Yesterday, I woke up at 6 a.m. and drank a cup of freshly
brewed coffee. Then I read the headlines on my smartphone while taking a nasty
shit. It’s now the monsoon season here in Korea, and Seoul is getting drenched
by heavy rain. Supposedly, we’re currently being slammed with over 100
millimeters of rain. But your beloved narrator isn’t hip to the metric system,
so I’m not even sure if that’s a serious amount of precipitation. However, I will
tell you this. I feel like Noah at the beginning of the flood. The skies are
angry and the thunder is clapping, and soon I fear I shall be washed away into
the gutter by this endless deluge of water. I’ll just leave it at that.
I ate hash browns for breakfast as I surfed the internet.
Fox News has decided to promote Jesse Watters to Tucker Carlson’s old timeslot.
This makes me want to puke. Jesse is a handsome moron with beautiful hair, so
the horny housewives will love him. But his IQ is extremely low, and he truly
has nothing to say. I’ve seen him from time to time on The Five, and
this dullard is as bland as a saltine cracker without jelly. Therefore, I view
his promotion as a slap in the face to intelligence. Bottom line? I’ll never
watch Fox News again. Fuck you, Jesse Watters, and fuck the horse you rode in
on.
I called my mother using Facebook Messenger.
She said, “How’s your wife doing?”
I said, “OK. She’s actually in a good mood this morning.”
“Really? Is she being nice to you?”
I shrugged. “She hasn’t called me a cunt so far. To me,
that’s a good day.”
Mom laughed and laughed. “Wow. That’s disgusting. She
doesn’t actually talk that way. You’re exaggerating.”
I shook my head. “I wish I was. I’ve been called every dirty
word in the book in three languages. English. Korean. And Japanese.”
She changed the subject. “My blood pressure is a little
high.”
“What is it?”
“146.”
“Is that bad?”
“Well, it’s not good. I think it’s because I have an eye
infection.”
“Did you call your doctor?”
“No. I can’t be bothered. I went and got some medicine from
the pharmacy.”
I shot her a dirty look and waved my finger in front of her
face. “You can’t do that! You just had a stroke for Christ’s sake. You must visit
a professional. It’s a matter of life and death.”
“But it takes forever to get an appointment. Maybe I’ll go
to the emergency room if it gets too bad.”
Mom’s got good health insurance. Yet she is often forced to
wait a month or more before her preferred physician has an open slot to see
her. In the past, I’ve told her to find a solid doctor who is less popular than
her favorite. However, she swears by this guy. He’s a handsome man from Cuba,
and this turns her on for some strange reason.
So I decided not to argue. After all, there’s no point in
beating a dead horse.
My day at work went OK. I am reading a story with the middle
school called The Interlopers. It was written by a guy named Saki. The
tale is about two enemies who get trapped under a huge tree branch. While
immobile and injured, they both agree to become friends. However, their new
friendship ends abruptly when they are both eaten by wolves.
I said, “Who’s seen the movie Frozen?”
They all raised their hands.
I said, “What did Else sing?”
They screamed this in unison: “Let It Go!”
“That’s right. And it’s great advice. We all have a date
with the grave, so we shouldn’t hold on to grudges.”
My friends, I’m certainly no genius. That’s why I rely on
God for my wisdom. Like Christ said, you’ll be judged by the same measure that
you judge others. So be very careful, or you’ll end up in the lake of fire.
Great. I'm off to twitter to watch Tucker
ReplyDeleteMe, too.
DeleteI love Saki! Reginald's Christmas Revel, The She Wolf, The Easter Egg, The Unrest Cure....Sredni Vashtar! If you ignore everything else I recommend, Jack, you MUST read Sredni Vashtar! I recommend picking up The Complete Works of Saki in whatever format you prefer.
ReplyDeleteSaki (H.H. Munro) was killed in the trenches of WW I by a sniper. His last words were, "Put that bloody cigarette out." Maybe that will be useful to mention to your students?
Perhaps I'll share it...if I can remember. My head isn't what it used to be.
DeleteForgot to enter my name before.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you can read this short story here for free. Sredni Vashtar, by Saki
https://www.online-literature.com/hh-munro/1891/
Park Sung Jetson- thank you for posting that story! I read it, it was really great! I appreciate it! God bless, now off to check out more of Saki’s stories!
ReplyDeleteNurse Park is a smart guy.
DeleteYou got it, Anon! In my very first copy of The Complete Works of Saki, there was a Foreword that contained the line, "The best compliment you can pay a friend is to hand him Saki without comment." Enjoy!
DeleteAlso, while most people have read or heard of "The Gift of the Magi", O. Henry is another forgotten genius with dozens and dozens of truly delightful stories!
I will check him out too! Thank you so much!
Delete