(Let the chips fall where they may.)
Yesterday, I
woke up at 8 a.m. and drank a cup of green tea. Then I read the headlines on my
smartphone while taking a nasty shit. The dead Buddhist monk, Venerable Jaseung,
was finally laid to rest in Seoul after being reduced to a charcoal briquette a couple days ago. But it turns out that the fire which claimed his
life wasn’t actually an accident. Quite the contrary. Venerable Jaseung burned
himself alive as an offering to Buddha. In fact, the authorities found several
suicide notes in his car. It seems that every once in a while, monks like to
self-immolate in order to spread their false religion. Go figure.
I called my
mother using Facebook Messenger.
I said, “One
of the teachers at my school is retiring this year. He’s 65 years old.”
“Is Gramps
happy about the situation?”
“No, he’s miserable.
The poor son of a bitch is getting old, and he feels like nobody wants him.”
“So what’s
he going to do?”
“Him and his
wife are moving to Pusan to live with their daughters.”
“Is he
married to a Korean?”
I nodded. “Yes,
they’ve been together for almost thirty years.”
“Is she
crazy like your wife?”
I shrugged
my shoulders. “I have no idea. I don’t really know the toothless geezer that
well to delve into his personal life.”
“Do you want
some advice?”
I shook my
head from side to side. “Not really.”
“Well, too
fucking bad.” She paused for dramatic effect. “You need to get on the internet
and buy two plane tickets. And then you and your boy should come back home to
Texas tomorrow. I won’t be around for another ten years, and I want to make
sure that you’re settled before I die.”
“Settled? I’ll
be working at the fucking Waffle House with no health insurance or benefits of
any kind.”
“It doesn’t
matter. You can get on Medicaid.”
“I’m
tempted, but it’s such a huge defeat for a man in his 50s to come crawling back
home to Mama. I think I’d rather die.”
“But it’s
not just about you. You must also do what’s best for Rice-Boy Larry. He’s an
American who needs to be around his older brother.”
Mom’s been
assailing me with guilt ever since I went to visit her last year. She has even
offered to buy me a house in order to lure me back. Yet the very thought of it
makes me quite queasy. I have a decent job and great insurance. I’d hate to
give that up. Plus I don’t know Chicken Ken’s future. He keeps on talking about
joining the Air Force after college. So I might return just to sit by my lonesome.
Decisions, decisions.
Larry
finally crawled out of bed at 11 a.m.
I said, “Are
you coming to church with me today?”
“I can’t. I’ve
got too much studying to do.”
“Would you
like to go live in Texas?”
“It’s up to
you. But don’t think for one minute that Mom is finished with her nonsense.”
“What do you
mean? I haven’t seen the woman in four months.”
“It doesn’t
matter. You’ve got a pension, so she’s going to try and take it all. And if you
fight her in court, then she’ll smear your reputation to the leadership at the
school.”
“Smear my
reputation? And how would she accomplish that?”
“By telling
outrageous lies. Maybe she’ll say that you’re a pervert or a drug user, and she
won’t be happy until you are completely destroyed.”
“But I’m not
a pervert or a drug user.”
“Doesn’t
matter. What does truth have to do with anything?”
Rice-Boy is quite
cynical at times. However, he could be right. The Dragon Lady is a dangerous
loon. Yet with that said, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I’m too old
and tired to care anymore. Perhaps I should burn myself to a crisp like the Venerable
Jaseung. But who can handle all that pain? I’m definitely too much of a pussy
to employ the nuclear option, so I’ll just have to grin and bear it.
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