Snowy White Herons and Patsy Cline

On Repeat: “Crying” by Roy Orbison

Currently Reading: Loop Group by Larry McMurtry but coveting The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Constant Craving: Dunkin’ Iced Coffee with two creams, two sugars, and cold foam, Almond Joys

Cheese Infatuation: Hot Honey Cheddar from Yorkshire

Fixation: Copious games of Scrabble

It’s odd to imagine myself down here. The other day, on my usual walk to the Walmart to waste time, I saw a heron on the side of the road by some forget-me-nots. The forget-me-nots had wilted in a torrential downpour but the snowy white heron stood so austere and elegant against the side of road on Boynton Beach proper. It was just pretty enough for me to forget about the car that passed by whose diesel had popped and whose fender was crooked.

Of course, an iced coffee was in hand, the paper of the napkin dissolving fast against the blades of my fingertips while my American Spirit began to ash. It woke me up from my daydream and I thought how odd it was, me in the middle of South Florida like that, staring at a snowy white heron.

I started Step 4 and all I want to do is listen to Roy Orbison and smoke cigarettes while watching the iguanas dash across the cobblestones of the little patio. I keep thinking about how I won First Place at the Rehab Talent Show for my rendition of “Walkin’ After Midnight” by Patsy Cline and how André the Giant used to play it for me every morning at breakfast while I ate the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese devotedly prepared for me by O, the chef. I sang like one of those girls in those motion pictures from the 1940s, alongside a little radio while the whole canteen looked on.

Whenever I’m blue, I go out and buy myself a tube of lipstick and a frozen pizza from the Walmart, only my father warns me I ought to start eating more vegetables, so I finally reneged and bought some frozen broccoli. That’ll do it, I suppose.