AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (4) A Bird In The Hand (Short Stories) Just on of those stories I felt like writing. [1,557 words] Cashen's Curse (Short Stories) A short story about a jinxed baseball player that is in the process of developing into a much larger work. But this first part can stand alone. [2,584 words] Those Summer Nights (Short Stories) A very short stream of conciousness story that's meant to evoke the emotions of the summers of youth, when there wasn't a care in the world. [480 words] Woodside! (Short Stories) The true story of one of the most grueling experiences of my entire life. It's also pretty funny when I look at it in hindsight. [1,797 words]
Life In A Small Town Elio P Evangelista
Life In A Small Town by Elio Evangelista
My family and I live in Mason City, right off the deadly highway 58 that's so famous for its car accidents. Local legend has it that years ago, the Governor's son, Tom Stark, was involved in one of those car accidents. It made all the local papers.
Yesterday, I drove down Highway 58. It's not as dangerous as it used to be since they paved it and added some smooth curves so people wouldn't fall asleep when they drove down it. Besides, I had the radio on so I knew I was safe. I was headed into town to run a few errands. For one, I needed a haircut. Plus, I had to buy some groceries and personal items.
I love going to the barbershop. Old Joe Massaro owns the place. He gives the best, damn haircuts in all of Mason City. Actually, he's the only barber in all of Mason City so I guess he wins by default. Joe came over from Italy right around the time Tom Stark's accident, only a few months before the Governor was assassinated.
Joe's assistant is a younger guy named Vinny. Vinny is also from Italy but he didn't come to Mason City until after the war. Joe and Vinny love to piss each other off. Every time I go in there they're always fighting about one thing or another. Last time I was there, they were fighting about what the song "Mrs. Robinson" is about. It started when the song came on the radio and Vinny said, "I lov-a this-a song."
"Oh yeah, me too," Joe said as he started cutting my hair. "Who wrote-a it anyway?"
"I tink it was-a dees a two guys call-a Simonize e Garfunghi," Vinny replied helping himself to a cup of coffee.
"Oh, that's-a right. I remember the firs-a time I heard-a this a song. What a beautiful lov-a song," Joe said.
"Ma what a you talkin' about? This-a no lov-a song. This about-a two people havin' an affair," Vinny argued. By now he had already finished that previous cup of coffee and was going for a second.
"I no tink-a so Vincenzo," Joe said calmly.
"You know, I think he's right, Joe," I started to say. "Didn't you see the movie The Graduate, with Dustin Hoffman?"
"Dustin a Off-a-man," Joe said looking puzzled, "Who's-a this-a Dustin a Off-a-man?"
"He's a famous actor," I replied.
"What-a hactor? This song is-a no-bout a hactor."
"Not the song, the movie," I said.
"What movie," Joe asked?
"Nevermind," I said.
While Joe and I were talking, Vinny had finished another cup of coffee and was going for his third. "What is it-a with you an-a coffee. I swear I'm-a gonna take-a that-a coffee machine, I'm-a gonna take-a it home," Joe yelled.
"What? It's only a cup-a coffee," Vinny replied.
Stuff like that happens all time when I go in for a haircut. That's why I like it so much. Sometimes, when I'm in town, I'll stop by the barbershop and say hi, even though I don't need a haircut. That's life in a small town for you, I guess.
After my haircut, I drove back home on Highway 58. I started thinking about all the funny stuff that went on in Joe's barbershop. Well, before I knew it , I was headed for the guard-rail. I had completely forgotten where I was for the moment. By the time I realized the car was out of control, it was too late. So, I slammed on the breaks and the car miraculously stopped about five inches away from the guard-rail. I got out of the car to see how close I came from an accident. As soon as I got out of the car, another car from behind me came speeding up. I jumped out of the way, but the car crashed into mine and ended up causing me about 2000 dollars worth of damages. And guess what else, the car that smashed into mine was being driven by my wife. Well, I guess that's small town life for you too. I hope you've learned something from all of this. And if you haven't, I'm not surprised. I had no idea what I was trying to say most of the time either.
READER'S REVIEWS (1) DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.
"This one has a great sense of the atmosphere of the central character's life and his personality comes across really powerfully. He comes across as a small-town "hick" (as we would call him in the UK) who thinks his life is far more interesting than it actually is. There is no grain of any kind of sophistocation in his character. The Italian accents were also very well "heard" and represented. It was a real slice of small-town life, and the ending is wonderfully disarming. " -- David Gardiner, London, England.
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