck or some thing ugly grow ing where it shouldn t be the door swung open and street sounds flood ed in horns and engines and the punk kid came in and walked past the chair ear phones plugged in and he hummed and stared at the colonel in the mirror rip clicked on the trim mer and the low buzz whined around the colonels ear the colonel felt the tick le of the clip pers shear ing off his lit tle hairs and the stare of the punk in the mirror get you look ing real good there colonel rip said he put the mir ror in the colonel s hand in the mir ror the colonel saw the punk mea sur ing him he told rip to swing the chair around rip took a bot tle of ton ic off the counter and opened it spread it through his hair with his fin gers but he didn t swing the chair around the kid reflect ed in the big mir ror on the wall was scratch ing his side stand ing watch ing the colonel rip rubbed some more ton ic through the colonel s gray hair and the back of his neck the punk shift ed his weight and the colonel caught a flash of some thing a knife maybe along his belt line the colonel put his thumb through a lock of hair and smelled the tart cit rus of the hair product nice head of hair rip drew the comb through the colonel s hair some of this juice make it grow a lit tle faster the colonel felt rip s hand touch the top of his fin gers of his left hand you want rip said i ll call vicky have her come over and do a man i cure these fin gers look a lit tle rough maybe some oth er time the punk turned and walked out the colonel paid rip twen ty and went out side he didn t see the kid any where like he dis ap peared down the drain into the sew er and out to sea see ing the kid set off the mech a nism the colonel still hadn t got ten rid of trig ger ing his defens es set ting him on high alert the air was thick with fumes from cars and bus es pass ing on the street a church bell chimed as the colonel set tled into his chrysler and start ed the igni tion checked around the car and in the mirrors the chrysler s tank was almost full but the colonel want ed to park under the gas sta tion over hang in the shade next to the pumps so he could watch the inter sec tion two bus es and a motor cy cle with a rid er wear ing a red hel met and leather jack et roared past him it was some thing he did inspect ing the mov ing traf fic as if he had a duty to do so inside the trunk the colonel found the small can vas pouch unsnapped the fas ten ers and found a squeeze bot tle of per ox ide and some ban dages he got the key from the atten dant and unlocked the restroom out back the cold water hurt the cuti cles of his fin gers blood ied and curled from the colonel pulling the skin from the nails his ner vous habit the per ox ide burned he stood with his back to the mir ror and attached small ban dages to the tips of two fin gers on his left hand his ring fin ger where he used to wear the wed ding ring was bad ly chewed and he poured more per ox ide on that one until the bleed ing stopped he d put the ring away five years ago six years after the divorce a cou ple of years ago he d go to the bar ber shop and talk to rip and oth er men even when he didn t get his hair cut his sto ries seemed from anoth er era and he sensed when oth er men tuned him out read ing their news pa pers or chang ing the sub ject the colonel want ed some place to go and talk with oth er men noth ing fan cy or any thing just a place to go and be with peo ple dri ving around occu pied his days now but it gave him too much time to think and be alone the kid had got ten under his skin and made him uneasy the way he felt when clothes didn t fit right or he d for got ten to do something freddy s place was dark two fel lows sat at the bar two years ago fred dy slumped behind the bar and stopped breath ing just as the colonel was fin ish ing a beer about to order anoth er the colonel thumped on freddy s chest for five min utes like he knew cpr or some thing but he got him tick ing again when he came back to work fred dy said he didn t want to talk about it so they shared long silent glances at each oth er the colonel had seen blank stares like that in the war when boys saw things they shouldn t have to see and looked for answers that nev er came the colonel took a seat and fred dy gave a nod and poured a beer and set it down after a few moments fred dy was back with a tow el to wipe down the wood en bar he asked the colonel how things were like they always are fred dy they talked say ing noth ing back and forth the weath er the heat the slump of all the estab lish ments along the street if fred dy couldn t stand talk ing about his health how he was feel ing and get ting along the colonel couldn t see bring ing up the punk kid and the threat he was feel ing you didn t go places with some men when they sig nal off lim its to cer tain things in the past the con ver sa tion fad ed after they con clud ed that the neigh bor hood joints were los ing to the nation al brands and base ball sea son was just too long fred dy nod ded and turned away to ser vice some cus tomers bar tenders did that the colonel knew indulging in small talk until it seemed appro pri ate to move on down the bar there were always things to do behind the bar and the colonel was relieved when fred dy moved away the colonel took a seat in a back booth fin ished his beer and went out the door to the alley where a man stood hunched over with his hand down inside of a shop ping cart it was almost five o clock rip might be com ing by soon too much think ing that was the colonel s prob lem he knew it but he couldn t stop watch ing for signs of the kid walk ing past the thrift shop the taco joints the used musi cal instru ment store and the oth er cheap store front busi ness es like a com pass nee dle swing ing north his thoughts veered back to the kid he d turn and look down the brick alley the kid s image filled his brain look out toward the street with the pop ping and the siren fad ing now in the dis tance there was the kid in his mind com mit ting a crime a bur glary rob bing a con ve nience store and the cops chas ing his ass into an alley with a slice of blue sky over head where an old man sat with his cart and a used up old war vet er an stood immo bi lized think ing too much about what things should have been like and nev er hav ing the courage or des per ate self real iza tion to tell some one that he was alone and he d be alone and he want ed to be alone but he knew it was pulling him into a dark dark place where he d fade away and nobody would know and nobody would care when bet ty left him he tried to come to terms with his demons and she lis tened for an hour but it was too late she said too late and she d grown weary of his self imposed soli tude that gnawed the guts of their marriage hair cuts now and once in a while a beer and a word or two with some one paid to wait on him or cut his hair and hell the stare down with a punk while he was grip ping a pair of scis sors was the strongest human inter ac tion he d had all year and he hat ed it but he need ed it the sky was going grey the colonel wait ed on the cor ner watch ing lights go green yel low red and the cross walks fill ing with peo ple fil ing through glass doors onto side walks laugh ing and chat ting soft ly in low dull noise blind to the colonel s vigil a woman with two can vas tote bags hold ing a cell phone got off the bus and stepped around the kiosk and faced the colonel look ing down at the phone and back at the colonel is this the place to get the good chur ros she said point ing at the cell phone screen her red head scarf was tied off in the back her hands were thick and dark the colonel didn t know any thing about chur ros what they were or where to get some thing like that some mex i can dish he d nev er heard of is that mex i can food he said hablas espanol the woman said no yes it s at the bak ery la panaderia la panade ria the colonel repeat ed the word try ing to say it the way the woman had said it tu ves tu hablas espanol she laughed my daugh ter is home now and she ask for los chur ros only los chur ros mama the only bak ery i know is around the cor ner he point ed to the right where the bus turned down the boulevard would you mind por favor the woman said walk ing with me no se este barrio they walked togeth er toward the bakery the woman asked the colonel about the neigh bor hood is it safe at night most of the time every place has prob lems she said keep an eye out for your sur round ings do you have a good flashlight the woman didn t know the word a light some thing to use in the dark oh la luz no i don t have one they have them at hard ware stores the colonel said get a good one twen ty or thir ty dol lars but worth the money it is impor tant to feel safe yes the colonel thought it is impor tant to be safe giv ing the woman some help ful advice felt good to him peo ple didn t ask him things like that any more he d be in the uni form and peo ple would say thank you for your ser vice some times but no one ever asked him in a store for instance what you need to have in an emer gency or how to pro tect a home from bur glars a whole day in uni form walk ing around eat ing in a café drink ing at freddy s and not once would a stranger engage in con ver sa tion about a first aid kit the woman walked next to him with long s...