I was awakened by “won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who yesterday morning on my radio alarm clock. the track listing was dictated by a caller who was nominated to be the new music director on 95.5 klos. the next song he chose was “Jumpin Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones. i rather liked this guy and hope he wins.
Due to the dampering rain, i was forced to join the public transportation fleet of middleclass suburban southern california. it’s irrational to take a motorcycle in the rain and i didn’t have a deathwish that morning. i had to get to Washington Accelerated Elementary to teach kids how to read. they didn’t seem so accelerated when i arrived, but being called Mr. Hugh, was a very nice touch to my ego. The instructor was watching youtube video’s on her macbook and on several occasions asked me to join her. i can see why these kids are lacking of literacy.
the bus dropped me off on colorado blvd, right outside my dayjob, and the school i had to get to was about 18 blocks away, and i discovered that through my courteously gps enabled cell phone. so i walked in the rain in a beat up old army jacket with obscure band pins from the 60’s. the kids looked at me if i was a homosexual at first due to the tightness of my levi’s, but soon grew fond of me when they realized i had a sense of humor, and joked about how uncomfortably tight my pants actually were. “you guys are so lucky your moms do your laundry, when i do it, my jeans always end up saran wrapping around my legs, i can’t even sit guys, look.” and proceeded to sit uncomfortably.
all the while i was working out some differences via text messages with my babycakes, whom, if you didn’t know, lives about 2000 miles away. i rather like that arrangement to be honest. i spent the whole day with her. and loved every second of it, despite not being able to see her. that’s the kind of relationship we have, one where we talk. i did a few at home exercises when i got back from the school, and waited for my woman to get out of class. which is almost impossible because she’s just about the classiest woman i’ve ever met. (i’m aware of the cheesiness content in that statement.) i talked to hansel for a little while, about how i hated him for going to disneyland today. and talked to andy a little bit about a new scheme we’re cooking up since the great weedcigarette scheme we concocted last time. this time, we’d be selling doctor’s notes for prescriptions via a stolen doctorsnotepad from voluntary hospital work. it probably won’t happen due to our etched-in teenage laziness.
I went to the liquor store after my girlfriend sent me some dirty pictures in hopes of getting a can of ginger ale. i settled for iced tea because of nostalgia i felt for the Southern Style. when i got home, i grabbed Monet’s leash and took him out for a walk. and that’s when it happened.
i walked outside to see an ’08 silver toyota camry. it’s an ominous car, yes, but this car was different. i heard a loud thump, then screeching wheels right at the end of my driveway. i saw something flopping 2 feet into the air, unable to find it’s balance, so i ran over there with the intention of mockery, thinking it was a disgusting possum. i was wrong. it wasn’t a possum. it was a cat. it was a cat that someone had owned. i deduced that through the collar around it’s neck. there it was, just flopping around, exactly like a fish that’s been pulled out of water. then the floppings stopped. i ran next to it asking, “are you okay buddy?” and the cat responded with a series of leg twitches. i watched it’s life slowly drain out of it’s soon to be corpse. when a pool of blood became apparent and visible, i told the cat that i loved it.
i’ve never seen anything besides insects die in front of me, and watching a warm-blooded creature bleed it’s life out was disturbing. i volunteered to help kids read, i exercised and corresponded with friends, and loved my girlfriend with my voice. these simple good affectionate intentions in the world were nulled when some asshole hit a cat and took off in an ’08 silver toyota camry. i’m not a cat person because of my cat urine allergy, but that’s like staying away from someone because they don’t tip waiters.
the ugliness and disgusting nature of humans came into play. and no, i’m not an animal lover or tree hugger, but i still have moral codes. we humans are the only species that doesn’t belong. and humanity’s torture in life, is that we are aware of mortality and know we have to die. that’s what makes us selfish. and that’s what makes us love. and that’s what makes some of us speed off in the middle of the night after hitting someone’s cat. i texted my girlfriend about it and she called. i actually cried on the phone. not because of the cat, but because of the selfishness engraved into human nature.
Sometimes I want to retreat to a place where my only company are leaves that come and go, waving politely.
hughman resources 