23
May
The Settlers
-by Michael-
“So I was talking to Caryn…”
“Hm. Yeah? How’s she?”
“Her an’ Mark are actually movin’ again.”
“Yeah? Where to?”
“Oh, I think it was Oregon or some such place. Yeah. It was Oregon.”
“Hm.”
“It’s funny. I though fer shoore they’d be goin’ to Alaska.”
“Mhm. Why’s that?”
“Well, you know. Most Alaskas are really from Wiscansin.”
“Hm.”
“And I guess most Oregons are Alaskas.”
“How’d you figure?”
“Well, you know, Caryn was saying. We were talking about the settlers.”
“Right.”
“And that’s what she was saying. About the Oregons and the Alaskas. You know…”
“She a settler?”
“Oh shoore. Her family, ya know. All the way back.”
“Aha.”
“A lot of babies died then. You know. They weren’t prepared for the winter like it was.”
“No central heating, I suppose.”
“Shoore. Ha, Caryn says she could do just fine back in those days. That’s how she wants it. Exploration and all that hullabaloo. Wood-burning fires and that.”
“Hmph. Mark would love that.”
“I couldn’t do it. I said to Caryn - I said - I says “No. I like it now. I’ve seen it all. Nothing could surprise me now. Not at my age in these times.”
“I saw a… man. A full body. Explode. Parts across the field. And a man’s head get blown clean off. With a gun. That was. Mhm. Sumthin.”
“Oh. Well, no. That I haven’t seen. Let’s thank gosh I haven’t seen that.”
“Right.”
“Once I saw an autopsy-“
“-looks just like it does on the TV.”
“Just like on the TV! That’s what I was about to say! Right. Right. You know. So it didn’t even shock me a bit. But there’s just so much stuff in there, you know. Sort of amazing.”
“The… the guy I saw? With the head? The whole side. See? This whole side, clean gone. Brains everywhere, ‘cept for the little bit hanging on in the back.”
“Gosh. No. See, I think I don’t need to see that quite just yet. Hope I never have to. But with all the technology nowadays… and the wars. But whatcha gonna do about it, you know?”
“Mhm.”
“So… Well, whaddya want fer dinner, anyway?”
“I think we have that cod in the freezer.”
“Perch, hun.”
“Yeah, the fish. We can have that.”
“Okay. Shoore.”
