A.T.Hagan
Inactive
<b>October 21, 2003
Into the Arms of Morpheus</b>
The boy put down the phone then turned to the man sitting in the reclining chair watching television to say “Dad, Pete and I want to go to the mall. Can I go?”
Larry Nichols looked away from the glowing screen to contemplate his son, considering whether he should grant the requested boon. “You finish your homework Eddy?”
“Yes sir. Both my algebra and grammar homework are done.”
His father nodded his head slightly. “I suppose you can then, but I’m going to want to see it when you get back. Did you fix your bike headlight? I’m not paying for any more tickets…”
“It just needed new batteries is all, dad. I replaced them as soon as I got home that last time. I’ll make sure the head and tail lights work before I leave. Can I go now?”
Glancing at the clock the older man nodded again then said, “Yeah, go if you want to, but be back BY nine o’clock. No excuses.”
The boy smiled his thanks and said, “Yes sir. I’ll be back by nine. Thanks dad.” He went into his bed room to put on his shoes then reappeared with a flannel shirt over his t-shirt serving as a light jacket. Larry heard the kitchen door close and the distant sound of the back yard gate opening and closing. Speaking aloud to no one he said, “Got to find something meaningful for that boy to spend his time on. Damn sure nothing worth doing at that mall.” He glanced at the clock again and settled back into his chair to get back into the flow of the movie he was watching on HBO, Schwarzenegger was picking up a mini-gun…
It was nearing nine o’clock and the credits were scrolling when Barbara Nichols came through the front door. “Hi hon!” she said to her husband, concealing her annoyance at finding him in front of the TV again, three empty bottles of Bud Light on the end table next to his chair.
“Hi baby,” her mate replied, “How was the meeting?” Picking up the remote he turned down the television volume.
“Like the others, mostly useless.” She sighed, “It’s the same old, same old about ‘if only…’ and ‘why can’t…’ and never anyone new to stand up and say ‘I will…’” She slid her jacket off and tossed it on the stuffed chair in the corner of the living room that served to collect coats and other artifacts. “There are times I’d just like to say ‘stuff it!’ and quit but it’s the only organization that really has any standing with the schools at all so it’s work through them or not at all.” She allowed her pent up frustrations over the local parent-teachers organization to flow out in an exasperated sigh.
“Well, why not quit going then?” Larry asked, reaching for the TV Guide on the end table. “You’re always frustrated when you get home.” He started thumbing through the pages looking for the Tuesday listings. “I don’t see why you keep torturing yourself like this.”
She sat down in the chair next to his, reached over for his beer and took a swallow. “It’s the only way we’ve got of participating in Eddy’s and Cindy’s education dear heart.” She kicked off one shoe, the other and took another sip of the beer. “If we stop acting interested what’s going to happen to their interest in school? We’re NOT going through another year like last year with struggling to keep Eddy passing! He’s really had a major turn around since I… we started meeting with his teachers regularly and participating in the school. It’s just that there is so much… more… that could be done if we could only get more parents actively involved.”
He punched a button and the TV changed to another movie channel as the opening credits of “Hang ‘em High” scrolled. Larry looked at his wife to say, “You had quite a lot of parents involved last Fall, can’t you get them going this year?”
Tilting her head back she drained the bottle to the dregs before replying. “Yeah, but last year Dan Phillips was still here and Steve Andrews. Now they’re both off in the Middle East somewhere with their units and God only knows when we’ll see them back again – if we ever do. I don’t think any of us really appreciated what they did for the school PTA until after they were gone. There just doesn’t seem to be anyone left here who can really motivate the other parents and make them want to participate the way they did.” She studied the label on the bottle for a moment, idly thinking about calories and hating her concern. “I’m hungry. That SlimFast bar I ate before the meeting gave up the ghost hours ago. Have you and the kids eaten already? I’m going to make myself a sandwich.”
“Yeah, we had that lasagna you froze last week. Cindy made us all salads to go with it. She’s in her room Net surfing. Eddy went to the mall with Pete.” He picked up his bottle and shook it, “How about bring me a beer when you come back?”
Barbara looked at the clock then at her husband again. “What time did you tell him to be home? It’s 9:00 o’clock now. I wish he wouldn’t hang out there so much.”
Larry sighed, “I told him to be home by nine. He’ll be here in a minute. It’s OK baby, he’s not off getting into trouble.” Turning back to the set he drifted off into the movie.
“I wish I felt as sure of that as you do.” She said softly as she went to the kitchen and met her son coming in the outside door. “Hi mom!” he said cheerfully, “Nine o’clock just like dad said.”
She smiled at him and gave him a motherly kiss. “Just like he said” she agreed. “Now go get washed. I want to see your homework before you go to bed.”
“Yes ma’am. It’s all finished. Dad wouldn’t let me go before I got it done.” He said over his shoulder as he went through the door.
She stared at the empty doorway for a moment then turned to the refrigerator for the sandwich makings. When her hasty repast was assembled she joined her husband in front of the TV. Cindy came out of her room on the way to the kitchen , saw her mother and came over for a hug. A gun fight was playing itself out on the screen which caused her to wrinkle her nose and say, “Daddy, why do you watch this stuff? It’s gross.”
Her father grinned at her and replied, “It’s just virtual reality punkin. Like you’re always telling us, it’s just virtual reality.” The girl shook her head and went into the kitchen for her drink then went back to her room.
“You know, we could watch something the whole family likes.” Barb said.
“Yeah?” her husband replied, “And what particular title would that be? Cindy won’t watch anything she thinks is too violent, Eddy won’t watch anything that isn’t. You want meaningful films, especially if they’re foreign meaningful films with subtitles, and I just want entertainment. We can’t watch comedies all the time.”
She sighed but did not respond. Too tired this night to play her role in the perennial discussion over family entertainment. The film played on and presently Eddy came out, hair damp, dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt. “Here’s my homework, it’s all done and I checked my answers. What are you guys watching?”
Taking the papers his dad said “Hang ‘Em High with Eastwood” and began to glance over the math papers, handing the grammar papers to Barbara.
“Cool!” said the boy and sat down next to his mom. She picked up a pen from the end table and began to circle his errors. Larry divided his attention between the TV and the algebra, didn’t find any mistakes and gave them back to his son.
When she finished with her paper she handed it back to her son and said, “You can finish the movie, but I want you to correct this work before you leave for school in the morning. You’re getting better, I only found three mistakes!” She reached over and tousled the boy’s hair.
“I don’t know why I have to spend so much time on grammar. No one talks like that anyways.” He said in reply, with a faint smile.
“You’ll talk like that young man!” She said emphatically, “At least you will if you want to ever amount to anything. While you’re still in school you can convincingly fake it if nothing else. Now don’t make me regret letting you stay up to see another mindless shoot-em-up movie.”
The boy said nothing and the family lost themselves in the western. Presently it came to a close and she kissed her son good night then sent him off to bed. The girl had given them her goodnight kisses sometime earlier. Local news came on, the next day was forecast to be warmer but another cool front was dogging its heels as the year progressed further into Fall.
With the end of the local news came national and international news. The U.S. remained deeply involved in Iraq with no clear idea of when it would be able to bring the bulk of its armed forces home again. The Royal House of Saud, rulers of Saudi Arabia, appeared to be teetering on the brink of collapsing as senior members fought amongst themselves for control following the death of the old king. The struggle was presently confined to rhetorical battles but threatening to break out into the real thing any day now.
Larry drained his sixth and last beer for the night and set the bottle down. Barbara looked up from filing her nails and asked, “Have you heard from Nick lately? Does he have any idea when he’ll be sent home?”
Her husband’s face clouded somewhat at the mention of his brother’s name. He said nothing for a moment then replied, “No, not since the letter I told you about last month. You know the Army censors his mail. I get the impression though that the Army doesn’t have matters as well in hand as the media would have us believe. Of course, he’s only an officer in the Medical Corp, who knows what Army Intelligence really thinks – or what the political leadership understands.” Outside of his wife and children his brother was his last living relative and he’d grown to dislike talking about him, mainly because he brooded about it when he did. Looking for distraction he turned back to the television.
After the Middle Eastern news which had become such a constant over the last year that it felt like a permanent part of the news world the next item was the continuing diplomatic struggle over North Korea. A joint South Korean/Japanese negotiation team returned empty handed and Pyongyang was once again threatening to repudiate the 1950’s era armistice that had ended the Korean War, but not before it took from Nick and Larry a grandfather they had never known. That too threatened to lead him into another reason to brood so with a grunt he jabbed the ‘off’ button of the remote control and went to bed.
Into the Arms of Morpheus</b>
The boy put down the phone then turned to the man sitting in the reclining chair watching television to say “Dad, Pete and I want to go to the mall. Can I go?”
Larry Nichols looked away from the glowing screen to contemplate his son, considering whether he should grant the requested boon. “You finish your homework Eddy?”
“Yes sir. Both my algebra and grammar homework are done.”
His father nodded his head slightly. “I suppose you can then, but I’m going to want to see it when you get back. Did you fix your bike headlight? I’m not paying for any more tickets…”
“It just needed new batteries is all, dad. I replaced them as soon as I got home that last time. I’ll make sure the head and tail lights work before I leave. Can I go now?”
Glancing at the clock the older man nodded again then said, “Yeah, go if you want to, but be back BY nine o’clock. No excuses.”
The boy smiled his thanks and said, “Yes sir. I’ll be back by nine. Thanks dad.” He went into his bed room to put on his shoes then reappeared with a flannel shirt over his t-shirt serving as a light jacket. Larry heard the kitchen door close and the distant sound of the back yard gate opening and closing. Speaking aloud to no one he said, “Got to find something meaningful for that boy to spend his time on. Damn sure nothing worth doing at that mall.” He glanced at the clock again and settled back into his chair to get back into the flow of the movie he was watching on HBO, Schwarzenegger was picking up a mini-gun…
It was nearing nine o’clock and the credits were scrolling when Barbara Nichols came through the front door. “Hi hon!” she said to her husband, concealing her annoyance at finding him in front of the TV again, three empty bottles of Bud Light on the end table next to his chair.
“Hi baby,” her mate replied, “How was the meeting?” Picking up the remote he turned down the television volume.
“Like the others, mostly useless.” She sighed, “It’s the same old, same old about ‘if only…’ and ‘why can’t…’ and never anyone new to stand up and say ‘I will…’” She slid her jacket off and tossed it on the stuffed chair in the corner of the living room that served to collect coats and other artifacts. “There are times I’d just like to say ‘stuff it!’ and quit but it’s the only organization that really has any standing with the schools at all so it’s work through them or not at all.” She allowed her pent up frustrations over the local parent-teachers organization to flow out in an exasperated sigh.
“Well, why not quit going then?” Larry asked, reaching for the TV Guide on the end table. “You’re always frustrated when you get home.” He started thumbing through the pages looking for the Tuesday listings. “I don’t see why you keep torturing yourself like this.”
She sat down in the chair next to his, reached over for his beer and took a swallow. “It’s the only way we’ve got of participating in Eddy’s and Cindy’s education dear heart.” She kicked off one shoe, the other and took another sip of the beer. “If we stop acting interested what’s going to happen to their interest in school? We’re NOT going through another year like last year with struggling to keep Eddy passing! He’s really had a major turn around since I… we started meeting with his teachers regularly and participating in the school. It’s just that there is so much… more… that could be done if we could only get more parents actively involved.”
He punched a button and the TV changed to another movie channel as the opening credits of “Hang ‘em High” scrolled. Larry looked at his wife to say, “You had quite a lot of parents involved last Fall, can’t you get them going this year?”
Tilting her head back she drained the bottle to the dregs before replying. “Yeah, but last year Dan Phillips was still here and Steve Andrews. Now they’re both off in the Middle East somewhere with their units and God only knows when we’ll see them back again – if we ever do. I don’t think any of us really appreciated what they did for the school PTA until after they were gone. There just doesn’t seem to be anyone left here who can really motivate the other parents and make them want to participate the way they did.” She studied the label on the bottle for a moment, idly thinking about calories and hating her concern. “I’m hungry. That SlimFast bar I ate before the meeting gave up the ghost hours ago. Have you and the kids eaten already? I’m going to make myself a sandwich.”
“Yeah, we had that lasagna you froze last week. Cindy made us all salads to go with it. She’s in her room Net surfing. Eddy went to the mall with Pete.” He picked up his bottle and shook it, “How about bring me a beer when you come back?”
Barbara looked at the clock then at her husband again. “What time did you tell him to be home? It’s 9:00 o’clock now. I wish he wouldn’t hang out there so much.”
Larry sighed, “I told him to be home by nine. He’ll be here in a minute. It’s OK baby, he’s not off getting into trouble.” Turning back to the set he drifted off into the movie.
“I wish I felt as sure of that as you do.” She said softly as she went to the kitchen and met her son coming in the outside door. “Hi mom!” he said cheerfully, “Nine o’clock just like dad said.”
She smiled at him and gave him a motherly kiss. “Just like he said” she agreed. “Now go get washed. I want to see your homework before you go to bed.”
“Yes ma’am. It’s all finished. Dad wouldn’t let me go before I got it done.” He said over his shoulder as he went through the door.
She stared at the empty doorway for a moment then turned to the refrigerator for the sandwich makings. When her hasty repast was assembled she joined her husband in front of the TV. Cindy came out of her room on the way to the kitchen , saw her mother and came over for a hug. A gun fight was playing itself out on the screen which caused her to wrinkle her nose and say, “Daddy, why do you watch this stuff? It’s gross.”
Her father grinned at her and replied, “It’s just virtual reality punkin. Like you’re always telling us, it’s just virtual reality.” The girl shook her head and went into the kitchen for her drink then went back to her room.
“You know, we could watch something the whole family likes.” Barb said.
“Yeah?” her husband replied, “And what particular title would that be? Cindy won’t watch anything she thinks is too violent, Eddy won’t watch anything that isn’t. You want meaningful films, especially if they’re foreign meaningful films with subtitles, and I just want entertainment. We can’t watch comedies all the time.”
She sighed but did not respond. Too tired this night to play her role in the perennial discussion over family entertainment. The film played on and presently Eddy came out, hair damp, dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt. “Here’s my homework, it’s all done and I checked my answers. What are you guys watching?”
Taking the papers his dad said “Hang ‘Em High with Eastwood” and began to glance over the math papers, handing the grammar papers to Barbara.
“Cool!” said the boy and sat down next to his mom. She picked up a pen from the end table and began to circle his errors. Larry divided his attention between the TV and the algebra, didn’t find any mistakes and gave them back to his son.
When she finished with her paper she handed it back to her son and said, “You can finish the movie, but I want you to correct this work before you leave for school in the morning. You’re getting better, I only found three mistakes!” She reached over and tousled the boy’s hair.
“I don’t know why I have to spend so much time on grammar. No one talks like that anyways.” He said in reply, with a faint smile.
“You’ll talk like that young man!” She said emphatically, “At least you will if you want to ever amount to anything. While you’re still in school you can convincingly fake it if nothing else. Now don’t make me regret letting you stay up to see another mindless shoot-em-up movie.”
The boy said nothing and the family lost themselves in the western. Presently it came to a close and she kissed her son good night then sent him off to bed. The girl had given them her goodnight kisses sometime earlier. Local news came on, the next day was forecast to be warmer but another cool front was dogging its heels as the year progressed further into Fall.
With the end of the local news came national and international news. The U.S. remained deeply involved in Iraq with no clear idea of when it would be able to bring the bulk of its armed forces home again. The Royal House of Saud, rulers of Saudi Arabia, appeared to be teetering on the brink of collapsing as senior members fought amongst themselves for control following the death of the old king. The struggle was presently confined to rhetorical battles but threatening to break out into the real thing any day now.
Larry drained his sixth and last beer for the night and set the bottle down. Barbara looked up from filing her nails and asked, “Have you heard from Nick lately? Does he have any idea when he’ll be sent home?”
Her husband’s face clouded somewhat at the mention of his brother’s name. He said nothing for a moment then replied, “No, not since the letter I told you about last month. You know the Army censors his mail. I get the impression though that the Army doesn’t have matters as well in hand as the media would have us believe. Of course, he’s only an officer in the Medical Corp, who knows what Army Intelligence really thinks – or what the political leadership understands.” Outside of his wife and children his brother was his last living relative and he’d grown to dislike talking about him, mainly because he brooded about it when he did. Looking for distraction he turned back to the television.
After the Middle Eastern news which had become such a constant over the last year that it felt like a permanent part of the news world the next item was the continuing diplomatic struggle over North Korea. A joint South Korean/Japanese negotiation team returned empty handed and Pyongyang was once again threatening to repudiate the 1950’s era armistice that had ended the Korean War, but not before it took from Nick and Larry a grandfather they had never known. That too threatened to lead him into another reason to brood so with a grunt he jabbed the ‘off’ button of the remote control and went to bed.