Morning Coffee: Episode 4

Mornin’ to ya! I like my coffee black and strong. 

I enjoy talking to Larry, my brother-in-law. He’s about three or four years older than me. We lived on the same side of town when he went to junior high and I was still in elementary. 

We talked about some of the old gang-type of stuff; the guys we hung out with and mutually knew. We tend to romanticize the good old days. This is how one conversation went:

“Our end of town had a great bunch of kids,” I said.

“Sure did,” Larry said. 

“Never got into any serious trouble,” I said. 

“Just kids' stuff,” Larry agreed. 

“Do you remember Louie?” I said.

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Larry said.

“Lived on High Street and ran around with Crazy Harold,” I said.

“Oh yeah,” Larry said, “he was always shoplifting. When he got out of school he held up a gas station with a water pistol. Made no difference. He got sentenced for five, but out in three. Going to prison taught him a lesson. Next time he used a real pistol.”

“I didn’t know that,” I said. “What about Crazy Harold? Whatever happened to him?”

“He’s all crippled up now,” Larry said. “He got caught with his neighbor’s wife and tried to escape by jumping out the second story. They think he would have been fine with the injuries from the jump but the neighbor got hold of him. He limps and has a half smile all the time. It’s kinda creepy.”

“Do remember Terry, the kid everybody was afraid of?” I said.

“Yeah, whatever happened to him?” Larry said. “I heard there was something weird that happened to him.”

“Found his body in Texas,” I said. “He was bringing drugs up from the El Paso. And sold half of them before he got back. They found part of him in Arkansas and the rest of him in Kentucky.”

“Too bad,” Larry said. “Do remember Scotty and Green Teeth.”

“Who could forget those two,” I said.

“One day we was sitting at the pump house at the reservoir,” Larry said. “Those two got to arguing over a cigarette. Next thing you know Green Teeth has a knife and starts chasing Scotty around the reservoir. Green Teeth was a good fifty yards behind but gaining. It’s a good mile and half around. Green Teeth stops to get his breath and smoke a cigarette. Scotty sees this and does the same thing. When they finished their cigarettes, the chase started again. By the time they got back to pump house, Scotty had a nasty gash on his arm and they was talking like they were best of friends.”

“Remember Scotty’s brother?” I said.

“Geez,” Larry said, “he held up a bar. Shot and killed the bartender. All hopped up on drugs. He did fifteen years and came out a preacher. But, he still does drugs.”

“Yeah,” I said, “that ole east end gang, great bunch of kids.”

Then we looked at each other, bewildered. 

“They were all psychopaths,” Larry said.

“How’d we turn out so good?” I shook my head.

“We ain’t done yet,” Larry said.