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Show 77 "I should have taught you how to kick him in the nuts," said Red. "Now, now," said Blanion's Dad, "Can't teach a man how to fight dirty. That comes natural." Red picked Willie up. "Glad we could work this out," said Tony Blanion, shaking Willie's hand. "No hard feelings. Everything's even-Steven." Red took Willie over to the Rainbow and put him in the back seat, then me and Red got in the front and drove off. "Seems like we are leafing a pretty jofial situation," said Willie. Red grunted. Willie rubbed his chin with his crippled hand. "Well now, anyway, I can hit him on the head wif a hammer." That ended the fight lessons. Red got grumpy again. He made me apply for a paper route and threatened to have me join the Boy Scouts because I was lazy and wasn't doing anything with my life. Of course by that time Willie had taught me that I didn't have anything to do with my life except deal with my death, but there was no dealing with Red on that level. A black xxxxx family bought the flat across the street, the Dangers, and the old man must have been 6'8" if he was 2»2". He had a pair of twins my age, Revis and Revco, though they didn't look at all alike, and along with Willie and the kid down on Funster's corner it gave us enough bodies to start a neighborhood basketball team which Willie named The 24th Street Dialecticians. After practices down at the school yard Helen had us all in for Kool Aid and then the four spooks would go off and talk about books. Grandma Funster died. Grandpa Funster had been dying for years. Every organ in his body was aimaxixaaxxxaaxaxaaa?iix£axxkxm dead except for him. His heart wouldn't pump, his kidneys wouldn't cleanse, his colon was petrified. Grandpa Funster ran on his appendix. He sat on the pa porch in the morning and stayed there until Grandma Funster put him away at night. He said things like 'damn the torpedos' and 'eat picnic church'. He was fun to talk to, especially if you wanted x advice. |