the dead man - 31. leave it

by nick nelson

part thirty-one of 31

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when the class was over, celia waited until all the other students had left, and then approached the teacher, ms waterson. hi, can i leave this with you? what is it? it is a novel i wrote - for extra credit. what? did we discuss this? no, it is just thought it was something i might - it is something i did on my own. ms waterson glanced out the window. it was a beautiful sunny day. all right, whatever. just leave it there. the end

the dead man - 30. the bum

by nick nelson

part thirty of 31

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hey, lady - are you talking to me, you smelly bum? yes, ma’am. i was wondering - oh now it’s ma’am, not hey lady. let me guess - you were wondering if i could help you out. that’s it! i am a mind reader. but i don’t help out smelly bums. oh for god’s sake, con, why are you talking to this person? no good can come of talking to people like this. i am just so sick of it, and this character has bothered me before. if debra was here she would give you a lecture on helping the unfortunate. debra is not here, and i don’t need any lectures from her or from you. while con and marcie and alex had been talking, the bum had moved off. see, said alex. he is gone. nothing to get excited about. next

the dead man - 29. back home

by nick nelson

part twenty-nine of 31

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hi mom, it’s janey. janey! where are you calling from? i am back at missy’s. i just got back last night. oh! so you are not in montana or north dakota or wherever? no, i got back last night. is it all right to come over? of course. are you hungry? no, they had food in north dakota. and i will stop at burger king on my way over. do you want something? don’t be silly. i will make you something. thank you. so, how did it go, in wyoming? not that great. it was not as easy as i thought. i will tell you all about it. oh, that’s too bad. at least you tried. i might still try. i have not completely given up. all right, we will talk about it when you get here. how is the car? it didn’t break down, did it? no, the car was not the problem. next

the dead man - 28. little bird

by nick nelson

part twenty-eight of 31/font>

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i think we might have a little bird here who is in the wrong nest. i wasn’t trying to fool nobody. so you ain’t denying you is what i think you just might be. i can’t deny it. i don’t rightly know myself, one way or the other. so what are are we going to do with him. nothing. he ain’t worth doing nothing about. i’m sorry, fellers, i didn’t mean no harm. i am just ignorant. there is a big yard here. i think you can find another place in it. next

the dead man - 27. the deceiver

by nick nelson

part twenty-seven of 31

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it seems to me you have been misleading me, young man. i will let it pass, but others similarly deceived might not. but i was not trying to fool you, sir. i honestly do not know myself. i find that hard to believe. what do you think, citizen? it could be. i was wondering about him myself. hmm. and so you really do not know if you are one or the other. maybe he is an indian. or a chinaman. no, my mama was white. maybe your daddy was an indian or a chinaman. i never thought of that. but you say your mother was white. yes, she was. your daddy, she never probably knew herself. surely you can believe that, old man. in pharoah’s time it was the most important thing in the world for a man to know who his father was. i guess pharoah is not around any more. but you’re sure your mother was white. she was as white as the woman on the one dollar blll. no woman on the one dollar bill. george washington is on the one dollar bill. she was as white as george washington. you know, some white men might not like it either if they thought it was the other way around, you was pretending to be one thing and really the other. i know that. i been there too. next

the dead man - 26. down the road

by nick nelson

part twenty-six of 31

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lucas was hitchhiking through somewhere out west and he got picked up by a farmer in a pickup truck. the farmer did not talk much and lucas was glad to get the ride and just look at the window and look at the landscape which was kind of gray and did not change much. a lot of it was behind barbed wire. they saw a young woman standing by the side of the road with her thumb out. the farmer drove about fifty yards past her and pulled over and stopped. okay, son, the farmer told lucas. this is the end of the line for you. you want to go back and pick up that girl? you are a sharp young fellow. that is exactly what i mean to do. i think there is room for all three of us in this seat. don’t argue with me, son. just get out. all right, mister, thanks for taking me this far. you are welcome. lucas got out of the truck and the farmer put the truck in reverse and drove backwards to where the girl was standing. lucas watched as the man palavered with the girl. then the truck started up without the girl getting it, and shot past lucas who waved at it, but did not stop and was quickly lost to sight. lucas waked back to the girl. she was an ordinary looking white girl about twenty years old. she wore a denim jacket and blue jeans and there was a small backpack on the ground beside her. what was that all about? lucas asked her in his guileless way. i didn’t like his looks, the girl said. he seemed like a nice enough fellow to me, lucas said. not to me. what’s your name? lucas asked. blue star. that’s a pretty name. mine is lucas. well, lucas, i will tell you what. if the two of us are standing here together somebody driving by will think we are together and that will nor hep either of our chances of getting a ride. what do you say to that? that makes sense to me, ma’am. you stay here and i will get on down the road. i dod not mean to bother you in any way. have a nice day. next

the dead man - 25. truth

by nick nelson

part twenty-five of 31

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the things that they want you to think, those are all lies. if you think them, they let you walk free. and anything they don’t want you to think, those are the things that are true. otherwise, why would they lock you up? why not just let you walk free? because they are afraid of what you know. you might ask, why don’t they just kill you if they are so afraid of you? why do they lock you up, and feed you, and keep you alive? because then they would not have anybody to have power over. and they live for power - it s the only thing they live for. so there you are - that explains it. osama bin laden, 9-11, kennedy, the moon landing - those things are just scratching the surface. you think jonah swallowed the whale? you think moses parted the red sea? you think columbus discovered america and lincoln freed the slaves and george washington cut down the cherry tree? i don’t know - i never thought about it much. they didn’t even have cherry trees in america when george washington was alive, they were all in china, what do you think of that? old man, will you stop torturing that poor boy with your nonsense? nobody wants to hear it. that’s all right, i like to hear what people have to say. yes, but the rest of us have heard it a hundred times. you want to hear something new? you want to hear something new? i got a million stories you never heard. save them for when you get out. i am not getting out. oh, that’s right, excuse me, i forgot. you forgot. you forgot respect, that’s what you forgot. now in phaoroh’s army, and in king david’s army, they taught respect. and in jesse james’s raiders, they taught respect. you forgot al capone. and john gotti, they were men of respect. you see, now you are talking just as much as i was, and with a lot more ignorance. you got a point there. i give up. so do you mind if i continue my exposition? just keep it down a little, that is all i ask. next