Sassafras

Dropping a quarter into the “Ride a Fish” amusement ride outside the discount department store. Carl sits thinking about his recent fishing trip with his grandfather. The smell of cheap-boxed wine and the wispy voice of a man who has seen one too many westerns rolls like a tumbleweed through his head. It was on this past fishing trip that his grandfather told him stories about his youth, about the time he and his buddies stole a Napoleon costume and ran into the local ice cream parlor, ordered neapolitan ice cream and hit on the girl at that counter who was rumored to have syphilis. It was also on this trip that he discovered his grandfather’s love of the word “sassafras ”and that he had always wanted to be hippy, but his OCD like addiction for daily showers and good hygiene kept him from embracing a lifestyle of cannabis and tax evasion. He also learned about certain foods his grandfather can’t eat due to medical reasons and why you should always wear clean socks. It was an afternoon well spent, one of male bonding over gold bond and talk of what makes a good pair of dentures.
As the giant plastic fish slows to a stop Carl reaches into his pocket to find another quarter but feels nothing but pocket lint, a dime and something of the constancy of peanut butter. Looking on the ground for loose change he looks up to see another amusement ride that ‘s only 10 cents. Climbing into the giant plastic unicorn Carl drops the dime into the slot and as the ride beings to move back and forth to a muzak version of “ Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” he starts to reminisces about his cousin who likes to dress up in his sister’s clothing and sing show tunes.