Warfeild

Last night as I lay dreaming of pleasant days gone by1

My mind was bent on rambling to Boston I did fly2

I stepped on board a vision and I followed with the wind…3

--The Dropkick Murphys4

15

The car wove the winding bends of old Massachusetts by ways, from Lexington into 6

Concord, and started up swiftly, Lexington road. The Dropkick Murphys blasted on the 7

radio, as it drove beneath the maples and oaks of autumn. Harry tapped the steering 8

wheel in time with the music, as his thoughts wandered. The clouds covered the blue, as 9

winter seemed to hang in the air. “Shit, autumn is here just briefly,” he proclaimed aloud 10

to no one in particular. The car passed the wayside as he proclaimed, “ Cheers! 11

Nathaniel, I hope the angels are letting you sleep!” The car rolled on past the orchard 12

house, through the center, banking left at the rotary, and pulled down Sudbury road 13

parking across from the library. The trees seemed to swell of sweet laughter, as the birds 14

were chirping and squirrels hustling, oak leaves were falling as he walked across the 15

street and entered the library. 16

217

Leaning over the front desk, he asked the librarian, “ Morning Helen, can you check if I 18

have a book waiting?” He passed over his library card, “Sure Harry just a moment,” she 19

typed into the computer, “ Yeah, here yer go, it’ll be due back in four weeks.” 20

He glanced at the book as he took it, William Ellery Channing’s “Poems of sixty five 21

years,” was in his hands, he walked in the next room tucking it beneath his arm, and 22

stared at the statue in the center of the library, seemingly holding court. Daniel Chester 23

French’s “seated Emerson,” captured the whimsical and regale stature of the famed local 24

poet and town celebrity. “Emerson my dear friend, who speaks across the sea of time, 25

how I wished I could have met yeah,” he whispered beneath his breath.26

327

Back in the car, Harry drove past the center and back out Lexington road. The speakers 28

blasting rock and roll, he sped back towards Woburn. As the trees blurred by, Harry 29

seemed deep in thought. Troubled with the worries of the day, he pulled the car into the 30

lot of Woburn’s Bowladrome. The Bowling alley was a quaint dark place, with harsh 31

halogen lighting, yet still with shadows here and there. The thundering sounds of bowling 32

filled his ears, as the ugly smell of burning coffee filled his nose. 33

“ Your late Warfield!” The big man yelled from behind the counter.34

“Hey Reggie, aren’t you happy I don’t work for you?” Harry asked, with a playful smirk 35

on his face.36

“ Yeah but the guys are waiting for you, alley four” Reggie grumbled, “ Here are your 37

shoes, Man when you gonna buy yourself a watch, you cheep fuck?” 38

“Fuck you too Reggie,” Harry said laughing, “ I’ll buy one if John McCain gets elected.”39

“ When hell freezes over,” Reggie grumbled.40

441

“ Ah shit, our poet is here” Al Said. 42

“You’re only five minutes late this time” Wolf said,43

“Guess you guys will have to forgive me,” Harry said…44

Al and Wolf were both big burly guys, who wore flannel shirts like a jacket and blue 45

jeans with a white t-shirt. Al had dark brown hair, steal blue eyes, and chiseled hard 46

features, despite looking like the meanest dude on the planet, he was soft at heart, and 47

easy to smile. Wolf was a portly young man, with an almond shaped face, receding red 48

hairline, grey blue eyes, and the personality of a walnut. Yet when the three were 49

together, he would develop a sense of humor, as if by osmosis. 50

“Suit up Warfield, you be next after me” Wolf said adding, “ Al here, set the bar high 51

with a strike on the first throw.”52

“I see,” Harry, said, “ I’m not worried, you’ll throw three gutter balls, so the bar will be 53

lower when I get up.”54

“Hey!” Wolf cried, as they all broke out in laughter.55

“Oh come on Wolfie, you know you resemble that comment,” Harry chided.56

“Fuck you Harry!” Wolf said laughing…57

558

In the parking lot of the Bowladrome, the three friends sat laughing about the game, 59

drinking coffee. “Hey wolf,” Harry laughed, “That last strike you rolled out, seemed like 60

you almost knew what you were doing.” 61

“Hey, hey now!” Wolf growled, “ Seriously you think Mc Cain Has a shot?”62

“Sure,” Harry said, “ He sort of looks a bit like Robert Frost.”63

“What does that have to do with the election?” Al retorted, folding his arms a bit.64

“Well,” Harry replied, “ He could stand up and read Frost’s “A snowy wood,” and launch 65

a speech right after the end, starting “These are my promises I’ll keep America!” The 66

voters would eat it up I think.” 67

“That’s the corniest piece of crap I ever heard,” Wolf laughed adding, “ You know it just 68

might work for him”69

“I’d be impressed if he took the advice,” Al said adding, “ but I feel his strait talk express 70

is not moving people the way he used to.”71

“I heard that,” Harry agreed.72

Chapter 273

174

The alarm rang at four in the morning, it’s piercing low growl pierced through the foggy 75

haze of slumber, piled beneath a mountain of blankets and comforters, Harry began to 76

stir. He cursed beneath his breath as he stumbled from the bed and shut off the alarm.77

“It’s just way to friggen early for me, ga urghnha” he moaned in a sleep walking fashion. 78

He found his way to the kitchen and made some coffee, a bit extra in it’s strength, so that 79

it had the foul bitter flavor he would drown out with sugar, creating a sort of mish-80

mashed rocket fuel. Then he went to the bathroom and took a hot shower. 81

282

Harry was buttoning the vest of his uniform and sipping the muddy cup of coffee, it 83

seeped into his brain like a dry sponge sopping up water. He was awake now, cringing at 84

the early call of his job in Salem. But it was the same as always, he had worked in the 85

banquet department of the Hawthorne hotel in the historic district of Salem. He finished 86

his coffee and walked out the front door and headed for Salem.87

388

The car wove speedily on one twenty eight, towards the sea, as the clock neared seven the 89

sun slowly began to rise. “Ah what beauty, that lay here before mine eyes, Thank God I 90

am here to see it.” With a grin he turned up the radio as the thrumming sounds of the rich 91

chords of Ac/Dc pumped, “out walk all over you.” He tapped the steering wheel along 92

with the drum beat and pressed down on the accelerator a bit more, as the car came alive 93

beneath him.94

495

He did not hear Albert approach from the coffee area, but he jumped when the baritone 96

voice creaked out , “ the poet awoke before the dawn, he put his boots on,” a hearty laugh 97

bellowed from Albert, as he perceived Harry jumping out of his skin. “Gheeze-louise, 98

Albert!” Harry clenched his teeth, “ you scared the absolute shit outta me, the bit of Jim 99

Morrison is nice but hell, you almost had me pissing my pants.” 100

“You working all night?” Albert asked.101

“No, I am only taking care of a few coffee breaks and then I’m gone with the wind baby.”102

“Think Obamma really has a chance?” 103

“If he gets the nomination,” Harry said, “Then he has a better shot than the spruce 104

goose.”105

“My vote is gonna be for McCain,” Albert stated flatly his dark eyes taking on a smoky 106

mystic quality, “I just don’t trust Obamma, he just don’t seem to be speaking to me, yet 107

lecturing me on my faults as an American.” 108

“Hey Al, I think Obamma just might win weather you think he demeans you or whether 109

you swoon as he speaks, it does not matter a crap shot in a duck, and how you think he 110

stands.” Harry sipped a cup of coffee, “Obamma is the next man in the oval office, unless 111

McCain comes up with something stronger than an all too wrong joke here or there.”112

Harry put the pots of coffee on a cart, with cream, spoons, cups, sugar and a trash bowl113

And rolled off to set up his coffee break, Albert followed and helped him set it up on a 114

table up on the second floor. “Did you hear of those girls in Gloucester high?” Albert 115

asked.116

“You mean the eighteen who made that pact to get pregnant?”117

“Yeah, and one of the fathers is a twenty four year old homeless guy that they paid to 118

knock them up.”119

“Tough break for him.”120

“How so, he got paid by more than one of them.”121

“Yeah but that’s statutory rape, he will have to register for the rest of his life, just because 122

they paid him to.”123

“Well what if you were that mother Hary, what would you say when the child came and 124

asked about his father?” Albert’s eyes were quite serious, “would you tell the kid sorry 125

but your dad was a homeless vagrant that I paid to have you with?”126

“Your right Al.”127

“Right how?”128

“Its not the poor homeless guy, it is however the children.” 129

“What do you mean?”130

“When they grow up and google their names, they will be seriously screwed up.”131

5132

“Harry?” Albert askedThey were in the employee café; a plain set of three, eight-foot long tables covered with a cheep red plastic table cloth, surrounded by twenty eight seriously stained metal framed cushioned chairs. The rehashed food was in heated steam chaffers off to the left of the table, and a coffee machine to the back wall. The walls were painted a light sickly blue,Harry nodded up from his plate of mystery meat and rehashed home fried potatoes from breakfast covered in a layer of melted cheese. 133

“You ever notice no one really orders a cocktail anymore?” Albert asked in between bites 134

of the mystery meat.135

“Yeah, if you ever bartended than you would notice that any of the bartender’s guides 136

like “Mr. Boston” are seemingly useless for they are filled with long forgotten drinks like 137

a ward eight or Singapore sling, no more Harvey Wallbangers either.”138

“That is so true,” Albert almost choked into a fit of laughter “ all you really need to know 139

how to do is make a rum and coke, or a screw driver.”140

“Don’t forget the martini’s, especially that cocktail masquerading as one, the ever 141

popular Cosmopolitan.” Harry smiled sheepishly adding, “ I almost want to guess that 142

this was last Saturday’s carved sirloin, yet it has so much liquid smoke it’s a wonder if it 143

is still even any good.”144

“Awe Harry, you know they never put any good food down here, its always masked to 145

hide the ever tinge that its starting to taste or even smell rancid.” Albert said.146

“ Sidecars and other pleasant cocktails are simply fading out to a thing of the past, places 147

don’t even make them fresh anymore.”148

“What do you mean Harry?”149

“Well, take Mr. Boston’s book for instance” Harry looked up quite intent on his words, 150

“Al, all the recipes are as long as my sleeve because you make the sour mix fresh in the 151

glass, every bar uses that pre-mixed crap now, everything is speed, speed, speed, quality 152

in a drink has been damn near thrown out the window.”153

“Well that and every one seems to want wine and beer,” Albert chimed in with a slick 154

smile.155

“That’s all due to the piss poor quality of cocktails now a days, why most bars have 156

alcohol just collecting dust, because people don’t remember the good old days of good 157

quality tasting cocktails.” 158

“Harry your just full of these opinions, why don’t you open your own bar with that mouth 159

of yours?” Albert asked.160

“I don’t seem to have the money,” darting a hurting glance “besides I would insist on 161

making every thing from scratch, like a roaring twenties nightclub, perhaps calling it 162

‘The old Juke’ or ‘The Ole Spot’ I don’t really think people would notice the difference.163

“Why not?”164

“It seems they only order rum and cokes assuming a lime naturally comes with it.” Harry 165

said.166

“It doesn’t?”167

“No,” Harry said a bit irritated, “ That’s a Cubra Libra you idiot.”168

Albert laughing, “ Come on Harry where’s your sense of humor today?”169

“I left it up stairs with that coffee break.”170

“I’m gonna suck on a coffin stick Al,” Harry said, “Wanna tag along?”171

“Sure thing.”172

6173

Outside was hot and humid, the clouds had darkened as if rain was expected and the 174

dumpster stunk like a pile of rotted fish. The beige wooden fence closed in the dumpster 175

and provided the hotel with the added benefit that customers would not see their 176

employees smoking. Harry lit up a Marlboro and Albert was lighting a Salem light.177

“I don’t understand the new tax hike.”178

“Shit whats to understand Albert, Massachusetts is in billions of dollars of debt thanks to 179

the big dig.”180

“Yeah but it aint the smokers responsibility to shoulder the debt with a dollar extra in 181

taxes, the damn packs gonna run me closer to ten bucks a whack now.”182

“Don’t remind me.”183

“Either that or quit.”184

“I’m not letting the state tell me what to do.” Harry said.185

“They do any way.”186

“Fucking nanny state.”187

“You off tonight Harry?”188

“No I’m on an off site at the museum.”189

“Wedding?”190

“Yeah it’s in the East India.”191

Finishing his cigarette Harry flicked it out to the lot, “I have to check on that coffee 192

break, catch you later Albert.”193

As the door closed behind him, Albert stared after him for a few extra minutes, then 194

finished his cigarette.195

Chapter 3 196

1197

The figure heads inside the East India marine hall, stared into eternity, up towards 198

the celing of the spacious and grand room. A carving in a green dress that once adorned 199

the bark Marie, clutched her bosom, while staring madly up and out, another which Harry 200

refered to as Jugs Malone, a lady carved in a white garment stepping up, with one hand 201

cluching her bousum and another reaching out and upwards, as if striving towards 202

something. Sat above where the bar was set up, a Scottish figure head to one side and 203

another carved woman raising an ear of corn to the other, beside her was an Indian 204

warrior that had unnatural eyes, and a crack in his face, whish caused Harry to refer to 205

him as crack face. There was even a chief upon another wall. Harry was busy setting 206

tables with the crew, Amos the senior captain was there giving order to the chaos, as the 207

setup was running full tilt. In a few hours people would enter and for a few minutes, think 208

themselves of a higher stature or even class than those serving them. In truth Harry knew they would merely be more idiots that he would serve. People who imagined that class even mattered any more, would treat him as if he were beneath them, just to sustain their dream. In fact the matter of class has not mattered in a century or two, but for events such 209

as this it would rear its ugly head, for another night. Harry stared up at the carved green210

lady, and thought he could see the sea beneath her and the ship behind her, its sails filled 211

with wind, if only in his imagination.212