Davey misses Canada and we are starting to pine for Davey. As parts of him float, on their freedom ride home to Canada, at home rumour and innuendo about our disappearance have stopped. Parents have turned against each other. Peers have started jobs and families. But Davey wafts his way home. And they might have made it too, except for the fish.
An innocuous looking strand of something or other, is winding its way to the water surface. To a Walleye following the trail to its source, a dark circle is lodged against a rock oozing with slime near the bottom of Lake Mento, reaps him reward.
One push confirmed his mother-load. More of the same food leaked from every probe. Quite a cache, but how to hoard it? A feeding frenzy would never do, smart fish, Walleye Pike. He crashed to the surface and swam off. Every evening, upon returning, the location of his evening snack was secure and known only to him. Davey's Gravy: and all of it his. For what seemed like a long time, to a fish anyhow, he supped on and on, dining alone. Hannibal Lector eats his heart out."
One push confirmed his mother-load. More of the same food leaked from every probe. Quite a cache, but how to hoard it? A feeding frenzy would never do, smart fish, Walleye Pike. He crashed to the surface and swam off. Every evening, upon returning, the location of his evening snack was secure and known only to him. Davey's Gravy: and all of it his. For what seemed like a long time, to a fish anyhow, he supped on and on, dining alone. Hannibal Lector eats his heart out."
Not to a fish, but to any other creature on earth, an innocuous looking strand of something or other, winding its way to the water surface, would promise nothing bigger to come but Walleye follows the trail to its source, a dark circle lodging against a slimy rock near the bottom of Lake Mento. One push confirms his mother lode of a find. More of the same food leaks with his every probe. Quite a cache, but how to hoard it? A feeding frenzy would never do. Smart fish, a Walleye Pike. He crashes to the surface and swims off.
Every evening, upon returning, the location of his evening snack was secure and known only to him. All this Davey's Gravy for Mr. Walleye Pike alone! For, what seemed like a long time, to a fish anyhow, and he supped on and on; dining alone.
Every evening, upon returning, the location of his evening snack was secure and known only to him. All this Davey's Gravy for Mr. Walleye Pike alone! For, what seemed like a long time, to a fish anyhow, and he supped on and on; dining alone.
At home the rumour and innuendo about our disappearance had stopped. Parents had turned against each other. Peers had started jobs and families. And Davey's bits and bites wafted their way home. And they might have made it too except for the fish. A Muskie here, a Pike there is wolfing down his Davey’s and bites.
Sounds gross to you maybe for me to exploit poor old Dave: his ma’s Chevy still sitting in her driveway since the morning the cops towed it back to their trailer.
It’s not the ‘eight mile’ kind of trailer park trailer. She pulled a double-wide onto her dad’s property down there by the lake, in 1983. Dave was only four.
His Mom cleans, afternoon shift, at the same psych hospital Jason was admitted to last year. But his grandma died when he was 12. Lots of free time. Dave was voted ‘mostly likely to open his 2 litre bottle, two hours before supper, “in order to let it breathe.”
Its probably best if a mother has the time to help us wipe or blow that snot that runs down our nose after a ‘pick-up’ game of any kind. Davey’s mom couldn’t afford that luxury. When her marriage broke up she moved home with Daddy and had been there ever since. Yeah, now that I think of it, get that snot off your kid’s face anytime you can. By grade nine it was up to Dave’s elbows. Same jacket too. If you’re thinking, “eeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwww” right now, you’re judging.
Dave’s grandfather spoiled him. I think that’s why he misses Canada so much.
~
Now the other one, his buddy Jeremy: dumb as a bag of rocks. He was a hanger on. Dave let him practically live at his grandpa’s house. Dave kept Jeremy off the bag of rock. He kept him from trying anything stronger than pot, in fact.
Jeremy had that old Eddie Haskell charm adults like so much. He got a lot nookie like that. Can’t argue with success.
He liked to get air time on his skateboard. He said it wasn’t the fall that killed ya as much as that sudden drop to the pavement. We all know kids like J. Teachers call them the “between the cracks children”. Then some of them pull a face. Most of them make a mental note; in case they get him or any of his siblings on a class list sometime.
Jason was like that too. So much so that he ended up in one of behaviour classes after the psych break down. Which is pretty funny since in those days we used to grab our balls, cross our eyes and say ‘p-s-y—c-h “ like kids say “duhhhhh” these days. Maybe it’s not so funny, now that I think of it.
J. talked about his time at the hospital. The one were Dave’s mother worked. We like to get him going by saying stuff like, “euuuuu, I hear they have one whole room dedicated to, ‘veg-tab-les.’”
