Nuggets

[Dano]

Her lips met mine, and I suddenly realized what had been happening. I honestly hadn't had any idea we had been on a date. I put my hand on her shoulder and pulled back.

She sat there, staring. "What? I'm sorry, it's just that..."
"No, it's fine, Andrea."
"...we've been friends so long and all and I just have felt lately that..."
"Andrea, it's cool, just calm down."
"...maybe you and I could give it a go, you know?"

I sighed and looked at her. Her eyes were wide, almost hillariously so. She was looking extraordinarily pretty tonight, I'll give her that. And, I got the feeling that...

"Does this have anything to do with me losing all that weight?"

That stopped her cold. She opened her mouth as if to speak a few times, occasionally getting out a "well" or "um", but I figured I hit the nail on the head. And that, my friend, pissed me off.

"You know, when we first met, that night at Aaron's party, I asked you out. Refresh my memory, what was it that you said to me?"
"Steve, I was drunk, and young, and stupid."
"I believe you said something to the effect of not being attracted to 'pudgy older-brother types'."

Tears were welling up in her eyes. But, I was angry, and it had been too long simmering inside me, it was time to let it out.

"You know, I used that as fuel. For a long time, I used that to make myself work harder. I dieted, I excercised, I did all that crap, to get to you. I became your friend, swallowed my pride, in the hopes that one day, this night might come, the night you'd figure out I'm a good guy."
"Steve, you are a good guy..."
"But, I wasn't then?"

She stopped, sat up straight, and looked me right in the eye.

"No, Steve, I wasn't good enough for you."

That surprised me, I wasn't ready for that. She continued looking at me, her gaze softening, tears welling up, and I got a perverse pleasure out of watching it.

"Andrea, I don't think this is the time nor the place. Why don't you come over tomorrow and we can talk. I'm going to go home and think about this."
"I'm sorry."

I sighed heavily, got up, and left.

[Dano]

Elena Nieves was the victim of a hit-and-run on the corner of 54h and 'L' streets, across the street from a convenience store. She was going there that night to get some microwave popcorn to eat while she watched a movie. She was 11 years old.

The driver of the car was never found. The cashier at the convenience store had heard the tires sqealing, and looked up in time to see the brakelights fade into the distance. His main concern was the girl in the street, her small body broken and bleeding. She didn't even make it to the hospital.

Every day since the funeral, her parents had made a trip to that corner and laid a flower down in memory of Elena. In time, other people from her family, friends, and neighborhood did the same. A year afterwards, her father erected a small wooden cross there, with her name on it.

The city officials objected to this display, for one reason or another. They decided that it was unlawful and asked Mr. Nieves to please take the sign down. He politely refused, asking humbly that the monument be allowed to stand. They voted him down, and ordered that if he would not take it down, a police officer would be dispatched to do so.

The next morning, over 50 small crosses had been placed on the sight. Each one bore the name and badge number of a member of the police department. The city council the next night declared that Mr. Nieves could keep his daughter's cross where it stood. He and his wife wept for joy at the goodwill of the officers, and thanked the city for their decision.

[Dano]

"Gary, don't you think you could have done a better job of cleaning the floor back in the kitchen last night?"

"Probably, but let me ask you something..."

"Sure."

"Are you familliar with the Platonic philosophy of Ideal Forms?"

"No, not that I'm aware of."

"Well, basically, it states that although perfection is an actuality, it exists in another plane, apart from ours. In our reality, we can imagine perfection, but we can't achieve it."

"Gary, look..."

"Hold on, I'm getting there. See, even in nature, there's no such thing as a perfect triangle or a straight line. Even rays of light are actually particles moving in small waves."

"All I really wanted..."

"Almost there, no worries. So, although it's noble to aspire to perfection, it's not really possible. But, I gave you my best effort I could without really putting myself out."

"Next time, put yourself out."

[Dano]

Marvin was a young man who lived with his mother and father.

His mother and father came from Africa, from Nigeria, where his father had been a pharmacist, a healer, a great man. Ferdy Ameh came with his wife to America and found he had to start over. Despite his education and experience, despite his mastery of the language, despite all his efforts, he was forced to go to pharmacological school again. His mother often told Marvin that was the reason his father was such a sad man, because he could not bear to compromise himself like that. Along with the difficulties the young couple had financially, living in a strange country, working menial jobs, raising their son.

Marvin was epileptic and diabetic. He was not a sickly boy, or a disadvantaged one. Quite the contrary, he was by all reckoning a healthy boy, active in sports. And he was intelligent and creative excelling at music, his real passion.

His mother had started him playing piano when he was quite young. Marvin excelled to the point that he was showing his teacher a thing or two before he was 12. He never allowed his parents or teachers to enter him into any recitals or young talent contests though. The one time they did enter him, he announced after he had been introduced that he was performing a different piece. He announced that he was to play John Cage's 4:33, a piece that required he sit quietly and not play for that amount of time. After this, his parents knew to leave him be.

At 15, Marvin started playing guitar, first accoustic, such as his father did from time to time, but before long, he had moved on to electric, passing swiftly through the limitations of standard rock and blues and jazz, and started composing his own music. Melodic, thoughtful, meditative music, he would improvise for hours, eyes closed, his fingers moving of thier own volition.

Marvin, as he entered adolecence, began to have difficulties at school, socially. He could not quite find a way to fit in. Like everything else, he swiftly moved past the desire to care, and began to enjoy his outsider status. He moved about the school quietly and invisibly, like a ghost.

He graduated at the top of his class. He gave the valedictorian address, again taking a page from John Cage, standing stock-still and silent for 5 minutes. Then he thanked the audience and walked offstage.

He spent the summer walking around the city in which he lived, carrying his father's accoustic guitar, playing as he walked, meditating, thinking, watching. At night, he was often seen sitting on the roof of his parents' garage, staring into the night sky, playing his beautiful, gentle, thoughtful melodies.

On the eve of the day he was to begin his university studies, Marvin abruptly disappeared. All of his belongings were still in his room, except his clothes and guitar. A note was taped to the door.

Dear Mother and Father,

Thank You.

Love,
Marvin

[This message has been edited by Dano (edited January 12, 2001).]

[Oz]

okay, wow. the last one chilled me. with maybe more than a little reason being that i was listening to marvin gaye's "lets get it on" at the time. wow! that was really REALLY good danoman! i didnt really care for the cross story, cuz ive heard that one before... but i did really REALLY like the first one as well. that was an excellent, personal (?) story. the last one, however, impressed my beyond words.

[Miral]

dano....dano....dano

The first one felt too real...and the last one was totally amazing

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~My name is Donnie Smith and I have lots of love to give.~ -Magnolia
~These posts are for entertainment purposes only. Thank you.~ by D.A.N.
~Murder one I didn't know what I did
I figured it out by murder two
Murder three I stopped feeling ashamed
This is me I'm going for you~ by: dwim