mmmclxxx

Chapter 17: I was just wondering if
                    you’ve had the opportunity

                    to look over my proposal.

I have so much news for you,
but I just don’t know where to
begin.  It’s never a good sign
when my goal is to do some-

thing (sometimes just anything) – 

to accomplish a thing – and yet 

my approach is that of contrition 

or confession, yet as far as I can 

recollect, there is not anything in 

particular that I’ve done wrong. 

How ridiculous to feel guilt for

simply coming to you with what

I believe is a worthwhile proposition!  

Even if mere suggestion.  An idea that 

I think will provide us each with many 

benefits.  For example, if executed with 

fervor it would potentially relieve a lot of 

unnecessary tension, here presently, in 

the air about us.  Also, it would surely

provide us with a little bit of that 

something that we both ought to

find useful.  Furthermore, it would,

at the very least, be educational,

would it not?  I mean, of course,

these are things to keep in 

mind, if you find the

time to flip through it,

to examine its contents and

the nature of the proposal.

And lastly, by gosh, it’d be an 

adventure. I mean, wouldn’t it?

Well, what I meant to say is,

just you wait.  (For the life

of me, if I only knew why

I was even standing here!) 

And, just to hear that word,

adventure, and, well I don’t

know about you, but even

to say the word and, with-

out fail, there’s a, a bubble,

yes, a bubble that opens 

down in my gut, somewhere

just above my belly button, 

or so it feels; it expands
to about the size of
a fist and just rises,
clean through my lungs,
my stomach and my 

heart – it really is an

altogether pleasant

sensation, I have to

say – and that 

bubble just rises,

all the way up  

my neck, where, 

kind of like an 

Alka-Seltzer when 

it hits water in the

glass, it divides into
a million tiny bubbles,
some of which make
their way all the

way up to just

underneath

the bump on the

top of my head.

I can literally 

feel the fizz
right there

(Am I knocking

the top of my

head with my

fist?).  So,

as I was
saying,
yeah,
I have
a lot to tell you.
I always do.  And
so, there’s no time
to dilly-dally.  There’s

never enough time for

anything, much less

to squander, to just

pilfer it away, in utter

isolation, you know?.  

I do hope you’ll take it 

all into  consideration, that 

we can perhaps work out a 

time to further discuss this, 

to get into the nitty-gritty,

that you’ll consider my 

proclamation, uh, my 

proposition, that you’ll

call me as soon as you get up in the
morning and have a moment to go
over the, to discuss the, to really
put our money where our mouths
are. I very much look forward

to it.  To our, to us 

giving this the old,

well, if you could.

Call me tomorrow.

First thing.  Looking

forward to it. Bon soir.