02/05/01

I was going back trying to figure out how the crazy idea came into my mind that Phil Palfrey might still be alive and caged like an animal in Porch Rot’s house. I realize now it was probably from the story Tommy New Yawka told me last month about the feral man the fire department found locked inside a burning apartment in the city. I guess Tommy’s rescue company had all they could do to bust through all the locks and reinforcements to get to the man, only to have him start attacking the firemen from that point out of fear and insanity. Meanwhile the fire continued to rage. Tommy said he decided at some point to grab the rabid little guy and put him on his back, with the guy sinking his teeth in him and growling the whole way down.

Usually Tommy is away for days at a time at the firehouse. His shift always begins and ends off-hours so he never has to contend with rush hour traffic really. He came home from work late one night and found a pack of coyotes crossing through the yard. He came to my trailer the next morning and asked to borrow a gun. He seemed unaware I was a convicted felon. Not surprised, just sort of unaware, blasé about it even, and that was surprising to me. I assumed everyone in town knew. I said my guns belong to Phebe now, you’ll have to go to the house and ask her. Tell her you need her 30-30 and her green and yellow box of ammo. Not the red box, the green and yellow one.

I can understand Tommy’s worry about coyotes with a house full of little kids like that but I almost got the sense that he was afraid he himself might get attacked by them. I couldn’t help but say oh, you city slicker, those coyotes won’t leave teeth marks on you any bigger than the ones the feral man left on you when you carried him out of the fire.

In any case, I’m glad Tommy’s opinion of convicted felons seems better than his opinion of coyotes.