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Make Mine A Boilermaker
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TITLE (EDIT)
Make Mine A Boilermaker |
DESCRIPTION
A brief story of a construction worker who goes into business.
[559 words] |
AUTHOR
Higgins |
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
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[January 2005] |
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (25)
A Likely Story (Short Stories) Charlie Kelly comes to grips with the police. [846 words]
A Miscellanea Of Senryu (Poetry) - [145 words]
A Random Sample Of Senryu (Poetry) A cross section of Senryu poems. [152 words]
A Sampling Of Senryu Poems (Poetry) These poems follow the 5-7-5 pattern of Haiku but do not focus on nature or the seasons. [154 words]
Actors And Dancers (Poetry) - [109 words]
Country Music (Poetry) Descriptions of superstars of Country Music. [171 words]
Grandpappy's Red Flannels (Short Stories) The moon was out. [383 words]
Horror And Mystery Writers (Poetry) - [98 words]
Lame Overused Expressions (Poetry) Unimpressive redundant expressions. [156 words]
Like Ocean's Eleven (Short Stories) This story takes place in a military setting, mainly Point Barrow, Alaska. Russian officers and members of the U.S. Army interact. Although potential danger is hinted at, there is more humor than dang... [1,414 words]
Literary Theory And Criticism (Poetry) A dozen of the very best critics and literary. theorists that America has produced. [75 words]
Max's Antics (Short Stories) A brief tale of a wealthy alcoholic. [553 words]
Mole M. Speaks (Short Stories) An alcoholic who once played minor league baseball speaks to the members of the Royal Palm Room of Alcoholics Anonymous. [1,147 words]
On Art (Poetry) - [245 words]
On Health Matters Including Diets (Non-Fiction) A fourteen point plan is offered which may lead to. health improvement. [727 words]
On Mathematicians (Poetry) Brief descriptions of the contributions of some world class mathematicians. [165 words]
People Who Should Be Phased Out (Poetry) A senryu attack on those with irritating manerisms. [103 words]
Popular Redundancies (Poetry) Many words used in writing or discussion could be eliminated. [81 words]
Red Flannels (Short Stories) The moons were shining. [383 words]
Rock And Roll (Poetry) A poem which includes a sampling of Rock and Roll luminaries. [163 words]
Senryu Poem Of Popular Oxymorons (Poetry) A poetic rendering of combinations of contradictory or incongruous words. [40 words]
Some Unnecessary Words (Poetry) Why be superfluous? [36 words]
Spiritual Readers (Poetry) Those who look into crystal balls, read palms, interpret cards,... [153 words]
The Moral Of The Story (Short Stories) If your golf game was disappointing, you can always say "It was a nice day in the country." [1,868 words]
Will Hunter Plays Golf (Short Stories) The game of a good golfer deteriorates. [997 words]
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Make Mine A Boilermaker
Higgins
Billy Robin was the contractor’s name and I know that he was unable to discern
from my appearance that I was adverse to any form, degree, or manner of work, because
he hired me.
I began work the very next morning at seven o’clock. They drove us from Natchaug
to New London in a rickety dull-colored pickup truck. Five other similar vehicles
followed us, loaded with other burly construction workers. It was late in October and
the Connecticut weather was crisp and biting. Huddled in one corner of the “dump” por-
tion of the truck I listened passively to the unintelligible grunts of the other men. They
seemed to have their own special language; a crude Esperanto of abbreviations, aborted
sentences, and strange sounds which were like nothing I had ever heard as speech. They
perhaps would have been able to communicate with pithecanthropus erectus or with the
crawlers and the creepers which bridged the gap between Tree Man and Fire Man.
When we arrived at the partially completed housing project, I was surprised to see
that it was directly across the street from three taverns, which were aligned in a straight
row. Feeling ill at ease, I stood around for what seemed to be ages, my hands in my
pockets, walking back and forth, gaping at the movement, and listening to the buzz of
activity. Finally, Billy Robin put me to work. My first day as a constructor worker was
spent moving long boards which were two inches thick and twelve inches wide. At one
end of each board stood a giant who could easily have passed for Paul Bunyan and I was
at the other end.
Like a damn fool I hadn’t bothered to bring gloves and by noon my blisters were
like the tiers comprising the houses of Pueblo Indians. The noon whistle blew and
everyone adjourned to the taverns, so I followed suit. Now I had brought a packed
lunch, but most of the men, to my astonishment, were devouring pickled sausages
which looked as though they had been decomposing on the bottom of the ocean for
decades, and from the odors which eminated from them it would seem that their looks
2
were not deceiving. They also munched on greasy potato chips. They washed down
these units of nourishment with shots of whiskey chased by tall, cold, perspiring steins
of cheap, draft beer. Some of them varied their “meal” by pouring the whiskey into the
beer before consuming it. These were variations of the “boilermaker.”
Not wishing to set myself apart from the others,I followed their lead.By the time the
whistle was again blown to resume work, most of us were well on the way to becoming
inebriated. It took me until about four o’clock to regain my sobriety, so I had only a
short while to become aware of the painful blisters on my hands.
At five thirty only one truck left for Natchaug. The rest of the workers went back to
the bars and I went with them. Once again I couldn’t help but notice the tremendous
business the bars were doing.
I did not go to work the second day. I called in and resigned my job. Billy Robin
said that I was a “one day wonder.”
If you are ever on Wall Street in New London you will notice that across from the
big housing project are four taverns. Four bars in a row is an unusual sight. I am the
proprietor of the one called Boilermaker’s Bar.
The End
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2004 Higgins |
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
September 2004 |
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2008
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