by John Randall and Ray Wisdom Two twenty-something men sit at a long wooden table in the main room of a one-bedroom apartment. There is a big bong on the table and each of them has a highball in front of him. The window is open. It is breezy and warm, the breeze comes into … Continue reading What You Were Before You Were This
Author: johnbrandall
John Randall is a writer living in Missouri. His interests include camping, running, walking, cutting and burning wood, messing around with magnets, foraging, and listening to podcasts, many of them about baseball.
Two Guys Watching Two Games
by Jack Randall and Ray Wisdom Background: Lou Reed, The Bells, "With You." The door is open and a pizza man is nervous about not having a pen for Ray. Once they get the pizza, they are sitting on a rug in front of a TV, watching baseball. John has the remote and is switching … Continue reading Two Guys Watching Two Games
Leaving on a Battleship
I dreamt last night that I was shipping off with my wife on a big, black-iron, state-of-the-art battleship. It was part of a new program by the government to wed civilian and military culture. I was extremely excited about the ship. It was enormous and we would have lots of space to ourselves. The program … Continue reading Leaving on a Battleship
The Garbage Disposal
Rick and I fixed the garbage disposal. He got two rocks out and I got the other one. It appeared that one rock had stuck the garbage disposal such that it couldn't move. The power went out at one point. Rick poured some powerful chemicals into the bathroom sink. I gave him the American Spirit … Continue reading The Garbage Disposal
Record High Temperatures in Austin
The temperature climbed as high as 106 degrees Fahrenheit today in Austin, TX. This was a record high for a September 26 in Austin. The previous record was 99 degrees, set in 1923. The record temperatures are partially a result of Austin's position in the wake of Rita. There is "return flow" from the gulf that is swamping Austin in what I figure is more or less "old air."
This continues the tease that Hurricane Rita has proven herself to be, at least in Austin, TX. I mean no flippancy to those who suffered from Rita. But 106 degrees on September 26 is unfathomably hot. It was 91% humidity at 7:24 this morning. I recorded a low temperature of 69 degrees, this morning around seven. The highest low for Austin on a September 26 is 79 degrees, in 1977.
For a chart of these records, check out the NOAA page.
The special weather statement for Austin is listed on Austin's K-EYE news wesbite, a CBS outlet.
I also want to point out that it hasn't rained but once in Austin since I moved back down here on August 27, 2005. People who went to the Austin City Limits Music Festival this last weekend said it was like the dust bowl. One guy said he couldn't sleep, for the dust in his nose wouldn't let him breathe. He was waking up at 3 in the morning to shoot dustballs out of his nose. Nasty.
Poolaski is a little like Parmesan
My wife went to Central Market in Austin, TX this weekend and bought us some Polish cheese, called poolaski. It is damn good. It is neither soft nor hard. It is not as hard as parmesan but not as soft as havarti. By taste it reminds me of parmesan. It is not really a crackers-and-cheese … Continue reading Poolaski is a little like Parmesan
Brautigan as a Genre
As a writer, Richard Brautigan successfully created his own genre, what folks including W.P. Kinsella have called "Brautigans." A Brautigan is a vignette, somewhere between a short story and a poem. He is a little kooky but not cheesy. Sometimes his writing is beautiful. He was a hippie, you could say. But he got an … Continue reading Brautigan as a Genre
Austin High Temp
It was up to 105.8 degrees fahrenheit here in Austin, TX today. That was the high reading on my thermometer, though nearby temperatures were recorded at 107 or even 108. I was outside in the morning and started sweating after walking only a couple of hundred feet. Forecast: Monday, tomorrow (9.26.05), also will be hot. … Continue reading Austin High Temp
The Bowflex
Coffee at ten has to be a large part of why I’m up right now. But I’m also up because I want to be up. I imagine someone walking in here and saying, “Is it the coffee, John?” I’d say, “The coffee and a whole lot else.”
I was lying in bed and all sorts of thoughts—memories I hadn’t come across in a while—were keeping me awake. I thought about how I sold my Bowflex workout machine—probably right around this time last year—for $500 cash. It was my parents’ money really. I had bought the Bowflex on a credit card that I wasn’t funding. And I’m just so goddamned sorry that I’ve gotten this far off track and all I can think about is how my parents are seeing this situation.
Their child with promise and potential. What is he doing with his life? Not squandering it anymore than I already have. I’m just so sorry for myself and I know that’s now way to go about it but I was recalling that Bowflex transaction. With half of the cash I bought about two ounces of freeze-dried fungi. Just pathetic, just pathetic. And, of course, to whom can I confess this? Those who already know haven’t realized that they care...
Continue with essay...Deflation
Hope is thefeathery, leatherydollar. Floating,dropping,slowly on the breeze. Down from Heaven,to purchase the soul.
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