Sublime

the first story that, as he later put it, “rang his cherries” was Donald Barthelme’s “The Balloon.”

him.

looked like a dry moat—a depression created by rain

By eleven a.m. the Old Man begun making one mistake after another. I say that now, looking back. But at the time it didn’t seem so bad. He was delaying, see, waiting for the Negro. Many a fool has done that, waiting for the Negro to do something, including the Negro himself. And that’s gone on a hundred years. But the Old Man didn’t have a hundred

“Be careful,” he whispered. “Don’t give the poor old guy a heart attack.” “I’ll tell him you were worried,” I said. Harry laughed, then sobered. “Be careful, Lauren. Bankole is probably all right. He seems to be. But, well.… Yell if anything goes wrong.”

accountability.

I turn into a theorising black crow.