02/19/01

Couldn’t help thinking to myself as I went through Phebe’s underwear drawer looking for the money she told me about, might be the last time I ever get my mitts on her panties. . .almost considered taking one as a souvenir. . .sure wasn’t anticipating getting aroused like that. . .

Phebe keeps a nice home, that’s for sure. I sure felt a little envious being in a clean, toasty warm house for once with room to move around in. With all the work that’s been put into it over the years, I’d say the house is probably every bit as nice as when it was built in the Victorian times by our ancestor, Ronan Butler Noonan.

Found a lot of nice snacks in the fridge. . .

So I got in touch with Percy before I headed over to Newburgh just to see if maybe he was up for a ride. He said to come over and he would drive. Said it was better to have the baby ride in the back seat of his car than ramble around in my old pickup truck. Along the way Percy asked me again about what I thought about his novel--- the four pages I claimed to have read anyhow.

I said, you know so much about what happened around here in the Revolutionary War, Percy, I’d prefer to read a book from you about that, frankly.

So what you’re saying is my great strength is in non-fiction writing? He says.

Absolutely! I reply, not realizing what I’m encouraging, local history, man! That’s your forte right there! That’s your great strength, no doubt!

Well that’s really encouraging, he says because what I really want to devote myself to now is a non-fiction study. . .

That’s great! I say

. . .decoding Crypto-Judaism within the Huguenot settlement of the New Paltz patent. . .

Oh. . .well now, I stammer, Crypto-Judaism, you say. . .now I would think General Washington’s battle to maintain control of the Hudson might make a better read for some reason, Percy. . .quite honestly. . .

Percy got quiet on me after that. God forbid you ever give the guy some honest feedback. I think the guy spent the rest of the trip thinking up a way he could get under my skin. When we get to Lander Street, he starts chatting it up with Fauntleroy. Starts discussing Fauntleroy’s earlier career playing professional cricket in Jamaica. Meanwhile all the guy wants to do is get over to the hospital to see his stricken girlfriend

Maybe you’d like to join my mythopoetic men’s group, he asks Fauntleroy.

Yeah, yeah, maybe we can work on that, Mon, Fauntleroy says. Then Fauntleroy kills me---he presumes Percy must be a NASCAR fan for some reason--says, very sorry to hear the bad news at the racetrack, Mon.

Percy just pretended to know what Fauntleroy was referring to. Percy’s about as familiar with Dale Earnhardt as I am with mythopoetic mens groups. . .

The baby slept some in the car and stayed pretty content overall. That was good.

Damn cute kid that grandson of mine.

You weren’t gonna ask me to join your mythopoetic men’s group at some point, were you? I ask Percy at some point during the drive, trying to break the silence.

I figured you wouldn’t be interested, he says.

Fucker.